Date: 2021-12-17 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Cozy Mystery
Description: Sadie Silver and her faithful friends embark on one of their greatest adventures which involves solving a mystery, a mop, and lots of macaroons
Publisher: Sparklesoup.com

Mom’s Manor, Mop, and Macaroons

Sadie Silver Mystery #12

KAILIN GOW

Table of Contents

Title Page

Mom’s Manor, Mop, and Macaroons: A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery (Sadie Silver Mystery #12)

Summary

Chapter 1 | Sadie

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

About the Author Kailin Gow

AUTHOR’S NOTE

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Thank you for picking up Mom’s Manor, Mop, and Macaroons

(Sadie Silver Mystery #12)

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Thank you for picking up Mom’s Manor, Mop, and Macaroons

(Sadie Silver Mystery #12)

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This series is a cozy mystery with clean romance and some pet paranormal elements recommended for age 13 and up.

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Summary

Fashionable Celebrity Pastry Chef Sadie Silver loves mixing travel, food, romance, and crime solving wherever she goes or stays...along with the help of her intelligent cat Orchid and sensitive-smelling-nose dog Biscuit. handsome forensic scientist Palmer, and the mysterious gorgeous man who always places an order directly from her for a dozen red velvet cupcakes.

Chapter 1

Sadie

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THE BRIGHTLY COLORED leaves of the maples, aspens and oaks were gone save for a few determined leaves that still clung to their branches.  But despite the graying scenery, it was a beautiful day for a drive out to New York City.

Sadie’s cute little vintage convertible hugged the curves nicely while the sweet autumn air caressed her skin and fanned back her hair.

A little chilly to have the top down, don’t you think?  Seated in the front passenger seat, Orchid sat up and stretched as she sniffed the cool air that swirled into the car.  She turned around a few times, then curled up and lay back down with her tail covering her gray little nose.

Don’t be ridiculous.  Biscuit, who sat in the back seat, had his nose up and out as he tried to sniff in every single particle of air.  This is great.  We should do this year round.  It smells like... like...  tree... grass... poo... skunk... oh the smells... the smells.

Smiling, Sadie looked from Orchid to Biscuit in the back and back to Orchid again.  “You guys are such polar opposites.  Do you two discuss how one of you is going to be positive and which one is going to be negative?”

I don’t need to discuss anything with anyone.  Orchid opened her beautiful green eyes and looked pointedly at Sadie.  I know what I like.

“Don’t I know it,” Sadie said with a chuckle.

As she drove on, she became increasingly eager to get into the big city to see her mother.  It had been a while since they’d seen each other, and she was looking forward to a nice visit.

Smiling, Sadie gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as the traffic around her increased.  Gone were the quiet country roads surrounding Fortune Falls.  They were now replaced with the high speed interstates and freeways with far too many people rushing here and there.

She reached the Holland Tunnel, paid the fee and headed into Manhattan.

Suddenly interested in what was going on around her, Orchid sat up and looked at the imposing buildings around her.  What is that smell?

“Ah, yes,” Sadie let out.  “Don’t expect to find the fragrant scent of maple trees out here.  We’re in the big city, Orchid.”

And we’re going to be spending a week here? Orchid looked at her with clear disdain.

“Don’t worry.  If we have time, we’ll go for a nice walk in Central Park.  Mom lives nearby.  You’ll love it.”

Through the constant honking of horns, Sadie maneuvered her way down the busy streets and finally came to the Piaza Hotel.  She pulled into the underground parking lot and found her mother’s ‘visitor’ spot and pulled in.

“Okay, guys,” Sadie said as she killed the engine and opened the door.  “Be good and get into your respective carriers.”

Biscuit hopped into action and walked into his small carrier that was on the back seat beside him.  Orchid, however, looked at Sadie with an annoyed glare.

Do I have to?

“Yes, you have to,” Sadie said.  “This isn’t the park and this isn’t Fortune Falls.  This is a grand and luxurious hotel, and I don’t want to walk through with you two loose.”

Orchid slowly sat up, stood and stretched her limbs before heading into the back seat to find her carrier.

“Thank you,” Sadie said as she zipped them in and picked each carrier up.

You used to be a lot more trusting.  Orchid glared at Sadie through the mesh door of the carrier.

“Don’t worry,” Sadie said as she set the carriers down, opened the trunk of her car and pulled out her huge travelling luggage.  She then placed both carriers atop the huge piece of luggage and rolled her way to the elevator.  “We’ll get accustomed to the place and then roam more freely, okay?”

“Meow,” Orchid protested.

They boarded the elevator.  “Hope you guys aren’t too afraid of heights,” Sadie said as she pressed a series of buttons in the elevator.  “We’re going all the way to the top of this building.”

As the elevator got going, Orchid let out a disconcerted meow.

“Don’t worry.  We’ll make it to the top just fine.”

The doors parted and Sadie walked out into the entryway of her mother’s penthouse suite.

“Mom!” she called out as she rolled her luggage inside.

“Is that my little bao bei, Sadie calling out to me?”  Flamboyant and spectacular, Serena Silver came to Sadie with the flair and drama of a true diva.  All that was missing was the elegant cigarette holder and boa.

