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  A DOGGONE DEATH

  a Samantha Davies Mystery

  by

  S.A. KAZLO

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  Copyright © 2022 by S.A. Kazlo

  Cover design by Daniela Colleo

  of http://www.StunningBookCovers.com

  Published by Gemma Halliday Publishing

  http://www.gemmahallidaypublishing.com

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  In life I feel a person is lucky to have one true friend. I am blessed to have two. Thank you, Sharon Jensen and Sue Carrigan for always being there for me. Let's pull some loops.

  Acknowledgements

  Once again it has taken quite a few people to make this book happen. I'm especially grateful to the following people for their time and help.

  June Kosier for being my Beta reader extraordinaire.

  My undying gratitude to my two critique groups for their invaluable help:

  The GFWG—Zack Richards, Billy Neary, AJ Davidson. Bill Thomas, Kay Hafner, Robin Inwald, Sandy Buxton, Jackie Goodwin, Montana Tracy, Alan Schroeder Jr.

  The Storyboarders—Roxyanne Young, Lisa Rondinelli Alberts, and Candie Moonshower

  I'm forever grateful to my publisher—Gemma Halliday for bringing Sam and Porkchop to life and for Jennifer Rarden and her terrific editing.

  Most of all I want to thank my biggest fan and cheerleader—my wonderful husband, Michael. Thank you for all of your support and love.

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  CHAPTER ONE

  "My poor Precious!" Candie moaned. "This snow is ruining her new wax job! I never fussed about her finish in Tennessee."

  I laughed. "Candie, you and Precious moved north fifteen years ago after breaking up with, what fiancé number was he? You live in upstate New York. It always snows in March. Salt and grime on your car are a given."

  She waved bejeweled fingers at me. Bling was her middle name. "Hubert was number eleven, but who’s counting. Gad night a livin’! Where am I going to park Precious?"

  Precious was my dear Southern cousin’s baby—a light blue '73 Mustang convertible. "I’ll let you and our equipment off at the door and check behind the firehouse for parking." Good thought on Candie’s part, as I wasn’t about to lug a rug hooking frame and all things necessary for our addictive hobby farther than necessary. Hookers didn’t travel light. A Sherpa carried less equipment up Mount Everest.

  I stretched my neck to peer through Precious’s snow-splotched windshield. "I’m thrilled for Lucy. Her hook-in looks like a success if the packed parking lot is any indication." Our good friend, Lucy Foster, was holding her first annual The Ewe and Me hook-in in the banquet hall attached to the Wings Fall Fire Company. The room often hosted wedding receptions and large parties. The rentals provided a much-needed source of income for the fire company. The news of Lucy's hook-in had buzzed through the local rug hooking groups, and by the license plates on the parked cars, attendees had traveled from all the surrounding states. Promise a hooker good food and vendors who satisfied their wool habit, and they’d follow you anywhere.

  Candie pulled up to the front door of the banquet hall. I reached into the back seat of the Mustang and pulled out two large tote bags containing our rug hooking gear—a frame, hook, scissors, pattern, and wool strips. I stepped out of Precious and watched as the car’s taillights disappeared around the corner of the fire hall. I hoped her search for a parking space didn’t lead her into the next county.

  Snowflakes gathered on the hood of my poufy winter coat as I stomped my feet and rubbed my mittened hands together. Spring couldn’t come soon enough for me. I’d had enough snow for this winter.

  "Hey, Sam, need any help?"

  I turned and saw Marybeth Higgins, a fellow Loopy Lady. The Loopy Ladies is a rug hooking group that meets Monday mornings at The Ewe and Me. We affectionately shortened the name to The Ewe. It was a craft store specializing in rug hooking and all the necessary related supplies, especially wool. Lucy owned it along with her husband Ralph. Like me, Marybeth struggled with her own tote filled with rug hooking wares.

  I smiled and shook my head. "Thanks for the offer, but I think you’ve got as much to schlep in as I do. Candie, I hope, is out back parking Precious. Could you save a seat for us, though? Lucy has a big turnout for her first hook-in."

  "No problem. I think Lucy said she expected about one hundred hookers." Marybeth giggled at the shortened name we fellow rug hookers used to refer to ourselves. She leaned towards me and whispered, "I understand Hilda Pratt plans to come."

  I rolled my eyes. Hilda was a big thorn in Lucy’s side and, according to gossip, a thief. Rumors had swirled amongst the rug hooking community that she'd copied Lucy’s rug patterns to sell as her own on the internet. This was not a big deal to some, but the designs Lucy drew up on a piece of linen made up a big part of her income.

  "Should make for an interesting day. Here comes Candie. I’ll catch up with you inside." I held the glass door to the banquet hall open for Marybeth so she could scoot inside.

  I had decided to wait by the entryway for my cousin. I knew she'd only get grumpier if I were settled inside, where I would be snug and warm. This was a day for laughter, good friends, and spending money at the vendors who displayed their new rug hooking patterns and wool. Oh, yes, especially spending money.

  Candie stomped her feet and blew on her hands. "The next time we’re taking a taxi so the driver can drop us and our belongings off at the door. I finally found a parking space down the street. It’s colder than a witch’s tits in a brass bra." Candie leaned down and scooped up the large hand-woven bag that contained her rug hooking equipment.

