The Puppy Project, page 2
part #9 of Tess and Tilly Cozy Mystery Series
Chapter 2
Before my early morning nightmare and my discovery that Tony had been communicating with a man who may or may not be my father, my plan had been to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the expanded shelter that my good friend and veterinarian, Brady Baker, and I had designed and Tony had paid for with the proceeds from the video game he’d developed with his best friend, Shaggy. The idea to expand the shelter had begun with a desire to provide permanent housing for elderly animals, as well as those dogs and cats who were hard to place due to unresolvable behavior problems. From there, the idea had been expanded to include a state of the art training facility that would provide an indoor location for not only basic behavior classes, but classes designed to prepare dogs for search and rescue, therapy, and other needed services as well.
Brady and I both wanted the four-legged residents we placed in permanent housing to have actual people to live with, so once the facility was completed, Tony had committed ongoing funding to pay for round the clock staff. While the new housing was not slated to be ready until late summer or early fall, Brady had already begun advertising for these positions. So far, the list of folks who were interested in living in the house and interacting with the animals for twelve-hour shifts was a lot more extensive than we had first anticipated. Brady was carefully screening the applicants in an attempt to find the best fit, even though, in reality, it would be months before we actually needed the pet sitters.
“Wow, the turnout is phenomenal,” I said to Brady with genuine enthusiasm as I greeted friends and neighbors who’d come out to celebrate on this beautiful spring day.
“The town does seem to be getting behind the project,” he agreed. “I’ve had a lot of folks contact me about donating materials and labor for our building project. Initially, with Tony’s generous grant, I figured that we didn’t need additional donations, but then I realized that if we saved money building the place, we’d have more for training and other programs that might provide a long-range impact on the animals we’ve committed to saving.”
“I love the idea of making this a true community program. And I agree that any money saved during the construction phase can be used for operations. Maybe we can even go ahead with the obstacle course and night vision equipment on our wish list for the search and rescue training. Did the guy you spoke to about training search and rescue dogs ever get back to you?”
Brady nodded. “He’s very enthusiastic about our willingness to undergo search and rescue training so we’ll be better qualified to train dogs to perform this much-needed service. There’s a new group starting training in June, but it’s in Missoula. I figure Missoula is a doable drive during the summer, and I plan to sign up for the class, but I’ll need to leave before you normally get off work. If you can figure out a way to get time off work, I’d love to have you join me. It would be great if both of us were certified.”
“So, the idea would be to start our own group here in White Eagle once we’re certified as trainers.”
Brady nodded. “Exactly.”
“Let me think about it a bit. When do you need to know?”
“I should let the guy know if there will be one or two of us by the end of next week. The class starts June first.”
“Okay. I’ll get back to you in a day or two.”
“Sounds good.” Brady looked around. “Tony isn’t with you today? I planned to thank him for his generous donation during my speech.”
“He’s here. I think he went to look for Shaggy. I guess you heard that Shaggy is using his half of the profit from the game to expand his store and begin working on the next game in what I understand will be a series.”
“Based on the amount of money Tony has donated to the shelter project, I take it the game is selling well.”
I nodded. “Very well. Tony already had more money than he knew what to do with before he decided to partner with Shaggy, but this game has changed Shaggy’s life considerably. Tony and I are happy to see him doing so well, but we both hope the money doesn’t go to his head.”
Brady nodded toward his left. “I think you’re safe for now.”
I glanced in the direction Brady had nodded toward. Shaggy had shown up for the ceremony wearing a Scooby-Doo costume. The only way I could even tell it was him was because I’d seen the costume when he’d worn it to a Halloween party we’d all attended. I had to smile at the children who’d gathered around to chat with their favorite doggy detective. Sometimes Shaggy made me nuts with his childish pranks and irresponsible behavior, while other times, I just wanted to hug the big goof for being exactly who he was.
“Mike and Bree just arrived,” I said to Brady. “I’m going to head over and say hi before we get started.”
“Okay. Meet me on the platform in about fifteen minutes.”
My brother, Mike and his wife, Bree, who was my best friend, had been trying to have a baby, and the last time I stopped by their house, the two of them had taken their frustrations about not being able to conceive out on each other, which had led to a huge fight. I was happy to see that both Mike and Bree were not only smiling but were also holding hands as they made their way toward the front of the crowd.
“You made it.” I stepped forward and hugged first Bree and then Mike.
“Of course we made it,” Bree replied, brushing a lock of hair from across her face. “This is a big day for you, Tony, and Brady. We wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
Mike nodded toward the backhoe that was all geared up and waiting on the sidelines. “Is Brady actually planning to begin digging the foundation today with all these people wandering around?”
“No. We discussed digging the ceremonial hole with a shovel idea, but Brady wanted to go big, so he decided on making a slightly deeper hole with a backhoe. The actual construction isn’t due to begin until Monday.”
“It’s nice that Mother Nature provided a nearly perfect spring day for the ceremony,” Bree said.
