Mutts Murder And Mayhem (eBook)

One

Washington D.C.

Daisy’s left hand ached—a lot. A ninety-five-page deposition had taken her all afternoon to mark up. She shook her wrist and tried to loosen up her fingers. Only seventeen pages left. So much for the felt tip pen she was using. Even it was giving out on her.

She leaned back in her desk chair and swiveled around to look out her one small window. It was already dusk. The streetlights flipped on.

That did it for her. She was done. There was always tomorrow. She really needed to get home. Max, the rough collie she was dog sitting for her neighbor, was waiting for her.

She grabbed her crossbody bag off the chair arm just as her cell vibrated, the sound of quacking ducks spewing from the speaker. Darn. It was her mother’s silly ringtone. She had to answer. She pivoted back around and tapped on the speaker.

“Hi, Mom.”

Her mom sounded exasperated. “Daisy, you won’t believe what I did. I—”

The door to her office opened. She looked up in surprise as her dad’s voice boomed. “Daisy, I need your help.”

This was not a good scenario.

Now she’d have to deal with her dad—who was also her boss—and her mom at the same time.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Mom, hang on just a minute.”

Daisy winced at her error. She shouldn’t have let her dad know she was talking to her mom.

Now she’d be lucky if he didn’t make some snide comment. Her parents had redefined the term “bitter divorce” when she was eleven.

Oh well. Too late now.

Without saying anything, she patted her dad’s forearm and pointed with her index finger to the chair across from her desk. He scowled before he turned his back on her and sat.

Thankfully he kept quiet.

Her office was small with not much room for privacy, so she moved out the door to her assistant’s space and spoke softly. “I’m back, Mom, but I only have a minute. Your voice was cutting out before. Start over.”

She wanted to be home. Instead, she had to deal with her parents.

Her mom sounded panicked. “I’m trying to tell you. I broke my wrist. The Fur-Baby Gala is this weekend, and I’m the one who’s supposed to decorate and do the flowers.”

Daisy was trying to process her mom’s words while hearing her dad’s foot tapping incessantly. He could be demanding.

“There’s no way to replace me so close to the event.” Sounding wretched, her mom said, “I could use your help.”

Daisy let out a sigh. Her mom wanted her to come to Houndsville. How would she ever manage that with her big trial starting Monday? Nothing like pitting her parents against each other. What a mess.

“Mom. I just don’t know how to answer you right now. I’m so sorry. I gotta go. I’ll call you back as soon as I can.” And she would, as soon as she could come up with a solution.

She instantly felt bad about hanging up so abruptly, but when she glanced at her watch, she saw it was even later than she’d realized. Instantly her stomach knotted up. She had an even more pressing matter to think about right now—getting her dad out of the office so she could get home to Max.

Deep breath, Daisy. She walked over and perched on the edge of her desk. “What’s up, Dad?”

“Can I see the Forester file? But first, what did your mom want?”

She shrugged, refusing to answer him, and stood up to walk over to the credenza behind her desk. It took her a minute of fumbling around to find the file he’d requested and hand it to him.

Rather than continuing to stand, she sat in her desk chair and watched him go through page by page as if he was looking for something specific.

It was agonizing.

If only she could tell him she had to get home—but he wouldn’t understand. She had to restrain herself from tapping her fingers on her desk and telling him to hurry up.

Instead, she stuffed a handful of chocolate buds in her mouth, hopefully surreptitiously, and tried not to fidget. He’d make a negative comment if she did.

Twenty-forever minutes later, he closed the file. “I was looking to see if I could find where the opposing attorney made a mistake on citing a particular case. Could you do some additional research?”

“Sure, Dad. I can work tonight and have the file back to you tomorrow.” She happily agreed—anything to leave, to get to Max. She stood up and grabbed her blazer off the back of the chair.

Her dad got the hint and stood up. “The sooner, the better.” He left, and she let out a huge sigh of relief.

At least he hadn’t asked again about her mom.

She felt like a hot, sweaty mess after the back and forth with her parents and didn’t even bother to slip on her jacket, although she suspected the late-fall night might be chilly, the sun gone for the day. All she wanted was to get home. She tossed the Forester file into her tote bag and rushed to the garage to her SUV.

Poor Max. He’s stuck waiting for me. She imagined him standing by her door with a forlorn expression in his huge brown eyes, wondering why no one had come to walk him.

The drive home, through D.C. to her apartment in Woodley Park, normally took about seventeen minutes, less time if she lucked out and the five traffic lights were green. Today she spent that time thinking about how she’d be able to satisfy both parents and wondering why they couldn’t get along. Why did everything to do with them have to be so traumatic?

There was no way she could go to Houndsville, a small town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and help her mom when she had this huge case starting Monday. Clearly her dad, a workaholic and a perfectionist, would expect her to be available over the weekend for any last-minute concerns. Was there any way to persuade him she needed to help her mom?

If she were a gambler, she’d give herself odds of one in a hundred.

On the other side, her mom would be understanding if she was unable to come. But she would like to help, and the prospect of leaving her mom with no help did not make Daisy feel better.

Darn it! She couldn’t see any easy way out. There was only one thing she could think to do.

Her best friend, Meghan, would have a good answer for her.

The phone jingled. “Hi, it’s Meghan. I can’t get to the phone. Leave a message. I’ll call you back.”

“Meg, it’s Daisy. I have a humongous problem. I could use some lifesaving advice.” Daisy paused, and then before she ended the call, she decided to catch Meghan off guard and said, “And guess who’s dog sitting?” She chuckled.

“You can shut your mouth now. Bye.”

A minute later, she could see her building up ahead.

Finally! Home sweet home. Now just let Max be okay.

She pulled into her parking space, grabbed her handbag off the passenger seat, and sprinted into the smallish brick building she called home.

Just another minute, Max, and I’ll be there.

She had to wait for the slowpoke elevator when all she wanted was to get to Max. It finally came, and she pressed the button for the second floor and scrambled around in her purse for her key.

When the elevator doors opened, she sprinted down the hallway, stuck her key in the lock, and turned the doorknob. She flung open the door and looked right at Max, sitting perched on her sofa as if he had been waiting for her. He stared at her.

Feeling guilty for having left him so long, she ran over to him, flung her arms around his neck, and nuzzled his fur with her nose. “Max, I am so sorry I’m late. Let’s take a nice, long walk.”

She ran her hands back and forth over his fur before she stood up and walked to her closet to find her windbreaker. Max jumped down from the sofa and followed behind her to the kitchen where she grabbed his leash and a fistful of peanut M&M’s from a bowl on the counter. She could munch on them while they walked. Her dinner would have to wait until she’d taken care of Max.

“Okay, Max. Let’s go walk.”

That’s all he needed to hear. He tugged her toward the door, and the twosome headed out on a walk around the neighborhood.

The wind had picked up, and with it being dark and getting colder, Daisy was glad her windbreaker had a hood. If only she had brought gloves. Her hands and toes always got cold first.

They meandered around the block as Max sniffed and peed on what seemed like every bush. One other person passed by walking their dog, a black lab, but other than that, the street was deserted. Most likely everyone wanted to snuggle inside on this chilly night.

Back inside her apartment, she fed Max...