head.
“I know Captain Jack and Ricardo knew each other because I saw them talking on the beach. I also suspected Captain Jack was the first person on board that night, so he could have made whatever arrangements he needed to, including sneaking my mystery man aboard before anyone else got there. He was piloting the boat, but I’ve learned that the vessel is computerized, so he could have set the autopilot, killed Ricardo, and then returned to the bridge before anyone knew he was gone.”
“You seem to have thought about this quite a lot,” Toad observed.
“Of course I’ve thought about it. My freedom is at stake. Keep in mind that Talin said I shouldn’t investigate. He never said I couldn’t think about it. Are you going to the fund-raiser tomorrow?”
Toad seemed startled by my abrupt change of subject.
“Yes, I planned to. Why do you ask?”
“It just seemed like a good place to trip over information. If you’re there and I happen to trip over something important I won’t have to wait to fill you in.”
Toad actually chuckled. “You have a strange logic, Zoe Donovan.”
“So I’ve been told.”
After I finished talking to Toad I decided to call Jeremy to see how the new dogs were working out. I knew he would do everything in his power to make certain we were able to accommodate as many of the poor things as possible.
“So how’s it going?” I asked as soon as he answered the phone and we dispensed with the traditional pleasantries.
“Really good. Your idea about asking locals to help foster the dogs was brilliant. Not only did we take on the fifteen dogs we had room for at the Zoo but I had seven members of the community volunteer to foster one or more dogs. In addition to Nick, who agreed to foster three females with health issues, your pappy took on two mama dogs with active litters, and Tiffany took three pregnant females back to your house. I hope that’s okay.”
“That’s more than okay; that’s awesome. And Nick’s a retired doctor, so he was a good choice for the injured dogs. Has Scott had a chance to check all of them out?”
Scott Walden is our local veterinarian.
“He’s working on it. So far he’s cleared about half of the dogs for adoption and is going to work on spreading the word that we’re in need of qualified adoptive families.”
“That’s one of the reasons I love Ashton Falls so much. When there’s a need, the entire community pitches in to meet it.”
“Yeah. It’s a pretty awesome place to live. I think we might want to extend the adoption clinic we’ve planned from one day to two now that we have a full house.”
“That’s a good idea. Go ahead and change the ad, and put a notice in the Bryton Lake paper as well. We’re going to need to lure folks up the mountain if we’re going to place that many animals.”
Later that evening, after we’d BBQ’d burgers and shared a meal with Ellie and the kids, Zak, Charlie, and I decided to take a walk on the beach. It was a moonless night and the stars shone brightly in the dark sky. The tide was out, causing the waves to lap gently onto the shore.
“So how did your conversation with Jensen go?” I asked. I really wished Zak and I could be spending more of our time together as a newly married couple rather than focusing all of our energy on murder and motives, but we were scheduled to fly home in just five days and I really wanted to be allowed to leave the island when the time came.
“He was actually quite helpful,” Zak informed me. “The man really doesn’t hold his liquor well. It only took two drinks and he was blabbing anything and everything.”
“What did he say about Ricardo specifically?”
“I asked about his presence on the cruise, and he said Ricardo and Stefana were last-minute additions to the group due to a request from Chandella that they be included.”
“Did he know why Chandella asked?” I remembered Ricardo pulling her into the breezeway on the morning of the
“I know Captain Jack and Ricardo knew each other because I saw them talking on the beach. I also suspected Captain Jack was the first person on board that night, so he could have made whatever arrangements he needed to, including sneaking my mystery man aboard before anyone else got there. He was piloting the boat, but I’ve learned that the vessel is computerized, so he could have set the autopilot, killed Ricardo, and then returned to the bridge before anyone knew he was gone.”
“You seem to have thought about this quite a lot,” Toad observed.
“Of course I’ve thought about it. My freedom is at stake. Keep in mind that Talin said I shouldn’t investigate. He never said I couldn’t think about it. Are you going to the fund-raiser tomorrow?”
Toad seemed startled by my abrupt change of subject.
“Yes, I planned to. Why do you ask?”
“It just seemed like a good place to trip over information. If you’re there and I happen to trip over something important I won’t have to wait to fill you in.”
Toad actually chuckled. “You have a strange logic, Zoe Donovan.”
“So I’ve been told.”
After I finished talking to Toad I decided to call Jeremy to see how the new dogs were working out. I knew he would do everything in his power to make certain we were able to accommodate as many of the poor things as possible.
“So how’s it going?” I asked as soon as he answered the phone and we dispensed with the traditional pleasantries.
“Really good. Your idea about asking locals to help foster the dogs was brilliant. Not only did we take on the fifteen dogs we had room for at the Zoo but I had seven members of the community volunteer to foster one or more dogs. In addition to Nick, who agreed to foster three females with health issues, your pappy took on two mama dogs with active litters, and Tiffany took three pregnant females back to your house. I hope that’s okay.”
“That’s more than okay; that’s awesome. And Nick’s a retired doctor, so he was a good choice for the injured dogs. Has Scott had a chance to check all of them out?”
Scott Walden is our local veterinarian.
“He’s working on it. So far he’s cleared about half of the dogs for adoption and is going to work on spreading the word that we’re in need of qualified adoptive families.”
“That’s one of the reasons I love Ashton Falls so much. When there’s a need, the entire community pitches in to meet it.”
“Yeah. It’s a pretty awesome place to live. I think we might want to extend the adoption clinic we’ve planned from one day to two now that we have a full house.”
“That’s a good idea. Go ahead and change the ad, and put a notice in the Bryton Lake paper as well. We’re going to need to lure folks up the mountain if we’re going to place that many animals.”
Later that evening, after we’d BBQ’d burgers and shared a meal with Ellie and the kids, Zak, Charlie, and I decided to take a walk on the beach. It was a moonless night and the stars shone brightly in the dark sky. The tide was out, causing the waves to lap gently onto the shore.
“So how did your conversation with Jensen go?” I asked. I really wished Zak and I could be spending more of our time together as a newly married couple rather than focusing all of our energy on murder and motives, but we were scheduled to fly home in just five days and I really wanted to be allowed to leave the island when the time came.
“He was actually quite helpful,” Zak informed me. “The man really doesn’t hold his liquor well. It only took two drinks and he was blabbing anything and everything.”
“What did he say about Ricardo specifically?”
“I asked about his presence on the cruise, and he said Ricardo and Stefana were last-minute additions to the group due to a request from Chandella that they be included.”
“Did he know why Chandella asked?” I remembered Ricardo pulling her into the breezeway on the morning of the
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