  I grabbed the big red canvas bag that held my rug hooking. "Stop exaggerating. It’s March. What do you expect? And Memaw would have washed your mouth out with soap if she knew you’d said such a thing." Our Memaw Parker had raised Candie after her parents died in a car accident. Since I was an only child and Candie and I are the same age, my parents had shipped me off every summer to keep her company. Every year, I hadn’t been able to wait until the last day of school. I was excited because for three months my cousin and I would run barefoot through the fields of our grandparents’ farm in Hainted Holler, Tennessee.

  I shifted my brown C–patterned Coach bag up my arm and pulled open the heavy glass door once again. The sound of gossipy hookers filled the cavernous room and bombarded my ears. I stood on tip toe and craned my neck. As I glanced around the room for the Loopy Lady’s table. Marybeth saw my stork pose and waved us over.

  "Excuse me, sorry, pardon me." I tried not to jab anyone with my bag as I snaked my way across the room crowded with tables and chairs.

  "Hi everyone." I dropped my bag on a chair. Candie claimed the
one next to me. Eleven of us sat grouped around the table. We ranged in age from eightyish Gladys O’Malley (she’d never reveal her true age) to Susan Mayfield and Marybeth Higgins, both in their thirties. Susan was a young mother who, along with her husband, Brian, owned the best Italian restaurant in Wings Falls, Momma Mia’s. Marybeth, one of the quieter members of the group, was a nurse at the town's local hospital—Wings Falls Hospital. She worked the night shift. How she could be so lively after working all night was a wonder to me. Candie and I rested in the middle in our midfifties, and if I didn't get my nightly eight hours, my wagon was dragging.

  "What a great turnout for Lucy’s first hook-in." I turned to survey the crowd. Ladies sat on folding chairs, either bent over their hooking frames, talking to fellow hookers, or perused the vendors that lined the walls of the firehouse. Heads nodded in agreement around our table, except for Patsy Ikeda’s. She busied herself over her hooking and tried to ignore me. I think she was still miffed at me because I had added her to my suspect list in a murder that I had helped solve last August. Heck, it wasn’t my fault the victim had blackmailed her. She tolerated me. I hoped time would heal things between us, as I liked her.

  "Oh, a goodie bag." Candie waved a small burlap bag tied with a strip of wool in the air. A thank-you gift from Lucy for all who attended her hook-in sat at each person’s place.

  Candie undid her bag and dumped the contents on the table. "How cute is this?" She held up a small wooden pin fashioned into the shape of a hook for rug hooking. I suspected Lucy’s husband, Ralph, had made them. A retired shop teacher, he carved wooden pins as a hobby. His pins might range from Christmas trees to Easter bunnies or, my favorite, Halloween pumpkins. He displayed them in their store at the check-out counter. They made a great impulse buy when customers paid for their purchases. Along with the pin, an assortment of HERSHEY’S Kisses and a small pad of paper tumbled onto the table. I thumbed through the tablet and noticed The Ewe logo, its address, phone number, and website printed across the top of each page.

  I set the tablet on the table next to the candy. "Great advertising." I hitched my purse up my arm. "I’m going to say hi to Lucy and check out the vendors. I need more wool." My comment elicited laughs from around the table. Rug hookers often succumbed to being woolaholics. We never owned enough wool or patterns. Candie claimed it was a disease that knew no cure. I wholeheartedly agreed with her. She said we should form a group and call it WA—Woolaholics Anonymous—but I didn't think too many of us could resist the urge to buy wool for very long. It was a given that we'd all fall off the wagon, sooner rather than later.

  As I weaved my way through the crowded hall, I stopped to say hi to ladies I had met at previous hook-ins. Hooking was a friendly community, populated mostly by women. Every so often a man braved our ranks, but they were few and far between. I oohed and aahed over the designs stretched over the various hooking frames I passed on my way to Lucy’s vending area, an alcove tucked into the corner of the banquet hall. My mind’s eye pictured bolts of wool spread out on tables with patterns hanging from racks lining the room. I knew I should curb my wool habit. It was eating into my other passion, designer handbags. I needed to find a way to feed each obsession. Hopefully, my new children’s book, Porkchop, the Wonder Dog, about to debut in a couple of months, would rake in enough money to support both passions in style. One could always dream.

  "How dare you accuse me of stealing your pattern ideas and selling them."

  "Hilda, I can surf the internet like anyone else. I've seen my patterns for sale on eBay and Etsy, and they weren’t posted by me."

  I screeched to a halt. I hesitated to enter Lucy’s vending space. It was obvious Lucy was in the midst of an argument with Hilda. I held my breath and hugged the wall outside the small nook. I didn’t want to intrude on their heated discussion—or, should I say, argument.

  "Why would you think they are your patterns?" Hilda asked.

  "As they say, if the shoe fits…" Lucy replied.

  "Why I never!" Hilda screeched.

  "No, Hilda, I don’t think you ever did," Lucy said.

  I couldn’t help myself. I laughed out loud. I was tempted to peek around the corner and see if Hilda was as puffed up as I imagined.

