The Girl With the Dachshund Tattoo (27 page)

Chapter Thirty-One

I NEEDED A DISTRACTION. Who better to distract me than Darby? I retrieved my purse from behind the counter and pulled out my cell. I paused. Why call when she was probably right next door? I shoved my phone in my back pocket and popped outside to see if her studio lights were on.

From the sidewalk, I could see the closed sign hanging on her door.

“Darn.”

I spun around and bumped into Fallon Keller, knocking her drink out of her hand. Pink lemonade flowed down the sidewalk.

“Geez, I’m sorry. I keep running into you don’t I?”

Fallon held out her hands to protect herself from further abuse. “You don’t seem to watch where you’re going.”

I cringed. She was right. “Did that spill on you?” I quickly snatched up the cup, lid, and straw.

She inspected her purple knit blouse and white capri pants. “I don’t think so.”

I grabbed her by the elbow, ushering her toward the boutique. “Let me replace that. I have bottled water and soft drinks.”

She allowed me to lead her inside the shop. I left her up front by the interactive toys.

“What would you like?” I tossed the garbage in the trash behind the counter. Missy lifted her head long enough to confirm I was back.

“Water is fine.” Fallon tucked her purse under her arm. “I saw that reporter leave your shop.”

“He was checking out the store,” I fibbed. I break up with Grey, and suddenly I’m a proficient liar. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

I hurried toward the office, grabbed a cold bottle of water from the mini-fridge, and returned with her drink. “Feel free to look around. Watch out for the storage containers. I’m still unpacking from the weekend.”

She gripped the bottle with one hand, but didn’t open it. “I saw you at the drugstore. You were talking to Lenny.”

I glanced at her and said, “We were discussing Pickles.” A half-truth. I had questions of my own and didn’t want to scare her off before I got the chance to ask them.

Her eyes darted around the shop. “He was really mad after the race.”

I smiled. That was an understatement. “Were you able to see Zippy yesterday?”

She nodded. “He was with the ladies at the front desk. They promised to watch out for him.”

Sally and Lorraine worked the information desk at the police station. Not only were they missing a sense of humor, they carried guns. If they said they’d look after Zippy, they meant it.

Fallon moved thoughtfully around the front of the shop. “I checked out your booth at the race. I saw a medium-sized animal-print pet carrier. Do you still have it?”

I tilted my head to the side. “I haven’t unpacked it yet. Are you interested?”

She nodded. “I’d like to buy it.”

I motioned at the display of dog carriers less than a foot from where she stood. “I have one exactly like it up front by the window. To your left.”

“No,” she snapped.

I blinked in surprised at her sudden hostility.

She regained her composure and smiled shakily. “I want the one that was at the booth.”

Okay. This was interesting. What was so important that she had to have the one she saw at the Dachshund Dash? I refrained from pointing out how strange she was acting.

“Are you sure it has to be that one? It’s been in the storage bin. The carrier is soft-sided so it might be damaged.” I didn’t believe for a second there was anything wrong with that carrier.

She shook her head adamantly. “I’d rather buy the one from the race.”

It was clear from her tone she was not budging. “Whatever you say.”

I gingerly made my way to the last two full storage containers and dragged the one with the dog beds and carriers behind the counter.

I coaxed her back to a topic of my choice. “So do you and Lenny know each other well? He was surprised you were still in town.”

“I’m sure he was.” She pressed her lips together and didn’t elaborate.

I pulled out the carrier and surreptitiously looked it over. I didn’t notice anything unusual about it. I had no idea why she was so emphatic that she had this specific one.

She sidled up to the counter and placed her unopened water bottle on the glass. “Can you hurry? I’m sort of in a rush.”

Since when? I returned to the counter, but didn’t hand it to her right away. Fallon’s gaze was fixated on the carrier like a cat stalking a flashlight beam. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she suddenly pounced on me and yanked the item out of my hand.

It occurred to me she could be plotting a dognapping and the carrier was how she planned to smuggle Zippy out from under Gia’s nose.

“Wasn’t there a blanket with it?” she asked.

“That’s sold separately.” I had to admit that was one of Betty’s excellent ideas—stick matching blankets inside all the carriers.

“I’d like that too.”

“The same one from the race?”

She nodded.

