The Case of the Abandoned Aussie Read online

  “In these shoes?” Josie said. “Not gonna happen. Besides, how would we explain ourselves if they happened to see us? Hi, guys. After the scene in the restaurant, we thought we’d follow you and see what all the fighting was about?”

  “You’ve got a point there,” I said. “Okay, we’ll come back another time.”

  “You mean as soon as possible.”

  “Why not?” I said, backing the car down the dirt road.

  “You’re unbelievable,” Josie said. “Can we get ice cream now?”

  “Sure.”

  “I want mint chocolate chip.”

  “So you said.”

  “And I want two scoops.”

  “Fine. Two scoops. Anything else?”

  “I want sprinkles.”

  “Mint chocolate chip doesn’t need sprinkles.”

  “Everything in life needs sprinkles,” Josie said, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes.

  Chapter 9

  Josie came in my office while I was doing some research on the Crawford Candy Company. She sat down and put her feet up on my desk and sipped her coffee.

  “I found out what was bothering Sluggo,” she said.

  “Is he okay?” I said, looking up from the screen.

  “He’s fine,” she said. “For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why he was so sluggish. So I took some X-rays.”

  “And?”

  “He ate a football,” she said, shaking her head. “One chunk of leather at a time.

  “The whole thing?”

  “Everything, including the laces.”

  “You didn’t have to do surgery on him, did you?” I said, knowing that Jackson would be crushed if his beloved bulldog had to go through something like that while he was out of town.

  “No, I decided it was a good chance for Sammy to get a real feel for some of the things we do around here. So I had him take the lead on giving Sluggo a high colonic.”

  “Yuck,” I said, laughing. “How did Sammy handle it?”

  “Not bad,” Josie said, laughing. “Better than Sluggo. We might want to double up on Sluggo’s walks today. He’s still a bit… well, you know what I mean.”

  “Yeah, I got it,” I said.

  There was a knock on the door and Josie reached behind her to open it. Sammy stood in the doorway with a confused look on his face.

  “Hey, Sammy,” I said. “Josie was just telling me what a great job you did with Sluggo.”

  “I’d rather not talk about it,” he said, cringing. “But there’s something you need to see.”

  “What is it?” I said.

  “It’s Chloe.”

  I scrambled to my feet. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong,” Sammy said. “I just don’t know how I should handle it.”

  Josie and I followed him outside to the large fenced grass area we let the dogs play when the weather was good. We stood on the outside of the fence and watched the scene play out in front of us. Then Josie and I started laughing when we realized what was happening.

  “Well, Australian Shepherds are bred to herd,” Josie said.

  I watched as Chloe continued to bark and force the other two dozen dogs into a loosely organized group. She was forcing them back toward the gate that led back inside the Inn. I called her, and when she heard my voice, she bolted toward me. I opened the gate, picked her up, then closed the gate and stroked her head.

  “What a good girl,” I said, still laughing.

  “How does such a little dog do that?” Sammy said. “The Great Dane was scared to death of her.”

  “Tiny is scared of his own shadow,” Josie said. “But I’ve seen Aussies herd thousands of sheep at one time.”

  “Cool,” Sammy said. “You guys mind if I take my break now?”

  “Sure, go ahead,” I said, noticing the trail of dust rising in the distance.

  Sammy pulled out his phone, attached ear plugs, and inserted them in his ears. He walked through the gate and began walking across the lawn while continuing to stare down at his phone.

  “What’s he doing?” Josie said, staring after him.

  “Pokemon GO,” I said, staring at the young man striding across the two-acre lawn, seemingly unaware of the dogs following him. “Maybe we should send Chloe after him.”

  “It might be nice to be young and oblivious again,” Josie said, watching the Ferrari come tearing into the driveway throwing dirt and pebbles in all directions.

  “Or old and oblivious,” I said, shaking my head at my mother’s driving.

