Hounds Abound (19 page)

His smile didn’t quite light up his gorgeously craggy features as it usually did.

“Not if I can help it. But the thing you should know is that Bella may have attempted to bribe some people to get her permits in order.”

Interesting. I’d wondered what Dr. Vic Drammon had meant when he said that Bella had pushed things in her attempt to open Save’Em. Is this what he had been referring to?

“I don’t know if she succeeded,” Matt continued, “or how she finally got around the issues that stood in her way of opening the sanctuary as quickly as she did, and maybe opening at all. Does that mean she’s a killer? Not necessarily. But it also means that she’s willing to do things that aren’t always legit to get her way—and Miles was jeopardizing her money source.”

Matt came home with me. He stayed the night. I was glad. As always, I enjoyed being with him—and our nighttime activities were delightful.

But when we weren’t completely occupied with each other in bed, my mind sailed off on wind-tossed seas of concern and annoyance and planning and worrying.

Lying in the dark, with Matt and the two dogs breathing heavily as they all slept in my room, I considered what he had said about Bella. So what if she’d cut some corners, greased some palms, did what she had to so she could get Save’Em open, running, and saving animals? I may have done the same. I had just been extremely fortunate that I’d been an employee with HotRescues from the start. A damned good one, of course—one who took charge, made sure things ran as smoothly as possible.

But Dante DeFrancisco’s name and financial backing had taken care of all the hurdles that Bella had had to overcome herself.

That made her resourceful. Smart. Assertive, and maybe even aggressive. But it didn’t make her a killer.

This revelation was not going to change anything I’d already considered.

One issue I hadn’t yet figured out was how I could find Clara Traymore and visit her in the hospital. She was apparently a psychiatric as well as medical patient, so even if she stood up and confessed to stabbing Miles it wouldn’t prove her guilt. But I wanted to get my own impression of her.

I also needed to talk to Bella about my findings. Soon.

When we all awoke the next morning, Matt and I didn’t have to communicate aloud to know what we’d all do next: dogs and humans would run through my neighborhood to practice for the marathon.

It felt easier all the time. I was able to run farther, without getting nearly as out of breath as I had at first.

The neighbors were probably getting just as used to seeing us pass by—at least Zoey and me.

“We’re doing great,” Matt said as we turned onto the street that led back to my home. He didn’t sound winded. He had thrown on workout shorts and a white T-shirt that he kept in his car for the gym. The outfit looked good on him, especially plastered to his muscular body by sweat.

I, too, was dressed for the occasion, in red, loose-knit shorts and a V-neck pink T-shirt. The outfit was a little looser on me than when we had begun our practice runs.

I hadn’t needed to lose weight. In fact, I hoped I wasn’t losing the few curves I’d had prior to this exercise regimen. But even if I did, it would be worth it to garner whatever additional donations we could for HotRescues and other animal rescue organizations. I was determined to finish this marathon.

“We. Sure. Are.” I was out of breath. But I was still going, and my speed, though not breaking any records, hadn’t diminished to a crawl.

Even the dogs, leashed at our sides, were panting by then, tongues hanging out. I’d make sure they had plenty of water the instant we got back.

As we reached my front walk, Matt’s cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket. I was pleased to hear that he did sound at least slightly winded as he answered.

He listened, nodded, responded, then closed the flap. “I’ve got to shower and run,” he said. “SmART is on a rescue now—a couple of cats are in trouble on a hillside. I told the team I wanted to go on the next mission since I haven’t been on one for a while, so I’ll go meet up with them.”

“You’ll have to tell me all about it later.”

“I will, but it’ll also be on their Facebook page.”

Of course. And I was on Facebook, too, thanks to my son, Kevin. I now used it to post information about some of our inhabitants and what good pets they would make. Rather, I usually had Nina do the posting. But I did check out other shelters’ pages, too. As well as the Small Animal Rescue Team’s.

We walked into the house and I led the dogs into the kitchen for a drink. Then Matt gave me a quick kiss with our damp bodies pressed close.

“What are you up to today?” he asked.

“I’ll be at HotRescues.” Which wasn’t anything new.

“I’ll check in with you later.” He aimed an inquisitive glance at me with his engaging brown eyes. “Are you planning on doing any more investigating on Bella Frankovick’s behalf today?”

“No,” I said, meaning it. Although I did intend to do something, it wouldn’t be an investigation. Not exactly.

I didn’t like being devious. Most of the time I preferred being candid. But as sweet as Matt’s worrying about me was, I didn’t want him criticizing me, or even trying to protect me.

If it made sense later, I’d let him know what I’d decided to do. But for now, I’d just keep it to myself.

I called Bella before heading toward Save’Em. I’d already been at HotRescues for a couple of hours and left Zoey there with Nina. For now, everything was under control. If potential adopters came in, my staff and our volunteers could get introductions started and make sure applications were filled out. None would go through without my okay and a session with our Dr. Mona, but I didn’t need to be there.

Instead, I’d drop in and see how things were going at Save’Em. Have lunch with Bella. I’d casually mention some people I’d been checking out on her behalf, see what her comments were.

A little less casually, I’d learn if she would admit to any of the things Matt accused her of to get Save’Em opened—and
try not to applaud her. I knew what it was like to test the system to accomplish an important goal.

We were kindred spirits. The stuff Matt had referred to only bolstered that. But at the moment I wasn’t a murder suspect, and she was. How far she might go to save endangered pets could be relevant to what had happened to her ex.

I hoped not.

I pulled into the front parking lot and walked up the path to the front door with its large overhanging sign. I yanked on the handle. It was unlocked, so I just went in.

“Hi,” said Peggy. The volunteer had just come through the far archway. “Glad to see you, Lauren. Bella told me to wait for you and bring you to her in the back.”

