Death by Equine by Annette Dashofy (booksvooks txt) 📕

“Any idea who might have done this?”

Jessie tried to meet his gaze and failed. “I was thinking Vanessa.”

He shot forward and slammed his palms on the table. “Come on, Jess.”

“She wants me out of the house. Well, I’m out. But I’m telling you here and now, it’s only temporary.”

“There is no way Vanessa would break into our house and bust it up.”

The “our house” comment didn’t escape Jessie’s notice. But did he mean “our” as in his and Jessie’s? Or “our” as in his and Vanessa’s? “She’s not here, is she? Besides, she could’ve hired someone else to do the dirty work.”

“You’ve gone over the edge on this one.”

She knew he was right but wasn’t about to admit it. Maybe tomorrow in the rational light of day, but not tonight when her nerves were raw.

“Did you ever think that maybe this has something to do with you accusing everyone at the track of murder?”

She had, but denial was so much safer. “Explain to me why a murderer would put the cats in my closet.”

“Why would Vanessa?”

“To freak me out, which is exactly what happened. And besides, you keep telling me there is no murderer.”

“I don’t think there is, but you’re making accusations and getting people fired up. Sounds like a good way to make enemies.”

She hated it when he made sense. “Look, I just wanted you to know what happened and where I’ll be.” She stood up. “You’d better get over to the house tonight and board up that window. I don’t want any wild critters moving in. Vanessa probably wouldn’t like that either.”

He opened his mouth to continue the argument, but then clamped it shut. After a few moments of glaring at each other, he said, “We should go through the place together to determine if anything’s missing.”

Jessie headed for the door. “I can already tell you my laptop’s gone.”

“Okay, that’s a start. I’ll nail up some plywood tonight and see what I find. How about you meet me there sometime tomorrow?”

“Fine. My morning is booked, but I have time after lunch.”

He rose and opened the door for her. “Are you gonna be okay at the track? Where will you sleep?”

“I’ve got the sofa in the office, and there’s a small bathroom with a shower.” She failed to mention its grungy condition.

Greg gripped her shoulders. “Be careful, okay? Call me if you need anything.”

There he was, warning her to be careful again. “There is one thing you can do for me.”

“What’s that?”

“Tell Vanessa she’s fired.” Jessie jerked free of his grasp and stepped out into the night.

AT SEVEN THE NEXT MORNING, Jessie returned from an emergency coffee run to find Molly grooming herself in the middle of the desk. Next to the cat, Jessie’s phone sat on a folded sheet of paper. She picked up the note and recognized Daniel’s letterhead as well as his blocky printing.

You left this in my car. I thought you might need it.

No kidding. She pocketed the phone and crumpled the note.

The tabby curled into a feline doughnut on the blanket under which Jessie had slept on the sofa. At about three in the morning, she’d decided to replace the too-short tattered sofa with a new futon the first chance she got, whether she took over the practice or not.

She set the coffee down and flopped into her chair. Molly greeted her loudly while offering her head to be scratched. When the door swung open unexpectedly, Jessie jumped.

Milt swaggered in. “Good morning, darlin’.” He froze in midstride and pointed at the cat on the desk. “Who’s this?”

Jessie took a slow, deep breath to settle her jangled nerves. “This is Molly. And close the door, please.”

He obliged, and then glanced around the office. His gaze settled on the blanket and pillow on the sofa and the sleeping tabby. “What’s going on?”

Jessie ran her hands through her matted hair. “Someone broke into my house last night.”

“Good lord. Were you home when it happened?”

“No.” The thought of being there to encounter the vandals sent a chill along her spine. “I was out.”

Milt pushed the blanket aside. The tabby stirred briefly. “Are you all right?” he asked as he took a seat.

“I’m fine, but they broke my front window. Greg’s supposed to put up some plywood to cover it. In the meantime, the cats and I have moved in here.”

“Dang. I’m sorry to hear about that. I just came in to see how your big date went with the boss man. Everyone’s buzzing about it.”

Terrific. At least the horror of the break-in had distracted her from thinking about the horror of the date-gone-wrong. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Really? What happened?”

“Didn’t I just say I’d rather not talk about it? Nothing happened. Nothing at all. Then I came home, and my house was trashed.” She thumbed the lid off the cup. “Perfect end to a perfect evening.”

Milt studied her without saying anything for a moment. “I’m really sorry, Jessie. How long before you figure on moving back into your house?”

“I don’t know. Depends on a lot of things.” She hoped Greg would catch whoever had done it, and then she could feel safe in her home once again. But if he made no more progress in solving the break-in than he had solving Doc’s murder, she might be out of her house for a very long time.

“You could always stay with me and Catherine.”

She offered him as much of a smile as she could muster. “Thanks, Milt, but I’ll be fine here.”

“If you change your mind, the offer stands.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“Did they take anything?”

Jessie sipped her coffee and let the medicinal effects of the caffeine spread throughout her body. “They destroyed my TV and some other electronics. But the only thing I know they stole for sure is my laptop.”

Milt stroked the tabby, who stretched and purred. “Maybe they figured it was more portable.”

“I guess.” She thought of her other laptop. The one that had been smashed thanks