Muffin murder, p.13
Muffin Murder, page 13
“Marsha P. Johnson!” John snapped. “Where are your manners? Yarrow is our friend!”
I barked up at Yarrow, “Are you?”
Yarrow looked startled and shot back up, taking a step back from me.
“What are you doing?” Fred woofed softly.
“Tell you later,” I woofed back. I hadn’t told the other dogs my suspicions yet because there hadn’t been time.
“I’m so sorry, Yarrow,” Garrett said. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her. Must be all the excitement. Sometimes when humans are upset, dogs get upset, too.”
I gave one last bark at Yarrow, just to let them know I was onto their tricks. I wasn’t sure what part they played in all of this or whether they had killed Patch, but they had delivered the notes. And that put Yarrow on my suspect list.
At the very top.
CHAPTER 33
Garrett
Something was very off with Marsha. I looked down at the tricolor corgi and she still looked upset. Angry, even. But since she couldn’t talk to me, all I could do was keep an eye on her.
Or ask John to.
I stroked Adam’s ring for reassurance. I’d left the green egg at home. It was too bulky to carry in my pants pocket.
::Ask her about the tea.:: His voice was in my head. At least, it’s what I’ve taken to calling his voice. It’s low, and warm like honey, with just a hint of a growl. I bet that voice turned men into putty back when Adam was alive.
I turned to John. “Will you stay out here with the dogs? I’m going in.”
He raised his hands, palms out, and shook his head. “Oh no. No way. You are not going in there alone, Garrett! You are not putting yourself into danger!”
“I’ll keep an eye on Marsha and Klaus,” Ron said.
I turned to our friend. The larger man looked as if he’d finally been relaxing at home when he got the call, just like us. Instead of his usual jeans, T-shirt, and over shirt, he wore sweatpants and a thin hoodie and looked tired, and worried, like the rest of us.
John gave me his do-not-argue-about-this look and handed Klaus’s leash to Ron. I sighed and did the same with Marsha’s.
When you’re in a long-term relationship, you learn to pick your battles. And since the clock was ticking, and this was a fight I wouldn’t win? It was better to keep my lips zipped and go along.
The voices inside Maddy’s shop were getting louder, and something crashed.
“Keep an eye on Marsha, would you?” I asked. “She’s acting weird.”
“Sure, man.” Ron nodded. He already knew that he’d seen her acting out with Yarrow. But he also knew I needed to say the words out loud and get some reassurance that he had the situation under control.
As much as anyone could control a headstrong dog like Marsha P. Johnson.
Yarrow stood, staring at the broken glass, arms wrapped around their skinny frame like a sweater. They did not look okay, but there wasn’t time to ask.
“Let’s go,” I said, turning to make my way through the growing cluster. I gave Belinda’s shoulder a squeeze as I passed her. Poor thing must be reliving all the horrible events of the past week right now. I was glad Cesar was there, looking ready to fight anyone who came near his business partner and friend.
John followed me across the crunching safety glass that littered the sidewalk, toward the gaping windows, the lights, and the two voices, yelling at full force now.
One of the voices was Maddy’s. The other sounded familiar.
As I crossed the threshold into the shop I saw why. It was Patch’s brother. The man still wore his baggy jeans topped by a loose white T-shirt, big sneakers, and a backward ball cap. He gesticulated wildly as he yelled.
Maddy stood in front of him, arms crossed, eyes defiant, her own sneakers firmly planted on the floor.
I had half expected the shop to be wrecked, but other than the broken window and a smashed jar of herbs on the floor, it was as neat and orderly as the last time I’d been in there.
That smashed jar gave me a pang, though, the dried herbs looking as if they were trying to spell a message on the wood floors. I just hoped that message wasn’t murder.
Maddy saw us enter, and her eyes widened. Patch’s brother whirled.
“You!” He pointed right at me. “Did you know about this?”
Whoa. Now I was confused. “Know about what?”
