Free Leighann Dobbs - Mystic Notch 02 - A Spirited Tail by Leighann Dobbs

wasn’t sure of which direction to go, but once Pandora got him to focus, he honed in on the special place and they trotted off up the mountain.
    “I really miss my master, but Willa seems nice,” Ranger said as they ran through the woods, using the stars as navigation points. “Maybe things aren’t as bad as they seemed yesterday.”
    Pandora slid her eyes over toward him, her whiskers twitching. She was glad the dog was coming out of his funk, but not glad enough to want to share her home with him. Or her human.  Sure, he might come in handy for blaming things on, but she doubted Willa would believe he was the one that threw up a hairball on her new bedspread or left the headless mouse on the porch.
    “Willa is nice, but you need a new master, not mistress,” Pandora said.
    “I don’t deserve either.” He stopped and sniffed the air. “The special place is up ahead.”
    They spilled out of the woods and Pandora paused at the edge of the yard. A large brick house loomed in the distance and a variety of smells hovered in the air. 
    “Wait here,” she said. 
    Pandora sniffed the air. Slinking low on her belly, she skirted the edge of the yard, moving in circles closer and closer to the house. The cloying smell of death lingered, but it wasn’t strong.  She smelled anger, fear, greed and betrayal. But none of that was here now. Satisfied that no other souls, human or otherwise, were in the yard or the house, she signaled for Ranger to join her.
    “This is where it happened.” Ranger stopped in a spot behind the house where the tall grass had been trampled down. Pandora could smell many humans, their scents and emotions intermingled, making it impossible to single out that of the killer or Ranger’s former master. If she had been able to, she might have at least gotten a clue as to if Bruce knew his killer or the emotions surrounding the murder.  
    She glanced at the large house which loomed over them, silhouetted by the full moon. Her whiskers tingled. The hairs on her back stood up with static electricity. 
    Something important was in that house. 
    Not something to do with the murder, though. This was something bigger than that—this had to do with her purpose of helping the humans keep the scales of good and evil balanced on the side of good.
    Should she go in?  A quick glance at the house told her there would be many ways she could slip inside, but she had no idea what to look for. Better to wait and seek advice from the others of her kind.
    She turned to Ranger. “Why is this house special?”
    “I’m not sure.” Ranger’s eyes clouded over. “Master used to take me for walks here all the time. I could feel he thought it was special. He told me he used to come here when people lived here. Good times.”
    “But he never said why it was special?”
    “No, but I could feel it.  The house and the special thing he had at home.”
    Special thing at home? Pandora narrowed her eyes at the dog. How many ‘special things’ did his master have? She wondered if the special thing at home was related to whatever it was she sensed in the house. She would have to see if Ranger could take her there and show her.
    “You lived nearby?” she asked.
    “Yes.” Ranger looked off to the west, his eyes moist.
    “Can you take me there and show me the special thing?”
    Ranger whined, nodded his head and started off to the west. Pandora remembered the reason they’d come—she still needed to help him solve the murder or he might never find a new master. “Not yet. First tell me what you remember from that night your master was killed.”
    “I followed the rabbit smells. Master lets me off the leash here when we come. There are rabbits that live here. I heard the voices, but I was chasing the rabbits.” Ranger’s ears lowered and he looked at the ground, his head hanging. “When I came back, Master was laying on the ground. I licked his face, but he did not move. I smelled death.”
    Pandora nodded