Yorkie Doodle Dandy Read online

Her hands hadn’t stopped moving since I’d arrived. She was definitely nervous about something. “You got plans for lunch? I thought maybe I’d treat you to some Carney’s Pizza while we talked.” I was hoping she’d agree because I knew for a fact that Carney’s had outdoor seating. It was far too hot for Yorkie Doodle to stay in the car.

  Mabel hesitated. “I don’t know. Carney’s is pretty busy.” She bit her lip for a minute. “Maybe we could just grab fast food at a drive-thru and then eat here at the library?”

  Something was telling me that it wasn’t the time aspect of the crowds at Carney’s, but the lack of privacy they would give for our talk. Something major was up.

  “Sure, we could do that.” I hesitated. “But I should tell you that Yorkie is with me.”

  Even her smile was nervous. “That’s fine. It’s the boss’s day off. We can sneak him in with us to eat.” Then she glanced in the car. “Amie isn’t with you?”

  I stood a little straighter. “No. Amie is out of town for a few days, but I’m here. We’re all part of a team, you know. If you need help, I can help you.”

  It would have done my confidence a lot more good if she had looked a little surer about that. I really needed to work on my image a bit more. It wouldn’t do to have the whole town thinking I couldn’t stand on my own two feet.

  I could. It was just more fun when I didn’t have to.

  It didn’t take us long to get our hamburgers, fries, and drinks and make it back to the library. Mabel opened up one of the small conference rooms for us. You couldn’t get more private than that. Especially with the library being closed and all.

  By this time, I was fairly bursting at the seams to know what the bloody heck was going on. Did it have to do with her new beau, Tommy Hill? He’d been in trouble in the past. I was really hoping that the trouble hadn’t resurfaced. If he’d started hacking again, it might have. The government was keeping a pretty tight rein on him.

  I gave her the space to eat a couple of bites before I simply couldn’t take it anymore. “So, what’s going on, Mabel? Is it Tommy?”

  She put her sandwich down and looked away, shaking her head. “No. I’m the one in trouble this time.”

  Mabel? The prim and proper librarian was in trouble? What did she do, jaywalk? It just couldn’t be as bad as she thought it was.

  I could have pushed her, but I’d already asked the question. The rest was up to her.

  Finally, she reached down and pulled a packet out of her purse and laid it on the table between us. “Before you look at this, you should know that isn’t me in the pictures. I’d swear that on my Grandmother’s grave. I don’t know where they found someone that looked just like me, but they did.”

  My curiosity was definitely peaked. I opened the large brown envelope and pulled out two photos and a folded letter. The photos caught my eye first. They would catch anyone’s eyes first. And I mean anyone.

  The man in the pictures was out and out gorgeous. Strong, lean, muscles in all the right places. You could easily tell that because the man in question wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing. Neither was the woman.

  And yes, the woman was Mabel. I swallowed, taking a closer look at the woman’s face. She didn’t just look like Mabel. I’d have sworn in a court of law that it was Mabel herself. Right down to the little beauty mark above and to the right of her left eyebrow. I glanced up at her face and then back down to the photo. Yup. Exactly the same.

  Yorkie whined and then jumped on my lap. I thought for a minute that he was making a play for my food, having already snarfed down his own order. But he wasn’t. His gaze was on the photos. Like me, he looked from the photos to Mabel and back. It was enough to make me wonder if maybe I hadn’t been giving little Yorkie enough credit in the smarts department.

  Finally, satisfied for the moment, he jumped back down.

  “It looks bad, doesn’t it? I mean, you think it’s me, don’t you? And you’ve known me all my life. If they can fool you, what chance do I have?”

  Rather than answer her, or ask her one of the million questions that sprang to my mind, for once I did the smart thing. I unfolded the letter and read it. It didn’t take long. It was short and to the point.

  “Drop out of the running for County Commissioner, or I will post copies of these on every utility pole in town.”