“She killed him!”
“What?” I yelped, feeling like a startled Klaus for a moment.
“Tell him, Maddy! Before I call the cops!”
Maddy barked out a bitter laugh. “You would never call the cops, you hoodlum. I’m the victim, here! You’re the one who’s been smashing all the windows with your friend!”
Patch’s brother grew very still, his face flushing red, then darkening to almost purple. Uh oh.
“I smashed those windows because you paid me to.”
CHAPTER 34
Marsha
Ron was talking with Belinda and Cesar, who had moved closer to our little group along with a very upset Jacki and Bex.
“What now?” Klaus asked me.
That was a very good question. Garrett and John were inside and in possible danger, and we were stuck outside. I did not like this situation one bit. It was our job to protect our humans, and they’d made that impossible.
I peered through people’s legs and kept seeing flashes of broken glass.
Usually, I would have made a run for it while Ron was distracted, but even I knew better than to run across a sea of glass. That was way worse than the cherry pits that were finally gone for the year. Thank goodness.
But yeah. Glass was a different story all together. So, what was my strategy here? How could I help Garrett and John?
The shouting from inside the shop had stopped.
“Think I should go in?” Cesar was asking Ron.
“I don’t know, man. They might need back up, but at least there’s not yelling anymore.”
“Yeah, but sometimes quiet means something really bad is about to go down.”
I heard a phone buzz in Ron’s pocket. All of us looked up at him as he checked the little metal rectangle.
“It’s John. He needs us in there.”
Cesar started moving, but Ron put a hand on his shoulder. “Hold up. We’re going to have to carry in the dogs.”
Cesar looked horrified. “Are you kidding me right now?”
Ron just held his gaze.
“I can carry Klaus,” Yarrow said. Well. They certainly weren’t going to carry me! I still didn’t trust Yarrow. But if they were coming in too, it meant I could still keep watch over them, so there was that, at least.
“All right, man,” Cesar sighed. “Which one do I have to carry?”
“Jacki? Can you manage Bruiser?” Ron asked.
Jacki shook her head. “Bruiser is not the easiest dog to carry. Why don’t Bex and I stay out here? Make sure nothing else happens?”
Something about the way she said that and the look she gave Bex made me think that she didn’t want Bex inside the store for some reason. Did she still not trust Bex? Or was she just worried for her girlfriend?
Sometimes humans were so easy for me to read, but other times, not so much.
“Okay. Good idea,” Ron was saying. “Cesar, you carry Marsha, Yarrow has Klaus, and I can get Fred here.”
Soon enough, I was hoisted into the air. Cesar was very tall. And very strong. He held my rump and back paws firmly, so I put my front paws on one of his shoulders.
The view was spectacular. I could see all the way up and down the street, over people’s heads.
The red car gleamed under a streetlight one block away, its right side looking slightly crumpled. The spot was the first place you could park before the bicycle and pedestrian zone started.
No one was in the car. I didn’t have time to think about what that meant before we were moving. My head bobbed along with Cesar’s loping gait.
And then we were inside the store, and I was on the floor again.
Drat. I could see a lot better from Cesar’s shoulder.
But I could sniff just as well from down here.
“Watch the glass,” Ron murmured to me.
He was right. There was more glass on the floor, though not nearly as much as outside. And it was mixed in with some strange, dried plants. My nose twitched at the astringent smell. None of the plants John and Garrett had in the garden or kitchen smelled like that.
And did I smell the white trumpet flowers again?
I did. But the smell was faint.
“Klaus!” I woofed.
“What?”
“Do you smell that?”
His black nose twitched on the end of his tan and white snoot.
“It smells a little bit like the alley bush. But it’s hard to smell because of that other plant. That other plant smells yucky.”
I had to agree. Fred ranged among the shelves. I couldn’t see him, but the soft jingle of his tags gave away his position.
I followed the sound.
He stood in between two bookshelves filled with weird looking stuff. And he was staring down at a card.
