Two days passed and I didn’t hear much about the murder, even though I kept my ear to the ground. The big talk at my nail salon was the summer farmers’ market and how many great vendors there were each week. I loved the market when I had dogs to adopt because people came from all over the area to shop. I could usually find some homes for the rescues I had in my care, but since I didn’t have any charges this time around, I hadn’t been to the market.
My house was deathly quiet without rescue dogs running around and my son and boyfriend gone. I didn’t like it, so I found myself out and about more often than usual.
On the third day, Daisy and I rose early. I grabbed a coffee from Cup of Go, and we walked along the Riverwalk. A few people floated by us in tubes and rafts, but nothing compared to the amount of people the afternoon hours would bring. Birds chirped in the trees, and I found the whole setting quite relaxing, so we sat down on a bench.
“That river going by makes me have to pee,” Daisy said.
“No one is stopping you,” I replied.
She squatted, then joined me on the bench. “This is pretty. I like it here.”
“So do I.”
When my phone buzzed in my pocket, I almost ignored it.
“You should get that,” Daisy said.
“Really?”
“Yes. It may be important.”
“I’m really enjoying the silence.”
“What if it’s Jacob and he’s missing half his leg because a bear attacked him?”
With a curse, I pulled out the phone. “I’m only answering if it’s him.”
And it wasn’t. Trevor. I decided he was important as well.
“Hey,” I said. “You’re up early.”
He cleared his throat, a signal that he was upset and attempting to measure his voice. “Yes, I am. I have a few questions.”
“About what?”
“Have you been to Hold Your Horses lately?”
“Yes. I told you that the other day. I went and saw Rainy. Why?”
“Did you see the murder scene?”
“Yes.”
He took a deep breath. “Gina, I want you to walk me through exactly what you did when you were in the bar. Every darn step.”
“What’s going on?” I asked. “What’s this about?”
“Just do as I ask without questioning me right now. I got in late last night. I’m very tired and low on patience.”
Furrowing my brow, I set my coffee cup beside me on the bench. Dread clawed at my chest. “Okay, Trevor. Shoot.” I hated being told what to do, but I also knew Trevor meant business. Whatever had happened was quite serious.
“When you got to the bar, what did you do?”
“I met the dogs and talked to Rainy for a while.”
“The dogs?”
“Yes. Some dogs decided to adopt the bar. They call them the Misfit Mutts. Maverick and Fruit Loop are their names. Nice pups.”
“Then what happened?”
“Well, Rainy and I chatted for a bit, and she asked if I wanted to see the crime scene.”
“She asked you?”
“Yes. She said we couldn’t go into the office, but we could look at it from the doorway.”
He whispered a string of curses, then said, “And I suppose you did go in?”
“No, I didn’t. There was tape across the doorway. I saw plenty. Why would I want to get up close to a crime scene like that?”
“You didn’t pass the tape?”
“No, Trevor. What’s this about?”
“If you didn’t pass the tape, can you tell me how your DNA was found at the crime scene?”
My breath left my body.
“Gina?” Daisy laid her paw on my thigh. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“I… I don’t know, Trevor,” I stammered. “How did you find out about this?”
“One of the guys at the sheriff’s department, Nico, gave me a heads up. Gina, what the heck? What did you do?”
“Nothing!” I shrieked and shot to my feet. I paced the area in front of the bench. “Absolutely nothing! I went to see Rainy and I don’t know how my DNA got in the crime scene. I was standing at the door. Rainy told me Kevin was shot while sitting at his desk, then she found him on the floor. I didn’t go into the office, Trevor. I swear to you, I didn’t.”
My DNA at a crime scene was the worst possible news I could receive, except my son dying.
But wait a minute… how did it get there? And how did they know it was mine?
“What was this evidence?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Just that they had some.”
“And how do they have my DNA?”
“You were in jail for a while, remember? We gathered it then and put it in the database. It’s standard procedure.”
Right. I’d been accused of murdering my ex-husband. Thankfully, my friend, Sam Jones, had been able to find the real killer.
“I don’t understand this,” I muttered. “I didn’t go in that room.”
“They’re sending it back to the lab for verification. If it comes back positive, you’ll probably be arrested.”
We sat in silence for a long while as I wracked my brain trying to figure out how my DNA had gotten into the crime scene. “I have no idea what’s going on, Trevor.”
“Think about it and call me back. If there’s any way that we can explain it, let me know.”
He hung up and I sat down, then set my phone next to my coffee. I didn’t want to panic. Maybe there had been a mistake and the lab would prove the DNA belonged to someone else.
“What did Trevor say?” Daisy asked.
I sighed and shook my head. Panic welled within me, and I realized the way to fight it was to act. There was only one thing I could do.
“I think the murder just became my circus and my monkeys.”
“Why?”
I explained about the DNA in as simple terms as I could. After I finished, Daisy nodded. “I can see that you’ll need my super sniffer, my fellow caped crusader.”
With a snort, I picked up my coffee, my mind churning. “I’m going to have to solve this murder,” I muttered. “I don’t know how my DNA would’ve gotten into the murder scene, but Mallory would love to see me go down for this.”
“I totally agree. Maybe Rainy put it there.”
