Page 16 of Puppy Love & Snowflake Kisses
He reached for a spoon and then tasted the sauce. Not too bad if he did say so himself.
Buzz.
He reached for his phone, which had been unusually quiet for a Friday night. When he checked the caller ID, he saw it was Deputy Paula Stark. He pressed the phone to his ear. “What have you got?”
“Aside from Belle’s fingerprints, we have one other set. I ran them through the database but didn’t get any hits. So, either this person never committed a B&E before, or this is the first time they left prints.”
He thought about it for a moment. “I’m thinking this was their first. It certainly didn’t seem like a sophisticated crime.”
“Agreed.”
“Anything else?” Parker braced himself for more problems.
“No. It’s a quiet Friday evening.”
After Parker ended the call. He served up two plates of food and carried them to the kitchen table. He moved to call up the stairs for Belle to join him when he heard her footsteps. He glanced up the stairs to find that she’d changed into black leggings and an over-sized gray sweatshirt with Santa on the front.
She rushed down the stairs. “I’ve got news.”
“Why don’t you sit down with me? You can tell me what you learned over dinner.” He started toward the kitchen.
She followed him. “You made us pasta?”
He nodded. “Come on.” He moved to the table and pulled out a chair for her. “Have a seat.”
She hesitated. A frown settled over her face. Perhaps she didn’t like the pasta. He was about to tell her she wouldn’t hurt his feelings if she didn’t like it. But before he could vocalize his thoughts, she took a seat.
After he sat across from her, she said, “I made some phone calls—okay, a lot of phone calls.”
“So, what did you learn?” He hoped that she’d uncovered a thread they could pull on and see where it led them.
She picked up her napkin and spread it on her lap. “When I phoned Candi to see if she noticed anything because you know that she’s been staying at your brother’s place just down the road a little way.” When Parker nodded in understanding, she continued. “Candi said that she stopped by around five. She wanted to see if we could have a pup date.” When he sent her a confused look, she said, “You know a puppy playdate. Anyway, she noticed some of the lights were on. That’s why she stopped. She thought I got home early from work. She knocked on the door, but after a while, she gave up when there was no answer. She said the strange part was when she got back in her car, the lights were suddenly off.”
“That’s good information. It tells us that she interrupted the suspect. And what time did you get home?”
Belle paused as though to give it some thought. “I usually get home at seven minutes after five. But this evening you…uh, we, um, talked.” He noticed how her cheeks took on a rosy hue. “So, it would have been closer to a quarter after.”
He cleared his throat. “And you said it was quiet when you got here?”
Again, she stopped to consider her answer. Then she nodded. “Yes.”
“So, no faint sounds of any vehicles, snowmobiles, or ATVs?”
She pursed her plump lips as she searched her memory. “No. I don’t recall hearing anything.”
“That must mean that once Candi left, they grabbed your dog and left as well. The question I keep coming back to is: did they come here for the express purpose of stealing your dog? Or was that an afterthought?”
“You think they came here for something else?”
“It makes sense. If they only wanted the dog, there was no reason for them to search your bedroom.” He picked up his fork and took a bite of the pasta. It wasn’t too bad, considering she didn’t have any fresh garlic, and he’d had to use garlic powder. The same for the onion.
Belle nodded. As she appeared to consider what they’d discussed, she also picked up her fork and began to eat.
She took a bite of pasta and swallowed. “What do you think they came here for?”
“That’s my question for you?” He glanced around. “Is there anything of great value in here?”
She shook her head. “I can’t think of anything. It’s not like I keep a lot of cash on hand, just some jars of change, but that’s all.”
