“Heavenly Acres has a Peeping Tom.”
“What?” I glanced up from where I sat with my feet propped on my coffee table, a cup of coffee in hand, and Caper snuggled up against me on the sofa.
Mags rolled her eyes. “I do believe I spoke simple English. You know what a Peeping Tom is.”
“Of course, I do. Why do you think we have one?” I scratched Caper behind her furry ear.
“I saw him looking in my window.” She fell into the chair across from me. “I called Larry, but he said I’m imagining things.”
“Are you?” I wiggled my eyebrows over my cup.
“Of course not. These things have to stop. There’s been such a big turnover of residents in this community because of all the crime that’s happened since you arrived.”
Which ripped at my heart. I’d been expecting an email stating I was being let go all winter. Instead, we’d passed through the cooler months with no felonies or misdemeanors. “Maybe things are starting to get better.”
“Nope. With warmer weather people head outside. That’s when the trouble starts.” Mags glanced at her watch. “Are you coming to look at my flower bed for footprints or not?”
I sighed and set my cup on the table. Although I’d left the front door open to let in the spring breeze, to further show my displeasure at being interrupted by Mags, I grabbed my jacket and slammed my feet to the floor. “Come on, Caper. You might as well get some exercise.” Anyone who lived around these parts knew spring could mean nice weather one day and cold the next.
Mags led the way across the street to number five. She’d recently refreshed the banana-colored paint with eggplant trim. I grimaced, wishing she’d have chosen more subtle colors. But, she owned the house, unlike most who rented, and it wasn’t worth the battle.
“See?” She pointed at the freshly turned dirt of her flower bed. “I was getting ready to plant some spring flowers and spotted the footprints.”
I bent over. Sure enough, the prints were clear in the fresh dirt. “I thought you said you saw someone peeking?”
“I did. That was last night. I’m not foolish enough to run out here in the dark. I waited until morning.”
Not being an expert, I guessed the shoe to be a man’s size ten-and-a-half or eleven. “Did you call Davis? Now that he’s married to your granddaughter, he’ll tolerate our interference better than before, or you can sic Amber on him.”
“You’re the manager here.”
“Seriously?” I frowned and pulled my cell phone from my pocket. “You should have called him before coming over. I am not law enforcement.”
She laughed. “One couldn’t tell with the way you get involved in dangerous police investigations.”
“Not by choice.” But somehow I always got dragged in. Either because a friend’s name needed to be cleared or because the bad guy threatened me with knowing more than I actually did.
“What now, CJ?” Davis practically growled my name.
“Mags had someone peeking in her window last night. There are clear footprints in the dirt outside her window.”
“Why are you calling me?”
“Because I’m the manager. Her words, not mine.”
He sighed. “I’ll send Officer Milton over.” Click.
“Sending Milton.” I slipped the phone back in my pocket and scanned the property for Caper.
She dug in the sand under the playground equipment, filling the air with dirt. My heart hitched for a minute since every time she became that determined, things turned bad for me. I chose not to borrow trouble, crossed the street again and climbed into my golf cart. “Want to come along on my rounds?”
Mags shook her head. “I’ll wait for Milton.”
“It might be a while. It isn’t an emergency.”
“Says you. I need to get these flowers planted.”
I waved and headed around Lake Blue Waters for a quick look-through of the campgrounds. People were booking sites left and right in anticipation of crappie season. That meant Eric, my park ranger boyfriend, and I would be kept busy. Those who didn’t like roughing it would be interested in the empty tiny houses I had for rent.
I spotted Eric’s Gator where the trailer belonging to Robison, the former campground manager, had once stood. The burn marks still showed from where the poachers had burned the trailer to the ground months ago. I parked my golf cart next to Eric’s vehicle, then strolled to the top of the hill.
Eric knelt in the dirt next to the water’s edge. He waved me over when he glanced up and saw me. “Mind giving me a hand?” he asked when I stopped next to him.
“Sure. What do you need?”
“Someone warm to cuddle this little guy.” He held out his hands to show me a tiny tiger-striped grey tabby. “He’s cold and wet.”
“What in the world?” I took the poor thing and tucked him inside my shirt.
“I found him tied to a bush. Had the darndest time getting him free. He’d jumped around until he tangled himself up real good.” Eric wiped his hands on his khaki pants. “I think someone dumped him off.”
“At least they left him by the water and not in it.” The kitten purred against my chest. “Caper will have a new roomie.”
“I thought you might want to keep him.” Eric smiled and gave me a quick one-armed hug so as not to squash the little guy. “Any idea for a name?”
“Not yet. It’ll come. I’m kind of thinking of Sherlock. Maybe he’ll keep Caper out of trouble.”
Eric laughed. “I doubt it. Where is the little rascal?”
“Digging in the playground. I’ll let her have her fun, then go fill in the holes.” I nuzzled Sherlock, then spotted Milton pull up to Mags’s house across the lake. “I’d better go. Mags had a peeper last night, supposedly, and had me call the cops.”
“I’ve got some work to do around here in preparation for the busy season. I’ll stop by later.” He planted a kiss on my forehead and walked me back to the cart.
I sped down the path and returned to Mags’s house. Milton was studying the footprints. “Look what I got?” I held up Sherlock. “Someone left him by the lake.”
“Poor baby.” Mags took the kitten. “I’ve been wanting another one.”
I took him back. “Sorry, but Sherlock is mine.”
“If you two would like to stop gushing over the kitten,” Milton said, crossing his arms, “I have a few questions. If you saw the guy, Mags, what did he look like?”
“It was dark. I could only tell someone was there.”
Noting her closed curtains, I glanced up at the streetlight. “You saw a silhouette?”
“Yes.” She gave a definitive nod.
“Keep your doors and windows locked and let us know if the person comes back.” Milton snapped a picture of the footprints, patted Sherlock, then headed back to his squad car. Before opening the door, he glanced back. “What is in your dog’s mouth?”
I turned to see Caper, long ears flapping, run toward us. She stopped and dropped a bag of white powder at my feet, then barked.
We all froze, then I reached down to pick it up.
“Don’t touch that.” Milton put a hand on my arm. He snapped a glove on his hand, then lifted the bag and opened it. “Where did she get this?”
“What is it?” I asked.
“I think it’s cocaine.”
“Why is my dog always bringing me gifts of drugs or priceless gems?” My heart skipped a beat, threatening to stop altogether. Every time Caper brought me a gift, I ended up running from a killer.
- Publisher : Winged Publications
- Publication date : February 14, 2020
- Language : English
- Print length : 239 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1947523880
- ISBN-13 : 978-1947523883