Kept in the Bark (Happy Tails Dog Walking Mysteries Book 5) Read online

  She looked so miserable.

  Olivia pulled up a chair and sat down next to her sister. “Janelle, I know that you’re pregnant.â€�

  “You do?â€� Tears started to trek down her sister’s face. “How long have you known?â€�

  “I figured it out a couple of days ago when you went running to the bathroom. It explained a lot of things.â€�

  Janelle sniffed. “I’m sorry, Olivia. I know that I’ve been difficult lately. I wanted to tell you, but I haven’t even told Patrick. I know that he’d want me to slow down, but I’d just signed the contract for the wedding before I found out, and I was afraid that he’d make me slow down.â€�

  “Janelle, you do need to slow down. Stress isn’t good for the baby, either. Please tell me that all that coffee you’ve been guzzling has been decaf.â€�

  “Some. Some herbal tea. I feel like I’m going crazy without caffeine. And wine. Sushi. Hot dogs. I actually have cravings for hot dogs, now that I can’t have them.â€� Janelle’s shoulders shook as the few tears grew into body-wracking sobs. “Patrick is going to be so mad when he finds out that I’ve been keeping it from him. He keeps wanting to have sex and making me pee on sticks, and some days I want the sex, but some days I want to just put a pillow over his head until he stops talking about it! I’ve turned into a monster.â€�

  “No, you haven’t.â€� Olivia leaned over and grabbed her sister’s hands. “You’re just growing one.â€�

  “Hey!â€� Janelle pulled a hand free and punched her lightly on the arm. “Don’t talk about my baby that way!â€�

  “You’re going to make a great mother.â€�

  “And you are going to make a fantastic aunt.â€� Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she leaned over and hugged Olivia. “I am so glad that someone knows. I haven’t even told Mom, yet. I just know that she’d tell Patrick.â€�

  “You have to tell your husband at some point. He was instrumental in making that baby, and he’s going to be pretty important in raising him or her.â€�

  “After the wedding.â€�

  Pulling back, Olivia frowned. “Janelle, how far along are you?â€�

  “Five weeks.â€�

  “And the wedding isn’t for another two weeks. By the time you tell Patrick, he’ll have missed two months of your pregnancy. He’ll be pissed—and I’ve never seen Patrick pissed. Janelle, you need to quit pushing people away. This is the time for support.â€�

  Janelle took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’ll tell him tonight. He will probably be angry.â€�

  “Not too angry. For the next six months, you will have him eating out of your hand. And probably a little terrified of you. I’ve been a little terrified of you, these past couple of weeks.â€�

  Standing, Janelle stretched and rubbed her belly. “I’m sorry. Can I offer you fourteen cake flavors as my way of apology!â€�

  “Heck, yeah!â€� Eagerly, Olivia leaned forward and stuck her finger in the cake. “I can’t believe that you made a whole cake, just to show them!â€�

  “Hey! Stop that! I need to figure out a way to decorate it for our meeting on Friday.â€�

  “Aw. It’ll be stale by then. Your apologies are terrible. Why don’t you make the whole thing lacy but cut the Star Wars characters into the lace? It’ll still look classy, and the husband should be mollified.â€�

  Janelle’s jaw dropped open. “Olivia, that’s brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that?â€�

  “Support, Janelle. Remember that. Now the bakery is closed. You are done for the day. Work hours are over. Go home.â€�

  “I will.â€� Janelle cocked her head and stared at the cake. “I don’t think anyone will mind a missing layer. Chocolate is on the bottom.â€�

  Olivia’s eyes widened. “Really?â€�

  “But only if you split it with me. Otherwise, I might eat the whole thing.â€�

  Laughing, Olivia helped Janelle lift the rest of the cake off the bottom layer. They iced it and dug in, each with her own fork, not bothering to cut individual pieces off the large slab. Janelle asked Olivia for updates on Hattie, and they tossed ideas back and forth.

  “You know, someone was in the bakery the other day, talking about that Matthias lawyer guy. They said that he assassinates anyone who stands between him and a win. They said that he’s never lost a case. Maybe he abducted Hattie because he was afraid that he’d lose.â€�

  “If it’s common knowledge that a lawyer assassinates people, it’s probably not true,â€� Olivia chuckled as she shoved another forkful of cake in her mouth. “But he’s high on my suspect list. I bet he gets a lot of money from MegaStore if he wins this case, and Hattie wouldn’t put herself out there unless she was sure that MegaStore had done something illegal.â€�

  “It’s strange. A woman who barely had any contact with the outside world suddenly has all these people who have a motive to kill her.â€� Janelle licked the chocolate icing off her fork. “And she has a secret admirer, from what Mary said.â€�

  “Alleged secret admirer,â€� Olivia reminded her. “This Thomas guy might be lying about why he wants to find Hattie. Why are they even here? I thought that they weren’t allowed to start construction until after the lawsuit.â€�

  Janelle shrugged. “I guess they think that they have a good chance at winning. They’re going to be waiting with the bulldozers. How did they get so far into Lexingburg without people knowing anything about it? We have a planning and development council. I just can’t believe that they all voted to allow MegaStore to build here.â€�

