Fifty Shades of Greyhound (The Pampered Pets Mystery Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

volunteer.
    “He inherited the position from his father, George P. Thomas. Nice man, the senior Thomas. And very sharp. The son, however, is no firecracker.”
    “Seems so odd.” I placed the files I’d collected in my bag.
    “What’s odd?” Diana followed me into the outer office.
    “That no one really knew this Victor Lustig.”
    “That is strange.” Diana absently patted Mr. Wiggles’s head. “I feel badly for Blanche. She does such an incredible job for the Greyhound rescue cause, and this event was to be the big fund-raiser.”
    “Hopefully this will be solved quickly.”
    “I bet it will. Let me know if there’s anything I can do, Caro. You’re an excellent judge of people, so I’m sure you’re right about Verdi and her brother.” She opened the door to leave. “I’d better get going.”
    “Okay, see you later.”
    The door closed behind her and I stood in the silence a few minutes. Diana was wrong. I was a lousy judge of people. That’s how I’d been taken in by my ex-husband’s charm, only to find he was an unfaithful, lying, unethical snake in the grass.
    I’d thought in the time since the divorce, or “The Big Mess,” as Mama likes to call it, I’d gotten better at recognizing lies and seeing through the fakes.
    But what if I hadn’t?
    THE DAY WENT quickly and, after the Lab with the licking problem which was as I’d suspected really more of an anxiety issue (exercise and calm time prescribed), I’d moved on to a cat fight issue.
    Not the type of cat fights I’d dealt with during my Texas beauty pageant days. This involved actual felines with prima donna attitudes. The family had an older cat and had introduced a young kitten with the idea it would encourage her to get some exercise. Instead, she’d become the grumpy dowager of the household. The old girl had become creative in showing her displeasure, and the new cat on the block was in hiding most of the time. We came up with some ideas to get the two together, and I had every confidence the two would adjust.
    I’d scheduled a time to check back in a week with both the Licking Lab and the Ferocious Feline and their families.
    I had no luck in catching Verdi at the Koffee Klatch. My appointments had all gone long, and I’d missed her. The afternoon was just as busy, and I didn’t get a chance to try her cell again.
    As I pulled into my drive, I noted there was no car next door, so Verdi must have already made her visit to Toby and Minou, her catsitting charges. I didn’t think she was avoiding me, but she was probably feeling awkward about the situation.
    Setting my groceries on the counter, I dropped my purse on the floor and kicked off my shoes. Thelma and Louise, my two cats, left their perch on the windowsill to come check out the groceries, and Dogbert trotted out to greet me.
    My cell phone rang, and I glanced at the number but didn’t recognize it. At least that meant it wasn’t my mother. I was not in the mood for a “what are you doing,” “who are you seeing,”, “what are you eating,” phone call from the Queen of I-Gave-Birth-to-You-So-You-Will-Listen-to-Me.
    I answered the call. It was Blanche LeRue who wanted me to stop by the next day and check out her two Greyhounds who she felt had been traumatized by the craziness last night.
    I could imagine they might be—I felt a little traumatized myself.

Chapter Four
     
    I’VE NEVER BELIEVED much in women’s intuition.
    I think it comes from paying attention to what goes on around you. Sometimes you have to listen to what people are saying and sometimes you have to listen to what they’re not saying. Mostly, you just have to shut up and listen.
    As promised, I’d stopped by Blanche’s house first thing. She lived in the house her grandparents had built in the 1920s. It was a Village Craftsman bungalow, sturdy and classic. Most days, Blanche was the same.
    Today, she answered the door a bit out of breath, her expression startled like she wasn’t expecting