Sadie looked at her mother and smiled.  The older woman never failed to amaze her.  Closing in on fifty, Serena didn’t look a day over forty.  Her thick black hair fell straight to her shoulders with deep blue tones that poked out from the underside.  Wearing a tiny, bright orange silk dress that many women years younger than her could barely get away with, she was the height of fashion.  She dunned black leather pumps that had a delicate orange silk lining that barely peeked out from the sides.

“Darling,” Serena said as she gave Sadie a disappointed up and down glance.  “People are going to think that you’re the hired help.  Where is your fashion sense, my little sha gua?”

Sadie looked down at her blue jeans and simple cream colored sweater.  “Mom,” she said in her defense.  “I’ve been in the car for hours driving down here.  My sense of comfort took over my fashion sense.  But don’t worry.  I brought something nice to wear during my stay here.”

Serena let out a melodramatic huff of relief as she led the way into the living room.

Sadie set her carriers down and let Biscuit and Orchid out.

“Oh!  Biscuit!” Serena called out in a tiny, high-pitched voice.  “Come here, Biscuit.  Come see popo.”

Thrilled with the affectionate attention, Biscuit went to her, his tail wagging wildly.

“Oh.  Aren’t you going to make the perfect little model for my new collection,” Serena said as she ruffled Biscuit’s ears.  “You are adorable.  Absolutely adorable.”

“Meow,” Orchid let out as she rubbed up against Serena’s white leather sectional.

“Yes,” Serena said with a laugh.  “You, too, Orchid.  Your muted gray coat is the perfect backdrop to a lot of the colorful items I have in this collection.”

“You’re amazing, Mom,” Sadie said as she followed her pets inside and set her huge suitcase behind the sofa.  “I can’t believe the energy you have.  I’ll never understand how you managed to come up with this whole cat, dog and human companion clothing line.  I saw some of the photos that you put on your website, and I was blown away.”

“I have been working pretty hard these past months.”

Sadie watched her mother as she sauntered around her ultra-luxurious suite.  As usual, her mother had brought her old Hollywood magic with her, transforming the hotel suite into a vintage, art deco masterpiece.

In addition to the white leather sofa, the curtains and throw rug were white.  But there were touches of deep emerald green in the elegant lamps, the silk cushions and the artwork that adorned the walls.

“I like what you’ve done with this place,” Sadie said.  “Very chic.  Very glamorous.  Very...”  She turned to look at her mother.  “Very you.”

Serena let out a light laugh.  “I do like it.  You should have seen the stuffy old décor they had.  I absolutely had to add my personal touch.”  She turned to point to a large bronze elephant encrusted with emeralds.  “And, of course, I had to have a touch of my Chinese heritage in the whole thing.”

“Of course,” Sadie agreed as she wandered out of the living room and passed before the small but functional kitchen, the elegant dining room and onward to the bedrooms.

“Your room is the second to the right,” Serena said as she followed behind her.

Sadie glanced into the first room; a large airy bedroom with minimal furniture, gossamer curtains and the fresh scent of lilac.  She then went on to the second door all while noting the closed door across the hall.

As she walked into the room that she would be sleeping in for the next two weeks, she pointed to the closed door across the way.  “What’s that room?”

“Oh!” Serena said.  “That’s my photo studio.”

Sadie looked at her with cocked brows.  “Your what?”

“Studio.  You know.  A place with ample lighting, a few interesting backdrops... camera equipment.  You know.  A photo studio.”

“Okay, Mom,” Sadie said.  “I know what a photo studio is.  I just don’t understand why you have one here in your suite.”

“I was tired of dealing with photo studios around here.  They’re always busy and I could never go in to have a photo shoot when I was good and ready.  The last three shoots that I needed for a print ad... I had to cancel.  Can you believe it?  I had to cancel that ad because I was unable to get the photos that I needed.  After that, I decided to just make a studio of my own.  Now, I can have a photo shoot whenever I want.”

“Oh, Mom,” Sadie said with a chuckle.  “You’re such a diva.”

“I certainly am,” Serena said.

“How in the world did I turn out so simple and humble with a diva of a mother like you?” Sadie said with a chuckle.

Serena laughed.  “I have no idea.  I just love the spotlight and don’t understand how you can be happy standing in the shadows.  But, don’t worry.  I love you all the same.”

Snorting, Sadie looked at her mother for a long moment, then burst out laughing again.  “Gee.  Thanks.”

“You like your room?” Serena said as she gestured with her head at the bedroom.

Sadie took a better look at the room she’d be staying in.  While as airy and light as her mother’s room was, this one had touches of soft yellow, peach and pale green that was feminine, romantic and soothing.

“It’s beautiful, Mom,” Sadie said.  “This is like a grown up version of my childhood room.  I love it.”

“Of course, I replaced the plain cotton curtains with these nice swathes of peach silk and the furniture is real wood, not that cheap fake stuff.  That rug alone cost more than your whole room from when you were little.”

“Thank you for going to all the trouble.  It’s really like being home again.”  She turned to look at the dresser and noticed the doll sitting atop it.

The porcelain face had rosy cheeks and puckered lips.  She wore a pale green, knitted hat over her dark curls and the knitted skirt of her dress that was spread out all around her, was what held her upright in a seated position.

“Oh my God, Mom.  This is from my old room,” Sadie said as she picked up the veritable antique.  “I remember this doll.  For years she sat in the middle of my bed.”

