“Shut up and get in my car. We can have dinner at my place. Sarah made some of her excellent mac and cheese. I’ll fill you on in everything on the ride over.”
He secures his bike on the rear rack of my car. I barely wait till he’s buckled into his seat before I start. “Abby wanted Sebastian to perform an exorcism on Paco.”
“The dog?”
“Yep, and there’s a whole lot more.” I put my car in drive and head to The Bistro. “According to Sebastian, Abby came to him a few days before she died. Apparently, she and Phoebe Van Cleave were in this huge power struggle over their positions in the Sunshine Ghost Society.”
“We already knew that.”
“Yeah, but after Susan Van Dyke’s death, the conflict escalated because both of them wanted Paco.”
“The Canine Ghost Whisperer.” Will struggles not to laugh.
“It’s not funny. I think Phoebe might have killed Abby over Paco.”
Will’s smile disappears. “Seriously? What proof do you have?”
“None. For now. According to the autopsy report, Abby died of a heart attack, but hear me out. Susan Van Dyke used to host all these séances in her home, and Paco was a huge part of the show. Aurelia and Anthony—”
“The cook and the butler?”
“I know, it’s all so Agatha Christie-ish, isn’t it? Anyhoo, Aurelia and Anthony said that Phoebe and Abby argued about the dog. I guess they figured that whoever had Paco would have an advantage since he has special powers.”
“Since they think he has special powers.”
“A few days after Susan died, Paco was dognapped by Derrick, which you know about. He gave the dog to Abby, but now she was in a bind. Since she’d gotten the dog illegally, she couldn’t very well run around town with him openly, hence her weird behavior last Friday at The Bistro.”
“Okay. But how did Sebastian get involved?”
“Initially, she wanted him to do the exorcism on Paco. Abby told Sebastian that Paco bit someone, which is totally out of character, by the way. She thought maybe he accidentally picked up an evil spirit during his last séance.”
“Ah, the old the-evil-spirit-made-me-do-it excuse?”
“Be serious.”
“You want me to be serious about a dog that’s possessed?”
“Pay attention. He’s not possessed. Abby just thought he was.”
Will blows out a breath. “How do you know it’s out of character? You’ve only had the dog for a few days. Maybe he bites people all the time.”
“Believe me, if Paco didn’t bite Derrick Delgado this afternoon, then he’d only bite someone to defend himself. Or maybe to defend someone he really cared about.”
I tell Will about my trip to the police department, how Cindy let me see the security footage and about my repeat run-in with Derrick. “I can’t wait to find out what really happened to Abby and show up that…Neanderthal Texas Ranger. He practically told me that my place was in the kitchen!”
“I thought this was about getting justice for Abby Delgado.”
“That too. Showing up Travis Fontaine is just for bonus points.”
We pull into the parking lot behind The Bistro’s kitchen. I turn in my seat to face Will. “This is what I think happened. Even though Abby was trying to hide Paco, somehow, Phoebe found out that she had him, and I think Phoebe stole the dog from Abby.”
“This is one popular dog.”
“Sebastian said that Abby wanted him to go to the rec center to solve a problem between her and Phoebe. She thought that Phoebe would listen to Sebastian because he’s her parish priest. But when Sebastian got there, Abby told him everything was okay. Paco was with her, and she seemed happy. Since the security footage shows Abby going into the rec center without Paco, we know for sure that someone else brought the dog. I think Phoebe had the dog, brought him to the rec center and she and Abby made up. Phoebe went to leave, but then she changed her mind and hid somewhere in the building, waiting for Sebastian to come and go. After he left, she told Abby she wanted the dog back. Somehow, Abby must have fallen, and the stress of everything made her have a heart attack.”
“I don’t know, Lucy, that’s pretty farfetched.”
“Phoebe lied to me about Paco, and it wasn’t just a casual lie. There was a lot of stress and anguish behind it. She’s hiding something big, Will. I just know it.”