Bess nodded. “For general emergencies. Plus, they water our plants when we go on vacation.”
“I know Amber’s anxious to have a dog of her own,” Nancy said. “Do you think—”
“No,” Bess said firmly. “Amber loves Misty, but she also loves Marisa. I’m sure she wouldn’t steal Misty.”
“What about Devon?” Nancy asked.
“Devon? Why would he take Misty?” Bess asked.
Nancy paused for a moment. “What if Devon’s involved in passing the counterfeit money?”
Bess shook her head. “No way.”
“Devon’s father worked on the renovations at the inn,” Nancy said. “So, Mr. Marshall must have known about the hidden room where we found the counterfeit money. Maybe Devon knew, too. And since he and Eric are fraternity brothers, this could be how Eric got involved in this whole mess.”
“Wait a minute,” Bess said. “Devon and Eric can’t stand each other.”
“That’s right,” Nancy said. “What if Devon framed Eric?”
Bess’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Devon hates the fact that Marisa and Eric are friends. If Eric were in jail, that would solve at least one of Devon’s problems.”
“But Eric’s not in jail,” Bess said. “And if anything, Marisa’s spent extra time with him, trying to clear his name. She’s been working hard on the counterfeiting case.”
Nancy nodded. “I know. But hear me out. Maybe Devon didn’t realize Marisa would get so involved. And maybe that’s why he decided to steal Misty—to stop Marisa before she figured out he was involved in the case.”
“That would explain why Devon wouldn’t help Marisa after Misty was taken.” Bess sighed. “This is depressing. I’ve always liked Devon. I can’t believe he’s the counterfeiter.”
“He’s too young to be the counterfeiter,” Nancy said. “I’m just saying he might have known about the phony money at the inn, and he might have given some of that money to Eric, hoping that Eric would get caught spending it. Devon lives at home, so he could have used the spare key to your house to steal Misty. He knew Marisa was staying here after the flood at her apartment, because she called him. And he certainly had the best access to our dishes at the restaurant last night. He could easily have added the glass to our meals after Casey made him drop the tray.”
“But what if those weren’t Misty’s hairs on Amber’s sweater?” Bess asked.
Nancy shrugged. “Then I’m probably wrong.”
“We could go over to the Marshalls’ yard and check for pawprints,” Bess suggested. “If Devon has Misty, he can’t keep her in the house all day. Believe me.”
“Good idea.” Nancy went to the closet for her coat. “With all this mud, there would be prints. Let’s hurry before Amber and Marisa come back.”
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Nancy said. She opened the door, and Misty’s big, muddy paws nearly knocked her over. Devon yanked on her leash.
Nancy locked eyes with Devon while Misty strained on her leash, eager to find Marisa.
“Please don’t ask any questions. Is Marisa here?” Devon asked.
Nancy shook her head. “She and Amber are walking Casey. They’ll be back soon.”
“May I come in?”
Nancy stepped aside. “I guess so.”
Devon sat silently on the couch and absent-mindedly petted Misty until Marisa and Amber returned with Casey. Casey let out an excited yelp and ran to greet Misty.
“Misty!” Amber shouted. “Devon, you found her!” She threw her arms around the dog. With a polite wag of the tail, Misty wriggled away and ran to Marisa. Marisa knelt on the floor, and Misty licked away her tears. “I love you, Misty,” Marisa whispered. “Please be okay.”
“She’s fine,” Devon said. His voice quavered slightly.
Marisa put her arm around him. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know how to tell you this, Marisa. I made a huge mistake.” Devon took a deep breath. “I took Misty.”
Marisa’s hand clenched. “You what?”
“It was a terrible thing to do. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Devon ran his hands through his hair. “I wasn’t thinking. I was so worried about you. The only way I could imagine keeping you out of danger was to force you to give up this case.”
“By taking Misty?” Marisa backed away from Devon. “You really thought that would work?”
“I told you,” Devon said, “I wasn’t thinking. I was afraid of what might happen to you. Someone has threatened your life. Why do you have to be so stubborn?”
“Don’t try to blame this on me,” Marisa said angrily, then softened. “Why did you change your mind? Why did you bring Misty back?”
“Because you’re obviously determined to keep working on the counterfeiting case,” Devon said. “We were all miserable. I had to hide Misty in the basement, and she cried all day long. She would have given herself away sooner or later.”
“I thought I heard something when we were doing the laundry,” Amber said. “You told me it was the washing machine making a funny noise.”
“Sorry, Amber.” Devon looked down at the floor.