It was a card I’d seen before.
The chubby child on a horse, surrounded by sunflowers.
“Patch,” I barked.
“What’s up?” Klaus asked. He was followed by Yarrow, so I didn’t say anything.
Yarrow saw what we were looking at and their face fell. They bent and reached out with one hand, picking up the card.
“Oh, Patch,” they whispered. “What did Maddy do to you?”
CHAPTER 35
Garrett
There was too much going on, all at once. Patch’s brother’s revelation still rang in my ears when John, Ron, Cesar, and the dogs all trooped in, interrupting us.
Yarrow was there too but had disappeared for a moment. Where in the world did they go?
I fought to get my attention back and zeroed in on Maddy. She no longer looked so innocent and helpful. Her face was set in hard lines, her red hair pulled back in a severe ponytail that revealed the shaved side of her head and that winking row of silver stars and moons.
Her black cat was nowhere to be seen. Probably hid or ran off once the shouting started.
“What does he mean, you paid him?” I asked.
“I don’t know what he’s talking about!” Maddy spat. “If I paid him to break windows, what’s that?”
Her hand swept toward the broken window causing her shirt sleeve to ride up.
Her wrist was bruised. And there was that bandage on her finger again.
“What happened to your wrist, Maddy?” I asked. “And your finger? Did you get into a fight with a parrot?”
“What?” Ron yelled. “Was that you? Did you assault Josephine Baker? And steal my keys?”
She tugged her sleeve back down. “Assault a parrot? Don’t be ridiculous! I just banged myself on the counter. I’m clumsy.”
Well, that was one lie, for sure.
“And who smashed the herbs?” John asked, his tone was mild, but I heard the steel behind his words.
“Guys?” Yarrow stepped around the counter, followed by Marsha, Klaus, and Fred. They held out a slick, laminated card.
That damn sunflower card again.
I looked at Maddy. A strained look crossed her face, replaced by a hectic brightness.
She held out her other hand. The one without the bruises, I presumed. “I was wondering where that card went! Thank you for finding it!”
I held out my hand to stop Yarrow.
“No, you don’t,” I said.
I noticed Ron texting someone on his phone, but I could tell he was paying attention to everything.
I was so glad to have my friends at my back. John was right, I didn’t want to be in here alone. Not with the woman standing in front of me. And not with Patch’s brother, who hadn’t spoken for a while.
“Hey,” I said, “I realize I don’t know your name. I’m Garrett. This is John, Yarrow, and Ron.”
“Really?” Maddy said. “Now is the time for polite introductions to this person who smashed up my store?”
“You started it, didn’t you, Maddy?” Patch’s brother said. “You started this whole ball rolling and are yelling now that it’s coming right at you!”
He flung himself at her and tackled her to the floor.
The dogs barked frantically, with Ron and I grabbing leashes, as John and Cesar tried to pull the man off the smaller woman.
Finally, they heaved him off and smacked him up against the counter, his butt on the floor.
Marsha was growling and snapping, and Ron was having trouble controlling her. I watched in horror as she broke free and lunged.
But she didn’t lunge at Patch’s brother. She lunged at Maddy, who scrabbled backwards on the floor, trying to avoid the dog and the broken glass and herbs.
“No, you don’t!” John said, catching Marsha’s collar right before she landed on Maddy’s leg.
Marsha yelped, both in surprise and because she must have gotten cut. Her front right paw was raised.
“John. Glass.”
He scowled and lifted Marsha to safety. “On it.”
“Why did you do it, Maddy?” Yarrow’s voice broke. “Why did you kill Patch?”
“I didn’t! I mean…!”
She looked around, bewildered.
“I knew it.” Patch’s brother’s voice was flat. “I knew it was you.”
“Bro!” A strange voice came from just inside the door. “Cops are on the way. We have to roll!”
The voice belonged to a taller white man, dressed a lot like Patch’s brother here. Must be the driver of the red car.