I don’t know why I bothered to ask; I knew the answer.

Something wasn’t adding up. If she was scheming to steal Zippy, it wouldn’t matter which carrier she purchased. No, I was definitely missing a piece of the puzzle.

I set the dog carrier next to her bottle. I turned slowly, keeping my eye on Fallon for as long as I could before turning my back to her. I dug though the plastic tote and found the blanket at the bottom. I also noticed a memory card. I tucked it in my front pocket. It had to be Darby’s. She was the only one—

Oh. My. Gosh. I knew who killed the girl with the dachshund tattoo. I froze, bent at the waist, breathing in the heady aroma of my own fear.

“Did you find it?” she asked.

My heart raced as I straightened. “I sure did.”

I took measured steps back to the register. All I had to do was sell her the items and lock the door behind her. Then I could call Malone.

I passed the blanket to her. “Is this what you wanted?”

Missy snored at my feet. One more reminder to keep calm and my head clear.

Her terse nod was all the confirmation I needed. I rang up the two items. “Your total is one-sixty-eight.”

She blinked. “One hundred and sixty-eight dollars?”

“I take all major credit cards.” If I could get her to pay with credit, it could be helpful to Malone.

She pulled out a card from her purse and handed it to me. The door swung open, and Lenny stumbled inside.

“You got a lot of crap in your store.” He staggered toward us.

I reined in my annoyance at his ill-timing. He was just drunk enough to get us both killed. I’d never look at mouthwash the same again. “Did you come by for that pamphlet?”

“Yeah.”

I gripped the credit card tightly in my hand, the edges pressed deep into my palm. “Just give me a minute and I’ll be right with you.”

“I’ve got plenty of time.”

Lenny stared at Fallon. She returned his stare with one equally intense. I heard Fallon’s sharp intake. I noticed her grip tightened on the soft handle of the carrier. Lenny’s gaze followed her hand.

He stomped toward us. “I want to buy that.” Once again his breath smelled minty fresh.

Fallon yanked the carrier away from him. “It’s mine.” Her voice sounded really small and frightened.

Clearly not a happy camper, he grabbed for the dog carrier, managing to latch on to the edge. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, lady, but you’d be wise to let go of that. Betty said it was mine.”

Um, no. Betty had been around less than I had yesterday. I stepped back and shoved my hand in my front pocket. I felt for the memory card, making sure it was still here. Reassured it was safe and that it hadn’t managed to fall out, I knew I had to act fast.

While Fallon and Lenny stared at each other, I eased my cell phone out of my back pocket.

“Drop it,” Lenny ordered.

I jumped. He was talking to Fallon, but I flinched all the same. There were suddenly too many things happening at one.

Missy jumped out of her comfy bed and barked. I motioned for her to lie down, but she refused to move. Fallon and Lenny played a heated game of tug-of-war with merchandise neither had paid for.

“I was here first,” she shouted.

“I’m here now,” he bellowed.

At this point I wasn’t sure which one of them I was supposed to be afraid of. I secretly dialed Malone.

I turned down the volume, then set the phone on the shelf under the register. I prayed he answered and didn’t hang up. My shop was less than ten blocks from the police station. If Malone was there he’d arrive in minutes. If he wasn’t there . . . Well, I didn’t want to think about that yet.

“I’m so glad you both love shopping at Bow Wow Boutique,” I spoke brightly, sounding like an infomercial host. If Malone was listening, he had to know where to find me.

I continued talking as loudly as I could without making either of them suspicious. “Lenny, I have a second carrier just like the one Fallon has. I’d be happy to sell it to you.”

“I want this one. And she’s gonna give it to me.” He reached behind his back and whipped out a gun from somewhere. Fallon faltered but refused to let go.

“Don’t shoot us Lenny,” I shouted. That wasn’t just for Malone’s benefit. I really was scared.

“Let go, Fallon, and I won’t have to kill either of you.” He was lying, but there was no sense in provoking the guy.

“Don’t be an idiot; let him have the dog carrier,” I said.

She shook her head. “No.”

I wanted to reach across the counter and slap some sense into her. “It will be okay. Trust me.”

“But he killed Richard.” She started to cry.

I sighed. “I figured that out. I’d rather not be shot too. Let the man have the carrier.”