Taking a sip of my drink, I hadn’t considered that. But where would she have gotten it? From the glass I’d drank out of? And why me, of all people?
There was only one reason: she’d killed Kevin to inherit the bar and to make sure she wasn’t discovered she’d had to act fast to plant evidence. Perhaps her reasoning for framing me was something as simple as I was the one who was there.
“If she did, that was quite tricky,” I said.
“Yes. Absolutely diabolical.”
I turned to my dog. “Where in the world did you learn that word?”
“Before he went camping, Jacob was watching Batman,” she said. “I learned it there.”
“That’s a good word.”
“Thank you. I feel smart when I say it. What now, Gina?”
My stomach growled. “We need a plan.”
“It sounds like you need to eat. Maybe we should have some food and then get a plan.”
“That may be a good idea.”
She jumped from the bench. “Yes. Breakfast burritos it is.”
I smiled as I stood. At times like these I wondered if I was speaking with myself. My talking dog often mirrored my thoughts. A breakfast burrito did sound delicious.
We strolled to the end of the Riverwalk. The geese who sat on the patch of grass eyed us warily.
“You can’t catch me, losers!” Daisy yelled. “Gina won’t let you get near me!”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“Really, Gina? You’d let those vultures eat me?”
“No, but I may let them chase you.”
“You’re mean.”
We headed up the pathway onto the main thoroughfare through Heywood, Comfort Road. Once On The River came into view, I noted the crowded parking lot. Sally, the owner, didn’t allow dogs in the restaurant, but hopefully I could grab a seat on the deck. I pulled out my phone and sent her a text, and she quickly replied.
“We’re going to sit outside,” I announced. “Please be a good dog, okay?”
“I’m always a good dog,” Daisy said. As a half-dozen instances went through my mind when she hadn’t been a good dog, I disagreed but decided not to argue.
We went to the left side of the building and around to the deck. Sally met us there and waved us over to a table with an umbrella.
“Hello, Daisy,” she said, bending over and scratching her head.
“Hi, Sally! Go make us breakfast burritos! My human and I are hungry!”
Sally stood and pushed her glasses up her pointed nose. “What can I get you today, Gina?”
“A coffee and a breakfast burrito, please.”
She reached over and took me into an embrace. “What’s wrong, Gina? You’re giving off bad vibes. Are you upset?”
I didn’t think it showed.
“Yeah, I got some bad news,” I said, stepping away. As I took my seat, Sally sat across from me.
“What happened?”
I glanced around to make sure none of the other patrons were listening to us. “You heard about Kevin Cox, haven’t you?”
“Sure, I did,” Sally said. “Did they find out who killed him?”
I shook my head. “They seem to have a lot of suspects.” I didn’t mention that I had somehow become one of them.
“Who? I imagine his wife, Rose, is on the list.”
Interesting. “Why would you say that?”
Sally lowered her voice. “Well, Kevin was having an affair. Rose was furious.”
“Are you friendly with her?” I asked.
“No. I know her enough to say hi when we see each other around town, but we aren’t friends.”
“How do you know she was upset when she found out Kevin was having an affair?”
“They had a blowout right here in the restaurant,” Sally said, pointing at the building. “It was awful. Rose ended up throwing a plate of spaghetti at him, and her language was some of the most colorful I’d ever heard.”
“What was said?”
“She told him he was the most despicable person she’d ever met, especially since he was leaving the bar to his… girlfriend. Rose had another word for her, but I don’t like to talk like that. She couldn’t believe he was that cold.”
“Did they have any kids?” I asked.
“That I don’t know.”
“Hmm… do you think she was angry enough to kill him?”
“Oh, yes. She even threw a knife at him after the spaghetti. Thankfully, it was a butter knife and she missed.”
I smiled, despite the seriousness of the situation. “What else did she say?”
She squinted at the table for a long moment, as if the answer to my question had been carved there. Finally, she said, “Something to the effect that she’d make sure he was erased from this world and we’d all be better off if she did it.”
“Sounds a bit like a death threat.”
“I agree.”
“Do you know where she lives?” I asked.
She shook her head. “But I know where you can find her.”
My heart skipped a beat. And I’d thought coming up with a plan would’ve been a little more difficult than going to Sally’s for food. I’d wanted to speak to Rose. “I’m assuming you think I should go to her flower store?” I asked.
“Oh, no. Go inside. She’s having breakfast. If you leave Daisy out here, you can go in and talk to her.”
“Don’t leave me out here by myself!” Daisy whined.
I quickly tied her to the table. “Please be a good dog,” I said. “If you are, instead of one bite of breakfast burrito, I’ll give you two.”
“Fine,” Daisy huffed. “But don’t be gone too long.”
“It’s so cute how you talk to her like she understands every word you say,” Sally said, chuckling.
“Sometimes I wonder if she does,” I replied. The conversation was becoming repetitive. Maybe I needed to stop speaking to Daisy in public.
“Aren’t you funny!” Daisy yelled. “I understand it all, Gina! Every word! Even words like diabolical, and I think that describes you right now!”
Ignoring my drama llama, I stood and grinned. “Can you show me who Rose Cox is, Sally? I would like to have a few words with her.”