Murder Most Howl: A Paws & Claws Mystery (25 page)

“Shadow,” sang a female voice. “Shaaadow.”

I looked around but couldn’t see her. Ground-mounted lights brightened the walkway but not much more.

“
Shh.
You’re not supposed to be here.” I recognized Shadow’s voice. “You’re going to get me in trouble.”

“I miss you.” Sweet, sincere.

“Baby, we talked about this. We can’t be seen together for a while.”

“I know. But it’s been so awful. I need you.”

Silence followed.

And then Gingersnap, the dog who loved everyone and never made a fuss, growled. It was a gentle growl that meant
I want your attention right now
. I knew what was coming. Yup. The plaintive barks. Not mean, not vicious. They were insistent little pleas. Shadow wasn’t paying attention to her.

Trixie returned to me and brought along a corgi wearing a quilted winter jacket. He looked an awful lot like Bingo.

I heard rustling through the bushes and fully expected to see Gingersnap but a person crashed through them.

Twenty-six

Flailing her arms, she staggered backward right at me.

Just as she keeled over, I reached out and stopped her from falling.

She screamed, and someone else rammed through the bushes, calling, “Savannah? Savannah, are you okay?”

She yanked away and turned to look at me. “Oh, it’s you.”

I was face-to-face with Norm’s widow, Savannah.

She finger-combed her hair. “It’s all right, Shadow. It’s just Holly.”

He emerged from the bushes, followed by Gingersnap. Even in the dark, I could make out the pain on Shadow’s face when he saw me.

“It’s a beautiful night for a walk,” I said.

“I just started spreading the ice melt,” Shadow responded. “Savannah, weren’t you on your way to pick up takeout from The Blue Bear?”

“I was! Bingo and I are starving.”

Right. Like she didn’t have a fridge full of food that
people had dropped off? “I’d better get back. I was just letting the dogs out for a bit.” I called Trixie and Gingersnap, and headed toward the inn.

Savannah giggled, and I heard Shadow say, “I love you crazy bad, Savannah, but if you’re not careful, the only place we’ll see each other is at the county jail when you come to visit.”

I knew from the moment Savannah stumbled into my arms, but Shadow’s words confirmed the worst. I was crushed. Shadow was in love with Savannah.

I’d had such hopes for him. I had wanted to believe him. Now bits and pieces fell into place. He had probably taken the necklace intending to give it to Savannah. And worse, might have killed Norm so they could be together.

I shed my jacket and dragged back to Oma’s kitchen.

“What happened to you?” asked Holmes.

“You’re pale as a ghost.” Aunt Birdie dashed over to feel my forehead. “Are you sick?”

Mr. Huckle hurried to the stove and put the water kettle on.

I collapsed into my chair at the table and heaved a great sigh. “Shadow may have murdered Norm.”

They stared at me in silence and then they all spoke at once.

I raised my hands to shush them. “Shadow is in love with Savannah and the feeling is apparently mutual.”

“Maybe Savannah killed Norm,” suggested Ben.

“Nonsense,” scoffed Aunt Birdie. “She could have just divorced him.”

“Just because they’re in love doesn’t mean either of them murdered Norm.” Holmes frowned at me. “It’s a powerful motive, though. I’ll add Savannah to our list.”

I heaved a great sigh. “Shadow said they couldn’t see each other or the only place she would see him was at the county jail when she came to visit.”

“My word!” Mr. Huckle sat down quickly as though he’d lost all his strength.

I thought it was noble of him not to point out that I shouldn’t have hired Shadow. This would teach me not to listen to his advice. “You knew all along about Shadow’s criminal record. Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Mr. Huckle appeared surprised. “To be honest, I thought it a most unfortunate accident. I have always been fond of young Shadow. I just felt that your grandmother would
not
be pleased to come home and discover a new employee.”

Ben narrowed his eyes. “You went out to the dog bathroom and you came back with this revelation?”

“They’re out there necking in the dark, Ben. I overheard their conversation. Don’t you see? It all fits together. Shadow took the shamrock necklace to give to Savannah. And I bet the footsteps in the snow that I saw in Savannah and Norm’s backyard were Shadow’s. He was probably there when people started dropping by with food.”

Holmes headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To bring them in here and find out what’s going on.”

Clearly appalled, Ben jumped up and shouted, “No! Have you lost your mind? You want to bring a killer in here and question him?”

“What do you think he’s going to do, Ben? There are five of us.”

I glanced at Aunt Birdie and Mr. Huckle. I didn’t imagine they would be much help if Shadow was aggressive. “I’ll call Dave. Maybe it’s better not to alert Shadow. He might try to make a run for it.”

“No one can get off this mountain, Holly. But I’m all for calling the law. A much better idea.” Ben took his seat again.

Holmes reluctantly returned to the table. “Okay, maybe you’re right. Shadow could make his way down the mountain.”

“How?” Ben seemed dumbfounded.

“Toboggan. Four-wheeler. Snowmobile. Skis. He grew up here like I did. He might have to steal some of those things to get away, but he’d know how.”

I stood up and trudged to the wall phone but only got Dave’s voice mail.

There was a knock on the door.

I was in the middle of leaving a message when Dave leaned his head in. His cheeks were rosy from being out in the cold. “I thought I might find you here.”

“Officer Dave, what a pleasure. Would you care for a bite of dinner?” Mr. Huckle retrieved his jacket and laid it on top of mine.

“No, thanks. I grabbed a Blanche Burger over at Hair of the Dog.”

“Perhaps I could interest you in dessert? Cook has left us gingerbread cupcakes with chocolate frosting.” Mr. Huckle pulled a serving tray from a back corner of the kitchen and brought it to the table.

