The Case of the Eccentric Elkhound by B R Snow

Author:B R Snow [Snow, B R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: cozy mystery
ISBN: 9781942691112
Published: 2017-02-16T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

I was sound asleep when my phone buzzed just after midnight. Since good news rarely arrives over the phone at that time of night, I rolled over, managed to turn a light on, and answered it on the fourth ring.

“This is Suzy,” I said, sleepily rubbing Chloe’s head who seemed even less happy about being woken up than I was.

“Hello, darling.”

“Mom, are you okay?” I said, sitting up in bed.

“I’m fine, darling,” she whispered. “But I thought you’d want to know that Howard was just admitted to the hospital.”

“Really?” I said, rubbing my forehead as I tried to process that bit of news. “What happened to him?”

“It looks like he was attacked,” my mother said.

“By who?”

“It’s too soon to know any of the details, darling. Dr. Wilbur is in with him now, and I imagine he’s going to give Howard something to help him sleep. We should hear more in the morning.”

“Is Jackson there?” I said, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.

“He’s on his way,” she said. “I’m sorry to call you this late, but I thought you’d want to know. Not that there’s anything you can do for him at the moment.”

I smiled when I caught her emphasis on him.

“Would you feel better if I came down, Mom?”

“Well, that’s your decision, darling,” my mother said. “But since you’re up…”

“I’ll get there as soon as I can, Mom,” I said, climbing out of bed.

“I’ll be waiting outside Howard’s room, darling,” she said. “Dreadful situation. Simply dreadful.”

“See you soon, Mom.”

I swapped out my pajamas for a pair of sweats and a tee shirt. I took a quick look in the mirror and decided that a baseball cap was preferable to a lengthy hair brushing session. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and inserted it through the opening in the back of the hat, then washed and dried my face.

“Close enough,” I said to the mirror.

Chloe, anticipating an adventure, hopped off the bed and sat waiting by the door. I headed down the hall and knocked on Josie’s door. Captain woofed once, then I heard Josie stir.

“Yeah?” Josie said. “Is everything okay?”

“Sorry to wake you up, but Howard just got admitted to the hospital, and I thought you’d want to know,” I said through the door. “I’m going to head over to keep my Mom company. You want to come?”

“Sure,” Josie said, “Give me five minutes.”

“I’ll make coffee,” I said. “I’m sure the cafeteria is closed, and that vending machine stuff is horrid.

“Good call,” Josie said, then I heard her start laughing. “No, Captain. Give me my sneaker.”

I headed for the kitchen and started the coffee. I sat down and stared at the coffeemaker as it gurgled and slowly began to brew. A few minutes later, Josie entered and sat down next to me at the kitchen island.

“Don’t you know a watched coffeemaker never brews?” Josie said.

“I don’t think that’s how that saying goes,” I said, yawning.

“What happened to Howard?” she said, leaning back in her chair as Captain placed his two front paws on her lap.

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