  I waved as she climbed out. She brushed her hair back, adjusted her sunglasses and stood next to the car. She gestured for us to come to her. I grumbled under my breath and headed her way like a sheepish schoolgirl. Josie followed with a huge smile on her face.

  “I’m so glad my mother lives in Georgia,” Josie said.

  We approached the car, and my mother put her hands on her hips as she waited.

  “Hello, darling. I just thought I’d swing by to see how your date went last night.”

  “If you must know, it was a complete waste of time. Where do you find these guys, Mom?”

  “Who, Jerry? He’s doing some work for me.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Mom. The guy is a total loser. With a capital L.”

  “Your standards are too high, darling. And I’d like you to give Jerry another chance. He’s helping me out with some long-range financial planning, and I want him in a good mood while he’s doing it.”

  “What’s he going to be doing with your money, Mom?”

  “Oh, he’s just making sure everything is in order in case anything should happen.”

  She caught the stare I was giving her and laughed.

  “Don’t worry, darling. I’m not writing you out of the will.”

  “No, that’s not what…never mind.”

  “Relax, dear. It’s all related to tax implications and other money things I know you hate. But I would like you to consider another date with Jerry. He called me this morning and explained what happened.”

  “You mean about how you told him how Josie and I handle bad first dates?”

  “Yes, well,” she said, embarrassed. “I may have overreached a bit there. But as a favor to me, I wish you’d reconsider.”

  “I’ll think about it, Mom.”

  “Good girl,” she said, patting my arm. She glanced across the lawn. “Is that Sammy?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “How’s he working out?”

  “He’s catching on quickly,” Josie said. “He’s a good kid.”

  “What on earth is he doing?” my mother said, removing her sunglasses to get a better look.

  “At the moment, we think he’s looking for Pokemon,” I said.

  “Well, I doubt if he’s going to find him there,” Josie said. “He’s trudging right through the middle of the poo-pile.”

  Chapter 10

  I stood on the front step and looked back out over the River. The property and the view that came with it were both magnificent. A seven hundred foot freighter was making its way through the main channel heading towards Lake Ontario about thirty miles upriver. Josie and I waited for the flag flying off the stern to come into view. We both saw the red and green flag emblazoned with a coat of arms at the same time.

  “Portugal,” we said simultaneously.

  “Another saltie,” I said. “That’s the sixth one I’ve seen today.”

  For the unfamiliar, ‘saltie’ is the term we use to describe ships that cross the ocean as opposed to a ‘laker’ that travels the Seaway but remains on the River and Great Lakes throughout its journey. Seeing a seven hundred foot ship up close can be a bit disconcerting, especially when you consider they’re navigating a tight shipping channel through dozens of granite islands and shoals that don’t move no matter how hard you run into them, often at night, and sometimes through thick fog. But living here does provide the opportunity for one to become quite the flag expert.


  “You think we’re dressed right for this dinner?” Josie said, glancing down at her shorts and sandals.

  “I guess,” I said, checking out my outfit. It was similar to Josie’s but, as always, she wore it better. “When in doubt, go island casual, right?”

  Josie shrugged. “I guess. But these are money people. Maybe they take getting dressed for dinner more seriously than we do.”

  “We’ll be fine. You ready?” I said.

  Josie nodded and knocked on the front door. The door opened, and Carl the Gardener greeted us.

  “Welcome, ladies,” he said, gesturing for us to come in. “You both look great.”

  He must have psychic abilities since he never even glanced at me, much less at what I was wearing.

  “Thanks,” I said. “You doing double duty today?”

  “I beg your pardon,” he said.

  “Aren’t you the gardener?” I said.

  “Oh, that,” he said, chuckling. “That’s just my day job. At night, I pretty much do anything they tell me to.”

  “And what did they tell you to do tonight?” I said.

  “Join everyone for dinner, help Chef Claire out as necessary, assist with clean up. All the usual stuff. Oh, and try to keep everyone from killing each other.”