“Now that is irresistible. Got any coffee?”

“Coming right up.”

I scrambled to my feet. “Ben, clear the table, will you? Mr. Huckle, I’ll make the coffee. You’ve been working all day long.”

“Why, Miss Holly, this isn’t work. It’s family.”

That sentence almost broke my heart. We were probably all the family he had. At least in Wagtail. I gave him a hug on my way to the stove.

Meanwhile, Holmes was filling in Dave about Shadow.

Dave listened carefully but didn’t seem surprised.

“You knew,” I said. “You’ve known since the day we saw the footprints in the snow behind Norm and Savannah’s house.”

“Let’s say I’ve had them on my radar.”

“But you haven’t arrested them,” Aunt Birdie mused.

I poured tea and coffee for everyone, and brought cream and sugar to the table.

“No evidence.” Ben slumped a little in his chair. “All I have is a motive. No murder weapon. No witnesses. No confession.”

“It breaks my heart to think that sweet child could have
murdered Norm.” Aunt Birdie sipped her tea. “The things people do for love. They should have just waited. Someone else would have knocked off Norm sooner or later.”

“It’s possible that someone else did. Birdie’s right,” said Dave. “A lot of folks in this town had reason to be angry with Norm.”

“But I heard Savannah’s conversation with someone saying she couldn’t wait. That she was going to do it this weekend.”

Dave nodded. “You want her convicted of murder on the strength of that?”

“She might have been talking about getting her hair cut,” said Ben.

Somehow, I didn’t think so, but I could understand their point. “You may never solve Norm’s murder then. If he died because someone gave him an insulin injection, the murder weapon will be impossible to find. Syringes are tiny. It could be hidden anywhere.”

Officer Dave bit into a gingerbread cupcake. “Mmm, these are good. Don’t worry about not finding the syringe. There is no perfect murder. Something always goes wrong.”

The bell in the front lobby rang again. I excused myself and stepped out to see who needed help.

Weegie and Puddin’ were waiting for me. Weegie gazed around before whispering, “I think I solved the mystery.”

“Really? Who?”

She pulled her head back and looked at me with suspicion. “I thought I was supposed to tell Val.”

“Oh, that mystery.” In all the commotion about Norm, I had momentarily forgotten about the Baron von Rottweiler. “Good for you! Yes, you’re quite right. You need to tell Val.”

“Where can I find her?”

“At Hair of the Dog.” I pulled a map of Wagtail out of the desk and drew a circle around the location of the pub.

“I’m on my way.”

“Alone?”

“That man was murdered but I assumed that was a fluke or a local thing. Are you saying it’s not safe?”

“It’s perfectly safe. I was just surprised that you don’t have an entourage. You’re usually with some of your book club friends.”

“I’m not telling them! No way. If Myrtle finds out that I have the solution, it won’t be safe for me!” She laughed hysterically. “C’mon, Puddin’. We might win!”

I walked out on the porch with them. A frigid wind blew, the kind that made your fingers feel half-frozen.

Weegie wrapped a scarf around the bottom of her face and took off at a brisk pace.

I hurried back inside. Since Mr. Huckle had been kind enough to cook dinner, I insisted that he put his feet up by the fire and enjoy an after-dinner drink.

Holmes jumped to his feet. “I know just the thing.”

“No coffee, please, Holmes, or I won’t be able to sleep.”

Holmes busied himself with butterscotch schnapps. Meanwhile, I rinsed the dishes and stacked them in the dishwasher.

“Is it usually so calm around here at night?” asked Aunt Birdie. “I always imagined that it would be intolerably noisy.”

“It depends on the guests. Most of the rowdy ones hang out at Hair of the Dog,” I explained. “It will probably pick up when the book club ladies come back from dinner. They were a hoot the other night.”

“Really?” Aunt Birdie shook her head. “I would have expected them to be sedate and retire to their beds with books.”

“Not these women!”

“They’re just kicking up their heels a bit to be away from home. One does that on vacation.” Mr. Huckle accepted a drink from Holmes. “It’s good for the soul to let loose once in a while.”

That was funny coming from him! I had never seen him act the slightest bit loose or improper.

Dave scrambled to his feet. “I’d better get out there and make sure everyone is behaving. Thanks for dessert.”

I walked to the front door with him. “Feel free to stop back by here if you need to warm up.”

I hustled to the reception lobby to lock up the office and found Shadow sitting on the love seat in his stockinged feet. “Hi. Is everything okay?”

“Nothin’ is okay.”

Twenty-seven

Shadow sounded like he was carrying the weight of the world. He slumped forward and appeared miserable. “I’ve been sittin’ here trying’ to get up the nerve to talk to you. You were so nice to hire me, but I think we didn’t get off to a good start.”

I pulled up a chair and sat opposite him. Twinkletoes bounded onto the love seat and reached her paw out to him. He turned his head toward her and ran his hand over her back.

“I wanted to explain about Vana—”

“Vana?”

“Savannah. I don’t want you thinking poorly of her. We, uh, we’ve been in love since high school. Her mom and dad had bigger plans for her, though. A few years back, her dad took me aside and told me to leave her alone. That I didn’t have any prospects, and a girl like Vana could do better’n me.”

I winced just hearing him talk about it. “That must have hurt.”

“Yeah. Well, I’ve got two eyes. I knew Vana was special. They didn’t want me around. And then the whole thing with
The Doggy Bag happened and all they could do was tell her ‘we told you so’ and ‘we knew he was no good.’ I about died the day she got married to Norm. Something inside me broke.”