Butchered After Bark

he pulls me away from the crowd for a moment—“do you really think Camila is capable of murder?”
“I don’t know.” He shakes his head, his eyes wild with shock. “I suppose everyone is capable of murder if pushed in the right direction. Why don’t you help close up shop? I don’t think anyone needs to be on the grounds tonight.”
“I will,” I say. “I saw something,” I pant. “I saw footprints to the left—and lots of money.”
He glances that way. “I saw that, too.”
“Did you see the ring? There’s a ring on Blair’s shirt. It’s caught on her button. It could belong to the killer.” I shake my head. “Or it could be Blair’s. I really don’t know.”
He leans in a notch. “Bizzy, did you know this girl?”
“No, we just met, but I can tell you everything I know about her so far. And the things she was thinking.” I nod his way.
“Okay. Go ahead and get this show shut down. It looks like I’ll have to head to the station as soon as we finish up here, but we’ll talk.” He presses an urgent kiss to my lips.
We pull away and I can’t help but make a face. “It’s been quite a homecoming, hasn’t it?”
“It’s not what anyone wanted.” He pulls back and gets a better look at the doll I’m holding. “Geez.” He takes a full step back. “Is that a prop or something?”
“It’s our lovechild, Annabeth.” I wrinkle my nose at the thing. “She belongs to Georgie. And believe me, I’d like nothing more than to give her back. I’ll herd the masses to the exit. Hopefully, this gets resolved quickly.” I dot another kiss to his lips and a thought hits me. “Oh! That dog!”
“What dog?” He searches my face.
“Blair’s dog.” I point over at the poor thing still shivering right where I found her. “Can I take her? I’ll make sure she’s safe.”
“You bet.” Jasper disappears for less than ten seconds before he lands the shivering cutie into my arms. “Be safe, Bizzy.” He glances past me into the crowd. “If Camila didn’t do it, that means the killer is still out there. And if they are, I’d bet money they were watching the scene unfold.” He takes off, and I step to the side with that tiny baby in my arms.
“It’s okay,” I whisper to the sweet little cutie. “You’re safe. I’ve got you. And do you know what? I can hear your thoughts and understand you. It’s sort of an odd little quirk of mine.”
She lets out a sharp bark. Is it true? Is my Blair gone?
“I’m sorry.” I plant a kiss on her head. “It’s terrible news, I know. Did you happen to see who did this to her?”
My word, this tiny shivering furball might just be the key to this entire murder investigation.
I didn’t see it. She whimpers. That woman was talking to Blair, and I was set on the ground. I began to wander. I could smell the tracks of many animals, and I wanted a fresh patch to relieve myself on so I went toward the woods. I heard voices, though—angry, heated voices. And I heard footsteps, too. Lots and lots of footsteps.
“Lots of footsteps? Like more than one person?”
Oh yes. From different people. Footsteps are like voices, too, you know. Each person makes a different sound when they take a step.
“Of course.” Huh. That might just be the saving grace for Camila after all, unless, of course, she confesses. I’m not Camila’s biggest fan, but I’d like to make sure the right person is put away for this heinous crime.
I get straight to the job of evicting every last soul from the property with the help of both Emmie and Jordy. And it’s nothing short of mass hysteria as people scream their way back onto the main road.
“Bizzy!” a couple of female voices call out my name at once, and I spot both Juni and Georgie headed this way.
Juni looks as if she’s dressed like a biker chick in a short leather skirt and matching bustier, but then that is her go-to look when she’s going out for the evening, so I doubt any effort was put into a costume.
Juni, Juniper Moonbeam, is Georgie’s look-alike daughter, save for the fact she has less gray hair, less wrinkles, and quite possibly less good sense. They do, however, share the same devilish gleam in their sparkling blue eyes and same penchant for trouble. Juni has a broad forehead, slender long nose, and mostly dark blonde hair.
Georgie gasps for air as if she’s just run a lap around the entire property, and she just might have.
“I found Fish by the gate and Sherlock, too, so I took them back to my place and shut them in for the night,” she screeches.
“Thank you,” I tell her.
“I can’t believe you found another one, Bizzy.” Juni growls out a dark laugh. “You can’t tell me that body didn’t wait for you to get back from your honeymoon.”
“Well, it did,” I snip as I shove the haunted doll I’ve been carting around for the better part of the night into Georgie’s hands. “And it looks as if Camila might have had something to do with this.”
“What?” Georgie howls and inadvertently rattles Annabeth, forcing the doll’s eyes to click open and shut at a frenetic—might I add, haunted rate. And it’s an unnerving sight. “I knew it, Bizzy. A girl who’s willing to kill a relationship with someone as dangerously handsome as Jasper Wilder is capable of anything.”
“I say good riddance.” Juni slaps her hands as if wiping them clean.
“Wait.” I squeeze my eyes shut because what’s about to come next isn’t something I say with ease. “We don’t know for sure if she did it. She might be innocent.”
Sprinkles lets out a sharp bark. She had blood on her hands. And she had that tall weapon she was wielding.
“Was she wielding that staff as a weapon?” I ask as I look at the tiny sweetheart