  He laughed, but I’m not sure he was joking. He led us into the library where we saw the girlfriend, Roxanne, and Rosaline sitting across from each other around a coffee table. They weren’t at each other’s throat, but they certainly weren’t bosom buddies. They glanced up as we entered, then scowled at Carl.

  “If you ladies will excuse me,” Carl said. “I need to help out in the kitchen.”

  “Roxanne,” Rosaline said, “Why don’t you make yourself useful and get all of us a drink?”

  Roxanne sighed loudly but got up and grabbed the empty glass Rosaline was holding up, then crossed to the other side of the library.

  “Champagne, okay?” Roxanne said.

  Josie and I nodded and sat down on the couch. Roxanne handed us our glasses, and we took a sip. It was delicious.

  “I didn’t get a chance the other day to tell you how sorry I am for your loss,” I said to Rosaline.

  “Yeah,” she said, staring out a large picture window that overlooked the River. “It was tragic.”

  “The River can be a dangerous place,” I said. “Especially at night.”

  “So everyone keeps telling me,” Rosaline said.

  She was already bored by the conversation. Or with me. Probably both.

  “Do you spend much time on the River?” I said, glancing back and forth between the two women.

  “As little as possible,” Rosaline said. “I hate being surrounded by water. But Mr. Crawford loved spending time here, so you go where the work is, right?”

  “How about you, Roxanne?”I said.

  “Me?” she said, glancing up from her fresh manicure. “I just go where Bob tells me to go.” Her voice caught, and her eyes welled with tears. “I mean where he told me to go.”

  It was the first sign of real emotion I’d seen from her. Or from anyone for that matter.

  “So it was a boating accident, right?” I said.

  Rosaline nodded slowly. “Yeah, he liked to take a boat out at night and just drift. And drink.”

  “We had some good nights out there,” Roxanne said, taking a gulp of champagne.

  “Yes, we know,” Rosaline said. “When the wind was just right, everyone up and down the River could hear you.”

  “Don’t be cruel,” Roxanne said. “They were very special nights. At least they were until he got that stupid dog.”

  “Chloe?” I said, glancing at Josie.

  “Oh, poor Roxanne,” Rosaline said, laughing. “Replaced by a puppy.”

  “I was not replaced,” Roxanne snapped. “It’s just that he took the dog everywhere. It even slept in our bed. All I’m saying is that it cramped our style.”

  “Well, it’s nice to see that you found a way to compensate,” Rosaline said.

  Roxanne whispered something under her breath that no one could understand. I doubt if it was a compliment.

  “I’m sorry, ladies,” Rosaline said, draining her glass. “You’ll have to excuse, Roxanne. Mr. Crawford’s demise has cast a rather dark shadow over her long-range plans.”

  “You’re one to talk,” Roxanne said.

  “As I’m forced to remind you again, the difference between the two of us, Roxanne, is that I have an actual skill set to fall back on. The only thing you have to fall back on is…well, your back.”

  “I don’t have to sit here and take this,” Roxanne said, jumping to her feet.

  “Sit,” Rosaline snapped.

  Now I understood why Rosaline seemed ambivalent to dogs. Given the way humans seemed to respond to her commands, dogs were probably irrelevant.

  “Sit down, please. I’m sorry, Roxanne. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Roxanne sat down and wiped her eyes dry with a napkin. I glanced at Josie who was closely following the exchange.

  “So Mr. Crawford took Chloe out on the River the other night?” I said, trying to change the subject. It came out awkward, and Rosaline gave me a strange look.

  “Are you writing a book or something?” she said, glaring at me.

  “No, nothing like that,” I said, embarrassed. “It’s just that it sounds like Mr. Crawford was very experienced with boats and the River.”

  “Accidents happen,” Rosaline said, shrugging. “And who knows how much he’d had to drink.”

  “Was he a big fan of maple syrup?” Josie said.

  Rosaline snorted and looked at Roxanne.

