Thirty-Five

The wait seemed interminable. Worse than waiting for a flight at the airport. Had he found Dovie? I checked my watch, only five minutes had passed.

Trixie whined at me and pulled as if she was desperate to run to the house.

“Okay. We’ll go see what’s happening, but you might give my presence away, so I’ll have to carry you.” She squirmed in my arms as though she thought being carried was a terrible idea.

I scooted to the same window that Dave had looked in. I didn’t see anyone, so I dared to stand up.

Dave lay on the floor on his side. I didn’t see anyone with him. Still holding Trixie, I tried the back door. It opened easily. I closed it behind me.

“Dave?” I hissed.

He didn’t move. I could see his chest rise as he breathed, and I sighed with relief that he wasn’t dead. I dialed 911 and blurted, “Officer down! Officer down!”

The dispatcher spoke calmly. “Am I speaking with Holly Miller?”

“Yes. Sergeant Dave Quinlan is on the floor. He hasn’t opened his eyes or responded, but he’s breathing. And there’s something on his face.”

“Like an animal?”

“No, like leaves.”

“Stay on the line with me until the emergency crew arrives.”

I hung up immediately and dialed Dr. Engelknecht. “It’s Dave. We’re at Rose’s house. He’s on the floor and not responding. I’ve called 911 but you’re closer.”

“I’ll be right there.”

It seemed an eternity. I wasn’t sure what had happened to Dave, and, worse, I had no idea whether someone else was still in the house. I clung to Trixie and dared to squat next to Dave.

I jiggled his shoulder. “Dave? Dave, it’s me, Holly!”

He moaned but still didn’t open his eyes.

I kept trying. “Dave, come on, wake up!” I hustled to the sink and wet a paper towel. I returned to him and placed it on his forehead.

A sound at the back door scared me. I had never been so glad to see Dr. Engelknecht.

Clutching Trixie, I moved away so the doctor could tend to Dave.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I have absolutely no idea. Someone was in the house, but he made me promise to stay outside.”

“What’s this on his face?”

“I don’t know. I can tell you that he didn’t have those leaves on his face before he entered the house.”

“I think it’s wolfsbane, and it looks like something whacked him on the head. He has a significant hematoma. Probably has a concussion as well.”

I eyed the cast-iron skillet on the counter. “Could someone have hit him with a cast-iron frying pan?”

He nodded. “Where is it?”

I pointed at it. “I haven’t touched it. Maybe they can get fingerprints.”

The doorbell rang. Now that Dr. Engelknecht was in the house, I wasn’t as worried that someone might jump me. I walked to the front door and opened it for the emergency crew from Snowball. I pointed to the kitchen. “Right through there.”

I wanted to snoop, but I knew better than to touch anything lest I mar fingerprints.

The EMTs loaded Dave on a gurney and rolled him past me.

I leaned over. “Dave, are you okay?”

He looked straight at me and said two words, “It’s Dovie.”

Dr. Engelknecht stood beside me while we watched them load Dave into the ambulance. “I see something that looks suspiciously like wolfsbane in the refrigerator. I’ll call the police and let them know. Can you inform Rose that her house is a crime scene?”

“Will do.” I locked the doors and left. I assumed Dave had the keys to the police golf cart, and I probably wasn’t supposed to drive it anyway. Trixie and I walked over to the judge’s house.

Rose opened the door before we were on the porch. “What happened?”

I told her the whole story.

After asking about Dave’s condition, she said, “That wicked woman put wolfsbane in my refrigerator to frame me!”

If Dovie hadn’t smeared wolfsbane on Dave’s face, I might have been skeptical about that. But Dovie had left her mark.

Rose agreed to continue staying at the inn until Dovie was located. She couldn’t go home anyway, but the fact that Dovie had been in Rose’s house worried me. Maybe the judge should come stay at the inn as well. Just until we found Dovie.

Trixie and I walked home, found Oma in the office, and told her the entire story.

“Dovie is Bobbie’s birth mother?” Oma shook her head. “It doesn’t seem possible. I remember when Theona lost her little boy to crib death. We thought she would never get over it, and then, about a year later, she had Bobbie, and we were all so happy for her. This is incredible. I never even suspected.”

“Maybe you could call the judge and offer to let him stay here overnight? I imagine they’ll send a policeman, but Dovie could be anywhere.”

“She must feel very desperate to have treated Dave so badly. You should be careful, too, Holly.”

“Don’t worry about me, Oma.” The sad truth was that Dovie scared me. She had managed to fell Seth swiftly. I wasn’t sure he even knew what had happened to him. And who was to say that she didn’t have another syringe or two of wolfsbane in her pocket at the ready?

I spent the early evening contacting various people around town. The guys at the parking lot outside town, where Dovie probably had a car, were on the lookout for her.

