ppp cove 06 - criminals on vacation Read Online Free PDF

together, and maybe find a clue.” She knew Carmella had chased away most of her friends. The woman was getting impossible at times, but Poppy stuck by her side.
    “Fine,” she groaned. “I’ll go over stuff with you. Do you want me to drop by, or do you want to do it over the phone. When I find out who is responsible, I’m going to nail them to the wall and smother them with criminal charges.
    “Why don’t you come over around lunch time, I’ll make us a couple of sandwiches,” she offered.
    “Really? Why don’t I pick something up on the way over? It will be easier.”
    “It’s no trouble,” Poppy answered.
    Carmella drew a deep breath and then said the words she was dreading. “I think I’d prefer picking them up. Come on, we both know you aren’t the best cook.”
    Poppy gasped. “They’re sandwiches, how hard can they be?”
    “Do you remember the crab dip incident of 2013?” She hated to go there.
    “Fine, I’ll have roast beef. At least go to the good deli,” she suggested.
    “I’ll be there around one. I need to do a few things this morning.”
    Poppy quizzed. “One of those things wouldn’t be confronting your ex, would it?”
    There was silence.
    “Carmella?”
    She gave in. So maybe there was a slight possibility she had considered it. “I was just going to ask him a few questions.”
    “Do me a favor,” Poppy said. “Wait for me. I’ll go with you. That way, if you get into trouble, I can get you out of there before it escalates.”
    “Today? Promise you’ll do it today,” she nudged.
    “After lunch, or tonight, when he gets home from work. He’s probably not even there now anyway,” Poppy mentioned.
    “He seems to work from home more often, now that he has ‘the new girl’ waiting on him,” she spit out.
    Poppy gently scolded her friend. “Okay, just stay away from there until later.”
    A long, drawn out sigh filled the phone. “Fine, I’ll see you later.”
    Poppy ended her conversation and pondered over how she ended up in the middle of things, once again. She tossed around a couple of thoughts, trying to find a motive. Was it over money, attention, the dog show world, or to get back at Carmella?
    The morning went quickly enough, and before she knew it Carmella had pulled up and parked in front of the office. Poppy went out to greet her friend.
    “I hope you don’t mind, I brought Anastasia along,” she said. “I was afraid to leave her alone. It must have been traumatizing to her, you know.”
    Poppy got that her friend didn’t want to let her dog out of sight for fear of losing her again, but Anastasia wasn’t looking too traumatized. Not that she knew what was going on in the little white dog’s mind, but the way she was sniffing at the bag holding the sandwiches, she was pretty sure she knew what the dog was focused on.
    Carmella reached over and picked up the brown bag. The small dog hopped out of the car and followed her. “I almost went over there, but I didn’t. I held off. You have no idea how difficult that was.”
    “What if it wasn’t him? Let’s look at the other possibilities, just in case…” She trailed off.
    “Pointless, but I’ll play along.” Together the women went inside. They settled at the kitchen table. Poppy got them each a drink, napkins, and plates.
    “What if…what if it was this dog show person you spoke of? What can you tell me about them?” She needed to get Carmella thinking about other possibilities. Poppy didn’t want to get stuck at a dead end, and the more leads they had or people to check out, the better chance they had to find the answer of ‘who paid the guys to steal her dog’ and why.
    Carmella spit out a laugh. “Harley Jettison, the pompous man of mystery, or so he’d have you believe. For him, it’s all about keeping the illusion that he’s somebody special. Truth is, his star crashed when he retired his past Princess from the show ring. He’s been scratching to get back ever since, and