She dropped the handle so quickly Lenny staggered backward. Now with the carrier in his possession, he searched for the memory card he’d never find.

I mouthed for Fallon to back away from Lenny but she was too busy bawling her eyes out. I backed away from the hothead with the gun.

His head jerked up. “Where is it?” He waved the gun at her.

“It’s in there. I saw you hide it,” Fallon said through her tears.

“No it’s not.” He looked at me. Redirecting his gun at me, he said, “Where is it?”

I managed a shrug. It was hard to think with a weapon aimed at my head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“The memory card from the filmmaker’s camera. I hid it in here. It was perfect. You and your nosy assistant were so busy playing mystery detectives you were never at your booth. Why’d you even bother to come?”

I rolled my eyes. “Trust me I won’t make that mistake again. What’s on the card that’s so important?” Again, that wasn’t just for Malone’s benefit.

“You know exactly what’s on it. That stupid filmmaker was everywhere. She caught me following Richard to his car.” At the sound of Richard’s name, Fallon wailed even louder. “Shut up,” Lenny roared. “He wasn’t worth all the tears.”

I agreed with him.

Fallon hissed. “I knew you were a horrible person.”

“I asked her nicely to hand over the camera, but she refused. I didn’t mean to break her neck, but she wouldn’t stop fighting me.”

I gasped as I remembered talking to Lenny in front of the chili truck that afternoon. He’d been sweaty, and his shirt had been ripped.

A sick smile spread across his mouth. “You remember now, don’t ya? He asked, soft-voiced and crazy-eyed.

I swallowed hard. “You’d already killed her.”

“But she was shot,” Fallon said.

“Melinda had seen me. I had to cover my tracks, so I shot the filmmaker with the gun I found in her camera bag. I needed to frame someone. The owner of that gun was the perfect patsy.”

Betty’s gun. Great. I’d probably heard the gun fire, but chalked it up to the starting gun. Just like everyone else at the race.

“Get out from behind the counter,” he demanded with a wave of his weapon.

I ordered Missy to stay. She didn’t want to, but she sat, growling at Lenny.

“Don’t be a hero, girlfriend. Please, stay.” I bent down and shoved her back under the counter where she was safer.

That gave me an idea. During my college days, I was a bartender. I’d dealt with plenty of functioning drunks. Many of whom were jocks. One thing I’d learned, the bigger they were the harder they fell.

I came out from behind the counter, my back to the door. Lenny hadn’t thought his instructions through very well because now he was sandwiched between Fallon and me. Not that crybaby Fallon would be much help anyway.

“Please don’t hurt us,” I pleaded. I eyed the three empty plastic totes.

“I want the memory card. Now,” he bellowed, pointing the gun at me.

It was now or never. I dropped to a tight ball at Lenny’s feet. “Don’t hurt me. Please don’t hurt me.” I told myself not to panic. Breathe. Wait for the right moment.

“Get up,” he shouted.

I could sense him leaning down to grab me. With every ounce of strength I had, I popped up as fast, and as hard, as I could, clipping him under the chin.

He stumbled backward and tripped over the storage container. He lost his balance, collapsing to the floor like a passed-out drunk. The gun fell from his hand.

Seeing double, I scurried on my hands and knees toward the gun, grabbing it before he could stand up.

I aimed the weapon at him. “Don’t move.”

My eyes watered. My head felt like it was about to explode. I could hear Missy barking and Fallon yelling. I felt lightheaded. I would not pass out.

“Fallon, call 911,” I said, barely above a whisper.

“No need.” She pointed a shaky finger toward the front door behind me.

“Police. Don’t move.” Detective Judd Malone.

I lowered the gun and sat down. Malone and Officer Salinas stood behind me, firearms drawn on Lenny.

Salinas cuffed Lenny, who started to blubber about Pickles alone in the car. He wanted someone to check on him. An officer I didn’t recognize ushered Fallon to my office for privacy.

“Are you okay?” Malone asked.

I thought he looked worried, but with double vision, it was hard to tell. I closed my eyes. “I’m going to have one hell of a headache.”

“The EMTs will be here in a minute.”

I assured him I’d be fine. He assured me that for once I’d do as I was told without arguing. I called for Missy. She ran over to me and immediately assessed my situation.