The Mutt and the Matchmaker: A Matchmaker Mystery Novella (6 page)

“Tonight?”

“No time like the present.”

“Okay, but can we make it seven-thirty instead?”

“Your wish is my command. But now I’ve got to get back to work.” Brandishing the hot pink leash, he strode off in the direction of Marshmallow.

“Tom?” Jane called out.

He turned around.

“It might be hard to pick me up since you don’t have my address.”

A strange expression flickered across his face, but then was replaced with a wide grin. “Guess that would be helpful.”

Jane dug one of her pet sitting business cards out of purse and scribbled her address on the back. “My phone number is on the front,” she said, handing him the rectangle of cardstock.

“Thanks. Seven-thirty.” He winked at her before whirling away to reclaim the Maltese.

Calamity followed him for a few paces before looking back and realizing Jane hadn’t budged. The dog raced back to where she waited.

“You really like him, huh?” Jane asked, patting the dog’s head. “Me too.”

Feeling giddy, Jane was tempted to skip like a little girl on her way to return Mr. Sterling home, but her excitement evaporated when they rounded the corner and she saw yellow police scene tape fluttering across the front door of the Schroder place.

She fed and watered Mr. Sterling inside his home and was on her way to her next job, Calamity in tow, when Mr. Schroder waved her down.

He was standing at the end of his driveway, his shoulders more stooped than usual, talking to a woman with bright red hair.

Wondering what the proper thing to say to someone who’s been burgled might be, she crossed the street, dragging Calamity behind her.

The dog growled softly, but very quietly, as though she sensed the older man’s distress.

“How are you, Mr. Schroder?” Jane asked gently while nodding to the redhead she now saw was Mr. Schroder’s age.

The old man shook his head. “You heard?”

“Yes. I’m so very sorry.”

“Astrid is beside herself.”

“That’s understandable,” Jane murmured sympathetically. “Is there anything I can do?”

Mr. Schroder looked to his companion, a question in his cataract-clouded eyes.

“Why don’t you go check on, Astrid?” the woman suggested.

“Yes, yes. Of course.” He shuffled back toward the house.

“We haven’t been introduced.” The woman extended her hand. “I’m Ruby, an old friend of Astrid’s… emphasis on old,” she joked with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Jane. Neighborhood pet sitter.” She was surprised by the strength of the woman’s handshake.

“Oh I know who you are. People speak very highly of you.”

Jane blinked, surprised. “They do?”

“You are the Jane who called 9-1-1 and stayed with Paula Simmons when she took that nasty fall a couple of weeks ago, aren’t you?”

Jane nodded.

Ruby beamed. “Paula said you were so kind.”

“I just did what anyone else would do.”

“And who might you be?” Ruby peered around Jane at the dog hiding behind her.

“This is Calamity. She’s shy.”

Ruby smiled and bent down, holding out her hand for the dog to sniff, wisely making no move to pet her.

The dog didn’t move, but she didn’t growl either, which Jane considered to be progress.

Thankfully, Ruby didn’t force the introduction. She straightened and said, “Walk with me, Jane.”

She marched off at a quick pace. Jane had to hurry to keep up with her.

“Sitting around that house acting like someone’s died instead of some trinkets gone missing is grating on my old nerves.”

“To lose something you love is a terrible thing,” Jane countered. She liked the Schroders and wasn’t about to let this old
friend
badmouth their loss.

Ruby glanced at her sharply and then threw back her head and laughed. “You’re quite right. I deserved that.” She continued a few more paces before saying, “Milton wants to get Astrid another dog. He thinks having one in the house will help her to feel safe, but what
I
think is that catching this thief is what will help everyone. What do you think?”

“Both might be helpful. I take it that’s what you want my help with?”

Ruby nodded.

“Do you know what kind of dog they’re looking for? Size? Breed? Sex?”

The older woman clucked her tongue disapprovingly. “I don’t want you to find a dog for them.”

“But… I thought you just said…” Jane trailed off, confused.

“I want you to help catch the thief. Who spends more of their time walking around the neighborhood than you?”

“I’ve already told the police I haven’t seen anything suspicious.”

“What about the private investigator?”

“What private investigator?” Jane asked cluelessly.

Ruby slid her a sly, sideways look. “You haven’t met him yet?”

Jane shook her head.

“Huh.” Reaching a corner, Ruby stopped as if deciding which way to turn. “Do people really shop for dogs like that? With such a rigid set of criteria?”

“Some do.”

Ruby shuddered. “It sounds like one of those awful dating site questionnaires. They make it seem like you’re ordering off a deli menu. Hold this. Extra that. And some of this on the side.”

“But some people,” Jane rushed to assure the other woman, “come into the shelter and sees who grabs their heart.”

“And which are you, Jane? Did you choose Calamity? Was it through some complicated algorithm or did you go with your gut?”

“She’s not mine. I’m just her foster mom. I take the dogs who are hard to place in  a home and try to make them more adoptable.”

“Ah, I see. You go for the hard-luck cases, healing broken hearts.” Ruby turned around and headed back in the direction we’d come from. “And have you made progress with Calamity?”

“I'm getting there,” Jane murmured, thinking of Tom.

Tom frowned at his cellphone before raising it to his ear. “You do know that I have other things to do, don’t you, Danny?”

His younger brother’s voice was tight with tension. “I know.”

Tom imagined the pained expression on his little brother’s face.

“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, Tommy,” he said quietly.

Tom felt a twinge of guilt. The youngest of four boys, Danny had always struggled to keep up with the others and rarely asked for a helping hand, even when he could use one.  It wasn’t his fault that whatever was going on threatened to derail Tom’s love life plans.

