Free The Scottie Barked At Midnight by Kaitlyn Dunnett Page A

She’d already given Liss the key to the suite. She’d brought her to the two Scotties. She was free to leave for the airport at any time. Liss was about to remind her of this fact when a wiry black head popped out from beneath the sofa. Liss snapped the leash in place. Tugging gently, she finished extracting Dondi from his hiding place.
    â€œWretched creature,” Desdemona grumbled. “One more trick like that and he’s going to end up in the dog pound, and not one of those humane ones, either.”
    Liss and Valentine exchanged a look of consternation. Liss hoped Desdemona was just letting off steam, but she had the uneasy suspicion that Deidre’s daughter, the new owner of the two Scottish terriers, meant every venom-filled word.

Chapter Four
    O nce Desdemona had left for the airport, Liss returned to the suite with Dandy and Dondi. They had a lot of work to do to prepare for the dress rehearsal scheduled for the following day. Before she settled in, though, she took a few minutes to explore her new surroundings.
    The two rooms in her corner suite looked as if they’d been decorated by the same person who’d done Deidre’s condo . . . with a smaller budget. The chairs and sofa weren’t leather here, and there was no fireplace, but otherwise the layout was similar. The front room was sectioned off into a minuscule kitchen area, a dining area with table and four straight chairs, and a living area where the furniture was cozily arranged so that the occupant could sit and watch TV, converse with friends, or simply enjoy the spectacular view.
    Five Mountains had been aptly named, although someone living in the Rockies might dispute the issue. Such as they were, Mount Dennis, Sandy Mountain, Lawrence Peak, Old Tumbledown, and Pious Ridge rose up to circle the valley in which the ski lodge, hotel, and condominiums had been built. Three out of the five boasted ski slopes ranging in difficulty from bunny to are-you-sure-you’re-brave-enough-to-try-this-one?
    The vista spread out before the windows in the bedroom was just as impressive. Liss discovered that she had a balcony. It wrapped around the corner, so that if she stepped out through a pair of French doors, she’d be able to see for miles . . . if she wanted to risk frostbite. Fortunately, she didn’t need to brave the cold air to orient herself. The windows on one side, like those in the other room, were at the front of the hotel. She was high enough to see most of the long, straight private drive that led from the resort to the highway—a two-lane state road that connected Five Mountains to Moosetookalook, Fallstown, and points south. The rest of the balcony was directly above the driveway that circled the hotel to access the parking lot at the back.
    Liss wasn’t a skier. Going out to play in the snow had never tempted her. But she could admire the pretty, pristine whiteness, divided by plantations of evergreens and broken by the jagged lines that were, in fact, carefully groomed trails. She stood where she was for a few more minutes, admiring the view.
    Dondi let out a yelp when she turned away and nearly tripped over him. Both dogs were right behind her, looking up at her with such hopeful expressions on their faces that she had to laugh. Hands on hips, she sent them what she hoped was a stern look. “You can’t be hungry again!”
    If she hadn’t known better, she’d have sworn Dandy nodded.
    Liss led them into the tiny kitchenette and found the dog treats. She checked to be certain there was water in their dog dishes while she was there, aware as she did so that she was procrastinating. It was time to get to work.
    After she hunted up the packet of information Desdemona had left for her, Liss ordered a light lunch from room service. While she waited for it to be delivered, she skimmed the contents, looking for any nuggets of information she might have missed earlier. Since nothing jumped out