ppp cove 06 - criminals on vacation (3 page)

“Freshen Up, but it’s hard to find. I’ll take the bubble gum you’ve got there. It will have to do for now.” He tossed a dollar on the counter to pay for the gum, shoved it in his shirt pocket, and then headed back to his car. Martin had given him a small map with directions to their unit.

When Poppy arrived home later, she asked if everything went smoothly. “It was craziness over there. I hope things were calm here.”

“Yeah, no problems at all. Seems like a nice enough guy. Oh, and he has a pet, so I put a charge on the account for the cleaning fee.”

“Sure, thanks,” she said, heading to the fridge. “I have no idea what I feel like making for dinner.”

“It’s already handled. Panda is bringing crab legs. See if Reggie can pick up some corn and shrimp on the way home. Panda says he wants to talk to us, says he has some news.” Martin shrugged. “What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know, Dad. I guess we’ll find out tonight.” She hoped it was good news, and not bad news.

“Hey, know what I heard today. Our new guy asked if we had Freshen Up gum. I haven’t heard of that in ages. Remember that gum?” He laughed thinking back.

Poppy’s ears perked up. “Did you say Freshen Up?”

“Yeah, hey, remember the long, twisty Marathon bars? I don’t think you can get those anymore either. And milk in a glass bottle, those were the days…oh, and do Root Beer barrels still exist?”

Poppy jolted to the counter, scanning the information on the card. “I need to check something. I’ll be right back.” She didn’t want to say anything else.

“Sure thing, and don’t forget to call Reggie. See if he can get that stuff on the way home,” Martin called out behind her.

Poppy waved as she ran out the door. She headed straight to the unit that was set aside for one Mike Donovan. She noted the basic blue family sedan parked in front of it. She drew a deep breath, turned on her best southern charm and knocked at the door to the camper.

A big man popped his head out. He wasn’t expecting company. “Yeah?”

“Hi there, I’m Poppy Pepper, one of the owners of the resort. My father mentioned you brought a family pet with you. Do you need anything? We don’t have a fenced in dog park, but the trails around the resort are nice for walking. Please just remember to use a leash. Welcome to the resort.” She smiled the best she was able.

“Yeah, thanks, we’re good. We’ll be out of here in a day or two, we’re just passing through,” he said. He didn’t look like he was ready for a conversation and wanted this talk to be over.

“Oh, what area are you visiting from?” Keep them talking. The dog started barking from inside. “Oh, can I see your dog, I just adore dogs. We have a stray cat we call Chopper that’s kind of adopted us, but I do love dogs.”

The man groaned, not wanting to be bothered. He picked up the little white dog, not wanting to make her suspicious. A white dog is a white dog. They all looked alike.

“Oh, she’s adorable. What’s her name? Is it a boy or girl? I’m thinking a girl with that adorable bow holding her hair up over her eyes.” She cooed appropriately.

“Princess, lady, her name is Princess. Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m exhausted. I was just about to take a nap.” He made it clear he didn’t want to be disturbed.

“Oh, right, so sorry. Enjoy your stay,” she said pumping up the charm. She gave him a sweet smile and then turned away. There was no doubt about it; she recognized that dog the instant the man held her up. She’d put a call in to the police department to report it right away. No need to call Carmella first, otherwise, she’d rush over and cause a scene. Better to secure the dog before getting her involved.

When the police officers showed up, she filled them in on the details, what unit he was in, that she knew the dog in question, and that the owner had filed the report earlier in the day. It was some weird coincidence that they were staying there, but if it got Anastasia back to Carmella, she was thrilled it happened that way.

She headed down the lane, just a few moments after the two police cars. She wanted to give them time before she got there. It didn’t take long. The officers had cuffed the men, scooped up the dog, and put her in one of the cars. The men were seated in the other.

“Larceny at best; dogs don’t fall under kidnapping charges. Grand theft in the third degree, since the law goes by value,” the offer said to Poppy as she walked up. “Not a huge fine, but with prior convictions, these guys won’t get off as easily.”

“The thing is,” Poppy started. “I think they were working for someone. Would I be able to talk to them?”

