Dry as the desert and getting warmer by the minute, this was one of those mornings where Babs would’ve rather been anywhere besides a dusty office weeding through a pile of library books at Guy’s desk. To catch a cross-breeze, she cracked open both his front door and the one to her office. The downside: she had to contend with her janitor mopping the outside hallway; the astringent ammonia caused a strange aftertaste to her coffee.
The elevator chimed on her floor, accompanied by approaching footsteps.
“You’re late,” she said to Guy as he entered.
“I went to the garage to check on the status of my car.”
“Will it survive?”
“By a hair, but there are more things wrong than the mechanics expected.”
“Didn’t you say it needed an overhaul?”
“Babs, why have you taken over my desk?”
She placed a bookmark in the story she was reading. “Someone needed to be here in case a client came knocking.”
“I’m surprised you’re not reading the Times or the trades.”
“My library books need to be returned soon. To refresh my memory, I reread The Thin Man. Just like everyone said, the movie was close to the original. Except for the Schnauzer.”
One book slipped from her arms onto the floor. He picked it up and handed it to her. “Don’t expect me to give you a lift with my car in limbo.”
“Then I’ll take the bus, even if it takes the entire day to ride back and forth. A taxi from Hollywood to downtown will be a waste of money.”
Guy rearranged his desk to his liking. “Did you find out anything else in those Holmes stories?”
“As I said before, there are way more references to dogs than I thought.”
“Did you focus on the spaniels and the terriers like I asked?”
“I did, but if the countess has anything to do with the disappearances, she didn’t specify any breed of dog.”
“Babs, we aren’t at the point of singling her out.”
She ignored his remark. “So, I reread the stories and made a list. The Sign of Four was a good start with Toby, the spaniel mix, used as a tracking dog. Holmes borrows him from a friend to follow the scent of whom he thinks is the killer.”
Guy raised his hand like a student trying to get his teacher’s attention. “You said yourself when you first met her at Basil’s party that Rache means revenge in German. What if the person stealing the dogs is a disgruntled author who’s mad at the screenwriter for changing his story? For all we know, it could be Dashiell Hammett.”
She took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and blew it out. “Any changes while adapting The Thin Man from book to screen would be too insignificant to consider committing a crime, and so far, Hammett wrote one actual book. After the Thin Man and Another Thin Man, the two films produced afterward used his characters, but these weren’t from his novels. He might plan books in the future based on those films, but we don’t know yet. If you can come up with a better argument, then let that be your homework.
“Anyhow, getting back on track with dogs in the Sherlock Holmes stories, The Hound of the Baskervilles centers on a dog-like theme. Mortimer is the close friend of the cursed Baskerville family. He contacts Holmes with concerns that Sir Henry, the new heir, will suffer a premature death. Jack Stapleton, who’d be next in line for the Baskerville fortune after Sir Henry, is the villain. I sure hope I didn’t spoil the ending for you.
“In The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place, Mr. Shoscombe breeds black spaniels. Ferguson, in The Sussex Vampire, has a crippled spaniel named Carlo. Someone tested an exotic poison on the dog, causing the ailment. He’s not to be confused with another Holmes story with a different dog, a Mastiff named Carlo.”
“Sounds like Conan Doyle either liked that name or owned a dog named Carlo.”
“Not sure, but it doesn’t matter. For terriers, there’s a metaphor in The Crooked Man about something ‘like terriers around a rat cage.’ In The Adventure of the Gloria Scott, a Bull Terrier ‘froze’ on Holmes’ ankle, which was Doyle’s way of saying the dog bit him. Victorian English doesn’t always mean the same thing to us.
“There’s another reference in The Hound of the Baskervilles. When describing the terror stalking the moors, someone said it was ‘larger than a terrier.’ Then, besides the terrier that ingests the poison pill in A Study in Scarlet, which I mentioned before, there’s The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane.”
“Are we now getting back to Leo the Lion from MGM and Leo the missing Cocker Spaniel?” Guy asked.