Tom shook his head. Before he’d met Jane Bly, he’d convinced himself love was out of the cards for him forever, but now… “What do you need?”

“Surveillance.”

“When?”

“Tonight. As soon as you can get there. I’ll pay you.”

“Are we talking the brotherly rate or will I get official payment?”

Danny worked as an investigator for a major insurance company.

“That’ll depend on how my case turns out,” Danny admitted.

“So this is an off-the-clock job?”

“For now.”

Tom shook his head. His workaholic brother had a penchant for long hours and little pay. “Tell me again why you won’t come work for me?”

“Because you spilled my invisible ink,” Danny replied automatically, bringing up a childhood grievance. “So will you do it, jerkoff?”

“Yeah,” Tom replied regretfully, knowing he’d have to cancel his dinner with Jane. Still, it wouldn’t be a total waste if he could solve the burglaries case. If the other pet sitter had told him about her suspicions regarding Jane, he had no doubt she’d spread the word to others. “But I need a favor in return.”

“Name it,” his brother agreed quickly.

“I need someone to run a license plate for me.”

“Done.”

After rattling off the plate of neighborhood handyman, Graham, and getting the specifics of where and whom Danny needed staked out, Tom had the unpleasant task of cancelling his date.

Jane heard the phone ringing while she was in the shower, but since she trying to rid herself of the odor of cat urine, she didn’t answer. Finally convinced she’d eliminated the evidence of her run-in with the Lanler’s crotchety cat, she climbed out of the steaming shower, pulled on her robe, and listened to the message.

“Hi, Jane, it’s Tom.”

She smiled at the sound of his voice.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to need to reschedule our date.”

Her smile fell. A heavy weight pressed on her chest. He’d decided dating her wasn’t worth it.

“My brother’s in a jam and I promised I’d helped him.”

The pressure around her chest eased and she sucked in a sigh of relief. It wasn’t a rejection of her after all. How could she fault a guy for wanting to help his family?

“I’ll call you soon.”

“Okay,” she murmured as though he could hear her.

“Bye.”

The message ended.

She stared at her reflection in the fogged-up mirror. “Don’t get your hopes up about this guy.”

But the warning she was issuing to herself came too late.

She definitely had a spring in her step the next day as she walked Spot, a Dalmatian with a proclivity for finding every fire hydrant on their journey. She even waved at Dianne when they passed each other on opposite sides of the street. The other woman didn’t acknowledge her.

Then she spotted the postal carrier, Javier, on his rounds. He was delivering a package to the young family who lived in the house that had the biggest swingset in the neighborhood. While Spot sniffed a particularly interesting section of grass, Jane watched the mailman, wondering if he was a suspect in the burglaries. After all, he knew everyone’s schedules and no one would think twice about him toting around a bulging bag on his back. He could break in, load his mail sack with plundered goodies, and waltz right out under everyone’s nose.

As though he sensed her watching him, Javier scanned the area after dropping off the package. Spotting Jane, he broke into a big smile and waved enthusiastically. “Think it’s going to rain?”

Jane waved back, glanced at the overcast sky, and replied, “Hope not.”

“Me too. My daughter’s got a soccer game this afternoon. See you around.” He moved on along his delivery route.

Jane felt a twinge of guilt for adding him to her suspect list. Javier was a hardworking guy who loved his family.

She really wasn’t cut out to be a burglar detector despite what Ruby had thought.

After taking Spot home, Jane headed toward the Schroders’. She might not be the person who was going to catch the person who’d stolen their silver, but she might be the  one to help them find a new dog.

The animal shelter was running a huge adoption fair in less than two weeks and Jane wanted to drop off a flyer so they knew about it. She slipped the neon green paper into their mailbox before heading over to pick up Mr. Sterling.

She’d almost reached his house when her cell phone rang.  She didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”

“Hi Jane, it’s me Tarzan.” Tom’s deep voice rumbled through the phone.

Jane chuckled. “Hi.”

“I’m sorry about last night.”

“It’s okay. Did everything work out with your brother?”

“It did. Listen, I was wondering if you’re free to have dinner tonight instead?”

Jane didn’t answer; she was too distracted by the sight of Sheila Croton coming out of a house that wasn’t hers.

“Look,” Tom said apologetically, taking her silence for hesitation. “I know it was lousy of me to cancel on you last minute like that.”

Jane watched Croton get into her car. Now there was a decent suspect.

Sheila was the local plant whisperer. Whenever anyone wanted their houseplants or gardens taken care of while they were away, Sheila was the person to do it. She probably had a key to half the houses in the neighborhood.

“Jane?” Tom sounded worried.

Jane watched Sheila drive away.

Realizing he thought she was giving him the brush off, she said hurriedly and with a tad too much enthusiasm, “I’d love to have dinner tonight, Tom.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty?” His relief was evident.

“Sounds great.”

“See you then. Bye.” He disconnected the call.

She put her phone away and actually skipped the rest of the way to pick up Mr. Sterling.

Tom took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, preparing to ring Jane Bly’s doorbell. He felt as nervous as he had when he’d invited Christine Hoover to the junior prom.

Before he could push the button, there was a flurry of activity on the other side of the door, a couple of excited barks, the scritch-scratching of paws running across a floor, and a dull thud as the running dog was unable to stop and crashed into the door.

Even though he knew Calamity had already announced his arrival, he rang the bell.

“Just a sec,” Jane called from deep inside her apartment.

Tom glanced at his watch and realized he was twelve minutes early, so he leaned against the railing, settling in for a wait.

He was surprised when the door flew open and Jane stepped out, ready to go in a simple dark green dress and black heels that hinted at beguiling curves and showed off a length of shapely leg he hadn’t seen before.