  “You know Donald. He wants Lexingburg on the map. You put a store here, and houses will soon follow. The woman I just hired to work for me is new in town. Of course, she moved here from Lowell, but you put enough convenience here, and you’ll get people from all over the state moving in. Maybe even from out of state. The small town of Lexingburg won’t be so small anymore.â€�

  Her sister sighed and dug her fork back into the cake. “He’s going to have to put those dreams aside. Lexingburg likes being small. It’s bad enough that we’re going to have a nationally televised wedding happening here.â€�

  “That’s one thing that Mayor Henderson can check off his list. He’s really wanted Lexingburg to be a wedding destination. Janelle, it’s okay—you really can go through with this catering expansion. You just need to hire people to help you.â€�

  “I will. After the wedding. I definitely don’t have time to hire and train someone right now.â€� Groaning, the older sister leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. “I can’t believe that you let me eat all of this cake!â€�

  Olivia knew the feeling. She was already a little sick herself. “We only ate half. That’s, what, like eight servings? Each? At least I only have to climb two flights of steps to go home.â€�

  “Ugh. Can I bunk with you?â€�

  “And avoid telling Patrick the news that’s going to make him the happiest man in the world? I don’t think so.â€� Forcing herself up from the chair, Olivia grabbed the plastic wrap and started covering the rest of the cake. “Go home, Janelle.â€�

  After ushering her sister out, Olivia locked up, finished cleaning up the kitchen, and dragged herself up the steps. She fed Fender and Goodwin, and while they were happily rattling their bowls and crunching away, she showered and climbed into bed, but she was far from tired.

  Hattie had taken so many positive steps lately. She’d possibly flirted o
nline. She’d come out to the app release party. She’d gone to the vet.

  She went to the vet.

  Olivia sat straight up in bed. If Hattie ran over Bethany’s dog, that meant that Hattie was in her car, but Jackie had said that Hattie never left the house. Ever. So what was so important for her to leave for that day?

  True agoraphobes might have a panic attack when they left the house. They’d never get as far as getting in a car, but Hattie had pulled out of the garage and onto the street. Maybe she had been distracted, but she had been driving. So where had she been going?

  Too many questions. Not enough answers.

  Olivia shook her head at herself as she suddenly remembered that the accident with Bethany’s dog had happened the night of the app release party.

  Maybe she was building molehills into mountains?

  It might have been the eight servings of Janelle’s incredibly rich, to-die-for chocolate cake, but her gut was telling her that something was not right.

  10

  “Too soupy,â€� Olivia grumbled to herself as she kneaded what was supposed to be dough. Instead, it didn’t want to take form, and it seemed a little too squishy. She was in panic mode. She was determined to help her sister out, but Janelle had gotten all the baking genes in the family. All Olivia was doing was making a mess out of things.

  The kitchen was far too quiet. Janelle was dealing with morning sickness and hadn’t even left her house yet. Seeing an opportunity to show what an awesome aunt she could be, Olivia had jumped at the chance to help out.

  She was only an hour in, and so far, nothing had gone right. Forced to turn down the radio, Olivia was staring at her defeat in the eerie silence. The first batch of cookies—burned. The second batch of cookies were flatter than pancakes, and the third batch was finally okay in consistency, but tasted like it was missing something.

  Now she was trying to get the biscuits for the breakfast sandwiches started, but once again, she was failing miserably.

  “Janelle is going to kill me,â€� she sighed as she leaned against the counter and stared at the offending mess on the marble surface.

  “Olivia? Are you here?â€�

  Relief swept over her. “Mary! Mary, is that you? Please tell me that you’re here to save me!â€�

  “I am here to—holy moly, Olivia, what did you do?â€� Mary dropped her tote bag and gasped when she saw the mess in the kitchen. She immediately cringed as if she realized how harsh she had sounded. “I mean, thanks for holding down the fort until I got here.â€�

  “I know it looks bad.â€� Olivia tried to pick the sticky mess off her skin while she gestured to the notebook that was suspended on the wall. “But I found the notes for today’s baked goods, and I told Janelle that I’d get started. I swear I followed the recipe, but Janelle’s handwriting isn’t always legible.â€�

  “Yeah. She keeps them in the tablet, as well, because I had trouble reading her handwriting too when I started.â€� Mary leaned over the three batches of cookies cooling on the rack. “You know, when Janelle asked you to get started, she was mainly thinking that you’d help set up the dining room, pre-heat the ovens, ice the cold display case, that kind of thing.â€�

  “Oh.â€� Defeated, Olivia let her arms drop to her sides. “Right. That makes way more sense. I think if you maybe have a sale on milk and cookies, we could totally sell these. Or maybe we could put some icing on them and decorate them. It might sort of hide that burnt taste. And a little corn starch in this dough might take care of the soupiness.â€�

  Mary chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind. How about you let me take over, and you can start on the non-baking duties?â€�

  Olivia reached back and untied her apron. “That sounds like a much safer idea. Any chance we can keep this little disaster between us?â€�

  “Oh, yeah. With how Janelle’s mood has been, I would not want to be the messenger. Trust me, your secret is safe with me.â€� Seeming to change the subject, she added, “Do you think Janelle will want to take over the baking duties when she gets here?â€�

