Doggone Dead Read Online Free PDF Page B

ripe.” Aunt Maggie pulled off her hat and placed it on a peg by the door. I followed her to the kitchen, walking by a wall of pictures that encompassed Danny’s life so far. In one picture he was six catching a fish with his dad, in another he was getting a medal in the Special Olympics.
    “Here we go, Betsy.” Maggie placed a glass of lemonade on the kitchen table. “What brings you by?”
    I pulled out a chair as she poured her own glass and ran her wrist across her perspiring forehead.
    “It’s a couple of things. One concerns your brother, and one concerns your son.”
    Maggie pulled a chair up to the table. “Oh, my word. Well, let’s start with Danny.”
    I nodded. “We had an interesting conversation at Dr. Springer’s office yesterday.”
    “Go ahead.” Maggie raised the glass to her lips.
    “He told me he’s in love.”
    Maggie put the glass down. “He already told me.”
    “What are you going to do about it?” I asked.
    “I don’t know. I suppose I’ll just let nature takes its course.”
    “What if he gets hurt?”
    “I know. I know it’s a problem. But how can I tell him he can’t have a crush on her? How do you think he would react to that?”
    She was right. The minute you told Danny he couldn’t have something, he had a hard time understanding. Allison was just a lovely young girl with a good heart. My cousin misunderstood her kindness as romantic affection. Even with Down Syndrome, Danny was a young man with all the same hormones as other young men his age.
    “When did he tell you?” I asked.
    “Oh, a few days ago, I guess.”
    “Didn’t he have a girlfriend from his class?”
    “Yes, and as far as I know they’re still an item.”
    “Grass is always greener.”
    “I guess. So how was your trip to the farm?”
    “Funny you should mention that. It brings me to the second reason I came by,” I answered.
    “What happened?”
    “Dad happened. He was snooping around while I was there.”
    “Snooping?”
    “He was suspicious of Coop Bonnet and his little red Corvette. He was being so nosy they were about to kick him out. He said he would come back with a search warrant.”
    “He didn’t already have one?”
    “Guess not.”
    “Doesn’t he watch Law and Order?” Maggie scoffed. “That Bonnet guy and his son. What rednecks.”
    “Yeah, well, he’s threatening to sue now, and I was starting to like Lina. She seemed really nice. Then, Officer Judd all of a sudden found a bag of pot when he was leaning over looking at the Corvette. That was enough to arrest Coop. Not my favorite way to get a story for the newspaper.”
    “You’re right. You’d think my brother could do his drug busts at a more convenient time.”
    “You think? On top of everything else, I’m being stalked by these pageant parents. A mom from the pageant showed up and had her daughter start performing a Broadway number for me. What would happen if the other parents found out that this little girl finagled extra time with the judge? I’m beginning to think I never should have volunteered for this thing.”
    “You volunteered?”
    “Good point. No I didn’t, but now I’m knee-deep in watermelons and little girls.”
    “And their mamas.”
    “Right.”
    “A stage mother is the most over-focused, well-meaning, crown-pursuing animal out there, darlin’,” said my aunt, “and you just found yourself in their sights. You might want to stick to home until the pageant.”
    “If I only could. We haven’t heard anything about Zach’s dog yet.”
    “Oh dear. I hope the little fella didn’t get himself run over.”
    I rolled my eyes. “I hope not too, but I have this one thing that’s been bothering me.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Well, and this is going to sound strange, but what if ... maybe ... that British guy at the Loper mansion lied to me?”
    “Why would he lie to you?”
    “I don’t know, but I can’t get it out of my head. I just keep hearing that little bark.”
    “That’s