“You mean the little heathens,” Daisy said as she trotted over.
“Be nice,” I retorted. “And ask her if she’d like to come home with us.”
The two had their silent conversation and I slowly stood.
“She does,” Daisy replied.
“Well, then let’s load up,” I said. Turning toward the door, I led the two dogs out of the barn. After they were safely in the back seat, I glanced at the house. I really wanted to go inside and poke around. Since my perpetrator hadn’t left me a note tacked to a barn stall, maybe there was a clue inside. But again, I had no idea what I was searching for.
With a whispered curse, I slid behind the wheel and checked my charges in the rearview mirror. There was no violence, just two pups with their tongues hanging out. “Hang on, ladies,” I said, starting the car. I had lots of questions for mama dog, but first, I wanted to get her reunited with her family.
As we headed down the driveway toward the highway, I noted a bright red spot on the metal fence that I hadn’t seen before. Was it blood?
I placed the car in park, then exited and trounced through the snow to the fence. Definitely not blood. After running my finger over it, I realized it was paint. Had Charlie been painting something? I looked from the house to the barn. There wasn’t any red to be found on his property. Perhaps a car or truck had skidded on the driveway and hit the fence? Who had a red vehicle? I studied the ground for tire tracks, but the snow had covered anything that might have been there.
Just then, a brown car stopped at Charlie’s mailbox. I returned to my vehicle and started it. A man was going through Charlie’s mail!
When we were closer, I recognized his son.
I rolled down the window. “Hey, Larry!” I called, waving. “How’s your dad?”
“He’s good.” Larry walked over to my car with the letters in hand. “Doctor says he should be home later today. What are you doing out here?”
Pointing to the back seat, I said, “Got the mama dog.”
He peeked inside and smiled. “Great, Gina. Where did you find her?”
“In the barn looking for her babies. We’re going to get her home and back to being a mom.”
“I found her, Gina,” Daisy said. “I’m the big hero in this story.”
“So, what do you think happened to my dad?” Larry asked. “Who hit him?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged and put my car into park. “I’m not sure if Rudolph disappearing is connected to your dad being hit over the head, or if it’s two different things. Did he talk to you at all about not being paid for housing Tony Brewer’s deer?”
“He didn’t, but Dad doesn’t talk much about his finances. He’s more interested in the grandkids and what they’re up to and when they’re coming to see him.”
“Does he happen to have a red car or truck?”
“Nope. Dad hates red vehicles. Says they catch the attention of the police too easily.”
Just then, he dropped all the mail into the snow. With a curse, he bent over and picked up the letters. I noted one that said Claim Information.
“I better get going,” I said, my mind churning. “Tell Charlie I say hi and let him know I found mom. He’ll be happy to hear that.” I looked forward to the quiet drive home so I could think.
“Sure, Gina. See you later!”
After turning onto the highway, I considered the red paint. Had a car spun out while in a hurry coming or going from Charlie’s house? If so, maybe that would be the way to discovering whoever had committed the crimes. If we could find a red car with scratches and maybe more damage, we’d have our person.
And the claims envelope intrigued me. Obviously, it had been from an insurance company, but I hadn’t caught which one.
I had no idea about Charlie’s financial status. Supposedly, he had received a large sum of money from the will of the woman his wife killed, but I wasn’t sure if that ever panned out.
What if he’d agreed to house the deer, then let Rudolph out when he wasn’t paid? Or maybe so he could file a claim with the insurance company? Then Tony Brewer came over, found out what Charlie had done, and hit him over the head, as well as releasing all of Charlie’s miniature goats and cows as retaliation?
However, all the events had happened the prior day, and mama dog had seen the man who let out Rudolph—she’d chased him away. I glanced in the rearview mirror. Curled up on the seat, she laid with her eyes closed. Hungry, cold and tired, I guessed. Once she’d been fed and had spent some time with her babies, I had to find out what she’d witnessed in the barn. Was she even acquainted with Charlie, or had she just picked his barn as a safe space to have her babies? If that were the case, she wouldn’t know if she was chasing him or someone else when Rudolph was let loose.
Or, maybe Charlie had planned it from the beginning. He’d taken on the deer, put in the insurance claim, then let Rudolph go. If that was the case, he could’ve filled out the claim form days ago.
We needed to talk to Brewer.
“Why didn’t you tell that man that I was the big hero and found the mama dog?” Daisy pouted from the back seat. “I never get any credit for my awesomeness.”
“Sorry,” I muttered. The problem was, I couldn’t give credit for anything to a talking dog. “Next time I’ll be sure to give you the kudos.”
When we pulled into the driveway, I turned to mama dog and Daisy. “What’s her name?” I asked, pointing to mom.
Daisy glanced over at her, then turned to me. “Her name’s Sasha,” she said. “Isn’t that fancy?”
I nodded and exited the car with the dogs in tow. Sasha’s tail wagged as she kept her nose to the ground. Most likely, she smelled her kiddos weren’t too far away.
After opening the front door, Daisy ran ahead. Sasha trailed behind only for a moment, then the puppies began to whimper.
“Whoa!” Jacob said as I rounded the corner after her. “Who the heck is this?”
I found him and his friend on the floor with the puppies. Once Sasha jumped the gate, the young men were quickly forgotten. Sasha laid down among the blankets and greeted each of her pups with a lick. They quickly settled in and began to nurse.
“You found mom,” Jacob said softly as he and Eric stood.
