Three Dog Day (20 page)

“
I want a lawyer,” Clifton said.

“
Certainly, Mr. Clifton. Give us the name and number and we'll get ahold of your lawyer,” Ben said.

Clifton hesitated, frowning. “I don't actually have one. What about my phone call? I'm supposed to get a phone call. My brother's in town. He can get a lawyer for me.”

“
Interview concluded,” Ben said for the audio capture. George opened the door and took Clifton's arm.

“
Should I put him in the drunk tank?” George asked.

“
No way. I want this guy put with the violent offenders,” Wayne said and Clifton paled. They didn't actually have any violent offenders in their small jail, but Wayne thought it would shake Clifton up. “I think Butka will be interested in meeting you.”

After George left with Clifton, Ben turned to Wayne. “We're going to go over that guy's alibi with a fine-toothed comb. Who do you think I should assign this to?”

“
Dory usually does this stuff, but what about giving it to Cam and Dory together?”

“
Good idea. I want to find out what Cam will do with a big assignment.” Ben buzzed Deputy Gomez, who knocked on the door in only moments.

“
Did you need me, sir?” she asked.

“
Yes,” Ben said. “Mr. Clifton
appears
to have an alibi for the time of the murder, but I doubt that it's water tight. I want everything checked. He said he was with his cousin Jake Clifton in Knoxville. So ask the cousin what dates Jerrod was there. The key time period during which the victim was killed is January first through the sixth. Jerrod says he was in Knoxville the whole time, but that's less than four hours from here, which doesn't rule him out as the killer. I want his financials checked down to the decimal point, particularly credit card transactions. See if he bought food in Knoxville every day. Jerrod and his cousin are both bachelors, so they probably ate out or bought prepared foods. And find out when he last had his oil changed on his truck. Maybe we'll get lucky and we can get the mileage. Have Dory check out his LUDs and give you a hand with this.”

“
LUDs, sir?”

“
Local usage details for his cellphone.”

“
In Nashville they called them CDRs—call detail records.”

“
I want to know who Jerrod called, who called him, whatever you can get. I think he's lying about being in Knoxville the whole time. I think he came back here, did Johnston, and drove back to Knoxville the same day.”

“
When would you like this information?” Cam asked.

“
It's going to take you several days. Do you have any questions?"

“
No sir,” Cam replied. She was turning toward the door when Wayne thought about how junior she was. In her previous job at the Nashville post, most of what she did was to check people in and out of the drunk tank and take evidence to the evidence locker.

“
This is a big job the sheriff's given you,” Wayne said. “Are you sure you're up to it, Cam? Would you like help from anyone besides Dory?”

“
I'm good, Detective. I like a challenge. This is exactly the sort of thing I hoped I'd get by coming here,” her face was flushed and her dark eyes sparkled.

Wayne looked at Ben, who nodded at her, “Good luck.”

“
I think she'll need it,” Wayne said after Cam departed.

When everyone else left the office around six, Wayne asked Ben if he would like to go out for a brew. “Or are you headed over to see Mae? I bet this puppy mill and animal cruelty stuff has her all riled up.”

“
It sure does. I wish I could grab a beer with you, but I'm taking Matthew over to my parents' house to spend the night. We'll have dinner there and I'll go to Mae's after he's in bed. She's got a broken wrist and she's really worn out—no energy. Besides fostering the puppies and doing a little investigating,” his boss smiled and shook his head, “
very
little, for her, she's also got all this wedding stuff going on. I'm trying to help when I can, but Matty hasn't seen my parents in a while. I've got to order the tuxes and help Mae with little stuff she wants repaired on the house before Tammy and Patrick West's wedding … if I can ever find the time. It's going to be at Mae's house on Valentine's Day.”

Wayne was alarmed. “When's Valentine's Day this year? Lucy's probably expecting something from me.”

His boss laughed. “It's February fourteenth, every year.”

“
Do you think I have to get her candy or flowers or something else?”

“
Well, it's been my experience that lingerie goes down pretty well.” Ben cracked a wise-ass grin. “Of course that means going into Victoria's Secret, a tough
undercover
assignment.”

“
No doubt it does,” Wayne smiled back, “unless you know how to shop on the Internet.”

That evening Wayne called Lucy and invited her to go out to dinner. Afterward, sitting together in front of her fireplace with glasses of red wine, he told her he had seen Jocelyn.

“
What was that like for you, Wayne?” she asked, tentatively. There were tiny frown lines on her forehead.

“
Tough, really tough. She's down to skin and bones. She remembered the night she killed Outinen vividly, though. I'm working with an attorney who runs the Abused Women's Commutation Project in Lansing, Michigan. She's trying to get her released.”

“
That would be wonderful, for her and for you. You wouldn't need to feel guilt or responsibility any longer.” She smiled at him.

“
You know I want to set the record straight about Aarne Outinen killing my brother and get Kurt buried properly,” Wayne said quietly. “Just can't figure out my next step yet.”

“
While you obsess about that some more, my next step is bed. Would you care to join me, Detective?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“
If I
ever
say no to the question you just asked, you have my permission to shoot me.”

They walked to the bedroom, hand in hand.

M
ae's business phone rang at ten-thirty that morning. She was in her kitchen, playing with little Tater on the floor. She stood up and grabbed it on the third ring. “Mae's place, how can I help you?”

“
Miss December, this is Larry Gunderson calling you from the ASPCA. Do you have a minute to talk?”

Her eyes flew to the calendar hanging on the pantry door. January sixteenth, today's date, was circled. Inside the circle, Mae had written; ‘test results for W.G.' in red. “Yes, Mr. Gunderson, I can talk right now,” she swallowed.

