Free Santa Sleuth by Kathi Daley

yet.”
    The fact that she’d told both Zak and me and not Levi really did seem to indicate that the romance between them might be in trouble.
    The conversation paused as the waitress set our food in front of us. It looked as good as it smelled. The tortillas were handmade each day and the sauces were mixed on-site.
    I’d just taken my first bite when I received a text from Jeremy, letting me know that someone had left a dog crate with a mama cat and six kittens on the stoop at the shelter. He wanted to know if Alex would be willing to foster the family until the kittens were old enough to adopt out. I texted back that I would ask her, but I was certain she’d be more than willing.
    “Sorry,” I apologized to Ellie because I was basically ignoring her. “I need to text Alex really quick. Kitten emergency.”
    “Everything okay?”
    I explained about the cats left on our doorstep.
    “Who would do a thing like that? It’s freezing outside. What if Jeremy hadn’t found them right away?”
    “I agree that it seems like the responsible thing to do would have been to bring them inside, but there are some people who just don’t want to take responsibility. At least they brought them to the shelter rather than just abandoning them somewhere.”
    Alex texted back, saying that she would be thrilled to foster, so I let Jeremy know that I’d pick the kittens up later in the day.
    “So where were we?” I asked after I returned my attention to my food and my conversation with Ellie.
    “I was about to ask you whether you wanted to head to Tizzy’s first after we eat or go directly over to Kelly’s?”
    “Tizzy’s is closer, and the feed store isn’t all that much farther. We can head over to talk to Tizzy about this Blugo and then go to the feed store to talk to Bram. After that we can stop by Kelly’s. I need to pick Scooter up from school, so that will probably be it for the day. Are you coming to Scooter’s play tonight?”
    “I’m not sure. I’m supposed to have dinner with Levi, if he doesn’t end up canceling. I’m going to try to pin him down as to what’s going on. It’s hard to say how that conversation will go or how long it will take.”
    I placed my hand over Ellie’s and gave it a squeeze. I wished I had the perfect thing to say but I didn’t, so I just let her know by my actions that I was there for her should she need me.
     
    Tizzy’s Tats was a colorful place offering piercings as well as ink services. Tizzy was a small, well-groomed man in his midforties who didn’t sport any visible piercings and only a couple of small tattoos, which was odd for a man in his profession. In spite of the fact that he didn’t look the part of a tattoo artist, he had the reputation for being skilled in his profession.
    “What can I do for you girls today? Maybe a lip ring for the holidays?”
    “We aren’t here for any body art today,” I said. “We really just wanted to ask if you know a man named Blugo.”
    “Yeah, I know him.”
    “Does Blugo have a last name?” I wondered.
    “Dunno. And I’m pretty sure Blugo isn’t his real first name.”
    “Have you seen him lately?” I asked.
    “No. He used to live in that rundown apartment building south of town, but I haven’t seen him for weeks, so he might have left the area. I got the impression he was a man who liked to move around a lot.”
    “I guess you heard about Jason Overland,” I continued.
    “Yeah, I heard. Guy was a snake.”
    So far every person I’d talked to had referred to Jason as a snake or some other equally unpleasant equivalent. It was almost surprising that someone hadn’t whacked him sooner.
    “I heard Jason might have cheated Blugo out of some money. Does Blugo seem the type to seek revenge for something like that?”
    “Hell yeah. Everyone knows you don’t mess with Blugo. If Jason cheated Blugo he’s as good as dead.”
    “He is dead,” I reminded him.
    “So he is. Maybe Blugo didn’t leave town after all.