Santa Sleuth Read Online Free Page A

pup. And maybe Estella Greenwidth. Her dog Hilda passed away over the summer and when I spoke to her last she mentioned she was ready to open her home to a new pet. I’d like to get as many pups matched with humans before Christmas as we can. How many pups were dropped off?”
    “Ten.”
    “Wow, ten is a lot, but I bet if we put our heads together we can come up with enough people who would be able to care for the little guys and gals. Maybe we can ask a few of our more responsible foster families to take a couple each until the pups get a little older. They really should be in homes at this point in their development.”
    “I’ll start working on it. Maybe Wayne Dayton will take a few. He’s usually willing to foster several at a time.”
    “Good idea. I’m planning to stop by to visit with Kelly this afternoon. Wayne works a few doors down from the apartment building where she lives, so I’ll pop in and ask him.”
    “How is Kelly doing?” Jeremy asked.
    “Much better. She’s being released from the hospital today and I think her sister flew in to stay with her for a week or two,” I answered.
    “Has she been able to remember anything?”
    “Not a thing. She doesn’t even remember my being there. She told Salinger the last thing she remembers was Jason coming by to see if she wanted to go out for a drink. Of course the last thing he needed was another drink. My memory is fuzzy, but I do remember that he was totally drunk already when I arrived.”
    “It’s so weird that neither of you can remember what happened.”
    I shrugged. “Kelly took a pretty hard blow to the head. I talked to Dr. Westlake and he said her memory might begin to return at some point, but then again it might not. As for my own memory, I’m beginning to get flashes of images. The problem is that I can’t quite sort them out.”
    “What kind of flashes?” Jeremy asked.
    “For one thing, I think I did see another person come into the restaurant before I blacked out. I can’t see a face or even a clear image, but I keep having this flash of a tallish person; a man, I think.”
    “Maybe he’s the killer.”
    “I hope so, and I hope I can remember what happened. I really don’t want to spend the holidays in jail.”
    “Anything I can do, you just need to ask,” Jeremy offered.
    “Thanks. Knowing that you’re holding down the fort here is a huge help.”
    Jeremy picked up a box of dog and cat toys that was sitting on the counter and began decorating the little tree he’d brought in for the Zoo’s lobby. In addition to the tree, he’d strung lights around the door and windows and hung garlands accented with red bows around the front counter. The addition of the Christmas music in the background gave the shelter a festive feel that made me glad to be there. Not that our house wasn’t decorated. Zak and the kids had been in decorating overdrive for days. But there was something about being at the Zoo that gave me a warm feeling whenever I was here.
    “Have you talked to Ellie?” Jeremy asked as he hung a catnip mouse toward the top of the tree.
    “Yeah. Every day. I feel this insatiable need to apologize over and over again. She’s been so sweet. She doesn’t even seem mad that her business was burned to the ground. She just keeps saying how glad she is that Kelly and I made it out in time.”
    “Buildings can be rebuilt,” Jeremy reminded me.
    I picked up some chew toys and began to add them to the tree. “That’s what she keeps saying. Zak has assured me that he’s going to cover any expenses Ellie’s insurance doesn’t, including loss of income, but I still feel so very, very bad.”
    “And you still can’t remember how the fire started?”
    I frowned. “No. It’s all really odd. I was arguing with Jason. He hit Kelly, so I attacked him, and he tried to hit me. I think I was able to avoid him. I don’t have any bruises that would be consistent with being hit with a fist, but he did hit me with something. I