thundered. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“Did I do something wrong?” Josie sounded overly innocent. “You told me the camera was legal. I tried to call you at the emergency number, but no one answered.”
“I was spending the night somewhere,” Harry said.
Josie wondered who the unlucky woman was.
“Mom fixed me dinner last night,” he said, answering her unspoken question. “If you’d left a message, I could have called you sooner. That’s how Pets 4 Luv found me. I’m at the office early trying to clean up your mess. And it is one hell of a mess.
“You shouldn’t have told the cops. You know our client reports are confidential. I’m looking at a goddamn subpoena. They just served me.” There were no cracking or crunching sounds. Harry was too upset to eat.
“But, Harry, if we didn’t do anything wrong, we have nothing to fear—and neither do our clients.” It was a sneaky echo of his own words. Eat those, Josie thought.
“The whole reason Pets 4 Luv hired us was to avoid publicity,” Harry shouted. Josie held the phone away from her ear and waited until the screaming stopped. Josie didn’t know a man’s voice could go that high.
“Harry, an innocent woman is dead,” Josie said. “I saw her get hit by a truck. It was horrible.”
“What’s that got to do with me?” he said.
“It was the Pets 4 Luv saleswoman, Edna. I talked with her. Our conversation is on the purse cam video. Her boss was suspicious about her activities. He thought she was helping the animal activists. If you ask me, Edna’s death is the store’s fault.”
“I didn’t ask you. And I don’t care if she’s dead.”
“Well, I do. If Pets 4 Luv suspected something was wrong, they should have brought in private investigators instead of trying to cover it up. If the chain gets unfavorable publicity, they deserve it.”
Josie heard Harry take a deep breath, as if he was trying to calm down. “They’ve already fired Dave, the Rock Road store manager,” he said. “They called him to Milwaukee yesterday. I e-mailed them the video at three o’clock. I did what I was supposed to.”
His word hung in the air like an accusation.
“Corporate saw the video, then met with Dave at four o’clock and told him they wanted the pedigreed-dog sales records. Dave said they were in his rental car. Four supposedly smart people—the CEO, the human resources woman, and two high-priced lawyers—were there for the firing, and they didn’t have the brains to send a security guard with Dave when he went to the parking lot. Dave took off.
“The idiots sat on their asses for thirty minutes before they realized he wasn’t coming back. The cops rousted the CEO early this morning and he called me. He was furious with me.”
“It’s not your fault,” Josie said. “The store let Dave get away.”
“The cops traced Dave as far as Chicago. He left the rental car at O’Hare about six thirty last night. From there, he could fly or drive anywhere, especially if he had fake ID.”
“I wonder if they’ll ever find him,” Josie said. “I’m betting Dave has at least a million dollars stashed away from that puppy mill scam. I think he had fake documents and was ready to run. Well, if he was at O’Hare at six thirty yesterday, at least we know he didn’t kill Edna.”
“No, but he could have called someone to do the job,” Harry said.
“Uh, Harry, about my money for this job—”
“You’ll get it,” he said. “But if you ask me, you don’t deserve it. This was supposed to be an easy job. Now Pets 4 Luv is all over me and the cops can’t find that crooked manager. But they sure as hell found me.”
“I’m sorry,” Josie said.
Even Harry could hear the insincerity in her voice. He slammed down the phone.
Extra money and a harassed Harry, Josie thought. There is some justice. He’ll get even with me later, but right now he’s in hot water and he deserves to be. She hummed a little tune as she poured
“Did I do something wrong?” Josie sounded overly innocent. “You told me the camera was legal. I tried to call you at the emergency number, but no one answered.”
“I was spending the night somewhere,” Harry said.
Josie wondered who the unlucky woman was.
“Mom fixed me dinner last night,” he said, answering her unspoken question. “If you’d left a message, I could have called you sooner. That’s how Pets 4 Luv found me. I’m at the office early trying to clean up your mess. And it is one hell of a mess.
“You shouldn’t have told the cops. You know our client reports are confidential. I’m looking at a goddamn subpoena. They just served me.” There were no cracking or crunching sounds. Harry was too upset to eat.
“But, Harry, if we didn’t do anything wrong, we have nothing to fear—and neither do our clients.” It was a sneaky echo of his own words. Eat those, Josie thought.
“The whole reason Pets 4 Luv hired us was to avoid publicity,” Harry shouted. Josie held the phone away from her ear and waited until the screaming stopped. Josie didn’t know a man’s voice could go that high.
“Harry, an innocent woman is dead,” Josie said. “I saw her get hit by a truck. It was horrible.”
“What’s that got to do with me?” he said.
“It was the Pets 4 Luv saleswoman, Edna. I talked with her. Our conversation is on the purse cam video. Her boss was suspicious about her activities. He thought she was helping the animal activists. If you ask me, Edna’s death is the store’s fault.”
“I didn’t ask you. And I don’t care if she’s dead.”
“Well, I do. If Pets 4 Luv suspected something was wrong, they should have brought in private investigators instead of trying to cover it up. If the chain gets unfavorable publicity, they deserve it.”
Josie heard Harry take a deep breath, as if he was trying to calm down. “They’ve already fired Dave, the Rock Road store manager,” he said. “They called him to Milwaukee yesterday. I e-mailed them the video at three o’clock. I did what I was supposed to.”
His word hung in the air like an accusation.
“Corporate saw the video, then met with Dave at four o’clock and told him they wanted the pedigreed-dog sales records. Dave said they were in his rental car. Four supposedly smart people—the CEO, the human resources woman, and two high-priced lawyers—were there for the firing, and they didn’t have the brains to send a security guard with Dave when he went to the parking lot. Dave took off.
“The idiots sat on their asses for thirty minutes before they realized he wasn’t coming back. The cops rousted the CEO early this morning and he called me. He was furious with me.”
“It’s not your fault,” Josie said. “The store let Dave get away.”
“The cops traced Dave as far as Chicago. He left the rental car at O’Hare about six thirty last night. From there, he could fly or drive anywhere, especially if he had fake ID.”
“I wonder if they’ll ever find him,” Josie said. “I’m betting Dave has at least a million dollars stashed away from that puppy mill scam. I think he had fake documents and was ready to run. Well, if he was at O’Hare at six thirty yesterday, at least we know he didn’t kill Edna.”
“No, but he could have called someone to do the job,” Harry said.
“Uh, Harry, about my money for this job—”
“You’ll get it,” he said. “But if you ask me, you don’t deserve it. This was supposed to be an easy job. Now Pets 4 Luv is all over me and the cops can’t find that crooked manager. But they sure as hell found me.”
“I’m sorry,” Josie said.
Even Harry could hear the insincerity in her voice. He slammed down the phone.
Extra money and a harassed Harry, Josie thought. There is some justice. He’ll get even with me later, but right now he’s in hot water and he deserves to be. She hummed a little tune as she poured
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