  “Yeah, he loved the stuff,” Roxanne said. “Drank it straight from the bottle.”

  “Hey, how did you know that?” Rosaline said, staring at Josie.

  “It was all over the place when we found him,” Josie said.

  “What do you mean when you found him?” Rosaline said.

  “We’re the ones who found his body. You didn’t know that?” I said.

  “How on earth would I know that? I thought you two had just found the stupid dog.”

  Stupid dog? Maybe I should set her up with Jerry the Lawyer. They were perfect for each other.

  “All the police said was that two fishermen found him,” Rosaline said.

  “That was us,” Josie said. “And there was a big pool of maple syrup floating on the surface.”

  Rosaline stared at Josie, then glanced at Roxanne before responding. “Anything else?”

  “What?” Josie said.

  “Did you see anything else in the water?”

  “You mean, apart from the dead body?” Josie deadpanned.

  “Yes,” Rosaline whispered, flushed with embarrassment.

  “No,” Josie said. “The body pretty much had my undivided attention.”

  I smiled but remained silent. I knew that Josie had decided to push the conversation a bit to see what sort of reaction she got. Under normal circumstances, she would never do anything to add to the suffering of a grieving family, but these people certainly weren’t devastated. It was odd, but, apart from the uncertainty about their personal future with the Crawford family, they somehow seemed relieved.

  “What else did you expect to be in the water?” Josie asked casually, glancing back and forth between the two women.

  “Nothing,” Rosaline said.

  I glanced at Roxanne to gauge her reaction. She couldn’t even maintain eye contact, so she settled for staring down at the floor.

  “I guess it’s not surprising,” Josie said. “If he hit something or fell out of the boat when it was going fast, whatever you might expect to find near the body could have been thrown overboard.”

  “Or went down with the boat,” Roxanne whispered.

  “Sure,” Josie said. “That’s a distinct possibility.”

  “What kind of boat was it?” I said.

  “What?” Rosaline said.

  “The boat. Mr. Crawford had
a lot of boats. Which one did he take out that night?”

  Rosaline thought about it, then glanced at Roxanne who shrugged.

  “I have no idea,” Rosaline said.

  “Which boat is missing?” I said.

  “Again, I wouldn’t have a clue. You’d have to ask Carl. He’s the one who is supposed to keep track of things like that.” She glanced at her watch and seemed relieved when she saw what time it was. “Time for dinner. Roxanne, why don’t you take our guests into the dining room? I’ll be along in a few minutes.”

  She got up and headed for the front door. I couldn’t help but notice her removing her phone from the front pocket of her shorts as she stepped outside onto the porch.

  Chapter 11

  The dining room was massive as was the ornate wooden table that dominated the floor space. The table, capable of easily accommodating thirty people, was set for eight. I did the math and came up a couple of people short. Roxanne refilled our champagne glasses then plopped down wearily at one end of the table. She pointed at the chairs on either side of her, so Josie and I sat down across from each other and looked at each other. Josie shook her head as if to say, It’s your turn to talk, so I turned to Roxanne.

  “So, Roxanne,” I said. “Did you grow up around here?”

  “Nah,” she said, taking a gulp of champagne. “I’m originally from L.A.”

  “Oh, California. Nice,” I said.

  “I guess,” she said.

  “How did you, uh, meet Mr. Crawford?” I said, doing my best to come across as casual without appearing nosy.

  Truth be told, I was dying to know how she had hooked up with the dead candy magnate.

  “He was the money guy behind one of my movies,” she said, taking another gulp of champagne.

  “Oh, you’re an actress,” I said. “Have you been in anything I might have seen?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, looking up from her place setting long enough to glance at me. “You ever watch adult cable?”

  “Adult cable? You mean adult as in not the Disney Channel?”

  “Well, you certainly wouldn’t see any of my movies on Disney,” she said, laughing.

  “Oh, I see.” I felt my face flush with embarrassment.