Doggie Day Care Murder by Laurien Berenson Page B

“I’m fine now. Really. Let me just run inside and get that application for you.”
    â€œPoor thing,” Alice said as soon as Candy was out of earshot. “We can’t just fill out the application and walk away. We have to do something to help her.”
    â€œCandy needs customers,” I said, “so you’re helping her just by signing Berkley up for the program.”
    â€œThere must be something more.”
    â€œStop it,” I said.
    Alice was all innocence. “Stop what?”
    â€œTrying to make me feel guilty for not getting involved in Candy’s problems. It isn’t working. I’m busy all the time now. I have a new baby.”
    â€œLiar. Even before Kevin arrived, you were always doing a hundred things at once. If you were so busy all the time, you wouldn’t be gardening.”
    â€œI like gardening.”
    â€œSay that to my face.”
    All right, so I couldn’t.
    What people saw in gardening was beyond me. It was an activity built around weeds, bugs, and dirt. And in the end, if you were lucky, you ended up with tomatoes nearly as good as the ones you could buy at the market.
    I knew some people felt a sense of accomplishment, growing things with their own hands. But to me, it was nothing but a source of frustration.
    Alice was still standing there glaring at me when Candy returned, paper in hand.
    â€œIf you want, you can fill this out at home and bring it back when you drop Berkley off for the first time,” she said. Then she stopped and looked at the two of us. “What’s the matter?”
    â€œMelanie solves mysteries,” Alice blurted out. “She does it all the time. She’s really good at it.”
    Candy turned and stared. “You do?”
    â€œI’ve been lucky a couple of times.”
    â€œShe’s being too modest,” said Alice. “She’s like Nancy Drew. Melanie finds murderers and makes them confess. I was thinking maybe you could use her help.”
    â€œWell . . . yeah.” Candy exhaled softly. “You’d be willing to do that? Really?”
    As if Alice had left me any choice.
    â€œI could try,” I said.

10
    S o we went back inside to talk.
    This time, when Alice started looking squeamish as we headed toward the offices, I gave her a hard look and told her to get over it. This whole getting involved thing was her idea. Under the circumstances, the least she could do was buck up.
    â€œGet over what?” Candy asked as she led the way into her office which was across the hall from Steve’s.
    â€œThat.” Alice nodded toward the closed door. “Sorry, but it just kind of gives me the creeps.”
    â€œMe too,” Candy said with a grimace. “I locked Steve’s office as soon as the police left and I haven’t been in there since. They gave me the name of a cleaning service I’m supposed to call, but I haven’t even been able to make myself do that. I know it’s childish of me, but for now I’m just ignoring the whole thing.”
    â€œYou should take all the time you need,” I said. “I’m sure it’s hard enough just being back at work this soon after what happened.”
    â€œIt’s not like I had a choice.” Candy motioned us inside her office and shut the door.
    The room was small; with the three of us in there, it felt crowded. A plump chair sat in one corner. It was occupied by a fawn colored Welsh Corgi with white feet and a white stripe down the middle of its face. The dog was snoozing contentedly on the cushion, but he opened his eyes at our arrival, hopped down off the chair, and trotted around the desk to say hello to Candy.
    She stooped down to greet the Corgi, scratching behind his ears and cupping his wedge-shaped face in her hands. “This is Winston,” she said. “He’s my best friend.”
    â€œCute,” said Alice. “How old is he?”
    â€œFour. I’ve