“
Well, there's no good way to say this, I'm afraid. Several of the dogs and puppies tested positive for the Warrior Gene.” He sighed. “The male puppy that you're fostering is one of them.”

“
Oh, no, not Guinness! He's a sweet puppy ….” Mae leaned her forehead on the wall.

“
I'm sorry, Miss December. I know its bad news, and I'm sure you're already attached to him, but knowing that he carries the gene, we can't in good conscience allow him to be adopted. He'll have to be euthanized, unfortunately.”

Mae didn't answer, and Mr. Gunderson was quiet for a moment too. “You hadn't already found a home for him, I hope?”

“
No, I haven't found homes for any of them yet. I was waiting for the test results,” she told him sadly. A horrible thought crossed her mind. “What about the females? Are they okay?”

“
They have no more likelihood of becoming aggressive or dangerous than any other dog,” Mr. Gunderson responded in a happier voice. “Both of them tested negative for the gene, and you can go ahead with finding homes for them. As I'm sure you know, if they're cared for and trained properly, they'll be fine pets.”

“
I'm glad they tested negative,” she responded, trying to remain calm. “What do I need to do with Guinness, Mr. Gunderson? Do I take him to my vet, or bring him to you?”

“
We're asking everyone who has dogs or pups that tested positive to bring them back to the ASPCA. The volunteers from the vet school who did the testing are going to euthanize the animals.” He cleared his throat. “It's going to be a sad day here. If you could bring him in this afternoon, that would be best. And thank you for fostering. It really is a big help.”

Mae agreed to bring Guinness back to the ASPCA and ended the call quickly. Crying, she sat down on the floor and the Tater climbed into her lap. The little dog licked her face and Mae let the tears fall until they slowed of their own accord. She hugged her little corgi to her chest, then got up to go into the hall bathroom and blow her nose. Tallulah, who was reclining on the big dog bed in the laundry room, lifted up her head as Mae went by. The black pug followed Mae into the bathroom.

“
I'm okay, Tallulah.” The pug tilted her head to one side, staring up at her with wide, lustrous eyes. Mae couldn't help but smile. “Really, I am.” She blew her nose with a loud honk, splashed cold water on her face, and rolled her head from side to side. Her two corgis appeared in the bathroom and sat on either side of Tallulah, all three dogs regarding her solemnly. She bent down and petted them. When she stood back up they all followed her down the hall to the kitchen.
They must think I shouldn't be alone right now, and they're probably right.

Mae got back from the ASPCA after three that afternoon, feeling sad and lonesome despite a house and barn full of dogs and puppies. Ray Fenton was in the barn when she went out to give True and Pearl Jam their afternoon meal.

“
Oh, hi there—forgot you were coming today.”

“
Hi, Miss Mae,” the skinny teenager said. “Where's Guinness?”

She told him about the test results and he stood looking down at his shoes for a minute, wordless.

“
The girls are both fine though, don't worry.” He looked up and glanced over at the female puppies. “I was just about to feed them. Do you want to take care of that?” He nodded. “Oh, and Domino and Maggie Pie can have their supper now too. If you could walk Lulu and then give everybody fresh water, they'll be all set. Come into the house when you're done and I'll find a snack for us both.”

“
Can I bring True and Pearl Jam inside?” he asked with a little squeak to his voice.

Mae smiled at him. “Of course.”

She was on the phone with Tammy when Ray brought the two puppies into her kitchen twenty minutes later. “So, do you want to call that caterer back, or should I?” Tammy said that Grace, her mother, would take care of it. “I need to go, Tammy. Ray's here with the puppies and I'm going to fix us something to eat.”

“
Mae, I've been thinking, would your niece Olivia like to be my flower girl?”

She looked at Ray, standing patiently with two pups squirming against his chest. “Hang on just a second, Tammy.”

“
Do you want them in the studio?”

“
Yes. Did you make sure they did their business outside first?”

Ray gave her a shy grin. “Yes Ma'am, they both did um, everything outside. I'll just put them in there and take your house dogs out in the yard for a little while.”

“
Perfect.” She picked her phone back up off the counter. “Sorry, you still there?”

“
I'm here. Who's Ray?”

“
He's my new employee.” She heard the scrabble of toenails and the click of the door as it closed behind Ray Fenton and her three dogs. “He's a nice kid. He's actually the one who turned Jerrod Clifton in for animal cruelty, but he lost his job out there. Dory talked me into hiring him.” Mae looked out her kitchen window at the teenager, who was throwing a ball for the Tater to chase. She took a deep breath and told Tammy the heartbreaking news about Guinness.

“
Oh, Mae. I'm so sorry.”

Mae put her phone on speaker and set it on the counter, then painstakingly opened a can of tomato soup and dumped it into a saucepan to heat up. “Yeah, it's been a rough one. Anyway, I can ask July about Livy being your flower girl. Do you want Matty to be the ring bearer?” She got out some bread to toast for pimento cheese sandwiches to have with the soup.

“
That's a great idea! The two of them would look really cute together.”

Ray, the Tater, Titan, and Tallulah clattered back into the kitchen on a gust of cold, damp air. “I'll ask about both of them, then. Talk to you tomorrow.” The two friends said their goodbyes and Mae put the sandwiches together, filled two soup bowls, and set everything on the kitchen table.

“
Help yourself, Ray.”

He sat down and wolfed his food in short order. Small and skinny though he was, the boy could eat like a champ. He wiped his mouth with a napkin when he was finished. “Thanks, Miss Mae. That was good. Is there anything else you need me to do today?”

“
I don't think so. I want to ask you something, though. Do you think any of Jerrod Clifton's dogs were being sold for uses
other
than pets?” Ray gave a little nod. “For dog-fighting, maybe?” Mae guessed.