Serena scrunched up her nose as she smiled.  “I’ll admit that it’s a little on the tacky side, but I always liked it and I thought you’d get a kick out of seeing it.”

“You kept it all this time?” Sadie looked at her mother.  “You’re not the sentimental type who hangs onto things like this.”

Serena scoffed though her eyes glistened with unshed tears.  “Well... with you leaving the house, I had to keep something to remind me of you.”

Sadie set the doll back down and went to hug her mother.  “That’s so sweet.”

“And you have room for Biscuit and Orchid down here,” Serena said as she regained her composure.  She pointed to a little corner of the room that was set up with two small beds.

Beside the two little beds were two small racks each with three outfits on them.

“Is that a part of your new winter collection?” Sadie said as she went to the small racks and picked up an outfit from each.  “This is adorable, Mom.”

“They’re just a few of my samples to put you in the mood for my full collection.”

Sadie picked up a deep blue slicker for Biscuit and a paisley patterned wool coat with a thick faux fur collar that was dyed forest green.  “Orchid is going to love this,” she said as she held the cute outfit up.

“And of course, every one of those comes with a matching outfit for you.”  Serena beamed with pride.  “You know, even Karen Wonder was jealous when she saw them.”

“Oh, yeah,” Sadie said.  “I saw you on her talk show.  You’ve really become a big deal in the fashion world, haven’t you?”

“It is fun,” Serena admitted.  “I like rubbing elbows with all this big fashion names, a few Hollywood celebrities and the occasional paparazzi.”

“That’s great, Mom,” Sadie said.  She came up to the older woman who stood just an inch shorter than her and put a hand to her shoulder.  “I’m really happy for you.  You’ve worked so hard, and you deserve all the success that you have.”

Serena held her gaze for a long moment.  “I have to admit, I’m pretty proud of myself, too.  There were days when I wondered if I’d make a go of it.”

“You?  Wonder?  Doubt? Question?” Sadie said with a chuckle.  “I’ve never met anyone who is as confident and self-assured as you are.”

Serena let out an amused laugh as she turned to head back to the kitchen.  “Come on.  I have some tea ready and your favorite cookies.”

Sadie followed behind her and helped bring the tea and platter of cookies out to patio where a beautiful wrought iron table was flanked by two delicate but heavy chairs.

“Wow,” Sadie said as she set the platter of cookies down and looked outside.  “What a view.  Look at that.  You have the entirety of Central Park laid out before you.”

“It is pretty nice, isn’t it?”

Thinking she’d detected a crack in her mother’s voice, Sadie turned to her.  “Are you okay?”

“Sure,” Serena said, pressing a smile.  She poured some tea into the teacups and set one down in front of Sadie.  “This is oolong.  Hope you like it.”

Sadie sat across from her mother, nibbling on cookies and sipping the tea.  But she had a growing sense that her mother was hiding something from her.

They chatted about nothing in particular and Sadie realized that she’d learned all about hospitality from her mother.  Serena had a way of making guests feel special and welcomed.  She was attentive in every way, whether it be in the way that she listened as Sadie told her about her bakery, or the attention she put into treating Sadie to all the particular little things that she liked... like the sesame seeds in the cookies.

“Orchid and Biscuit are being awfully quiet,” Sadie said as she finished her tea.  She looked around.  “I’m surprised they didn’t come out to join us here.”

“Oh,” Serena said with a wave of her hand.  “They’re probably having fun in the pet palace.”

Sadie chuckled.  “The pet palace?”

A flash of sadness crossed Serena’s face but was quickly replaced with a wide smile.  “Come on.  I’ll show you.”

Sadie followed her mother inside and to the far end of another corridor that veered off from the right of the entryway.

“There they are,” Serena said as she reached the open door.

Sadie came up to her and gasped.  “This is wild!”

The large room was painted to look like a wild forest, with tall trees, a beautiful sunset and even a lagoon on one wall.

“It’s a wild pet palace,” Serena said with a nod.  “You have the play area over there with chew toys, stuffed animals, and a variety of things to climb onto and into.  Then there’s that gorgeous fountain that has fresh water constantly flowing.  Over there, we have dispensers of a variety of pet food; fish, beef, chicken.  All they have to do is set their paw on the little lever and a portion of food will fall into the bowl.”

“That’s insane, Mom.”

“Out there,” Serena went on, pointing to a small pet door.  “We have a small garden area that is cordoned off for them.  All in all, it’s a fun place for them to play.”

“You’ve thought of everything.  This is amazing.”

“I thought it would be perfect for the...” Serena’s voice cracked, and she then coughed as if to camouflage her failing voice.  “For the photo shoot.”

“Are you okay, Mom?” Sadie said.

“Sure.  Perfect,” Serena said with a voice that failed to be convincing.

Then Sadie noticed the small diamond encrusted collar that hung from a hook on the wall.  She went to it and saw that the diamonds were set in the shape of an ‘M’.

“What’s this?” she said, turning to her mother.

Serena’s eyes instantly turned red as tears welled up.

“Mom?”

“Muffins,” Serena said through a quiet sob.

“Muffins?  Who is Muffins?”

“My sweet little beagle,” Serena said.