As we stood there, I was greeted by two little dachshunds this time. Both Ignatz and Durwood trotted up and gave me hello sniffs. I knelt to give them hugs. “Hi, fellows. How are you doing? Are you a pack now?” I stood again and addressed the question to Peggy. “How’ve they been?”

“Great,” she said. “And, yes, they’re close friends now. But there’s a poor little cocker spaniel mix in our hospital area that Bella wants you to meet. You won’t believe what’s happened to her.”

The dog in question was on Bella’s lap in the Save’Em infirmary.

The large room was on the second floor of the area where special-needs pets were housed, toward the rear. It
had a gleaming linoleum floor, and its small kennels and large metal examination table in the center looked as if they had just been sanitized. Smelled it, too, since the strong odor of disinfectant accosted my senses as I walked in.

A few plastic chairs were strewn around the edges, and Bella occupied one near the door. The dog she held was small and ginger-colored—where it wasn’t bandaged.

“Want me to stay, Bella?” Peggy asked softly. “No one else is in the front now.”

“Go on back there,” Bella said. “Thank you, Peggy.” She looked up toward me. “I’m so glad you’re here, Lauren.” Her tone was heartfelt but her voice was low, as if she didn’t want to disturb the pup, who appeared to be sleeping. “Everyone here has been sympathetic and understanding, but I think you of all people will really understand.”

I pulled out one of the chairs and sat down in it, putting my bag on the floor beside me. I wondered if the surface was so sterile that its cleanliness would engulf my purse.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“I can’t give up my funding for Save’Em,” she cried, then let her head drop until her brow touched the cocker’s back.

I figured this wasn’t necessarily a non sequitur, so I waited for her to continue.

It took a minute, but then she looked up once more. The haunted expression in her blue eyes all but pierced my tranquility, making me feel like crying without understanding why. Her long brown hair hung limply around her face, and as she bent forward it haloed around the dog. She carefully rearranged the pup on her lap, hugging her closer against
her Save Them All Sanctuary denim work shirt. That was when I got a better look at the dog’s left rear leg—or the area where its left rear leg should be. Instead, there were bandages covering a stump. The part of her leg below what had once been her knee wasn’t there any longer.

“This is Soozle,” Bella said. “She was hit by a car a couple of days ago. The car didn’t stop. Some good Samaritans took poor Soozle to the East Valley Animal Shelter. No chip or other ID was found on her, and they were going to put her down because of her injuries, but fortunately Kip and I happened to be there to check on another dog, a stray we’d brought in but put a first right to pick up if no one claimed or adopted him.”

That was something private shelters did whenever possible. We couldn’t take in strays under our licenses but instead had to turn them over to the official city shelters. We were allowed, though, to say we’d come back for the ones we brought in instead of having them euthanized for lack of space if their owners didn’t claim them.

“We picked up both dogs and immediately ran Soozle to Carlie’s vet clinic. They were able to save her—but not her entire leg. It wasn’t cheap, though, even with the wonderful discount Carlie gives us, and Soozle will still require ongoing care for a while.” She shook her head. “Miles would have had a fit. And if poor Soozle had wound up in Vic Drammon’s care—”

“She’d be dead by now,” I finished.

Bella nodded. “I hated fighting with Miles about our divorce settlement. But I’d no idea that his brothers would be even worse. They’re filing a lawsuit against me now on behalf of Miles’s estate. Too bad I didn’t protect him from
being murdered.” Her smile was wan. “Don’t look so stricken, Lauren. I didn’t kill him, and I didn’t know anyone else was going to, either.”

“I figured,” I said, but I was glad she had once again confirmed it.

“The thing is, I admit I’d started to relax a bit after Miles died. Even though I had nothing to do with his death, I was relying on it to stop the fight over our divorce settlement.” She stood carefully, cuddling the dog long enough to carefully place her on my lap.

My turn to hold Soozle. The little spaniel looked up into my face with sad but loving eyes, as though she recognized another human being who would do anything to help her—and who would never, ever hurt her. With a tiny sigh, she settled down. As I held her, I felt around her gently. The bandage over the stump of her leg was stiff. There was an area on her back that had been shaved so a wound from her accident could be stitched.

Would I have taken her in at HotRescues? Almost certainly yes—but I did have to be practical about my rescues. I wanted to save as many pets as I could, but my mandate was to try to get them adopted as soon as possible so I could bring in replacements to love and rehome.

I therefore might have at least considered skipping over a pup as badly injured as Soozle. I’d have been upset with myself for that if I hadn’t let my practicality rule my emotions.

But the fact that Bella had saved her, gotten her medical attention, and brought her here made me even more determined to help my new friend.

“I can’t lose the funding for Save’Em, Lauren,” Bella whispered shakily. “I can’t let pets like Soozle die.”

I was still holding Soozle a short while later when Kip Schaley came in.

“How’s she doing now?” he said to Bella.

“Still a bit groggy from her medication, but we’ll keep close watch on her.”

“People who hit animals with their cars and then just drive off that way should be shot,” Kip said. That earned him a warm smile from Bella. In fact, they were standing so close before I handed Soozle back that my presence felt intrusive, as if I was stopping them from engaging in a nice, warm kiss. Was I reading things into their relationship? It seemed pretty clear what Kip hoped for, but I wasn’t so sure about Bella.

Maybe she just wanted a good, solid accountant who kept track of Save’Em’s funding—and magically made more appear as needed.

“Are you still snooping into who killed Miles?” Kip asked me when Bella was in the special medical kennel area with Soozle.

I nodded.

“I figured. Look, you don’t have to do that. I’m checking into things myself, working with the police. I’ll take care of—” Before he could finish, Bella came out and we talked more about Soozle as we walked back to the office area.