  "Lucy Foster, you better not spread any lies about me and your patterns, or you’ll be sorry." Hilda stomped out of Lucy's vending area.

  "No, Hilda, if I discover any more of my patterns on eBay, you’ll be the sorry one," Lucy called after her retreating large form. As Hilda stormed out of Lucy’s vending area, she knocked me into the wall. The bracelet she wore that spelled out the word Hooker practically imbedded itself into my arm. I don’t think she even noticed me. She resembled an avenging Viking, big boned and towering up to at least six feet tall. Her face was livid with rage.

  I walked into Lucy’s space, rubbing the arm Hilda had smashed into the wall. "Phew. What was that all about?" I asked, even though I was already aware of the rumors. The mild-mannered Lucy I knew stood surrounded by her patterns and bolts of woolen fabric, gritting her teeth with her hands clenched into fists at her side.

  Lucy growled in frustration. "She makes me so mad. A customer told me Hilda was selling my patterns on eBay. I checked it out, and sure enough, I saw them listed for sale. She goes by the seller name Hilda’s Prims. She doesn’t even try to disguise her name." Lucy pushed a lock of white hair behind her ear.

  I placed an arm across Lucy’s shoulder in hopes of giving her some comfort. "Geez, I’m sorry. Can't you do anything about it, like report her to eBay? Take some legal action against her?"

  Lucy shrugged. "I’m afraid not. Legally she's within her right to create a pattern similar to mine and sell her knockoff as her own. Even if she wasn't, where am I going to get the money for a lawyer to sue her?" She sighed. "Still, it's wrong. Technically legal but wrong."

  And upsetting. I shook my head and groaned. If Hilda stole Lucy’s pattern designs, it would mean a big hit to her business’s bottom line.

  I shook my head. "Oh no."

  "Yeah, oh no," Lucy repeated. "Hilda’s not only selling copies of my patterns, but at a price I can’t compete with. I could wring her neck."

  CHAPTER TWO

  I patted Lucy’s back. "By the size of this crowd, I'd say the first annual The Ewe and Me hook-in is a success." I wanted to get Lucy’s mind off her encounter with Hilda.

  Lucy drew in a large, calming breath and smiled. "Yes, thank heavens. I hope it will be a big boost to my business."

  Her statement caused me to frown. "Is the store in trouble? Every time I’m at The Ewe, business is hopping."

  Lucy straightened her cardigan sweater, a gray knit with two sheep prancing across the front. "The business is holding its own, but Hilda pirating my patterns hasn't helped."

  I nodded. My brown curls bounced around my shoulders. "I’m sure it doesn’t, but word will get out about Hilda’s antics and your loyal customers won’t buy her patterns."

  "I hope so. I’d hate to take drastic measures to stop her," Lucy said between clenched teeth.

  My eyes rounded at the determined expression on her usually mild-mannered face.

  "It will all work out, you’ll see. Now show me The Ewe’s new wool all the Loopy Ladies are raving about," I said, trying to diffuse the situation.

  Lucy walked over to a table covered with wool. She pulled a large bag out from underneath it. "Speaking of patterns, I drew up the pattern you wanted of Porkchop. I hope you like the colors I put together to hook it. You said you wanted red for the background."

  I clapped my hands together and let out a happy squeal. Porkchop was my six-year-old dachshund and star of my children’s book, Porkchop, the Wonder Dog. Last week, I had given a picture of him to Lucy and asked her if she could transfer his likeness onto a backing so I could immortalize my pup on a rug. I’d pictured a deep red for the background with a mustardy-yellow border. I reached into the shopping bag and pulled out the pattern. Tears gathered in my eyes as I spread
the pattern out on the table and ran my fingers over his image. "Oh, Lucy. You've captured him perfectly. And this wool you've put together for his body matches him perfectly. I can't wait to start hooking him." I ran my hand over the varying shades of reddish-brown wool she had included with the pattern.

  Lucy smiled and hugged me. "He's a special pup. I'm so happy you like what I've done."

  * * *

  "You certainly fed my wool habit." Ten minutes later, a shopping bag stuffed with wool and my pattern of Porkchop, dangled from my arm. I shoved a much slimmer wallet into my purse.

  Lucy’s husband, Ralph, walked into the booth. "I salted the path to the door again. We don’t want any hookers to fall on their way into the banquet hall."

  Lucy smiled up at him. At six feet, he towered over Lucy’s five foot two inches.

  "That nervy Hilda Pratt stopped in the booth, but I gave her a piece of my mind." Lucy related her encounter with Hilda to Ralph.

  He pulled her into a hug against his tall frame. "Don’t worry your pretty little head about her. She’ll get her comeuppance one of these days."

  Lucy balled her hands into fists. "I hope sooner rather than later."

  Ralph bent and placed a kiss on Lucy’s forehead. "All will work out."

  His reply startled me. What did he know about Hilda that we didn’t? Still, in my mind, they shared the perfect love, married forty-five years. Once upon a time, I thought I did, until I had discovered my ex mingling limbs with the secretary of the business we co-owned, the Do Drop Inn Funeral Parlor.