One Dog Too Many (A Mae December Mystery) (26 page)

T
here was a huge white tent set up behind the Chapmans’ house, with round tables scattered throughout. White linen tablecloths covered the tables, each one topped off with a cowhide throw. Silver candelabra served as centerpieces. There were more tables along the far wall displaying silent auction items. An ornate, iron chandelier hung from the top of the tent and swags of white flowers draped the backs of the chairs.

Mae and Ben split up for a short while. Ben wandered through the silent auction area and Mae went to find the closest bathroom. She needed to repair her makeup and have a moment to herself. She caught up with him twenty minutes later, exploring the barn.

“C’mon,” he said. “They’re announcing the winner of the door prize in a minute. Did you save our ticket stub?”

They hurried to find their seats as
Mae handed him the stub. Jill took the stage with her husband behind her. He held a punch bowl filled with raffle tickets. Jill reached in, pulled out the winning stub and handed the ticket to her husband, Randy. He looked at the number, and started patting his pockets.

“Give me that. You can’t read without your glasses, can you? The winner is ticket number forty-two.”

Ben jumped up with the winning stub in his hand and made his way to the stage.

“Howdy, Sheriff.” She grinned and quite obviously looked him over, drawing a laugh from the crowd. “I guess you and your pretty friend won the prize.” She gestured at a huge brown and white cowhide hanging from the back wall of the barn. “Be sure to take it home with you.”

Ben came back and sat down. “I’ve never won anything before. What are we going to do with this thing?”

“I’ll ask July for ideas. She’s a designer. I’m sure she’ll think of something.”

Ben gave her a quizzical look. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Your dad is a photographer, your mother a writer, and your sister a designer. How did you end up doing something so … well, practical?”

“Did you start to say non-creative?”

He laughed. “I was going to try to be a little bit more tactful, but yeah.”

She took a deep breath. “This is hard for me to talk about. But since you’ve been honest with me about Katie, I’ll tell you.”

He nodded encouragingly and leaned in closer.

“After high school, I went to O’Meara College in Rosedale to study painting and art history. When I graduated, I got a job at a gallery in Nashville. That’s where I met Noah. He and Patrick came in looking for a gift for their mother. He took my card and called me that night.”

For a minute, Mae was lost in the memory of that time in her life.

“Anyway, I lived in a tiny little apartment. I’d go home and paint at night. I was starting to sell some paintings, and then, well
...”

“Noah died.” Ben’s voice was quiet.

“No, that was later. I was going to say Hurricane Katrina hit. Noah and I were engaged by then and getting ready to buy the farmhouse. Noah had some musician friends in New Orleans and we went down to volunteer. We were there for quite a while and I got involved in doing pet rescue. Rescue is actually how I acquired Titan and Tallulah. We ended up bringing them back with us. Tallulah was pregnant and gave birth to a litter of puppies shortly after we moved into the house. She and Titan were a love-match.” Mae smiled, remembering her first litter of puppies.

“The flooding in Rosedale must have brought back a lot of memories.”

“It definitely did. I’ll never forget that flood smell as long as I live. The stench was worse in New Orleans, but after the flood here, it smelled almost as bad.”

“I know. At the office, we put Vick’s VapoRub under our noses and wore masks but the air still reeked.”

Mae nodded. “Anyway, I was planning to find homes for the puppies and to have Tallulah spayed and Titan neutered when Tammy came up with the idea to call the puppies Porgis and sell them. She convinced me there was a good market for designer mutts. I made quite a bit of money and my dog-breeding career was born. I quit my gallery job, although they agreed to continue handling my paintings. I was doing well, too, but after Noah died, I stopped painting.”

Ben put his hand on Mae’s arm and
gave it a gentle pat.

“I converted the barn and started boarding and breeding. Noah insisted on a pre-nup when we became engaged. He said that if anything happened to him, the money would make it possible for me to keep the house. That’s how I ended up in a non-creative career. I’ve gone on too long.”

“No, you haven’t. I have one more question. Why did you sign your paintings with the name Malone?”

Clearly, he was onto her little deception.

“How did you know it was mine?”

“I just guessed.”

Mae cleared her throat. “You know how I feel about my name. I wanted a brush name, an artist’s name, one that wouldn’t change when I got married, so I used my middle name. It’s from my mother’s side of the family. Do you like the painting in my kitchen?”

“I don’t like it
…” He shook his head. “I love it. It’s probably none of my business, but I think Malone needs to pick up her paintbrush again.”

Mae didn’t answer, and the waiters began serving food. There was an announcement made, telling everyone that the silent auction was closed. Ben had bid on one of the vacations, but someone had outbid him right before the cutoff.

After dinner, Jill and her husband announced that they had just received information about a large donation. She wanted to acknowledge the donor personally. She called Laura Connolly up to the microphone.

“What the hell is that woman doing here?” Ben muttered under his breath. He pulled out his cell and dialed. He gestured to Mae that he had to step away to make this call.

Mae had noticed Laura before the announcement. Laura’s gaze locked on hers for an uncomfortably long moment.