  Huh. I hadn’t even known she was running for office. Shows how much I follow local politics.

  “Somehow I take it to mean that your campaign is doing well?”

  She nodded. “It was until this. I’m up against Leroy Tanner. That man is despicable. His vote on town matters goes to the one willing to pay him the most. Period. I think the town of Wind’s Crossing is ready for someone different in that seat.”

  I agreed. I might not keep up with local politics, but even I knew that Leroy was a no-good son of a buck. Having Mabel take his place in the circle of commissioners could only be a good thing.

  “You think Leroy is behind these photos?”

  Mabel hesitated but finally shook her head. “At first, yes. But then when I really thought about it, those could have come from any of the people paying him off too. A lot of things around here would change if I get elected. Some people wouldn’t want that to happen.”

  She had a good point.

  Okay, so what did we know? “Do you know the man in the pictures?”

  “No. I’ve never seen him before in my life.”

  I looked from the photo to her and back again one more time. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I really think this is you in the photo.”

  She stood up. “Then I guess we’re done here. I’ll just have to wait for Amie. She’ll believe me. Friends believe each other.”

  I gazed up at her and shook my head. “I believe you. I’m not saying that I think you really posed for this picture, or that you were even there at the time they took it.”

  Mabel slowly sat back down. “What?”

  Taking a deep breath, I looked her in the eyes. “I’ve heard people can do wonders with photograph manipulation these days. I’ve seen where they have put people’s faces into pictures that had nothing to do with them before. Usually, they make sure you know they’ve done it—it’s a joke kind of thing. But someone who really knew what they were doing...”

  She pulled the photos over to her and looked at them closely. “Photo manipulation. That would explain a lot.”

  “Yup. And I think Tommy would be a great one to help you out with this, truthfully. What with his computer background and all.” I motioned to the pictures. “With his skills, he could probably do something like this in a heartbeat.” I paused at her horrified expression. “I’m not saying it was Tommy! Nothing like that. I just think he’d be the one to ask for help, that’s all.”

  Her horrified expression didn’t ease off. “I can’t show him these! What if...”

  “He believed them? Come on, Mabel, Tommy is crazy about you. The two of you were meant for each other. And I really think he would be the one to go to.”

  “No. Absolutely not. I’ll drop out of the race first.” She stuffed the photos back in the envelope with the note. “I was miserable all my life until I got together with Tommy. I will not risk what I have. Not even the tiniest bit. If he saw these pictures, well, he could never unsee them, could he? Even if he believed me.”

  Ah. Okay, I guess I could see her point there. “All right. Then I’ll check into it and see what I can come up with. But I’ll need copies of those pictures. And the note.”

  “Do you promise not to do anything rash with them? I don’t want anyone but you and Amie to see them. Can you promise me that?”

  I thought about it. I didn’t believe in making promises I couldn’t keep. “I won’t show the part with you in them to anyone without your express permission.” I hesitated. “But I might have to show the man’s picture around to find out who he is to get to the bottom of this.”

  Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine. By the time they turned to me again,
I’d already convinced myself I wasn’t going to get the pictures. But she surprised me.

  “All right. But I can only give you a few days on this. I can’t risk them jumping the gun and posting these atrocities.”

  I looked at her. “A lot of people doctor pictures, you know. And a lot of people know you too. It might surprise you how many would stand behind you in this.”

  She gave me a sad smile. “You really don’t understand politics at all, do you? Perception is everything.” She paused before sliding the envelope back to me. “I wanted to be a part of the solution rather than the problem, but I’m not willing to risk Tommy or my new lease on life to do it. Selfish of me, but that’s a fact all the same.”

  I took the envelope and put it in my bag before she changed her mind. Then I met her eyes one last time. “I’d like to ask a promise from you too. Please don’t drop out of the race until you give me a chance to figure this out. I think we need you in that seat.” I patted my bag, with the envelope just sticking out. “This only proves that.”

  Mabel thought about it and nodded. “I’ll give you three days.”