At eight o’clock, I was sitting in the Dogwood Room with Oma, Rose, and the judge, debating where Dovie might go, when the WAG Ladies returned from dinner.

Louisa hurried to me. “Has anyone seen Addi? She never showed for dinner.”

A wave of fear rolled over me. “When is the last time you saw her?”

“After lunch. She was going somewhere with your boyfriend and was supposed to come to Judge Barlow’s house later on.”

I phoned Holmes. Maybe he knew where Addi had gone after she left him. His phone rolled over to voice mail. I stood up. “Oma, call Shadow. Ask him to round up some of the local guys and come to the Victorian house Holmes is renovating. I’ll call the police on my way there.”

“You can’t go by yourself,” Rose protested.

“I’ll wait for Shadow and his buddies. But I need you to keep Trixie and Twinkletoes here. Their presence would give me away.”

“I should go with you,” said the judge.

“That could be helpful. Dovie might listen to you.”

I excused myself and ran to the office to grab a golf cart key and a strong flashlight.

When I returned, the judge rose to his feet and Fritz jumped up, his tail wagging as if he was ready to go. “Sorry, old pal,” said the judge. “Not this time.”

Oma and Rose held on to Fritz and Trixie while the judge and I exited the front door. I phoned the police and explained the situation to them.

The judge walked steadily but slowly, and I realized that it might have been a mistake to bring him along. He was in no shape to run for his life if need be. Hopefully Shadow and his friends would be at Holmes’s house and he wouldn’t even need to get out of the golf cart unless he felt like it. I crossed my fingers.

We made it as far as the golf carts when a brown-haired woman stepped out of the bushes and flung her forearm around the judge’s neck.

The judge bellowed, and I screamed.

“Another sound and he gets a wolfsbane shot in the back.”

I recognized Dovie’s voice.

“I think we all know how that turns out,” she said.

“Dovie, we only want to help you.” I tried to sound calm and nonjudgmental. “You know the judge loves you. He wants what’s best for you.”

The judge managed a “Gah.”

“Please. Give me the syringe.” I held out my hand.

“I don’t think so. This is mighty powerful stuff.”

I desperately tried to remember the silent button to push on my phone in emergencies. The side button five times? I tried that. I had to keep her talking. “Why did you wait so long? Why now? Bobbie was killed twenty-six years ago.”

“Because of Theona. I spoke of finding Wallace and taking revenge many times. But Theona always reasoned with me. What if we find Joy Marie? She used to say, ‘I’m not bringing her to prison to visit you. There’s nothing more we can do for Bobbie. Put your energy where we can do good. Let’s find Joy Marie.’”

“Good advice, if you ask me. What changed?”

“Theona took her own advice to look for her beloved granddaughter but died without ever finding Joy Marie. I knew it was hopeless. I don’t know how long I have. I couldn’t sit by any longer without avenging the death of my daughter. Wallace was out of prison and living the good life in a house his sister bought him. And then I saw the letter from Louisa’s husband. She sent it to the judge, but I intercepted it and never gave it to him. I couldn’t believe it when I read it. Wallace had taken the punishment, albeit light in my opinion, for Seth’s crime.”

The judge’s arms flailed to no avail. He choked out, “Stole my mail?”

“So you claimed Fritz was lost, but he wasn’t really, was he?”

“You think you’re so clever. You can’t hire a pet detective unless you lose a pet.”

“But Fritz gave you a hard time because he wanted to go home.”

The judge gurgled, “Dovie, loosen your grip!”

“Did you poison the salads?”

She smiled.

“Did you accidentally mix up the plates?”

“I’m not that stupid. I put some of the wolfsbane in mine to frame Rose. And it worked, too. No one suspected me!”

It wasn’t cold outside, but chill bumps rose on my arms. She was insane. “Where are Holmes and Addi?”

“The grandchildren.” Dovie smiled. “Addi told me about her cousin. Is it true? Is she Bobbie’s child?”

“It seems that way.” I tried to sound friendly. “She’s hoping you’ll donate some DNA so we can all be sure that you’re her grandma.”

Dovie’s voice changed. “I never thought I’d see Joy Marie again.”

At that exact moment, the sliding glass doors to the reception lobby opened. Trixie, Gingersnap, Loki, Garbo, Fritz, and Fagan stormed out like bulls. They were upon us in seconds.

Fritz leaped at the judge, knocking him and Dovie to the ground. Loki joined the fun. Not a single dog snarled.

Dovie’s brown wig fell off, and Loki claimed it as his prize.

I reached out to the judge and heaved him to his feet. “Are you okay? Did she inject you?”

“I don’t think so.” He dusted off his sleeves.

I shined my flashlight at Dovie, who lay on the ground. She sat up and looked at her leg. A syringe jutted out of it.