“Everyone, I’d like to introduce Laura Connolly. Laura, please come on up. Mrs. Connolly is representing her husband’s law firm. The Connolly, White, Putney and Swift firm has donated ten thousand dollars to the school. Let’s hear it for the Connollys!” Jill stood by Laura and raised Laura’s right arm in the air. Mae noticed that Laura’s hands were clenched into tight fists. The applause was enthusiastic and prolonged.

“Laura’s husband, James, was busy tonight, but she graciously offered to bring the donation to us. Thank you so much, Laura.” Jill smiled as Laura exited the stage.

Jill and her band played a short set. Her voice was appealing, a combination of rough and smooth. Her band, called Tough Act to Follow, was composed of all old-school musicians; people who sounded the best live. Ben returned to the table and touched her arm.

“Mae, we have to go right now. Laura wasn’t supposed to leave her house. I hate to go during the set, but I have to find out how she managed to get out of the house. ”

“We can sneak out after this song,” Mae whispered. “I’m pretty tired anyway.”

The song ended and they ducked out. Mae looked back at Laura Connolly. Her fixed gaze was extremely uncomfortable. Mae waved at Jill and Jill winked with a thumbs-up. Ben must have passed inspection. They said goodbye to Jill’s husband and stuffed their giant door prize in the back of the truck.

Ben made several phone calls on the drive back to his house.

Mae wasn’t really listening. She was still thinking about Katie Hudson, Katie’s son, who also might be Ben’s son and whether the woman still wanted a relationship with Ben. They sat in the truck for a minute after he parked.

Ben called the office again and left messages for Nichols, Dory, and Phelps.

Mae turned to him. “Did you see how Laura stared at me at the fundraiser? I think she knows I told you about the shovel. I have a terrible feeling that Laura had something to do with the murder. I’ve been feeling like this ever since I heard her ask Robin where the shovel was.”

“I think she’s protecting her husband. Don’t worry. We’re keeping an eye on both of the Connollys. Mae
…” he hesitated, “would you come in?” He leaned over to kiss her.

She turned her head away. “I don’t think so. I’m sorry, but I need time to adjust to all this.” He pulled back with a hurt expression. He got out of the truck and walked around the back to open her door. Mae stepped down on the running board and he took her arm to help her
down.

“I’ll call you soon,” he said in a quiet voice. “I’m going to check on some things at the station now.”

Mae let go of his arm and gently kissed him on the cheek. He walked over to his patrol car, started it up and drove out of the neighborhood. Mae turned and walked toward her car. She wondered if he’d really call her. He might not. His ex-fiancée was back and he had probably just found out that she was the mother of his son. He’d be under immense pressure to reconcile with her.

Tears started to fill her eyes. Their relationship would be over before it really began. She’d be alone again.

As Mae unlocked her car,
a woman in a long trench coat walked toward the car parked in front of Mae’s. The night was very dark and her face was lost in the shadow of her hood, but there was something familiar about her. Mae got into the driver’s seat, turned the key in the ignition and lowered her window to let in the cool night air.

The woman in the long hooded coat
was standing right beside her. “Excuse me. Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

The woman pulled out a gun. “Turn off the car. Get out.”

Mae was frozen. Was this really happening? Mae shut the car off, opened her door and got out. The gun was pressed against her back.

“Get in my car.”

“What are you doing?”

“Get into the driver’s seat in that car ahead of you. The keys are in it. Don’t make a sound. This gun is loaded.”

Mae thought she recognized the woman’s voice. Her abductor hardly looked at her; her face was still concealed by
dark shadows. Mae got in and started the car. The woman walked around to get into the passenger seat, all the while keeping the gun pointed at Mae through the front windshield. When she reached the rider’s side door, the window was down. She kept the gun pointed at Mae through the open window as she got in the car.

“You
’re going to drive us to downtown Nashville. Take the first exit after the Science Museum.”

The entire drive, Mae talked quietly. She was desperate to get through to her kidnapper. She kept her voice low.

“Where are we going? Please, put the gun down. What do you want from me? Let me help you. You must think I can do something for you. What is it?”

“This is your fault,” the woman said.

“What are you talking about? What did I do?”

The woman didn’t answer. Instead she said, “We’re going to the apartment building at four-oh-six Robert Street. Turn left at the next light.”

They pulled up in front of an apartment building and at a wave of the woman’s gun, Mae drove beneath the portico and down a side driveway. They were going into underground parking. Mae started to shake.

“If you make a sound, I’ll shoot you. If you didn’t have such a big mouth, I wouldn’t have to do this.”

Mae pulled into a parking place and shut the car off. Her abductor opened the door and stepped out. Holding the gun steady, she told Mae to crawl across the seat and get out of the car on her side. She held a pair of silvery bracelets. As soon as Mae stood up, there was a click on her left wrist. She was handcuffed to her kidnapper. She struggled, but the handcuffs didn’t give.

Linked together, the two women walked to the elevator. The underground parking garage was dark and deserted. There was no one to help her. They got into the elevator and rode to the sixth floor. When the elevator doors opened, the woman motioned to Mae to stay back
while she peered around the corner and down the hall.

“Remember, I have a loaded gun in my pocket,” she whispered. “Don’t make a sound.”

She opened the door to Apartment 610 with a key and pulled Mae inside with her.

“For God’s sake, what are you doing? Let me go. You’ll never get away with this. The sheriff will come looking for me first thing in the morning.”