Crumbs of Passion by Georgiana Daniels

Author:Georgiana Daniels [Daniels, Georgiana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cozy Cove Press

Chapter Thirteen

A sporty white car sat in front of the rental when Verity and I—and Pooh Bear—pulled up. I unfolded myself from the backseat, noting the scent of rain that hung in the air. The dog hopped out and bounded toward the woman on the doorstep, barking and trapping her by the door.

“Call him off!” Holly plastered herself against the doorframe, all five feet of her shivering with terror.

“Pooh Bear, down.” Verity’s firm voice caused him to recede and lay on the patchy grass that passed for a front yard.

“Sorry about that.” I hustled over to Holly, hoping I could wrangle a few clues out of her while I had a chance. “He’s not so fond of me either, yet.”

She smoothed the front of her pantsuit and fluffed her hair. “I was in the neighborhood and thought maybe we could do the walk-through. Usually, we do that before all the paperwork is signed, but we’ve had…unusual circumstances, shall we say.”

“Boy, that’s an understatement.” Verity crouched next to Pooh Bear and gripped his collar.

“It should only take ten minutes, maybe less.” Holly eyed the dog. “And we should probably leave him outside.”

I agreed. “Verity, maybe you could take him—”

“Oh, no.” She shook her head soberly. “I think he needs to get used to his new home as soon as possible.”

“His new home?” Holly’s eyebrows tented.

Verity smiled broadly. “I bought Pooh Bear for KC after the break-in last night.”

“Break-in?” The alarm on Holly’s face didn’t look rehearsed, but that didn’t automatically erase her from my suspect list.

“Let’s go inside, and I’ll tell you about it.” I pulled out my key and inserted it into the lock, then leaned all my weight against the door to force it open. “This door should probably be number one on the list.”

“Of course—I’ve already noted this.” Holly referenced a sheet of paper in her hands. “But we’ll need an extra deposit for the dog.”

“Fine, I’ll take care of that later.” I resigned myself to being a pet owner, at least temporarily.

The gloom of last night disappeared once we were all inside the house. Immediately Pooh Bear began a treasure hunt, room to room, nose to the ground. I opened the curtain on the front window, sending a poof of dust into the air. “I’m sure I’ll get my entire cleaning deposit back at the end of the lease, all things considered.”

“We’ll work something out.” Holly flashed that million-dollar sales agent smile.

Pooh Bear whined.

“He must be thirsty. I’ll grab him some water.” Verity called him to the kitchen, leaving Holly and me alone.

“Tell me about the break-in. Is there any damage?” Holly’s eyes scanned the room.

“To be honest, I didn’t really look.” I pointed to the side door off the kitchen. “They came in that way.”

“While you were home?” She leaned closer and tilted her head.

“Yes, it was the middle of the night, and I woke up to a noise.”

“Hadn’t you locked the door?” Her questions came quickly, and even the police hadn’t asked me that.

“I guess not.

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