  Chapter 4

  My mind was racing all the way home. Part of me really wished that Amie was home to help with this. But part of me couldn’t help but see this as the perfect opportunity to prove myself. To everyone. Even me.

  Yeah, the last day or so had me doubting my abilities too. As I said, a lot has changed since Amie came into her powers. It would be nice to know that I wasn’t so dependent on her after all.

  I needed to do this. On my own too.

  Yorkie started barking from the back seat as we left the town limits, but a glance out the window didn’t show any animals or people in distress. More likely he just knew we were headed home and wanted a longer car ride.

  Too bad, Yorkie Doodle. Momma has work to do.

  When I made it to the back door and saw the plants there waiting for me, my heart fell. Crapsnackles. I really wished I had waited before rushing into the whole witch’s garden thing. But now that the plants had been dug up, it was kind of important to get them back into the ground as soon as possible.

  They’d last the night, but tomorrow morning at the latest, I needed to replant them. The problem with that was that the ground had to be prepared for them first. That took work. A lot of work.

  I put my bag on the kitchen counter and tried to get a handle on my priorities. Right now, I needed to come up with a plan of attack on how to handle Mabel’s case. And technically, there was no reason why I couldn’t come up with that plan while I measured off and tilled a little garden spot.

  The little seed box still sat on the counter right where I’d left it. Seeds wouldn’t be hurt if they didn’t get planted in the next few days. I’d start with a tiny little spot for the plants and add to it next week. After all, establishing the garden was what really mattered at this point.

  Luck was with me for once, and the small tiller in the garden shed was easy to get to, and there was even gas in the can to make it go. I really didn’t want to make yet another run into town today.

  I got the tiller ready to go, then carefully measured out and marked off the garden spot I had in mind with a ball of yarn and a few twigs. It was tiny. In my calculations, I’d decided that a seven by five feet space would be more than sufficient to hold the living plants I currently had. I was glad I’d opted to start with one each rather than the two Mom had offered.

  Still, that meant a dozen plants that would need room to grow. I’d worry about the space for the seeds once I got Mabel squared away.

  My mind was working double time trying to figure things out as my body worked at making nice clean rows of tilled up dirt. By the time I had the little garden spot all tilled and ready, I even had the beginnings of a plan in mind.

  I was feeling pretty darn proud of myself. Look at me. Getting started on a witch’s garden, helping a friend, taking care of Destiny... there really wasn’t anything I couldn’t do if I put my mind to it.

  Then the alarm on my wristwatch went off.

  Amie and I had gotten into the habit of setting our watches to alert us a half-hour before our menfolk were due home. It had saved our bacon more than a few times. Hopefully, this would be one of them.

  I stashed the tiller back in the shed and dashed over to Amie’s house. There was no time for a run into town, and I’d promised Arc a home-cooked meal tonight. Things were not looking good.

  Letting myself in her back door with the spare key, I immediately went to the fridge. Amie was a lot like me when it came to stocking up groceries. Which is to say, she didn’t. Her fridge was just about as bare as mine was.

  With little hope, I opened up the freezer door. Paydirt. A pack of hotdogs. Not exactly a three-course dinner, but I knew my cousin. If she had hotdogs, then somewhere around here, there would be coney sauce too.

  I lucked out double and triple-time when I checked the pantry. Not only was there coney sauce, there was also a package of buns that didn’t look to have any mold on them. Even if they were a tad bit on the stiff side. A few seconds in the microwave would have that stiffness out and they’d be good as new.

  Then on my way out, I saw the finishing touch to my meal—a bag of potato chips. The Goddess must really be watching out for me.

  Even with a simple meal like that, it was close. Too close for comfort, really. The hot dogs were barely in the water boiling when I heard Arc’s car pull up out front.

  Dinner would be ready within three minutes. You just couldn’t time it closer than that. Feeling good about myself again, I met him at the front door with a big smile.

