Free The Scottie Barked At Midnight by Kaitlyn Dunnett

yet, not while Liss still had questions. Instead, she did a quick mental sort and pulled out the most pressing one. “Did your mother keep a written record of her dance routines?”
    Desdemona made a brief detour to the desk to rummage through the drawers. “There’s a spiral-bound notebook somewhere. The kind students use. Ah, here it is.”
    She handed it over, then immediately began hauling her luggage into the hallway. Liss had only time enough for a quick peek at the pages, but what she saw was reassuring. Deidre had recorded a series of routines she’d worked out for herself and the two dogs. She hadn’t used formal dance notation, but her descriptions and the little diagrams she’d drawn to go with them should be simple enough to interpret. Even so, Liss knew she had some homework to do before she’d be ready for the first performance.
    An impatient tapping—fingernails on doorframe—reminded her that Desdemona had a plane to catch. Together they lugged all three bags to the elevator. In the parking lot behind the hotel, after they’d stashed the suitcases in the trunk of Deidre’s rental car, Desdemona led the way to an enormous RV. Even before she knocked on the door, extraordinarily loud barking broke out from the other side.
    â€œGood grief! All that noise from such small dogs?” If Liss hadn’t known Dandy and Dondi were the ones making the racket, she’d have sworn there was a Great Dane inside . . . or at least a collie. Most dogs the size of the Scotties just yapped, an annoying sound that always reminded her of the toy dog she’d been given for Christmas when she was nine.
    A voice, raised to be heard above the din, yelled, “It’s open. Come on in.”
    Desdemona gestured for Liss to enter first. She’d barely stepped inside before the two Scotties threw themselves at her, nearly knocking her off her feet.
    â€œDown!” she ordered, laughing. They responded by circling her in a joyous dance and then, to her delight, stood up on their hind legs and waved their front paws at her. “Does this mean you’re glad to see me?”
    The look of adoration in Dandy’s expressive eyes gave her the answer she hoped for.
    â€œBe with you in a minute.” The throaty voice belonged to a strawberry blonde. At first that was all Liss could see of Valentine Veilleux—a mass of hair spilling halfway down her back. The photographer sat hunched over a computer monitor, giving commands with deft clicks of a mouse. Only after she’d saved the file and gone back to her home screen did she swivel her chair around to face Liss and Desdemona.
    â€œValentine, Liss. Liss, Valentine,” Desdemona said.
    Valentine Veilleux shoved at glasses that had slipped to the end of her nose and were in imminent danger of falling off. Liss caught a brief glimpse of pretty green eyes before Valentine slid thick lenses in front of them.
    â€œNice to meet you, Liss. If you ever need to go somewhere dogs aren’t allowed, I’m always happy to have their company.”
    â€œI’ll keep that in mind.”
    A sharp click sounded as Desdemona attached Dandy’s leash to her collar. Dondi eluded her, squirming into the storage space beneath the sofa to avoid being caught.
    â€œCome out of there, you little beast!”
    He ignored her. Dandy, deciding this was some interesting new game, barked with delight and tried to crawl in with her brother. Desdemona swore, threatening both dogs with bodily harm if they made her miss her plane. She stamped her foot, looking for all the world like a child on the brink of a temper tantrum.
    â€œStand back,” Liss told her, and got down on hands and knees. “Dondi? Dondi, sweetie. Come here, little one.”
    As she waited for some response, her butt sticking up in the air and her face all but on the floor of the RV, it occurred to Liss that Desdemona had no need to stick around.