Paws off the Boss - Casey Griffin (best books under 200 pages .TXT) 📗

Piper pulled into the rescue center’s parking lot and killed her headlights—or rather, her one headlight, since the other was burned out. Colin reclined on her purse like it was a chaise longue, so she had to dislodge him before fishing out her phone. There was a message from Aiden.

Hey. Long day at the office. Just wrapping up now. I came to see if you were still around, but Veronica said you’d left. I guess it’s a bit late for dinner. Sorry. Drinks, maybe?

Her finger hovered over the reply button. It was late. The clock on the dash said it was after nine.

She’d stopped by the police station to get an update from Officer Tucker in person. When she pestered him about the attempted hit-and-run, he said he was looking into Barney Miller and Laura from SFAAC. He also said that Tamara had a solid alibi. Apparently, she was tied up in a meeting at the office. Aiden still didn’t know that Piper listed Tamara as a suspect.

One week. The message rang through her head.

Piper had reminded Officer Tucker that their time was up. He said the police would increase the patrol units to the area throughout the night. In other words, she was on her own again. She thought she’d been joking about spending the night at the center, but tonight, that was exactly what she was prepared to do. Anything to keep her charges safe.

She’d wanted to get to the center a little earlier, but Lindsey from Sam’s office had texted her that afternoon with two last-minute telegram bookings. Well, three, but one of them had been Barney Miller.

Supposedly, he’d sprained his ankle and couldn’t go on his vacation, which meant he needed a “get well soon” telegram. She wondered if it was possible to sprain an ankle during a car chase in a dark alley. Obviously, she’d turned down that gig.

As she hesitated with her phone in her hand, Colin grumbled from the passenger seat. When she eyed him, she could swear there was a disapproving tilt to his head.

“What?” she asked. “I can’t see Aiden tonight. I have to study.”

But Colin’s judgmental stare said he wasn’t convinced.

She sighed and flopped back in her seat. “You’re a real ball-breaker,” she told him.

If she were honest with herself and Colin, she was still dwelling on her dinner date with Aiden. Dwelling on what Holly had said.

Sure, Piper had seen him every day that week for their usual dog walk, out in public, in broad daylight. But each time she saw him, it only reinforced her sneaking suspicion that Aiden didn’t want to make their relationship public. Even when old Larry Williams showed up at Aiden’s office that afternoon, he couldn’t wait to get rid of her.

There was never any handholding, no kissing, no touching of any kind. That is, until they were alone. Then the touching began.

And boy, was there touching.

At the thought, Piper’s mind drifted back to their little office rendezvous. Even hours later, the memory had her fidgeting in her seat.

“No. No. No.” Piper banged on her steering wheel, trying to shake off the memory and startling Colin in the process. “I have to study,” she told her doxie. “And if I’m not here, then who’s going to make sure nothing happens to the center tonight? Aiden will have to wait.”

She hit the reply button on her phone.

Sorry, she typed. I can’t. I’m studying at the center tonight.

With difficulty, she forced her finger to hit send.

Besides, she’d just finished her telegram gigs. It wasn’t like she was dressed for dinner. In her peaked police cap, black booty shorts, and skintight spandex top, she was dressed for an undercover police sting op at a brothel.

Grabbing her textbook-laden backpack, she turned to Colin. “Shall we go say hello to the guests?”

Piper locked the VW Bug and made her way around to the front of the building, calf-high boots crunching on the gravel. She used her phone to light the path. The days were getting longer, but the sky was thick with clouds, obliterating the day’s last light. Already she could smell the rain coming. A drop or two fell on her bare shoulder as she climbed the concrete front steps.

Reaching into her fake gun holster, she fished the keys out and unlocked the door. She swung it open and stepped into the reception room. She couldn’t see a thing. The only light came from the glowing red exit sign above her and the fish tank buzzing on the far back counter.

Familiar scents and sounds welcomed her inside. The guests were already going berserk in the back, barking and howling wildly. She wondered if they’d ever get used to her coming and going at strange hours. Once they saw it was just her and Colin, they’d settle down.

Piper dropped her backpack on the floor and held the door open to let Colin slip inside. He’d barely taken two steps past her before he froze on the linoleum. His long ears rose as high as the floppy things could go. She grinned. Her tough little guard dog making sure the coast was clear.

But she couldn’t hear anything except the dogs in the back. Not even out on the street. The traffic dwindled at this time of night, everyone having gone home for the day to eat or party in Mission. And that’s when Piper realized it had been perfectly quiet since she stepped inside. No creak of the door. No cars out on the street. She’d made no sound coming in but for the turning of the lock, and Marilyn’s bell had been torn down during the break-in.

Her breath caught in her chest. So, if they weren’t barking at her, what were the dogs barking at?

A muffled noise came from the kitchen, a soft splashing like someone washing their hands in the sink. Colin heard it too, because he started growling next to her. It was a menacing sound, low and deep in his barrel chest. Although she couldn’t see him clearly, she knew his hackles were bristling, because hers certainly were.

Maybe Marilyn had come home early from her trip. Or maybe it was Zoe or Addison. But neither of their cars were in the parking lot. And, besides, she was the only one with a key—and absolutely no social life on a Friday night.

Hand gripping the doorknob, Piper was immobilized with indecision. She was torn between running for help and heading in to investigate. She knew she should back out, go call the police like any sensible person would do. Although, she reasoned, if someone is here, at night, in the dark, it can’t mean anything good. It could mean their criminal was back, and the dogs were in danger.

Get out! Or I’ll make you.

She wasn’t going anywhere.

Soundlessly, she shut the door and waited for her eyes to adjust. Every scary axe-murder movie she’d ever seen conveniently rushed through her brain. Her heart thumped like there was a competitive paddleball game being played inside her chest. Suddenly remembering her costume, she reached for her belt and slid