Free 5 Mischief in Christmas River by Meg Muldoon Page B

you really think that’s the way to go?” I said.
    My experiences with the media had taught me that they’d go to town on a story this juicy. The Sheriff’s Office losing a dog worth 20 grand… that would be a story that would take some time to die down, all right. And it might leave a mighty large swath of destruction in its path.
    “Well, regardless of how it’ll reflect on the department, I think it’s the right thing to do,” Daniel said. “As hard as it might be. And maybe if it comes out that Shasta’s missing, we might get lucky. Someone might have her.”
    “Are you going to offer a reward?” I asked.
    “Most likely,” he said.
    I bit my lip, thinking of Brad’s story about Reginald and the reward scam.
    Daniel could tell I was mulling over something.  
    “You have a hunch about Shasta’s disappearance?” he said.
    I nodded. I went over to my bag on the coat rack, pulling out the folded-up missing flyer. I came back to the kitchen island and handed it to him.
    “I ran into Julianne Redding earlier,” I said. “I got some details about how she lost her dog.”
    “What’d she say?” he asked.
    “She was walking him in the BrightStar area about a week ago. He was off-leash and he ran off. She’s been beside herself looking for him. But he hasn’t turned up yet.”
    Daniel looked over the poster, and stroked his chin.
    “That’s the same place that Shasta went missing,” I said.
    He nodded.
    “I know,” he said.
    “And then there was Pete Burgess’s dog that went missing,” I said.
    Daniel nodded again.
    “A little odd, don’t you think? All of this happening in such a short period of time.”
    “No such thing as coincidence, that’s for sure,” he said. “What’s your theory?”
    I took a deep breath.
    I still always felt a little nervous whenever I told Daniel one of my theories. Him having so much experience solving mysteries and all.
    “Well…” I said, pausing. “You know Kara’s friend, Brad? He said his partner, Will, lost his dog once in a park in Portland. He looked everywhere, but couldn’t find the dog. He put up missing posters, complete with a reward promise. And a few days later, this young woman calls him, saying she found the dog. He got the dog back and paid her for her troubles, but then later he figured out she’d scammed him. That she’d stolen the dog in the first place, betting that he’d offer reward money for it.”
    “You think something like that’s going on here?” he asked.
    I shrugged.
    “I don’t know.”
    “Hmm.”
    He looked down, deep in thought.
    “What are you thinking?” I asked.
    “Well, I like the theory, ‘cept nobody’s come forward as of yet trying to collect any reward money. You’d think with Julianne’s posters up everywhere that someone would have contacted her.” 
    “Maybe it’s too soon.”
    “Maybe,” he said. “But the longer these scammers keep the dog, the more money it costs them to house it. It’d probably be to their benefit to get rid of it as soon as they could.”
    I hadn’t really thought of that.
    Maybe I was clutching at straws with all of this. Maybe it was all just a coincidence. Maybe the three missing dogs had simply run away.
    “Well, it was just a thought,” I said.
    “And a good one too,” Daniel said, patting me on my lower back. “I’ll be real sad when those P.I. rates go up at the beginning of next year.”   
    “Well, if you’re lucky, we just might be able to negotiate something,” I said, winking.
    He grinned back.
    “You hungry?” I said. “Can I get you anything?”
    He shook his head.
    “Naw, we’ve got leftovers at home,” he said. “I just mostly came by because I wanted to tell you something.”
    “Oh?”
    “Well, I know it’s not the best timing,” he said, rubbing his hair forward. “But I’ve got to go to Portland this Saturday for a case we’re working on.”
    “ This Saturday?” I said, glancing at him.
    He nodded.
    “Yeah…” he said.