Beyond exhausted, I didn’t rouse that morning until my angrily ringing cell phone forced me out of bed.
“Ugh, what time is it?” I groaned in the general direction of the phone instead of saying hello outright.
Charles laughed on the other end of the line. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. Your prince charming has some news!”
“Sleeping Beauty has Prince Phillip,” I corrected, wiping the sleep from my eyes.
“And you have Prince Charles. Oh, hmm, maybe not.” He chuckled to himself, but I was still too groggy to join in.
“Anyway, I’ve got news,” Charles continued. “And it’s almost ten o’clock by the way, you should really get up and greet the day.”
I groaned again, which only made my boyfriend laugh harder. “What’s your news?” I asked, searching my nightstand for the gummy multivitamin I took each morning.
“Well, I started my day at city hall as promised. You can really learn a lot when you know the right people, I might add.” He sounded quite proud of himself. Did this mean he had found something good? Something that would help Nan and I figure out what in the heck was going on with that shelter?
“And what did you learn today?” I asked with a smirk before popping the sugary vitamins into my mouth.
He sucked air in through his teeth, then explained, “That the animal shelter funding hasn’t been cut like Stone said. In fact, it’s increased year over year beyond inflation.”
I yawned and tried my best to refocus. It was way too early for words like inflation. “Which means?” I asked, hating how stupid I must sound to Charles’s educated ear. Granted, my seven associate degrees were nothing to shake a stick at, but they still weren’t nearly as impressive as his one law degree.
Charles took a deep breath, then revealed, “It means that if the shelter has a money problem, it’s not due to lack of funding.”
“Do you think someone’s stealing?” I asked, unable to think of any other possibility given the way that evidence had been stacking up the past couple of days.
“Stealing from a business—or in this case a nonprofit—is called embezzlement. And, yes, it does seem like that might be a possibility here.” The fact that Charles had shifted into full-on attorney mode told me that whatever was going on, it was very, very illegal. I sincerely hoped the culprit would not only be caught, but also punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Rage flew through my veins, waking me up better than any form of caffeine ever could. “But it’s not just money,” I argued. “It’s these animals’ lives! They’re already three to a cage… What happens if the shelter has to be shut down?”
“Maybe another shelter would take them in.” Charles’s whispered words betrayed his true beliefs. He felt just as hopeless as I did in this situation, and it didn’t do anyone any good skirting around the issue.
“Or maybe they’d all be turned loose on the streets. Or worse, eu-eu-euthanized.” I shuddered at that last word. It represented one of the most awful things I could imagine. Those poor sweet animals.
“That’s not going to happen,” Charles assured me. His voice came out stronger now, surer.
“But how? How can you know that for a fact?” Hot tears stung at my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I needed to stay angry. Angry got things done.
“Because I know you, and I know you would never let that happen,” my boyfriend told me.
“I gotta go,” I mumbled into the phone, already halfway to my closet and ready to throw some clothes on in a hurry.
“I know you do,” Charles said, and I could hear the smile in his words. “Stay safe and call me if you need anything. Got it?”
“Got it,” I said, then pressed to end the call.
Never had I been so determined to solve a case—and to solve it quickly. Dozens of lives depended on it.
By the time I’d clambered down the stairs in my hastily assembled outfit, Nan was already dressed and waiting for me at the front door. “Finally,” she said with a huff. “Ms. Paisley and I have been waiting all morning.”
“Hi, Mommy!” Paisley cheered, wiggling her butt in merriment. “We’re going for a car ride!”
“To the shelter?” I asked, just to be sure.
“To the shelter!” Nan called in a rallying battle cry, then flung the front door open so that the three of us could march into battle.
This time, we took Nan’s little red sports car instead of my old clunker. “We want them to know we have money and that we aren’t afraid to use it,” Nan offered as an explanation.
“Is that the whole plan?” I wondered aloud. Once again, I was worried that Nan had chosen to view complex problems far too simplistically. The world inside my grandmother’s head and the world as it actually was didn’t always line up perfectly. God bless her.
Nan shot me a warning look as she twisted the key in the ignition. “Of course not!”
“Then fill me in already.”
“You’ll see when we get there,” she said with a wink and then pushed down hard on the gas pedal.
Whatever happened next, I was ready for it.
Although I hoped Trish wouldn’t be there this morning; otherwise, Nan’s whole feeble retiree on a fixed income act from yesterday evening would fall apart the very moment she was spotted pulling up to the shelter in an expensive sports car. It seemed unlikely we’d run into Trish, given that Paisley had sworn up and down that she’d never seen the mysterious volunteer once in her entire life.
But, still, I had to wonder…
We got there quickly, thanks to Nan’s penchant for driving at least ten miles above the speed limit wherever she went. And it wasn’t Trish, but rather Pearl—the kindly, older volunteer I’d met on my own yesterday—who greeted us upon our arrival.
“Back so soon?” she asked with a warm grin. It took me a moment to realize that her smile wasn’t intended for me, but rather Nan.
“You know me,” my grandmother crooned. “I just can’t stay away.”
Turning to her side, Nan motioned toward me but continued to address Pearl. “This is my granddaughter, Angie, and of course you already know Ms. Paisley.”
Paisley barked in acknowledgement.
I simply nodded and forced a grin.
“Hello, Angie,” Pearl said as she regarded me with a blank expression. Did she really not remember meeting me only yesterday? “Now, what can I do for you, Nan?”
I found it downright hilarious that this old woman was calling my grandmother Nan of all things, but I at least managed to keep a straight face throughout their exchange.
Nan brought a hand to her heart and sighed. “I can’t stop thinking about these poor animals and the trouble you folks are having.”
“Oh, don’t worry about us,” Pearl answered with a sad shake of her head. “We’ll find a way. We always do.”
“Surely, there must be something I can do,” Nan pressed.
Pearl rose to her feet and placed a placating hand on Nan’s arm. “I promise we’re doing all we can. It’s just the funding’s been cut, and we’re still trying to find a way to work within our new budgetary constraints.”
Nan chewed her lip. Whether she was honestly disheartened or just putting on a good show, even I couldn’t say for sure.
“I understand, I do,” she mumbled, “but—hey, I’ve got it!”
Pearl and I both waited to hear what Nan would say next, and she, of course, kept us waiting to heighten the anticipation.
“Well? What’s your big idea then?” Pearl prodded.
Nan flashed a toothy grin before revealing her grand idea. “What if I were to put on a big fundraiser to help save the shelter?”
“We’re not really at the point of needing saving, but your heart is in the right place. Tell you what, I’ll take you to Mr. Leavitt, so the two—” She paused and glanced back toward me with a nervous smile. “—I mean, the three of you, can discuss this in private.”