Hot Coffee Iced Santa (Roasted Love Cozy 2)

Chapter Twelve

After I finished my night meal, I went to the back door to let Thor in for the night. Something caught my eye at the far edge of the yard. A shadow darted behind a thicket of bushes. The yard light didn’t extend far enough to figure out who it was. I didn’t doubt it was a person, not an animal. Thor stood still when he saw me tense up. My very alert dog seemed to sense it now, too, and was on guard. Shivers jagged through me.

It wasn’t easy to persuade Thor to come on in. I wanted to slam the door and double-lock it as quickly as I could. I switched off the kitchen light and hurried to the window. There was no mistaking the shadow again. This time it crept from behind the bushes and stayed stationary. The figure stared at my window for a brief second and then disappeared. The moonlight was bright but not enough to tell me who had been watching me. I found I couldn’t move from my vantage point.

Thor followed me around while I checked all locks on the windows, and again on my front door. I sat down in darkness at the kitchen table. The figure that emerged from the darkness was one of a tall person. It seemed most of my possible suspects were tall. There was nothing else I could determine about who was in the backyard when I let Thor in. More disturbing, I wondered how long he had been there with his eyes on me. He knew I had a large Doberman. That provided a little comfort, but not enough.

I wanted to call Daniel but realized there was nothing he could do from a distance. It would only worry him more than ever about me. Deep down, I knew I should call the police, but again whoever it was, was long gone by now. My sense of security shrank. For the rest of the evening I fumbled around in virtual darkness except for nightlights in the hall and living room. I didn’t look forward to a sleepless night, though I was sure it would be one.

When I awoke after a fitful sleep, the sun was shining brightly. From my bedroom window the scene was like a fairyland. White snow glistened. My eyes traveled to the backyard. No new snowfall had happened. I quickly put on my clothes and bundled up in my coat and gloves. I threw the scarf around my neck. Thor happily jumped up to go along with me. He gave me his accusing look when I made him stay inside. I didn’t want any dog tracks in the area of my mysterious shadow of the night before.

Outside, I looked in every direction before stepping forward. When I got to the thicket, there were footprints that belonged to someone very large. At least, his feet were large. The width appeared to be wide. I immediately chastised myself when I realized I had no idea who would match these prints. Of all my suspects, I had failed to notice their feet. It was time to call the cops.

“Laila,” said Chief Hayes, “you should have called us last night.”

I explained why I hadn’t.

“I’m sure he was long gone as you say, but we could have patrolled the area,” said the Chief. “He may be stalking other people in the area.”

I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe it was just a stalker and I had let him get away. “Have there been any reports of someone in the neighborhood like that?” I asked.

The Chief told me not before this incident. He reminded me how important to report stuff like that. I listened but was distracted. I had the gut feeling this stalker was only interested in me. I gave the best description I could. Measurements were taken of the footprints, and whatever else investigators did at the scene. My mind was running wild and I didn’t pay much attention to their protocol. After everyone left, I let Thor run.

It was my day off and I needed a good long walk. With my dog at my side, we headed for the dog park. “Maybe your little white doggie friend will be there,” I told Thor. The last time I took Thor to the park he found a small white dog with mixed origins there. They became immediate friends: one very large dog happy to play with one very small one.

I opened the latch to the outer door of the cage and let Thor in. Securing it behind me, I let him go through the second gate into the park. The white dog was there but the man with him was someone different than before. He bent over reading something but he looked somewhat familiar to me. I looked at the little dog again to make sure it was the same one. He had black specks across his nose as before and the same red collar. Thor knew right away it was his friend.

The man had been reading a newspaper and when he lifted his head I was caught off-guard.

“Is this your dog?” I asked Peter Darcy. The need to stand back seeped through me.

“Yes, he is. Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing wrong. He was here the other day but someone else had him.”

“You are very observant. My brother came by and offered to bring him to the park. I was a little under the weather so it was fine with me.” He leaned back against the bench but not before shifting to the right a little. “There’s space for you if you would like to sit here.”

I didn’t think I would like that at all. “I’m out for exercise,” I said. “I think I’ll take a walk around the park. Do you live in this neighborhood?”

“I live on Courtney Place.”

My place was near there. I found my eyes traveling to his feet. The well-built man had large feet that matched his physique. Uneasiness flooded me. I attempted a genuine smile and turned to take my walk. It was time to put things in perspective. How many men in this world had large frames and big feet to match? Most of them, I told myself. I tried to reason it all out. Just because he lived near me didn’t mean he was my stalker.

The sunny day changed to a cloudy one for me. More thoughts emerged. Peter worked at Steven’s Steakhouse. He appeared powerful enough to have overtaken Frank Duvall. His feet could match the footprints in the yard behind my apartment. A smile almost escaped me when I thought of the big man who owned the little dog.

Maybe the Chef and the dishwasher didn’t get along either. It wouldn’t be a surprise. Apparently, most people didn’t get along with Frank Duvall. If the murderer was Peter D’Arcy, there had to be a go

od motive. The question was what motive could he have? I looked back at Thor. He was engrossed in a game with his friend.

The relief I felt was unexpected when I circled back around and saw several more people with dogs had come into the park. Once I knew I wasn’t alone with the possible stalker, I decided to ask him some questions.

“I heard about the murder at Steven’s Steakhouse. Do you know anyone who would have done that to Frank Duvall?” I believed in getting right to the point.

The startled look on his face was unexpected. “I don’t know who that could have been at all. Frank had more enemies than friends.” He folded the newspaper over twice. “Did you know him?”

“I didn’t know him well. His murder is just something that has my interest. I thought since you worked in the kitchen with him, you may have ideas.”

His face evolved into a smile. “If I have any ideas, I’ll be the first to take them to the police.”