“Oh, yes,” Sadie said.  “I remember.  That cute little stray that you took in last year.  A bundle of energy.”

Serena nodded as she reached for a tissue from a box on a shelf.  She wiped away the tears then blew her nose.

“What happened?  What happened to her?”

“Oh, Sadie.”  Serena sat on the park bench set up along the wall.  “I still can’t believe it.  I expect to see her come around the corner at any moment now.  I hear her... that sharp little bark that she had when she wanted my attention.”

“What happened to her?” Sadie said again.

“They found her this morning in the mailroom.”

“The mailroom?  What was Muffins doing there?”

“I have no idea.  It’s all the way down in the basement.  I don’t understand how she could have gotten down there.”

“Who found her?”

“Florence,” Serena said as sobs took over.  “She’s a girl who helps me from time to time.  She found her tangled up in a big old mop.”  She looked up at Sadie.  “She was dead.”

“Oh, Mom,” Sadie said as she came to her and put a hand to her shoulder.  “I’m so sorry.  How awful.  I can’t imagine.”

“She was such a good dog.  Such a sweet puppy.  I mean, she was excited and loved to run around, but she was so sweet.  I have no idea how she got out of the penthouse.”

Orchid and Biscuit sat nearby just looking at Sadie.

“Someone hurt her,” Serena went on.  “Someone killed her.  I know in my heart that she didn’t simply wander down there and get tangled up with a mop.”

How dreadful.  Orchid climbed up onto a shelf in the fake tree and laid down.

Biscuit also laid down and looked up at Serena with sad eyes.  If she was such a sweet puppy, why would anyone want to hurt her?

Chapter 2

Sadie sat on the terrace of her mother’s penthouse suite.  It was early and the streets far below were relatively quiet.  The honking of the horns hadn’t taken over quite yet.

She sipped on her coffee and looked out at the skyline that surrounded her.  Despite Central Park just across the way, the scenery was still miles away from the view that she had back home in Fortune Falls.  Maple, ash and pine were replaced with concrete, iron and steel.

“Good morning,” Serena said as she came out to join her.  “You’re up early this morning.”

“I wanted to see the sun rise over these buildings over there.”

“Spectacular, isn’t it?” Serena said.  “I never tire of it.”

Sadie smiled.  “Funny.  I have that very same sentiment, but with the view I have from my back balcony... the mountains, the forests, the open fields.”

As Serena added a drop of cream to her coffee, she pointed to the large white pastry box on the table.  “What’s this?”  She took a closer look and read the silver print atop the box.

“I wanted to check in to see how my Sadie Silver Bakery was doing here in Manhattan.  Instead of going to the bakery, I decided to have a box of pastries sent up.  This way, you’ll be able to taste a few of my new creations.”

Wide-eyed and smiling, Serena opened the pastry box and let out a childlike exclaim.  “They look delicious.”

“I ordered a few cream puffs, nice hazelnut tarts, and some almond eclairs.”

“What about these?” Serena said as she pulled out a large bun.

“I thought you might like that,” Sadie said.  “That you might like my new addition... I thought I would add a few traditional Chinese buns.”

“Nice,” Serena said with an appreciative nod.  “Dan Tat?”

“That’s right,” Sadie said, barely remembering the Chinese name of the pastry.  “Egg tarts.”

“And these soft buns?”

“That one is with egg custard.”

“Oh, my.  You even have a winter melon cake.”

“And there’s some pandan rolls and gai mei bao.”

“With coconut?” Serena said as she picked it up and took a bite.  “Oh... divine.”

“Yep, with coconut.”

“I’m impressed, my girl,” Serena said.  “I’m really impressed.  At this rate you’ll soon be competing with Fay Da.”

“Well, I don’t know about that.”

Serena set the pastry down.  “I don’t want to ruin my breakfast, so I’ll pick this back up later.  All of this is really going to go well with what I have planned for breakfast.”  She took a few sips of her coffee and stood.  “I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“To get breakfast.”  She headed to the door.  “It’s all ready.  I’ll be right back.”

Moments later, Serena emerged with a large tray laden with a variety of food.

“Oh, my God,” Sadie said.  “When in the world did you have time to do all this?”

“Most of it was done yesterday,” Serena said.  “I just heated up a few things.”

“And here I was thinking that you were sleeping in late.  You’ve been in the kitchen this whole time?”

Sadie examined the contents of the tray.  “Is that barbeque pork rice?”

“Sure is.”

“And this?” Sadie lifted the lid off a small yellow pot.

“Tea egg porridge.”  Serena then pointed to another platter.  “And pork belly in a bun.”

Sadie picked up a clear glass bottle, opened the lid and smelled it.  “Soybean milk?”

“Yep.”

“Ah,” Sadie let out.  “Why am I suddenly so ravenous?  Everything smells divine.”

“Well, dig in then.”

Sadie filled her plate and enjoyed her mother’s cooking.  It was like being a kid again.  “I’d almost forgotten what a great cook you are, Mom.  I mean... really... this is worthy of a fine restaurant.”

“Ah, come on,” Serena let out with a wave of her hand.  “You’re just saying that to show respect for your old mother.”

“Absolutely not,” Sadie said as she finished off her porridge.  “New York would go wild for this fusion of traditional Chinese food blended with American flavors.”