“Believe it or not, the lion’s mane refers to a jellyfish. An Airedale Terrier and its owner fell into a tide pool. Both died from its venom.”
“Well, Babs, it seems like you’ve been busy, but what’s the relevance?”
Babs reexamined her notes. “Here’s an interesting situation in The Adventure of Silver Blaze.”
Guy leaned in, curious.
“The Scotland Yard detective asks, ‘Is there any other point to which you wish to draw my attention?’”
“Holmes says, ‘To the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime.’”
“The detective replies, ‘The dog did nothing in the nighttime.’”
“And Holmes explains, ‘That was the curious incident.’”
“Which means?” Guy asked.
“The dog didn’t bark because a stranger wasn’t present. Whoever committed the crime was someone in-house with whom the dog was already familiar.”
“Are you insinuating Asta and Leo knew their abductors?”
Babs drew a few diagrams in her notepad, along with the names of Weatherwax, Mr. and Mrs. East, One-Take Woody, Stromberg, Loy, and Powell. “We might have to revisit that later. I betcha he did.”
While they continued reviewing their notes, their phone rang.
“B. Norman, Investigations,” Guy answered.
After a few “ums” and “uh huhs,” Babs saw his facial expressions shift from inquisitive and upbeat to grave. She tugged on his shirtsleeve.
“Uh, no. No, you can’t do that…. Not advisable…” Guy said.
Ready to grab the receiver, she needed to hear for herself. He placed a tight grip over her hand.
“Hold on a second.” Guy muffled the receiver. “He insists on speaking with you, but trust me, you don’t want to speak to him. Sounds like one of the Looney Tunes.”
She yanked the phone away.
“Barbara?” the man asked. “Why are you hiding out in Hollywood and not at home in San Francisco?”
Feeling unsteady on her feet, she braced herself on a chair and eased into it—slow and deliberate.
“Called your mom every day until she gave me your office number. Said you didn’t have a permanent home number yet. This was the best place to reach you.”
As she stared off into nothingness, Guy refilled her coffee cup and pushed it toward her.
“Hey! You there? I’m talking to you.”
The voice came over the line so loud, Guy reacted and whispered, “Do you want me to pick up and take over the conversation?”
She shook her head. “How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone?”
“You and me—God ordained us to be together as husband and wife.”
“Hold it right there. I had our marriage annulled. No longer do I have to answer to you, or anyone else.”
“You must come back to me, Barbara. I love you.”
Her knuckles turned white as her grip on the phone tightened. “You think you know love, but you only love yourself. Get it into your head. I never want to see you again.”
She slammed down the receiver so hard the phone tipped over.
“Who was that?” Guy asked.
“Mom caved and spilled the beans.”
“About what?”
“He must’ve threatened her.”
“Who?”
“My crazy ex-husband.”
“The one who tried to kill you, and why you changed your name?”
“Didn’t disguise it well enough, I guess, by keeping Norman as my last name. Mom couldn’t take his threats anymore and gave him our office number.”
“Don’t be so hard on your mom. Your ex could’ve checked her outgoing mail and found your address. All it would take would be a call to an operator.”
Babs shook her head in disbelief. “Here we’re worried about a dognapping, but now I get the impression he might want to come to town and kidnap me.”
“He’d have to get past me first.”
“How much do you weigh?”
“Maybe one hundred forty-five pounds soaking wet at five foot eight. Why?”
“Guy, I think you’re exaggerating. He’s a dangerous man. Capable of anything if he dangled me over a balcony on our honeymoon. Perhaps I eloped with Troy Ulsterman by choice, but I also took the legal initiative to get out of that awful mess.”
After her tense ordeal, Guy couldn’t help but break into laughter. She demanded to know what was so hilarious.
“His name—Troy. I couldn’t help but think of you as Helen of Troy with the face that launched a thousand ships.”
She started blushing. “I’m not that attractive.”
“Of course you are.” He gave her a quick peck on the forehead and put his arm around her to show he cared.