A Shot in the Bark (A Dog Park Mystery) Read Online Free
Author: Carol Ann Newsome
smelled hazelnut. He dumped it in the trash.
~ ~ ~
She remembered most the explosion of blood, the mess, and the blow-back speckling her clothes and skin. There would be plenty of time to burn her clothes, and the neighbors would just assume she was grilling out. She'd encourage that impression by dumping on Liquid Smoke. The police might never ask questions, not if they bought the suicide scenario she created.
She'd disliked doing it this way. Luthor had no convenient health issues to exploit, nor did he care for outdoor activities that could be manipulated into accidents. He had only one obvious weakness, and that was his dependence on Lia.
She pondered the cell phone in her hand. It had been so easy to lift from Lia's tote. Easier still to lure Luthor with a text message. But what to do with it? Return it to Lia? Destroy it? It would be easiest to destroy it and Lia would probably figure she'd lost it. It wouldn't be too difficult to return, just drop it behind the driver's seat of her Volvo. The windows were always open for the dogs. But she'd have to remove those final text messages, and if the police came asking questions, possession of the phone would cause Lia problems.
If she got the phone back, Lia would feel compelled to access all of Luthor's messages from last night. She could still do it without the phone, but would she bother? Too bad there was no way for her to find out what was on voicemail without it being flagged that it had been accessed. Luthor's messages shouldn't be incriminating. How could they be? Checking messages would tip Lia off that someone else had her phone, and that wouldn't be good at all.
It had taken more time to dig Luthor's phone out of his jacket and pull off those last texts than it had to kill him. It had been delicate going, putting it back. She'd felt horribly exposed even though trees blocked the view of the parking lot from the street. But she couldn't have Luthor's phone missing. That would be a tip-off. And if police ruled it suicide, they wouldn't bother to pull the phone records, would they?
Such a nasty job, all the way around. She disliked guns, disliked blood, and disliked loose ends. She looked at the loose end in her palm and smiled with sudden inspiration. Insurance. She'd leave the messages and hang onto it for now. Just in case.
Chapter 2
Monday, May 9
Lia woke up late the next day. Or rather, Chewy and Honey woke her up, tag teaming her with kisses and bright yips, as if being happy could get her out of bed. Two nights of no sleep, then she spent yesterday either comatose or crying. Anna had hung out in the next room, checking in occasionally to bring her some tea or food. She remembered a grilled cheese sandwich she couldn't eat. She remembered a confused Chewy snuffling her tears as if to figure out what they were.
It was 8:00. The morning shift at the dog park would be in full swing. No matter how she was feeling, Honey and Chewy still needed to go run.
The Mount Airy Dog Park has two fenced areas, the smaller designated for small dogs. Few people used it because it had little shade and most of the small dogs liked chasing the big dogs on the other side. But it was a good place to go if you wanted to be alone.
Lia perched on the table nearest the fence, the only one with shade. She considered the group next door. Since the park had been closed yesterday morning, she figured everyone was peppering Anna and Jim with questions about the shooting. Terry Dunn, a robust reincarnation of Teddy Roosevelt, drew a line in the air with his finger. He appeared to be calculating the trajectory of the bullet while Marie Woo and Nadine Moyers watched.
Marie was a petite, feisty, first-generation Asian-American whose feathery, jet-black hair was accented with an eye-popping forelock in ever-changing hues. She had her head canted so that this month's magenta bangs flopped, the way they always did when she was getting ready to
~ ~ ~
She remembered most the explosion of blood, the mess, and the blow-back speckling her clothes and skin. There would be plenty of time to burn her clothes, and the neighbors would just assume she was grilling out. She'd encourage that impression by dumping on Liquid Smoke. The police might never ask questions, not if they bought the suicide scenario she created.
She'd disliked doing it this way. Luthor had no convenient health issues to exploit, nor did he care for outdoor activities that could be manipulated into accidents. He had only one obvious weakness, and that was his dependence on Lia.
She pondered the cell phone in her hand. It had been so easy to lift from Lia's tote. Easier still to lure Luthor with a text message. But what to do with it? Return it to Lia? Destroy it? It would be easiest to destroy it and Lia would probably figure she'd lost it. It wouldn't be too difficult to return, just drop it behind the driver's seat of her Volvo. The windows were always open for the dogs. But she'd have to remove those final text messages, and if the police came asking questions, possession of the phone would cause Lia problems.
If she got the phone back, Lia would feel compelled to access all of Luthor's messages from last night. She could still do it without the phone, but would she bother? Too bad there was no way for her to find out what was on voicemail without it being flagged that it had been accessed. Luthor's messages shouldn't be incriminating. How could they be? Checking messages would tip Lia off that someone else had her phone, and that wouldn't be good at all.
It had taken more time to dig Luthor's phone out of his jacket and pull off those last texts than it had to kill him. It had been delicate going, putting it back. She'd felt horribly exposed even though trees blocked the view of the parking lot from the street. But she couldn't have Luthor's phone missing. That would be a tip-off. And if police ruled it suicide, they wouldn't bother to pull the phone records, would they?
Such a nasty job, all the way around. She disliked guns, disliked blood, and disliked loose ends. She looked at the loose end in her palm and smiled with sudden inspiration. Insurance. She'd leave the messages and hang onto it for now. Just in case.
Chapter 2
Monday, May 9
Lia woke up late the next day. Or rather, Chewy and Honey woke her up, tag teaming her with kisses and bright yips, as if being happy could get her out of bed. Two nights of no sleep, then she spent yesterday either comatose or crying. Anna had hung out in the next room, checking in occasionally to bring her some tea or food. She remembered a grilled cheese sandwich she couldn't eat. She remembered a confused Chewy snuffling her tears as if to figure out what they were.
It was 8:00. The morning shift at the dog park would be in full swing. No matter how she was feeling, Honey and Chewy still needed to go run.
The Mount Airy Dog Park has two fenced areas, the smaller designated for small dogs. Few people used it because it had little shade and most of the small dogs liked chasing the big dogs on the other side. But it was a good place to go if you wanted to be alone.
Lia perched on the table nearest the fence, the only one with shade. She considered the group next door. Since the park had been closed yesterday morning, she figured everyone was peppering Anna and Jim with questions about the shooting. Terry Dunn, a robust reincarnation of Teddy Roosevelt, drew a line in the air with his finger. He appeared to be calculating the trajectory of the bullet while Marie Woo and Nadine Moyers watched.
Marie was a petite, feisty, first-generation Asian-American whose feathery, jet-black hair was accented with an eye-popping forelock in ever-changing hues. She had her head canted so that this month's magenta bangs flopped, the way they always did when she was getting ready to
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