“Well, I have enough to keep me busy with the fashion scene.  I don’t want to spread out too thin.”

“Why not?  You’re so full of energy... and good ideas.  Oh, gee,” Sadie said, growing more and more excited as she spoke.  “We could start a Mother/Daughter restaurant.  Oh!  Sadie & Serena’s.  Or Serena & Sadie’s.  Just two Asian American women making good Asian American food.  New York... watch out!”

Serena laughed.  “Oh, Sadie.  You are a visionary, aren’t you?”

A bell rang indicating that someone was coming up in the elevator.

“Are you expecting someone?” Sadie said.

Serena wiped the corners of her mouth with a linen napkin, set it down on her empty plate then stood.  “It’s probably my crew for the photo shoot.”

Sadie followed her mother inside and arrived at the entryway just as a woman emerged from the elevator.

“Sorry I’m late,” the woman said as she rushed into the entryway.  The tall woman with flaming red hair that fell straight down her back, wore green rimmed glasses and had a pinched expression on her face.

“Actually,” Serena said.  “I’d forgotten that you were coming.  Come in.  Come in.”

The woman looked at Sadie with a question in her eyes.

“Autumn,” Serena said.  “This is my daughter, Sadie.  Sadie, this is my publicist, Autumn Burns.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sadie said with a nod.

“I didn’t realize you had visitors,” Autumn said.  In her late thirties, the red-haired woman had a very serious no-nonsense air about her.

Sadie wondered if the woman ever smiled or had fun.  She certainly didn’t give that impression.

The elevator bell chimed once more.

“That’s probably Richard,” Autumn said.  “I saw him downstairs but didn’t have time to keep the elevator doors open for him.”

Serena looked at Sadie.  “Richard Linklater manages just about everything that I do.  I don’t know what I would do without him.”

The elevator doors parted and an elegantly dressed man stepped out.  He was on the short side with dark hair that was sleeked back.  His Armani suit fit him perfectly despite his small stature.

“Ah!” he said as he saw Sadie.  “So many beautiful young women.  What a treat.”  He looked around as he rubbed his hand over his belly.  “Speaking of treat... something smells good.  I didn’t have time for breakfast.”

Neither Serena nor Sadie responded.

He pulled in a long and exaggerated breath.  “Yep... it sure smells good.”

Sadie glanced at her mother.  “I’ll go get the box of pastries and bring it in.”

“Pastries,” Richard said, licking his lips.  “Sounds good.”

Sadie came back with the box and set it on the console nearby.

Richard peered inside and picked up hazelnut tart.

“Let me have one of those,” Autumn said.  She reached in for a Chinese bun.  “What’s this?”

“A pineapple bun,” Sadie said.  Just watching the woman’s expression, she had a feeling that she would be quite critical.

“Oh.  I love pineapple.”

“Yeah, but...”

Autumn took a bite of the large bun, then glared at Sadie as she tossed the bun back into the box.  “It tastes nothing like pineapple.”

“As my daughter was about to explain,” Serena said.  “They’re called pineapple buns because of the way they look, not because of the way they taste.  If you’d taken the time to look at it before taking a bite, you would have noticed that nice layer over the bun that gave it that pineapple appearance.”

Unimpressed, Autumn glanced at her watch.  “Now, where is Florence?  I told her that I would be here first thing this morning.”

“Traffic coming in from Brooklyn was backed up,” Richard offered as he licked his fingers.  He peered into the box and pulled out another tart.  “These are really good.”

“And what were you doing in Brooklyn?” Autumn said.  “You’re the worst Manhattan snob that I know.”

He looked slyly at her.  “I’m capable of slumming it every once in a while and heading to the boroughs.  I even found this great little café that I’ve become quite fond of.”

“Well,” Serena said, looking a bit impatient.  “Be that as it may, my daughter brought her Yorkie, Biscuit, and her Russian Blue, Orchid.”

“Russian blue,” Richard cooed.  “I love a Russian blue.  Those mesmerizing green eyes, and that super soft coat.”

“You guys can go set up in the pet palace and I’ll join you when Florence arrives,” Serena offered.

But they didn’t have time to move that the elevator opened up one last time and a young, pert woman with short-cropped shocking blonde hair sauntered out.

“Hey, everybody,” she called out.  “I know.  I know.  I’m late.  Crossing the bridge was murder this morning, but I’m ready to go.”

Serena leaned closer to Sadie.  “That’s Florence Winkler,” she whispered.  “She’s an intern and she comes over to help with the photo shoots and other little things that I need every now and then.”

Sadie nodded her understanding.

“All right,” Autumn called out with a loud clap of her hands.  “Everybody to the pet palace.”

They all followed her.  The moment they entered the palace, Orchid and Biscuit who’d been lounging around, sat at attention.

What’s going on?  Biscuit glanced at Sadie.

Yeah.  Orchid jumped up to a high shelf and looked down on everyone.  Who are all these people?

“Are these the models you had in mind, Serena?” Richard said, looking at the two animals with a touch of uncertainty.  “The Russian blue has some white on the chest, which I’m sure isn’t in keeping with a pure breed.  And the Yorkie... he’s a little on the scrawny side, isn’t he?  And he definitely needs a good combing.”

Biscuit let out an angry little yap.  Hey!  Who is this guy?

