And there it was, that final piece that brought the whole picture together. I turned to Officer Bouchard, unable to hide my excitement.“The big bag that crushed Angela Miller, there was something other than deer feed inside, wasn’t there?”
“But how could you possibly—Angie, you’ve been investigating again, haven’t you?” He put both hands on his hips and glared at me.
I shrugged and offered a small smile.
The policeman sighed.“Fine. Just tell us what you know, but don’t say a thing about how you know it. I really don’t want to have to take you in for questioning.”
I nodded and shared all that I had learned.
“So you’re saying this Steven Scotch guy used the pet store as a front for his black market activities?” Officer Bouchard summarized when I was halfway through.
“Yes, he quit showing up at the docks about a month ago, around the same time Frank first set up for business. He still comes by this place twice per week, even though all signs point to him having gone out of business.”
Bouchard gave Frank a pointed look.“Care to amend your story at all?”
“No,” I cut in at once. “Frank’s not guilty. Steve was using his products to hide the fenced goods, which is why he’s in and out of the pet shop so much despite it not being too busy yet. My guess is Steve overheard Angela Miller when she came in searching for deer feed. When Frank wouldn’t sell it to her, he saw the opportunity to make some quick cash and offered to hook her up for a price. But then he must have given her the wrong bags. That’s why he came back to her house, asking to get the feed back.”
“How do you…?” He shook his head and frowned again. “No, no, don’t tell me. Just keep going.”
“Then he came back later that night, found the shed unlocked, and took all the remaining feed bags,” I concluded, almost feeling like I should throw up jazz hands at the big reveal. Thankfully, I managed to restrain myself
The policeman nodded thoughtfully.“Thank you for telling me just enough to put me on the right path. Looks like I need to bring Steve Scotch in for questioning. Have a good day,” he said to Frank, then turned toward me with a raised brow. “Stay out of trouble, you hear?”
Frank and I stood in silence for a few moments after Bouchard left. Finally he shook his head, laughed, and said,“Okay, so what can I sell you this time?”
“Actually,” I confessed, feeling a bit sheepish, “I was only here to investigate. The lady who died lived next door to me.” I pulled a card from my purse and handed it to him.
“Angie Russo, Pet Whisperer P.I.” he read in apparent awe. “You can talk to animals?
I forced a laugh.“Of course not, don’t be silly. It’s just a gimmick, and an excuse for bringing my cat and dog with me on all my cases.” I still hated that Nan and my mother had saddled me with a name that skirted so close to revealing my secret.
Frank’s eyes grew wide. “You have a cat? We should set up a playdate with Beans.”
“Yeah, sure.” I knew Octo-Cat would hate being forced to spend time with another cat, especially one as weird as Beans, but I’d leave the idea in my back pocket in case I ever needed a creative way to punish him.
“I have to get home,” I told Frank, who still stood there studying my card. “But I promise I’ll be back to do some real shopping.”
I wasn’t sure he’d heard me since he kept studying my card as if it held the secrets to life, the universe, and everything. When my farewell went unmet, I quietly let myself outside and then drove home to share the news with Nan and Octo-Cat.
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“So it wasn’t a homicide,” Nan summarized as she sipped at her tea. We were sitting together in the living room now as I went over the encounter I’d had with Officer Bouchard and Frank at the pet store. Octo-Cat was still off napping somewhere, which meant I’d have to recount everything again later, but I didn’t mind.
I shook my head.“Nope, but her death revealed another crime.”
“Funny that.” Nan wrapped both hands around her mug and sighed. “This is why I keep up with my meditation, you know?”
I scrunched my brow in confusion. I was often confused when it came to Nan, but that was part of her charm. She gave me a knowing look.“That Angela died because of some silly accident. She slipped, hit her head, and then she was gone. That’s some majorly bad karma.”
“It was just dumb luck.”
“Not luck. Karma. It’s one of the strongest forces in the universe, and let me assure you, it is anything but dumb. That woman put lots of bad energy out, and all of a sudden it came zipping back at her.” Nan took another sip of tea.
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I simply shrugged. A gentle knock at the window behind me drew my attention and provided a nice change of topic.
Pringle sat on the ledge holding a bouquet of flowers. When he saw he had my attention, he held them up in offering, then motioned to the door.
“Be right back,” I told Nan, who seemed content to sit with her tea and her thoughts as I crept onto the porch to speak with the raccoon.
“These are for you,” Pringle said, holding the flowers out to me once more.
“Thank you. They’re beautiful.”
“I got them from the neighbor’s porch. She won’t be needing them anymore.”
It took great effort to hold back my groan. I tried to focus on the fact that Pringle had brought me a peace offering instead of the fact that he’d filched said offering from the neighbor.
“I’m sorry,” he said, hardly above a whisper.
“No, that’s not right,” he muttered to himself, then got down on one knee and declared with a great sweeping gesture, “I’m sorry!”
I shifted my weight from foot to foot, unable to believe what I was hearing.“You’re sorry? For what?”
“For all the times I have hurt you or others because of my actions. I thought long and hard after what happened with that deer.”
“And with Paisley,” I added with a glower.
“And with Paisley,” he confirmed. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble, honest. I just like being included, but sometimes I go about it the wrong way.”
I offered him a kindly smile.“That’s very big of you, Pringle. I appreciate the apology.”
“I’m starting a twelve-step program,” he said with a grin. “The seagulls told me about it. When I’m finished, I won’t have a drinking problem anymore.”
I bit back a laugh.“But Pringle, you don’t have a drinking problem.”
“Oh, right! The program usually helps people who drink too much alcohol, but the seagull suggested I could do the same twelve steps to help with my behavioral issues. There’s a nice group of people who meet every night at a church not far from here. I already scoped it out. There’s a perfect spot where I can sit at the window and look in.”
“Well, that sounds lovely. Good on you, Pringle.”
“Yeah, you know that Alpha isn’t such a bad guy, after all.”
“Wait, you said the seagulls told you about the program.”
“Yeah, well, really just one seagull. Alpha. Remember him?”
Fear enveloped my heart. This was the same bird who’d threatened me earlier that day. Was he using Pringle to get to me? How could getting the raccoon help he so clearly needed ultimately serve to hurt me? What was this bird’s big plan?
“Thank you again, Pringle.” I raised the flowers to my nose and took a big whiff to show my appreciation. “I’m proud of you.”
“Yay, I’m doing it!” he cheered before scampering off the porch and around the house.
I headed inside to put my ill-gotten bouquet in some water. I’d only just closed out one case and already I had another.
What on earth was that devious seagull up to now?
16. SCHEMING SPHYNX
1
My name is Angie Russo, and in just a few short days, I will become Mrs. Charles Longfellow, III. It seems like it’s been ages since that first day our eyes met across the office and I instantly fell head over heels for the handsome new law associate from California. Really, though, it’s only been a couple years since that fateful day.