  He did a double-take when he saw me. “What the... please don’t tell me you need my help with a body.”

  I tilted my head at him in confusion. What the devil was he talking about? Then, out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed myself in the entryway mirror.

  Goddess, but I was a mess. My hair had bits of grass and dirt in it, as did... well, all of me. Crapsnackles. This wasn’t the way I wanted my man to see me.

  “I’m sorry,” Arc said, leaning in to kiss my forehead. Quite possibly the one spot free of dirt showing right now. “I shouldn’t have said that. It looks like you’ve had a full day. How’s the garden coming?”

  It was a nice effort, but once I’d seen how I looked, I just couldn’t get past it. “Fine,” I said shortly. Then I walked back into the kitchen and turned off the burner under the hot dogs. I pointed to the hot dogs, then took the small bowl of coney sauce out of the microwave. The buns and chips were on the table already. Kind of self-explanatory. “Help yourself. I’m going for a shower.”

  Arc looked at the meal and then at me. “Coney dogs and chips? That’s your idea of a home-cooked meal?”

  I’d had a rough day. There must have been a lot of emotion in the look I gave him because he backtracked. Big time.

  “I meant to say, yum. Smells great. Can’t wait to eat.” He glanced at the food and then back to me. “Unless you want me to wait for you?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. You eat. I’ll be a while.”

  He didn’t ask twice.

  BY THE TIME I MADE it back downstairs, I wasn’t feeling quite as emotional. And I looked a heck of a lot better too.

  I found Arc in the living room, working on papers that he had spread out on the coffee table. “I hope you’re not too upset, but I had to bring some work home tonight. We really are swamped.” He motioned to the papers. “It was this or stay late at the office.”

  And he’d known I promised to cook. Even if that part was just left implied.

  “Not a problem. I have some things to work on too, so it works out okay.” I fixed myself a couple of dogs and ate them standing at the counter. When I was done, I noticed Yorkie at my feet, staring up at me.

  When he saw he had my attention, he yipped, then walked to his food dish and yipped again. There was still kibble in it, but maybe he wanted fresh? I poured out a little more, but instead of eating, he yipped
at me again.

  “What?”

  He started wagging his tail furiously. So hard his little hind end was moving. I still wasn’t getting it. Sometimes I wished he and I had the same kind of communication that Amie shared with her familiar. It would be helpful in times like these. I mean, I could tell he was trying to tell me something. But for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what.

  Arc came in to fill his glass with fresh water and glanced down at Yorkie, chuckling. “That reminds me of how Destiny reacts when she’s ticked off. What did you do to him?”

  Destiny! Crapsnackles! “He’s fine,” I told Arc. Then I picked up Yorkie and headed out the door. “We’ll be right back.”

  Once we were out the door, I whispered into Yorkie’s ear. “Thanks, little dude. I owe you one.”

  He chuffed in agreement. That, I got.

  Chapter 5

  The next morning, I got up with Arc’s alarm again. He wasn’t nearly as surprised as I was.

  I’m not saying that I could get used to this early rising thing. It really wasn’t my style at all. Hence the double-whammy surprise. But for the next couple of days, I saw it as a necessity. There was simply too much to do in a day if I didn’t get an early start.

  Being the nice girlfriend that I am, I let Arc take his shower first. Our barn only had the one full bathroom upstairs and a half bath downstairs. When he came back down fully dressed and ready to go, he found me at the kitchen counter making out a to-do list.

  “A to-do list? Really?” He glanced over my shoulder at the list, but I flipped it over. I was kind of wanting to keep the whole case thing a secret until I had it cracked. “That isn’t like you.”

  I looked at him. “And getting up at six is?”

  “Point taken.” He hesitated. “I kind of like the new you. Just asking, mind you, but is grocery shopping on that list of yours?”

  I tilted my head at him. “Well, it needs to be done today, doesn’t it?”

  Arc grinned at me. “So, you’ll add it to the list as soon as I’m gone, right?”