“Not standard procedure,” the officer stated. He winked. “Of course, I’m going to check out the camper to see if there’s anything else I need to collect as evidence. If you happened to talk to them through the partially rolled down window of the car, there’s not much I can do about that.”

“Right,” she said, catching on. She went over to the car, took a deep breath and said, “I know you’re working for someone else. If you tell me who hired you, we might be able to lessen the charges against you both.”

“I’m no rat,” Jimmy “Bag-of-Bagels” spit out. “Go pound sand.”

Klondike Mike growled at Jimmy. “This was all you. One small job you said, and we’d be ready for the big time again. We’d get our reputation back, you said. Instead, we’re going to end up back in the slammer.” He turned his attention back to Poppy. “Watch your back, lady. You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

“Is that a threat?” She raised her voice. Turning around, “Excuse me, officer…”

“Not a threat, knock it off.”

Poppy grilled him again. “Who are you working for?”

“I don’t know; some guy hired us off of an online classified site. We’ve got reputations. They know how to find us. We were getting paid through a PO Box at a local office. We can’t get paid if we don’t hand over the dog.”

“When were you going to do that?” Poppy quizzed hoping to get more details.

Mike glared at her. “Lady, why should I tell you?”

“Because I can help you,” she said, daring him to find out if it was true. She bluffed as well as anyone.

“Lady, I’m beyond help. I’m not talking. A squealer doesn’t get more work, and I’m not ready to change my profession.” He clamped up, refusing to say another word.

If she could figure out what post office, who was renting the box out, and where and when he was supposed to drop off the dog… She sighed. That would be next to impossible.

Not long after the officers left, she called Carmella to let her know Anastasia was on the way home. Only, nobody answered. She left a message, hoping she was home when the police showed up with her dog. Poppy decided to head over, in case she wasn’t around, she could take temporary ownership until her friend arrived.

Once again, stopping in the office, she checked in on her father. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you. I’ll fill you in later, but the guys that checked in were the ones that stole Carmella’s dog. Now, we just need to find out who was behind it. Who was paying them to do the deed? I’m sorry to do this to you again, but could you watch over the counter?”

“Are you going out again?” he asked. “We should hire someone again, only not as a temp.”

“I wish we could afford it. Anyway, yeah, I’m heading over to Carmella’s. She’s not answering her phone and the police are on the way to her house. I want to be there in case she’s not.” Poppy explained.

“Sure, sure, just pick up some cocktail sauce on the way home,” he said, double checking the fridge. “We’re out of cocktail sauce.”

Chapter 7

Somebody had taken the time to hire those guys to steal the dog. Why? Why didn’t they get the dog themselves? And what did they want the dog for? Did they simply want to remove the dog from the premise, or did they want the dog? Was it to hurt Carmella, to get back at her, maybe her ex-husband? Did her son hold a grudge? Was it another show dog owner trying to knock out the competition? She knew the police would consider the case pretty much closed, but she owed it to her friend to help her figure out what had been going on. After the dog napping, Poppy was more than certain her car had actually been taken and brought back. Somebody was messing with her, but who? And why only take her car for a few minutes? Did they want her to think she was losing her marbles?

It seemed odd that somebody would post that kind of job on an ad. Weren’t they worried law enforcement might pick up on it? And they placed an ad on what, Craigslist, or something similar? Was there an underground version, a list where criminals went to list jobs? How do you even learn about places like that? She was speculating, obviously, but it opened an entire new world to Poppy. Stealing dogs didn’t seem like a thing, but apparently it was. Was it for the value of the dog or payback?

Driving over to her friend’s house, she noted Carmella’s car in the driveway. The police car was just pulling away. She hoped her friend answered. She ran up to the door and pressed the bell, and waited for her friend. After what felt like forever, the door opened. “Anastasia’s home,” she squealed, holding her dog. “She’s back. Back where she belongs with Mommy. I’m not letting her out of my sight. And you can bet I won’t rest until I figure out who did this.”

“Yeah, they have the guys that did the actual theft, but they wouldn’t talk to me when I asked who hired them. I was pretty sure they didn’t do it for themselves. They said it was based on some ad, they had a reputation, and the person, it sounds like a guy was going to pay them via a PO Box. I have no idea at what post office or what the terms were. I also have no idea where  or when they were going to transfer the dog.” She filled her in on everything that had transpired. “Why don’t we make a list of possibilities? It has to be somebody you know.”