I tilted my head and looked up into the blue, blue sky. “It really is gorgeous. And the temperature is about as perfect as it can get.” I looked back toward Bree. “We should get together and grill some steaks later. If you want to come out to Tony’s, I’ll stop and pick up everything we’ll need on the way back to his place.”
“That sounds wonderful.” She glanced at Mike.
He nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
“I have a new shipment of wine from the club Mike and I joined that I’ve been dying to try. I’ll bring a couple bottles,” Bree offered.
I supposed her offer was confirmation that there still wasn’t a baby on the way and that the effort had been paused altogether. The couple had been trying since before Christmas, and as far as I knew, Bree hadn’t had so much as a sip of wine since then. The fact that she planned to have wine tonight indicated to me that they’d decided to take a break from the situation that seemed to have caused friction in their relationship.
“I’d love to try your wine. We’ll grill on the patio and maybe take all the dogs for a walk around the lake after.” I figured this would be as good a time as any to fill Mike and Bree in on Tony’s emails with someone claiming to be our father. When I’d first found out that my dad was alive and had not burned in a fiery crash, I’d done everything I could to keep that fact from Mike. Tony had eventually been able to convince me that I owed my brother the truth. Our dad was, after all, our dad. I guess I figured that by keeping the secret from Mike, I was somehow protecting him, but the reality was that Mike was a cop, and Tony finally convinced me that perhaps he might even be able to help. Of course, even after I filled him in, I kept parts of the truth from him. Big parts, like the situation with Star before her death. Doing that had angered Mike and Bree to the point where they’d stopped talking to me. Now that I was finally back in their good graces, there was no way I was going to risk their friendship by keeping anything from them again.
“Leonard would love a walk around the lake,” Bree confirmed. Leonard was my brother’s dog, who I suspected was even more spoiled than any baby they might one day have would be. “It’s been a long winter, and he hasn’t gotten out for as many long runs as he really needs.”
I turned and looked over my shoulder. “It looks like they’re getting ready to start. I should find Brady. We’ll meet up after the ceremony to firm up our plans for the cookout.”
“Sounds good,” Mike said. “Mom is over by the benches, chatting with Aunt Ruthie, who has been talking nonstop about the new menu she wants to develop for the diner. Personally, I think the old menu is fine, and have tried to avoid getting pulled into the debate, but I heard from a couple people that Ruthie wants to get rid of the meatloaf sandwich, an overall favorite of mine, so I think we’ll join them so I can add my two cents before it’s too late.”
“Be sure to give a shout out for the Ruben while you’re at it,” I called after Mike as he took his wife’s hand and headed in their direction.
I’d just turned to join Brady when one of the shelter volunteers, a woman named Gilda, saddled up beside me.
“I’m glad I caught you before the ceremony,” she said. “I know Brady plans to thank all the volunteers by name and was planning to give a special shout out to Noreen Littleton, but Noreen just stomped out of here madder than I’ve ever seen her.”
“Why?” Noreen was one of our most dedicated volunteers. I couldn’t imagine that she would miss the ceremony.
“I’m not one to gossip, and you didn’t hear this from me, but a couple of the other volunteers went out after their shift last night, and they saw Noreen’s husband with another woman. A very young and very attractive woman. Apparently, Noreen has been suspecting an affair for a while now but didn’t have any proof. Once she learned that, she took off for home. I figured that Brady should know, so he doesn’t create an awkward moment by calling Noreen to the front or something. I tried to tell him, but he was already on the platform and surrounded by people. I wasn’t sure how to pull him aside.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll let him know that Noreen had to leave. The poor thing. I hope she’s going to be okay.”
“I went through a messy divorce two years ago, and trust me, she isn’t going to be okay. I hope she has the support she needs here, but I suspect she might take a leave of absence from work and stay with her sister in Ann Arbor. The last time her two-timing husband was unfaithful, she left for two months. I’ve spoken to her since then, and she swore that if she caught him cheating again, he was good and gone.”
I felt bad for Noreen. She really was a sweet woman, but her husband was a real tool. I’d never really liked the guy and often wondered how the two had gotten together in the first place. “I’ll go pull Brady aside. Thanks for the heads up.”
I crossed the dirt lot and joined Brady on the platform. I pulled him aside and whispered that Noreen had to leave and that I’d fill him in on the details later. He nodded and indicated that I should stand next to him as he welcomed the group. He thanked all the volunteers and introduced me as his partner in the project. He gave a few special shout outs but didn’t call anyone to the front. Then he called Tony to the front and introduced him as the man behind the generous donation that had made his dream a reality. Once the introductions and thanks were taken care of, he took a few minutes to explain in detail exactly what we hoped to do with the expanded facility.
Eventually, he took a step aside and turned the floor over to the man driving the backhoe. The plan was to scoop out three or four buckets of dirt, enough to create a mound of dirt and a moderately deep hole we could use for the photos that would be circulated in the local newspaper as well as on social media. Brady had already seen to the fencing that would keep the construction zone secure. Currently, due to the large crowd and the presence of rows of benches, he had left one of the four sides of the fence open, but once the crowd left today, he planned to have the open side closed in.