“Of course, I know that I shouldn’t expect them to be like Muffins,” Richard went on.  “Muffins was perfect for this type of work.  A real pro.  A true star.”

“I know what you mean,” Florence said.  “Muffins never gave us any trouble.  Such a good pup.”

“The dog is dead,” Autumn said with cold bluntness.  “Stop dredging it up.  Move on.  We’ll do the best that we can with what we’ve got.”  She approached Orchid and reached up to pet the feline who hissed at her.

“I’m sure she’s just nervous,” Serena offered.

“Well,” Autumn said.  “Can someone get her down from there?”

“Come on, Orchid,” Sadie said as she went up to her frustrated feline.

I don’t like her.  Orchid resisted, squirming back out of Sadie’s reach.

“I know.  I know,” Sadie cooed.  “All these new people.”  She maneuvered up onto a step and ultimately got a hold of her and brought her down.  “There we go.”

Autumn turned her attention to Biscuit as she coaxed him into position while Florence took a reluctant Orchid out of Sadie’s arms.

“I’ll take good care of her,” Florence said.  “Let’s see what outfits we’re going to be working with.”

Sadie stepped back to let them work, but when she noticed Richard stepping off to the side, she decided to have a little chat with him.

“You’re a natural with animals,” Sadie said, though he seemed a little awkward around them.  “You must really be devastated by the loss of Muffins.”

“It is a shame,” Richard said.  “I’ve worked with a lot of animals and it’s rare that we come across a dog who is so easy to work with.  We could sit Muffins anywhere and she stayed still.  We could set her up in any pose and she wouldn’t budge.  Ideal.  Perfect.  Once in a lifetime.”

“It’s just so strange though, isn’t it?  I mean, my mother lives all the way up here on the top floor of the Piaza Hotel and yet her little dog is found all the way down there in the mailroom.”

“It is, indeed, strange.”

“Do you have any idea how Muffins could have gotten out of the penthouse?”

Richard shrugged then gestured toward Florence.  “Flo is the one who found Muffins.”

“Oh?”

“But she says that she has no idea how Muffins could have gotten out of the penthouse.  She has no idea how she could have gone all the way downstairs on her own.”

“Well,” Sadie said.  “Why should she?”

Richard looked pointedly at her.  “She is the one who was babysitting Muffins the night before she was found dead in that mop.”

“Babysit?  Up here in the penthouse.”

Richard nodded.

Sadie turned to look at her mother who had joined them.  “But... where were you, Mom?”

A deep frown instantly creased Serena’s smooth brow.  “Are you checking up on me?”

“No,” Sadie said, surprised by her mother’s reaction.

“Then why are you asking me that in such an accusatory way?  Why, Sadie?”

“Mom,” Sadie said, trying to calm her.  “I’m just asking.  I’m not accusing you of anything.  I’m just surprised to learn that you weren’t home the night that Muffins escaped the penthouse.”

“Well, if you must know.” Serena huffed, looked away, then looked back at Sadie.  “I was going to tell you, anyway.  I just wanted to discuss it later when we had more time.  When we were alone.”

“Tell me what, Mom?” Sadie said, suddenly alarmed by her mother’s odd reaction.

Serena tilted her head to the side, indicating that they step away from Richard a bit.  Sadie followed her mother.

“Mom,” Sadie said.  “What is going on?  Why are you being so secretive?”

“Sadie, dear,” Serena began.  “I just didn’t want to disappoint you, but...  I was on a date the night that Flo came to watch Muffins.”

Sadie’s jaw dropped.  “A date?  You were out on a date?”

“Don’t look at me like that, dear.  I may be old, but I’m not dead.”

“But... Dad... you and Dad.  You’ve only been divorced for...”

“Five years, honey.  We’ve been divorced for five years.”

“It isn’t quite five years,” Sadie argued as she struggled with the emotions that filled her at the thought of her mother with a man other than her father.  “You and Dad were still together for New Year’s Eve.”

“Oh, Sadie,” Serena said as she took her daughter’s hand in her own.  “We might have been together to celebrate the holidays, but that was for your benefit.  We’d already been living separate lives for a while by then.”

“But... still...” Sadie muttered.

“Honey, I know that you think of me only as your mother... as an old woman, but, dear... I’m still a vibrant, loving woman who has needs and wants, and I’ve met a wonderful...”

“No,” Sadie whispered loudly as she held her hand up to silence her mother.  “I don’t want to hear about it.”

“His name is Michael, and he is such a sweetheart of a man,” Serena went on despite Sadie’s protest.  “He’s a good, strong man with a kind heart.”

Sadie looked at her mother.  She wanted to be understanding, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about her father.  “I’m sorry.  I just wasn’t expecting... I’m just a little surprised... oh, Mom.  How many dates have you been on with this Michael person?”

“A few,” Serena said.

“A few?” Richard said loudly.  He’d come up behind them.  “Serena and Michael are practically engaged!”

Sadie turned an alarmed glare to her mother.  “Is that true?”

“Well...”

“I want to meet him, Mom.”

“Oh?”

“If you’re this serious about this man, I think I should meet him.  After all, if it really is this serious, this man is going to be my step-father.”

Serena smiled.  “Good.  I was hoping you’d want to meet him.  I know you’re going to love him, Sadie.  He said that he would come around later today.  It’ll be the perfect chance for you two to meet.”

