Free Karma's A Bitch (A Pet Psychic Mystery) by Shannon Esposito

sisters. All the same inside.”
    I raised my mug. “Amen, Frankie.”
    She looked sheepish as she clinked glasses. “I’m sorry. I know I get preachy sometimes.”
    “Not at all. Sounds like you have a lot to share with people from your experiences.”
    We spent the next hour or so sharing our ideas for a fundraiser, laughing and munching on the wonderful food she kept ordering. I did sneak in an order for some vegetable curry to satisfy my need for something spicy. At one point, Karma stretched and stood up beside me, sniffing the table. I noticed Frankie startle.
    “You hungry, Karma?” I offered him a sausage roll. “This is Karma, he’s harmless.” I smiled at Frankie.
    She held a hand to her chest. “Scared me, I didn’t know you had a dog back there.” Then her eyes narrowed. “He looks familiar.”
    “Yeah, you might have seen him around with his former owner, Mad Dog. He was homeless, killed a few weeks ago.”
    Frankie wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin, succeeding in wiping off her lipstick in the process. She looked pale. “Oh, yeah. I heard about that. The suicide? Now I recognize Karma.”
    “Yeah, he’s been really depressed. Loved Mad Dog to pieces. He’s doing better now.” I rubbed his head. He was staring at Frankie like he recognized her, too. “But, you know, I don’t believe he committed suicide.”
    “You don’t? Why not?”
    “Well, for one, the police think he got drunk and drowned. But, I know Mad Dog wouldn’t drink. He had gotten sober for Karma.”
    “Huh.” She finished off her glass of wine and poured another. “For a dog? That’s unusual. Anything else makes you suspicious?”
    I almost felt like I could confide in her. Almost. “I don’t know. I spent some time with him the week he died and well, there is the fact that he kept showing up with injuries, bruises and hurt ribs. Someone was hurting him and he wouldn’t go to the police.”
    Frankie nodded in understanding. “There’s one thing you have to realize, Darwin. When you’re homeless, the police aren’t your friend. Their job is to keep us out of the way, as invisible as possible.” She waved a piece of pita bread at me. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the police who were beatin’ on him. There’s a unit that deals with street crimes got a couple of bad apples on it. I had run-ins with ‘em myself. Mean suckers.”
    “Really?” I couldn’t imagine. I guess it would make sense if that were the case. That’s why he wouldn’t go to the police. “Do you know their names? I’ve got a friend…well, acquaintance I guess, that could maybe look into it?”
    She shook her head. “Your best bet, sugar, is just to stay out of it. You don’t want those cops on your bad side. They can make a person disappear and make it look like their idea.”
    Like Mad Dog. I sighed and glanced around. Night had fallen and the tables around us were beginning to empty out. Why did everyone’s advice have to be “stay out of it”? I wish that were an option. It wasn’t.

 
     
    CHAPTER FIFTEEN
     
     
    An afternoon thunderstorm forced people off the streets for a bit and pushed them into the Beach Drive shops and restaurants to wait it out. A few of our customers stood chatting in front of the window, not willing to brave the downpour that was sending water gushing down the street. Sylvia stood beside Nelly Michaels and fluffed out her bichon’s bangs like a proud hairdresser. I heard her laugh. “Hey, Darwin?”
    I was perched on the stool behind the counter, watching gray sheets of rain tumble out of the sky. “Yes?”
    “Nelly and the girls want to know what kind of fragrance we sprayed in here to make it smell so good?”
    Oh geeze. I glanced back at Karma and then held up my hands. “It’s um…Eu da dog rose.” This sent Sylvia into peals of laughter. Karma pushed himself off his bed and came over to rest his head on my lap. “It’s okay, boy.” I smoothed the wrinkles in his