The first scoop of dirt, which had been dug out of the ground and placed gently to the side, had everyone clapping. The second scoop resulted in cheers and well wishes, while the third scoop resulted in screaming.
“What the…” I gasped as the third bucket of dirt was dumped onto the increasingly large mound. I glanced at Mike, who was already crossing the distance between where he’d stood with Bree and the pile of bones that appeared to be human from my vantage point.
“I turned to Tony, who was standing next to me. “Are those bones?”
“I’m afraid they look like bones. Human bones.”
He headed toward Mike and the bones while I picked up the microphone Brady had been using and cautioned everyone to keep their distance. Brady had set out refreshments in the current training and playroom, so I suggested to the crowd that they head in that direction. I figured that once the crowd had cleared, I could join Mike and Tony and hopefully find out who had been unceremoniously dug up.
Chapter 3
Once it was confirmed that the bones were human, Mike roped off the area and called for reinforcements. Reinforcements in White Eagle, Montana consisted of Mike’s partner, Frank Hudson, and a rookie who’d joined the force about a year and a half ago named Gage Wilson. I supposed after a year and a half, Gage was no longer a rookie, but everyone still referred to him in that manner.
Once Frank and Gage arrived, the men went about the task of carefully removing the bones from the hole and placing them in a plastic bag that the coroner would use to transport the remains to the lab. The hole would be roped off and guarded until the coroner confirmed the complete skeleton had been recovered, and any evidence that might have been contained within the ground had been recovered as well. It looked like our cookout with Mike and Bree, as well as our discussion with Mike about what had been going on with our dad would have to wait.
“Do you think those bones belong to someone we know?” Bree asked as we waited off to the side for Mike and his men to do their thing.
“I hope not. I don’t think so. Bodies do decompose more quickly if buried directly in the dirt, but as far as I can tell, there’s nothing else in the hole. No hair, no clothes, nothing other than bones. I guess Mike will have to send the remains to someone who knows about these things, but I suspect we’re going to find that the body buried here has been here for quite some time.”
Bree glanced at Brady, who was chatting with Mike near the dig site. “Poor Brady. I feel sorry for the guy. Today was his big day.”
“I don’t think this is how he wanted things to play out,” I agreed. “I think the worst part, however, is the fact that construction is likely to be delayed.”
“Yeah,” Bree sighed. “Does it seem to you that for a town this size, it has more than its share of secrets? I feel like one skeleton or another is popping up practically every month.”
I smiled. “The bodies haven’t popped up quite that often, but I do get what you are saying. I guess we need to keep in mind that the entire area originally sprang up as a mining camp. A male-dominated mining camp, free of any sort of formal law enforcement to keep folks from killing one another. I’m sure death by accident or at the hand of a friend or neighbor was a common occurrence. Before that, the area was occupied by Native Americans and a few settlers from the east. I don’t know of a formal burial site from as far back as then, so I bet there are actually a lot of bodies buried beneath the surface of our town.”
“Well, that’s disturbing.”
I put my arm around Bree’s shoulders. “Not really. I’m not sure about the history of this particular plot of land, but I suppose it’s possible it was once an ancient burial ground or a potter’s cemetery. I’m sure once Mike has a chance to dig around a bit, he’ll be able to tell us if there’s something in the hole that indicates a more recent death.”
“Like a shoe?” Bree asked.
I turned and looked back toward the area where the bones were being removed. Yep, Mike had found a shoe. A leather tennis shoe that looked old but certainly not ancient. “Yes, like a shoe,” I acknowledged. “Maybe I was wrong about the age of the skeleton.”
By the time the men finished digging, the other shoe, as well as small pieces of deteriorated clothing, were found beneath the bones. Mike left Frank and Gabe to secure the dig site while he headed back to his office. The coroner had arrived to pick up the bones while the remainder of the items found in the hole, the shoes and clothing and such, had been bagged and then transported to Mike’s office.
“I guess the bones aren’t quite as old as I thought,” I said after Tony, Bree, and I joined Mike in his office. “I’m pretty sure that brand of tennis shoe didn’t even exist until maybe ten years ago.”
“It does seem as if, based on the shoes and remnants of clothing found, that the bones have been in the ground for less time than I originally thought based on the rate of decomposition,” Mike agreed. “I guess it will be up to the coroner or maybe the medical examiner in Missoula to tell us how old the bones actually are. I can say, based on my limited knowledge of forensic science and the two advanced seminars I attended relating to forensic anthropology, that the bones belonged to a male about six feet tall. I guess all I can do at this point is to scan the missing persons reports for the past ten years and see if a match can be found.”
“How long has the property been developed?” Bree asked.
I thought back to the construction of the shelter and the house where Brady currently lived. “Doc Baker, the first Doc Baker, used to have a clinic in town. I remember it was a few doors down from the little five and dime on the corner. That five and dime is now a mini-mart and gas station, and the veterinary clinic is now a hair salon.” I tried to remember exactly when he’d built the new facility. “Brady took over for Doc Baker just about the time I found Tang. I remember that was when I first met him, so I guess that must have been two, almost two and a half years ago.”