Patch’s brother scrambled to his feet, but Cesar stopped blocked his way. “You almost ran Belinda down, man. Plus smashed our windows? Not cool.”
“I didn’t! I jerked the wheel so we didn’t hit her! That’s why the car crashed!”
“Come on, man!” The dude from the doorway yelled. “Come now, or you’re on your own!”
The taller man whirled and disappeared. Whether the crowd outside would catch him or not, I didn’t know. But he was right. There were sirens, though they sounded like they were still a few blocks away, and I could hear voices raised.
Adrenaline pumped through me, and I was going to crash soon, I could feel it.
Time to end this thing.
“Spill it, Maddy,” I said. “Or we can make this a lot worse for you.”
Patch’s brother sagged in defeat. Then he began to cry. I was not expecting that.
“Yeah. Tell ’em, Maddy. Why’d you kill Francis?”
“Who’s Francis?” Ron whispered.
“That’s Patch’s birth name,” I replied.
And then, amazingly, Maddy began to talk. “I really didn’t mean to. But he was going to ruin it all…”
Sometimes we all need to unburden ourselves, to tell others about our shame, our rage, our fear. And Maddy?
She was filled with all those things. She got just enough of her story out that all the pieces slotted in together in my head.
Right before the cops showed up and started clearing the sidewalk outside.
CHAPTER 36
Marsha
It was so late I was having trouble keeping my eyes open, plus the cut on my paw throbbed a bit, and the day had been exhausting. Klaus snored on the living room dog bed and would snort himself awake every few minutes.
“Why don’t you go upstairs to bed?” I woofed.
“Don’ wanna miss anything,” he mumbled. I couldn’t blame him. I didn’t, either.
Fred and Bruiser lay on the other side of the cold hearth, while I was on the rug. The sofa, chairs, and throw pillows on the floor were all filled, and some people had even dragged in chairs from the dining room.
Everyone looked as exhausted as I felt, but no one wanted to go home until they got the full story out of Garrett and John.
I didn’t blame them. The only reason I hadn’t joined Klaus on the bed was I knew I would be fighting sleep next to him, and I didn’t want to miss a word.
Adam leaned on the newel post, watching intently. Every time someone walked by to head to the kitchen or the downstairs washroom, his leather vest and pants shimmered with whatever colors the person was wearing.
It was kind of weird, and kind of cool.
“So, Maddy really poisoned Patch? And she hired his brother to smash our windows?” Jacki sat on one end of the sofa, with Bex at her side, and Garrett and John squished on the other end. Ron and Belinda both sat in the upholstered armchairs facing each other across the room, while Cesar perched on a backward turned dining chair, Princess Sparkle Toes on a chair next to him. The two of them looked kind of cozy to me, though I had no idea when Sparkle Toes showed up. Yarrow sat on a cushion on the floor.
“And she attacked Josephine Baker,” Ron said. “Or more likely, Josephine attacked her when she was planting that record, and Maddy fought back.”
I sat as far from Yarrow as I could while remaining on the same carpet. At least there was a coffee table between us. Yarrow still had some explaining to do.
“She did all of that,” Garrett said. “She got the keys the one day when you were talking to Ron, Bex. Josephine must have seen her. That’s why she kept screaming your name, and bad woman. But you weren’t the bad woman, Maddy was.”
“Man,” Jacki said. “That’s cold.”
Garrett nodded. “Ron, John, and Cesar can fill in any parts I miss, but between what we were able to put together, and what Maddy said before the cops showed up? She was very angry at Patch and felt betrayed by him. She thought he would help her, because of his brother. And I think he did at first, but mostly as a way to minimize the damage.”
Garrett looked at Belinda. “That’s why Patch came to you for a reading. She wasn’t busy, he just didn’t trust her anymore. He’d found out about his brother and the smashed windows and started leaving the flowers to apologize. I guess he felt responsible for his brother’s actions.”