“Are these the outfits you want us to shoot first, Serena?” Florence called out.  She was at the rack with several of the outfits.

“Yes,” Serena said.  “I specifically want the gray and blue evening wear as well as the magenta and black striped suits.”

“Ah!” Richard called out as the elevator bell rang.  “That must be the crew.”

Sadie looked at her mother.  “How large of a crew is this?”

“Just the photographer,” Serena said with a nonchalant shrug.  “And the stylist, of course.”

“Meow!” Orchid screeched as she bolted out of Flo’s arms.  The gray feline immediately made her way to Sadie and effectively took refuge behind her.

Biscuit then let out an annoyed little yelp followed by a snappy yap.  He ended his little tirade with a definitive growl.

“They’re not very cooperative, are they?” Autumn said with a grimace.  “What backcountry hick town are these animals from?”

Working hard to keep her cool, Sadie picked Orchid up and soothingly pet her as she glared at Autumn.  “They’re accustomed to being out and free.  They’re also not used to so many people fiddling with them.”

Biscuit came to stand at her feet.

“Tell you what, guys,” Sadie said.  “How about we head out and take a nice little walk in Central Park while this team gets everything ready?  It’ll be our chance to take in a few of the sights around here.”

Sounds good to me.  Orchid looked directly into Sadie’s eyes and held her gaze.

I gotta pee.  Biscuit danced from one front paw to the other.

Sadie looked at Florence.  “Did you ever take Muffins out for a walk?”

“I used to,” Florence said.  “But I haven’t had time lately.  Serena’s collection has grown and so has my workload.”

“So, Muffins never set foot outside of this penthouse?”

“Oh, of course not,” Florence said.  “I found this really great guy who really loves animals.  He just has that perfect touch.”  Flo went to her purse and pulled out a small white card.  “This is his number.  I’m sure he’d be happy to come by and bring these two for a walk.”

“Thanks.”  With the card in hand, Sadie put Orchid down and headed out to call the dogwalker.  “Hello.  Can I speak to Jerry, please?”

“You’re talking to him,” the friendly young voice said.

“My name is Sadie, and a friend of mine just gave me your number and said that you’re one of the best dogwalkers she’s ever known.”

The friendly young voice broke out into an amused laugh.  “I’d sure like to know who’ve you been talking to.  But, thanks.  I appreciate the compliment.  I do try to understand the animals that I spend time with.”

“I was hoping that you could come by the Piaza Hotel.  I have a little Yorkie and a Russian Blue that I would like to go out to Central Park with.”

“Um...”  Jerry hesitated.  “Hang on there a minute.  Let me see.  I have a dalmatian at two, then three little Pekinese at three and this little Cocker Spaniel at four.  Well, well.  Look at that.  I’m completely free this morning.”

Even before meeting him, Sadie liked him.  He had a very open and welcoming manner about him, and she was eager to meet him.

“Great.  I’ll meet you down in the lobby and I’ll have a little Yorkie and a Russian Blue on their leashes.  How soon can you be here?”

“The Piaza?” he said, suddenly sounding troubled.  “Oh.  Um.  Let’s say five minutes. I’m just around the corner.”

“Perfect.  See you then.”

Chapter 3

Though she’d never met him before, Sadie saw Jerry walk in and instantly knew that it was him.  He had a smile a mile wide, a spring in his step and a friendly confidence that was evident from across the room.

“You must be Jerry,” she said as she came up to him.

“And you must be...”

“Sadie.”

“Right,” he said with a bright smile.  “Sadie.  Pleased to meet you.”  He looked down at Biscuit and Orchid.

Biscuit trotted up to him and stood on his hind legs as he waved his front paws at him.

“Looks like he likes you,” Sadie said.

“I tend to have that effect on dogs,” Jerry said with sheepish grin.  He reached down to pat Biscuit on the head.  “These are the little guys that you want me to walk?  I don’t mind, but I’ve never walked a cat before.”

“Actually, since I’m not from around here, I was actually hoping that you could just accompany me,” Sadie said.  “I also wouldn’t mind an extra hand to control these two.”  She held Biscuit’s leash out to him.

“Sure thing.”  He took the leash.  “I’ve never walked a young lady before, either.  This is all new to me.”

Laughing, Sadie fell into step beside him as he led the way to Central Park.

The moment they hit the grass of the park, Biscuit pulled on the leash as he sniffed about.  Smells so good.  Smells so wonderful.  Smells a little funky.  Smells like a dog.  Smells like a horse.  Ooh!  Bird poo.  Smells.  Smells.  Smells.  There are too many smells.

Sadie smiled at Jerry who tried desperately to control the small dog.  “He’s been cooped up a little lately.  Sorry.  He’s usually better behaved.”

“No worries,” Jerry said.  “I’ve had worse.”

After his initial excitement and taking a moment to relieve himself, Biscuit calmed down and behaved.

Walking calmly in step with Sadie, Orchid glanced up at her.  The stuffy air in that building was more than I could bare.  And don’t even talk to me about that fake park or garden or whatever that thing was trying to be.  Nothing beats the real thing.

“They really needed a breath of fresh air,” Sadie said to Jerry as she smiled at Orchid.

