Page 50 of Puppy Love & Snowflake Kisses
Parker approached her. The solemn look on his face made her blood chill. Before he could get a word out, she said, “What? Where is he?”
He reached out to her, but she backed up out of his reach. “He said he doesn’t have Odie.”
“Then he’s the wrong guy. You arrested the wrong guy.” Her mind raced as she figured out what this meant. “What if the dognapper is here…watching us?”
“Belle, this is the right guy. He had pictures of your house and of you at work. They were in his car.”
“But… But where is Odie?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Well, ask him. Where is he? I’ll ask him.” She turned around, looking for the police vehicle with the dognapper in the back.
“Belle, he’s not here. They already left with him.”
She swung around and glared at Parker. “How could you let him leave without telling us where Odie is?”
“Trust me, it’s going to be my first question. We will get an answer. But right now, I need you to go home.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going home. I’m going with you.”
“You can’t. This is official business.”
“But…”
“No, Belle. I’m sorry. But you can’t be there. I called Michael and Candi.” He pointed to them approaching. “They were in town and said they’d be happy to wait with you.”
Before she could vocalize her protest, her friends were within earshot, and she wasn’t going to say anything to hurt their feelings. She felt so helpless and scared that she might never see Odie again.
How had this all gone so wrong? And then she realized if the police hadn’t intervened, the dognapper would have taken the jewelry box, and she still wouldn’t have Odie. Unless…
Her gaze strayed to the car. Dread filled her but she had to ask. “Did… Did you check the trunk?”
Sympathy shone in Parker’s eyes. “Yes. He wasn’t there.”
“Then where is he?”
“We’ll find him. I promise. Just go home. I’ll call as soon as we have something.”
Candi rushed over to her and put her arm around her shoulders. “Hey, how are you doing?”
Belle didn’t have an answer to that question. So, she shrugged.
In the end, she drove her Jeep home with Candi next to her while Michael trailed behind them. She just couldn’t help thinking that if Parker had done as she’d asked, that the dognapper would have told her where to find Odie. Why didn’t Parker trust her?
Chapter Seventeen
Shewasangry,andhe couldn’t blame her.
This hadn’t gone the way either of them had hoped.
Parker had talked to the suspect. The first question he asked him was where was Odie. The suspect refused to answer. After trying again and again, Parker moved on to other questions.
Finally, the suspect opened up about his motivation for taking Belle’s dog and vandalizing her house. It seemed the suspect felt he’d been cheated out of his portion of the family estate. The suspect also knew about a secret his father had told him many years ago—back before he was kicked out of the will.
After his father’s death, the family had been searching for those bearer bonds but couldn’t find them. It appeared when their father got on in years that he got eccentric. He hid lots of things, including all of the flatware, which made eating difficult. They had to buy him plastic flatware. He hid those as well.
Parker tried again to get the guy to divulge what he’d done with Odie, but he refused to speak of the dog. It gave Parker an uneasy feeling in his gut.
