Free Maximum Security (A Dog Park Mystery) by C. A. Newsome

nodded at the blue Altima pulling
into the lot.
    “Looks new. Could be your mystery
woman. They were silent as they waited for the car to pull into a
spot. The driver sat inside for a few minutes. Lia clenched her
teeth, mentally willing the driver to step out. Eventually the door
cracked open. A pale head appeared.
    “Is that her?”
    “I can’t tell from here. Let’s
walk closer so we can get a good look at her when she comes up the
drive.” They headed up to the front, trailing six dogs.
    “What are we going to do if it is
her?”
    “I’m going to call Peter. You’re
going to move your car and block her in.”
    “Me? Why do I have to block her
in?”
    “Because you’ve only got two dogs
to handle. I’ve got four. Yours won’t howl in your ears while you
sit in your car.”
    Jim grunted.
    The stocky figure came around the
curve in the drive, appearing on the far side of the picnic
shelter.
    “It’s her.”
    “You want me to go
now?”
    “Hold on, let’s see what Peter
says.”
    She pulled her cell out of her
pocket and punched his number on speed dial.
    “Hey, Babe,” Peter said. “We
already got an ID on the car. Tell Jim thanks anyway.”
    “I’m not a farm animal. And you
might have an ID, but we have the car. We also have the driver.
What do you want us to do?”
    “What’s the situation?”
    “She just sat down in the shelter.
I assume she’s going to wait, like she did yesterday. I thought
maybe Jim could block her car in so she can’t leave.”
    “It’ll take us about ten minutes
to get there. I don’t want you to spook her. Can she see the lot
from the shelter?”
    “Nope.”
    “Have Jim wait in his car. Keep an
eye on her, and if she starts to leave, call Jim and have him block
her in.”
    “Do you want me to try to talk to
her?”
    “No, and don’t let her know you’re
watching her. We don’t want things to get complicated. We’re on our
way.”
    She clicked off the phone. “Guess
we’re supposed to act casual.” She sent Jim down to the lot, then
climbed on the table closest to the gate. Max, still on her lead,
jumped up beside her.
    Lia put her arm around Max and
scratched behind her ears. Honey, jealous, butted her knee. Viola
jumped up on the table and gave Max an evil stare for taking her
favorite spot. Max gave Viola a bland look. Lia stroked Honey
absently on the head and angled so she could observe the woman
while appearing to watch Chewy prowl the fence line.
    Bailey banged in through the corral
with Kia.
    “Hey, what’s up with Jim? He’s
just sitting in his car.”
    Lia widened her eyes and made a
face. Bailey scrambled up next to her.
    “Did I do something? Why are you
looking at me like that?”
    “Keep it down,” Lia hissed. “We
think that woman in the shelter knows something about the bones in
the woods. Peter’s on his way. Jim’s ready to block her in if she
tries to leave.”
    “Who, her?” Bailey said, looking
at the shelter.
    “Don’t look over
there!”
    Something drew the woman’s
attention. She alerted, much like a hound on a scent trail, head up
and sitting very still. Then she stood up and hooked her purse over
her arm.
    “Dammit, I think she’s leaving.
Why would she leave? She just got here!” Lia fumbled with her
phone. She started pushing buttons, dropped the phone. “Quick,” she
told Bailey, “run down to the fence and get Jim’s attention. She’s
just headed around the curve, so she won’t be able to see you.
Go!”
    Bailey took off while Lia continued
to punch buttons, finally pulling up her directory. She located
Jim’s number and heaved a relieved sigh as she hit
‘send.’
    Jim answered on the second
ring.
    “Why is Bailey waving at me? She
looks like a windmill.”
    “The package has left the
shelter.”
    “Huh?”
    “She’s coming! Get a move
on!”
    “All right, all right. You don’t
have to yell.”
    Lia squeezed into the corral,
dragging Max with her and leaving the other dogs behind. She
hurried