Read Online 5 Mischief in Christmas River by Meg Muldoon - Free Book Online
Authors: Meg Muldoon
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footsteps seemed to echo endlessly through the trees.
The fresh air and pretty scenery all went quite a ways to dispelling my hangover.
I didn’t know exactly what I expected to find out here, at the place where Shasta and Julianne Redding’s dog, Harley, had disappeared. I guess in some sort of fantasy land, I was half hoping that Shasta would come bounding up from one of the paths, and that the department’s reputation would be saved. But as I walked into the silent woods, it seemed as if that little scenario would stay exactly where it started: in my imagination.
It had worried me some, the way Daniel had talked about the responsibility of losing Shasta getting laid at his feet. Billy may have lost the dog, but Daniel was the one who was going to take most of the heat for it. I imagined once the news caught wind of the story, they’d go to town on it. Pohly Sheriff’s Office loses $20,000 K-9 . It was the kind of thing folks would like to make fun of. And even worse, something that might make some of those tax payers angry. Something that would no doubt be brought up in future Sheriff’s elections.
I shook my head.
Billy really should have been paying more attention to Shasta that night.
Chadwick stopped walking, the way he did when he was about to collapse and stay put. I started tugging on the leash, trying to avoid an all-out battle by stopping him before his legs gave out. But then something caught his attention in the distance, and he stood straight up.
I followed his gaze.
Somebody was walking along the path up ahead. I squinted, and it took me a moment to figure out in which direction the person was walking.
Chadwick started wagging his tail and barking.
I firmly held onto the leash as the woman came into focus. She was in her mid-forties, and was wearing a green fleece jacket, dark jeans, and rubber boots. She had closely cropped red hair and pale skin. She was carrying a stack of something in one of her arms.
A few moments later, I recognized who it was.
“Hi, Julianne,” I said as she approached.
She was looking down, as if in a state of deep concentration. She didn’t respond or acknowledge me.
“ Hi, Julianne ,” I said again, this time louder.
She glanced up, looking as if she’d just been awoken from a dark dream. She stared at me for a second as if she didn’t know who I was. But then, a look of recognition swept across her face.
“Oh, hi,” she said, shaking her head. “Jeez, I’m sorry. I was miles away just now.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “These woods have that effect sometimes.”
She looked down at Chadwick, who I was having a devil of a time keeping from jumping all over her. The pooch didn’t weigh much, but he had a lot of strength and was more hardheaded than a bighorn sheep when he wanted to do something.
“Cute dog,” Julianne said glumly. “What’s his name?”
“Chadwick,” I said.
She smiled sadly.
I looked at what she was carrying in her hands. It was a stack of flyers that I recognized as being the same missing posters that I’d seen stapled to the telephone pole on Tinsel Street the other day.
“I’m so sorry to hear about Harley,” I said.
She nodded, taking in a sharp breath.
“I’m just beside myself, Cinnamon,” she said. “Beside myself.”
“How did it happen, if you don’t mind me asking?” I said.
She sighed.
“Well, I was walking him out here in these woods about a week ago. I never put Harley on a leash, ‘cuz he’s such a good dog that there’s no reason to. But when we were out here, Harley suddenly stops walking, and his ears prick up. Next thing I know, Harley takes off like a bat out of hell. I went after him, but he was too fast for me. He disappeared somewhere over the hill there, and I started calling after him. And then…”
She gulped back hard.
“Then there was just silence. Just a dreadful silence.”
She placed a leather-clad hand up to her face, and shook her head.
“I’ve plastered the
The fresh air and pretty scenery all went quite a ways to dispelling my hangover.
I didn’t know exactly what I expected to find out here, at the place where Shasta and Julianne Redding’s dog, Harley, had disappeared. I guess in some sort of fantasy land, I was half hoping that Shasta would come bounding up from one of the paths, and that the department’s reputation would be saved. But as I walked into the silent woods, it seemed as if that little scenario would stay exactly where it started: in my imagination.
It had worried me some, the way Daniel had talked about the responsibility of losing Shasta getting laid at his feet. Billy may have lost the dog, but Daniel was the one who was going to take most of the heat for it. I imagined once the news caught wind of the story, they’d go to town on it. Pohly Sheriff’s Office loses $20,000 K-9 . It was the kind of thing folks would like to make fun of. And even worse, something that might make some of those tax payers angry. Something that would no doubt be brought up in future Sheriff’s elections.
I shook my head.
Billy really should have been paying more attention to Shasta that night.
Chadwick stopped walking, the way he did when he was about to collapse and stay put. I started tugging on the leash, trying to avoid an all-out battle by stopping him before his legs gave out. But then something caught his attention in the distance, and he stood straight up.
I followed his gaze.
Somebody was walking along the path up ahead. I squinted, and it took me a moment to figure out in which direction the person was walking.
Chadwick started wagging his tail and barking.
I firmly held onto the leash as the woman came into focus. She was in her mid-forties, and was wearing a green fleece jacket, dark jeans, and rubber boots. She had closely cropped red hair and pale skin. She was carrying a stack of something in one of her arms.
A few moments later, I recognized who it was.
“Hi, Julianne,” I said as she approached.
She was looking down, as if in a state of deep concentration. She didn’t respond or acknowledge me.
“ Hi, Julianne ,” I said again, this time louder.
She glanced up, looking as if she’d just been awoken from a dark dream. She stared at me for a second as if she didn’t know who I was. But then, a look of recognition swept across her face.
“Oh, hi,” she said, shaking her head. “Jeez, I’m sorry. I was miles away just now.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “These woods have that effect sometimes.”
She looked down at Chadwick, who I was having a devil of a time keeping from jumping all over her. The pooch didn’t weigh much, but he had a lot of strength and was more hardheaded than a bighorn sheep when he wanted to do something.
“Cute dog,” Julianne said glumly. “What’s his name?”
“Chadwick,” I said.
She smiled sadly.
I looked at what she was carrying in her hands. It was a stack of flyers that I recognized as being the same missing posters that I’d seen stapled to the telephone pole on Tinsel Street the other day.
“I’m so sorry to hear about Harley,” I said.
She nodded, taking in a sharp breath.
“I’m just beside myself, Cinnamon,” she said. “Beside myself.”
“How did it happen, if you don’t mind me asking?” I said.
She sighed.
“Well, I was walking him out here in these woods about a week ago. I never put Harley on a leash, ‘cuz he’s such a good dog that there’s no reason to. But when we were out here, Harley suddenly stops walking, and his ears prick up. Next thing I know, Harley takes off like a bat out of hell. I went after him, but he was too fast for me. He disappeared somewhere over the hill there, and I started calling after him. And then…”
She gulped back hard.
“Then there was just silence. Just a dreadful silence.”
She placed a leather-clad hand up to her face, and shook her head.
“I’ve plastered the
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