“I’ll bet it was Peter. I know it was,” she grumbled. “He’s on the top of the list, but how do I prove it?”

“Okay, let’s figure out who else is a possibility.” Poppy guided her along, so they didn’t narrow the scope too much. “What about your son?”

Carmella gasped. “What? Why would you even say that?”

“Didn’t you say he was jealous of how you treated Anastasia?” she quizzed.

“But he’d never,” her jaw dropped. “He knows how much she means to me.”

“Right, let’s forget him, though writing his name down wouldn’t hurt anything. It’s just a list of ideas. Who else? What about other dog show people? Do you have local competition?”

“Harley Jettison,” she said with a groan. “He could be the answer. He’s always bitter when Anastasia outranks his own Buttercup, but it’s not my fault she’s not as pristine as my girl.”

“Okay, let’s put his name down. Is there anybody else you can think of?” It was going to be a long road, and they might not find an answer, but at least it gave her some focus. If Carmella felt like she was in control of the situation, it might keep her out of trouble. The last thing they needed was for her to cause a scene, marching into her ex-husband’s face and threatening him or accusing him of something he might not have done. 

“I don’t know.” Her burst of adrenalin was stalling. “What if it happens again? She’s my baby.”

“She’s here now. Just make sure you stay with her when you put her out, and hopefully we’ll find some answers.”

“Oh, I’m going to get one answer very soon. I’ll demand Peter tell me everything! I’m going over as soon as he’s home from work. Do you want to come with me?” She looked over at Poppy.

“Oh boy, I don’t think that’s a good idea. And tonight, I can’t. My brother is coming by, something about some news. I have to stop at the store. I just wanted to check in with you. If you learn anything, let me know,” Poppy said.

“I’ll teach him to mess with me,” Carmella grumbled.

Poppy pleaded. “Please, stay out of trouble. You’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

A little more chatter, and then Poppy had to head out. She wanted to make sure she made it home in time for Panda’s news. She wondered what it was. A quick run into the market to pick up cocktail sauce, and oh, she forgot to call Reggie. She grabbed a bag of frozen shrimp while she was there. It wasn’t fresh shrimp, but the frozen would do just fine.

She made it home with little time to spare. Panda was pulling up and hopped out of his car. He walked around to the passenger’s side and opened the door. A young, dark haired girl stepped out. She easily looked twelve or thirteen. Going inside, holding her hand, he introduced her. “Pops, Poppy, this is Stephanie. I didn’t want to say anything until I was certain, but I’ve just asked her to be my wife, and she agreed.”

Poppy stared. She worded things carefully, before speaking. “Panda, Stephanie, congratulations. Umm, how old is she? Panda, are you okay?”

“What are you thinking, she’s a kid,” Martin yelled out. “That’s illegal!”

Stephanie froze. Panda stood next to her protectively. “She’s twenty-two, a legal adult, thank you very much. Who do you take me for? Really guys?”

“She doesn’t look more than thirteen, tops,” Poppy spit out. “I’m sorry, how rude of me. You just look so…young.”

“I’m told that often,” she said quietly, obviously embarrassed. Her gaze darted toward the floor. This was awkward.

Panda cussed under his breath. “Now you see why I wanted to wait. Do you see why I didn’t want to introduce her to you until I was certain? Can’t you just welcome her to the family and not treat me like a criminal? I wouldn’t date someone underage. What do you take me for? Seriously - thirteen? She’s twenty-two. I met her at work.”

Poppy scrambled. “Stephanie, I’m so sorry. I just…we didn’t know. Please, let’s start over. I’m Poppy, Panda’s sister, and this is our father Martin.”

Panda rolled his eyes toward his father, waiting for the second apology.

Martin looked away. “What she looks young. You sure she’s legal?”

Stephanie opened her purse and pulled out her wallet. “I know I look young. I’ll appreciate it when I’m older, but right now, I’m carded constantly.” She was trying to help shred the awkwardness that lingered.

“Right, put that away,” Panda said. “We don’t owe them anything. Really, Pops? I bring my future wife to meet you, and this is how you…”