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ASIDE FROM FAYE INSISTING my hair needed trimming, Tuesday morning passed without incident. Since we had nothing else going on, I sat down in a straight chair with a towel draped over my shoulders and let her snip away. She’s really pretty good, and I hate wasting time at a salon. As she worked, she told me the nasty things Abe Kurst had said and done over the last week. “He really is a horrible person,” she finished.
“You don’t have to tell me. I saw how he treated his animals.”
“Do you ever wish you could give people like him what they deserve? You know, balance the scales a little?”
I chuckled. “Why do you think I spent my life in the DA’s office? I could have eaten better defending criminals, but I decided I’d sleep better trying to stop them.”
When she finished with me, Faye went after her dogs, trimming Buddy with electric clippers then doing what she could to comb Mollie’s thick coat without scaring her to death. As I watched her sweep up afterward, I thought how a little thing like a haircut always makes a person feel like the world is a bit more under control. Maybe it works that way for dogs too.
We had our weekly meeting at lunchtime. Retta had announced that Faye was not to fuss; she’d bring the ingredients for tacos. I bought a cheesecake from the deli for dessert. Faye had been spending so much time working for the animal shelter that for once she seemed relieved to have one less thing to do. It was definitely time for a meeting, since we needed to make sure that what we knew on the current case was shared.
Retta no longer thought Frannie Habedank killed her fiancé, which was good, since it meant she was starting to look at the case objectively. What I noticed now was an uncharacteristic lack of certainty. “You did great interviewing Ginger, Faye,” she said. “You girls don’t even need me these days.”
That wasn’t like Retta, and I saw that Faye’s usual kind assurance wouldn’t be enough. “We need your input too, Retta, and your—” I fumbled for a word. “—boldness.” While boldness wasn’t a word I threw around often, it was what Retta brought to the mix. I didn’t always agree with her actions, but no one could say she lacked courage.
Faye had to show Retta and me Mollie’s trick while we waited for the taco filling to warm. Setting her purse on a chair in the far corner of the dining room, she ordered, “Mollie, bringen!”
The dog stood perfectly still for a moment, staring into Faye’s eyes. Faye looked at the purse. “Bringen, Sweetheart. Bring it!”
Mollie turned her head, searching for what “it” was. She looked to Faye several times for guidance, and Faye focused on the purse, repeating, “Bringen.” Eventually the dog picked up the purse and set it at Faye’s feet.
“Good girl!” Faye knelt to smooth the dog’s thick mane. “You’re so good.” Taking a treat out of the purse, she gave it to the dog. “There you go. Who’s a good girl?”
“How does she know what you want?” I asked.
Faye shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“It probably doesn’t hurt that she knows there are treats in your bag,” Retta put in.
“Kurst insisted she’ll do it every time. He said he could tell her, ‘Bringen remote,’ or ‘Bringen beer.’”
“She can open a refrigerator?”
Faye nodded. “Collies are the good kids of the dog world, Barb. They like interacting with people and doing what we ask them to.”
“I saw a border collie herd sheep in Scotland once. Remarkable.”
“Well, Mollie fetches things,” Faye said. “And her new favorite word is treat. I don’t think she got a reward from Kurst for obeying.”
“Probably a swat or a kick if she didn’t,” Retta said resentfully.
“Well, now she gets a treat when she brings what I ask for, and my purse is her favorite thing to bringen.”
The timer in the kitchen chimed, and we left Mollie crunching on her reward while we began serving ourselves. As we ate, we reported our recent doings. I was irritated to learn that Retta had returned to Ward River without me not once, but twice. Before I could voice objections Faye began asking questions: what Lila looked like, what impression Retta got of her character, and so on. I wasn’t sure if she was really interested or simply trying to head off another confrontation.
Retta was explaining that Lila seemed high-strung but not crazy when a knock sounded on the back door. It opened immediately, and Rory came in. “I thought I might find you with your heads together.” Faye rose and bustled around, getting him a plate and some coffee.
“Help yourself to a taco or two,” I said. “Retta brought enough for the First Air Cavalry.”
There’s seldom a need to repeat the offer of food to Rory Neuencamp. As he helped himself he told us, “I sent the note Retta got from Frannie Habedank on for processing, but I think it’s a dead end. It’s done on cheap construction paper with an old LaserJet printer that could be found in any home or office. There might be prints, but what sneak doesn’t know enough to wear gloves these days?”
“We need to know who this mysterious note-writer is.”
“There’s quite a list of people who weren’t fond of Deline,” Rory said, wiping a drop of salsa from his chin. “His fiancée was suspicious, his brother was sick of his behavior, his future father-in-law thought he was a crook, and one old flame launched a vendetta that drove him out of his home town.”
“Retta took it upon herself to interview Lila Beale after the police did.” I tried to keep disapproval out of my voice, but there was no way.
Rory turned to Retta. “What did you think of her?”
“I think she had a bad time and got a little weird about it.”
“A little weird?” Rory spooned more salsa onto his taco. “She keyed Deline’s car. She showed up at places he went, just out of range of the protection order. She told anyone who’d listen what a snake he was, which meant his dates in the area pretty much dried up.”
“I’ll bet she got her point across.” Retta almost sounded approving.
“Some people don’t get how horrible they are until they experience something like what they did to others,” Faye said. “You have to go overboard a little to make them understand.”
We all looked at her in surprise, since Faye isn’t exactly a vengeful type. She didn’t seem to notice as she reached for another taco shell and spooned filling to the top.