  The young woman looked at Olivia anxiously, and Olivia frowned. “Why? You got somewhere to be?â€�

  “No, I just wanted to be at the counter today. I’m a real people person, and I like to be at the front. I’m just feeling really chatty today.â€�

  “Uh-huh.â€� Olivia nodded her head skeptically. “If you’re planning on arguing the point with Janelle, you’re going to have to do better than you feel chatty today, okay?â€�

  Sighing, Mary donned the apron and tied it in the back. As Janelle’s assistant swept her dark hair up into a ponytail, Olivia took note of the soft and shiny curls. Mary’s hair was usually stick-straight. Added to the obvious care she’d taken with her hair, today she sported deep wine-colored lipstick and a hint of eyeshadow.

  Mary was a pretty girl. Outside of work, she was usually on point with her fashion and makeup, but at work, she was Plain Jane. No makeup. Hair tied up in a messy bun. Jeans and a t-shirt. This was the first time that Olivia had ever seen Mary pretty herself up for work.

  “You’re expecting someone to come in this morning,â€� Olivia accused. “You have a crush!â€�

  “No! I told you that I just … I feel friendly … okay, fine.â€� Mary cringed. “Wil has been a lot more relaxed and open with me lately. I think he might be gearing up to ask me out.â€�

  “Wil?â€�

  “Wilbur?â€�

  Ah.â€� Olivia nodded her head. “Unfortunate name, but handsome guy. You have been flirting with him a lot, lately.â€�

  “I know, and it’s finally paying off. He’s been coming in every morning for the past two weeks, and I just want to make sure that I don’t miss him.â€� Mary blushed. “I mean, he’s a little bit older than me, and I think he might be hesitant about that, but if he doesn’t ask me out soon, I’m going to have to ask him out! He’s so shy!â€�

  “Well, you look hot today. He doesn’t stand a chance against your charm. I’m sure Janelle can be talked into baking duty when she gets here. She’s usually safer away from the customers, anyway.â€�

  “It’s not like Janelle to be late. I hope she’s okay,â€� Mary mused as she took Olivia’s dough and tossed it in the trash. Olivia winced.

  “I think she’s just been a little disorganized lately. She’s okay.â€� Olivia felt a little guilty about lying to Mary, but she’d made a promise to Janelle to keep her secret. Besides, Mary had just thrown Olivia’s dough away without even trying to fix it. “I’ll be in the front, if you need me.â€�

  Humming to herself, Olivia mentally organized her thoughts while she set up the seating area. The mundane activity was good for her, and it wasn’t too long before the good smells of baking coming from the kitchen elevated her mood even further. There were no barking and hyper dogs to distract her. At the very front of her thoughts was how well things were going with Andrew. Even though he was out of town, they were still managing to keep things heated with teasing texts and phone calls. He trusted her enough to investigate the possible disappearance of his associate, and he was being patient with her while she tried to be as open and communicative as possible.

  He also seemed to truly miss her. She was getting more and more confident that she could get him to move in with her when he got home.

  Natalie would be shadowing Olivia today, and while she had some doubts about the woman’s constant positivity, she didn’t doubt Natalie’s ability with the dogs. With the extra help, she’d have more time to spend with Andrew when he did get back.

  So her personal and work life were going
well, even if her extracurricular activities were failing miserably. She was still no closer to proving that something had happened to Hattie, and she still couldn’t shake the idea that Jackie’s recent vandalism was more than just some kids playing around. That was also something that she couldn’t prove.

  She’d give it up altogether if it wasn’t Andrew and Jackie. She had been getting so confident in her investigation abilities, but now she felt like she was just chasing her tail.

  A knock on the window interrupted her. Looking up, she was about to tell whoever was at the door that they didn’t open for another thirty minutes when she saw who it was. “Mary!â€� she called out as she smiled and waved to Wilbur. “Your boyfriend is here.â€�

  “Shh,â€� Mary hissed as she hurried around the corner. “He might hear you.â€�

  “If he hears me through the closed door, then we really need to work on our insulation,â€� Olivia said dryly. She watched as Mary hid behind the wall, hurriedly stripped off her apron, and tried to brush the flour off her hands.

  “He could read lips,â€� Mary pointed out.

  “A skill that’s not very prevalent. Would you quit fussing? You look great, and he’ll probably like the flour on your nose. It might make for a cute romantic comedy moment.â€�

  Mary gasped as she brushed at the white smudge on her nose. Glaring at Olivia, she hurried to the front door and unlocked it. Olivia slowly backed behind the corner to give the two some privacy, but she stayed just close enough so she could overhear.

  “I really appreciate you letting me in,â€� Wilbur said quietly. “I must be mixing up your hours with my go-to spot in my old town. I promise that I’m just here for coffee.â€�

  “You’re in luck! I just put a pot on, so it may take a couple of minutes for it to finish brewing, but it’ll be fresh.â€�

  Glancing at the coffee pot, Olivia smirked. The coffee was fresh, but it had finished brewing a few minutes ago. Mary was trying to grab a few extra minutes with her crush.