Fresh air. Yes, fresh air.  That indoor park smells all too much like dog.  Orchid turned to take a sniff of Jerry’s pant leg.  This one doesn’t smell of dog.  Smells nice.  Clean.  Yeah.  Real clean smelling for someone who walks dogs for a living.

“How long have you been a dogwalker?” Sadie asked Jerry.

He let out a soft snort.  “Not long at all.  Just over a week.  Part-time type of thing.  You know, to help make ends meet.”

“Oh.  So, this is all new to you.”

“Right.  Well, I mean, I grew up around dogs and I’ve always gotten along well with them.  But official dogwalker?  Yeah.  Just a week.”

“From what I’ve heard, someone can really make a good living as a dogwalker here in the city.”

Jerry smiled.  “Well, for starters, that depends on what you consider a...”  he made air quotes,  “quote unquote good living.  But, truth is, as much as I love dogs, I have no aspirations to be a professional dogwalker.  Truth is, I’ve been trying to get my foot in the very fickle door of the fashion industry.”

“Oh?  Are you a designer?”

“I don’t know,” he said with frank candor.  “If I have a passion to design, ideas of what I want to design and a knack for interesting designs, but no one will take me on... am I a designer?  Or am I just fooling myself?”

Sadie felt for him.  She knew how difficult it could be to break into the fashion world.  “New York is the fashion capital of the world.  Have you gone to see any of the design houses in town?”

“Have I?” he said, his voice showing the strain of his search.  “I’ve gone to all of them.  And, believe me, I’m an optimistic person.  I always see the glass as half full.  I’m confident and competent and knowledgeable and....”  He sighed.  “They... but beats me who ‘they’ are... but, they say that rejection makes you resilient... or something like that.  But damn.  I don’t know if I can take another rejection.  I mean...  I just don’t know what they’re looking for.”

“So, what are you doing in the meantime?”

He shrugged and his bright smile returned.  “I got an entry level job at this new fashion house.  It’s one of the hottest fashion houses in New York.”

“Really?  Which one is that?”

“Serena’s.”

Sadie bit her bottom lip and refrained from divulging that he was actually talking about her mother.

“And the thing is,” Jerry went on, “is that I’ve submitted dozens of designs... really good designs.”  He looked down at Biscuit and Orchid.  “I don’t usually toot my own horn but I had some really innovative designs aimed at the fashionable trendsetting woman and her pets.”

“Oh?”

“But the high priestess of design rejected them all.”

“That’s rough,” Sadie said.  But she couldn’t imagine that her mother would reject a good design, even if it did come from a junior staff member.

“In fact...” Jerry hesitated as his smile was replaced with a grim line.  His brow furrowed and his eyes filled with a bit of anger mixed in with clear sadness.  He looked at Sadie and forced a sad smile as tears lined his eyes.  “Damn.  I swore that I wouldn’t let this get to me.  I swore that I wouldn’t talk to anyone about this... but...  Damn.”

“What is it?  What happened?”

“Samantha, my supervisor... she’s one of the junior designers at Serena’s House of Fashion.”

Sadie simply looked at him and waited for him to go on.

“She came to see me at the end of the day the day before last.”

And?  Sadie wanted to say.

“She said that Serena herself insisted that I be let go.”

“What?” Sadie just couldn’t imagine her mother being so ruthless.  “Are you sure?”

He nodded.  “I don’t understand.  I thought that offering a few ideas and designs would help my career, not cut it short.”

“Oh, Jerry.  I’m so sorry.  You must feel awful.”

“Awful?  I’m devastated.  And that’s not all.”

“There’s more?”

“You bet.  Imagine my surprise when I walked home that night and looked up at one of those illuminated billboards.”

“And what?  What did you see?”

He stopped walking and turned to look pointedly at her, his eyes red with anger and hurt.  “There was a picture of Serena’s dog wearing my design.  My design!  There was no mistaking it.  That design was original and like nothing else.  There was no way it could be a coincidence.  The colors, the fabrics, the peek-a-boo cut outs.  It was a one of a kind design.”

He huffed and looked away for a long and dramatic moment.  Then he looked at Sadie again.  “Serena Silver stole my design!”

Chapter 4

They resumed walking, but Sadie felt increasingly uncomfortable with Jerry.  She couldn’t help but wonder; was he aware that the cute little beagle that he’d walked through Central Park was the same little beagle that had appeared in that Serena’s Pet Apparel ad?

A shiver ran down her spine.  Could he have been angry enough to actually kill Muffins?  She tried to figure out the logistics.

Had he taken Muffins for a walk the night that she went missing?  It would have been all too easy.  And with her mother out on a date... her mind would have been elsewhere that night when she’d arrived.  Perhaps she hadn’t noticed that Muffins wasn’t around.

She suddenly picked up Orchid.  “You know, I think it’s a lot hotter out here than I anticipated.  Orchid is already over heated.”

“We can keep to the shaded side of the path,” Jerry offered.

“I don’t think that’ll be enough,” Sadie argued, suddenly eager to get away from him.  “She’s very sensitive to heat.  I should really get her home.”

“Okay,” Jerry said with a pleasant smile.  “I can go on with Biscuit here and bring him back in a while.”

“No!” Sadie said with a little too much energy.  “I mean... He and Orchid... they don’t really like spending time apart.”

I’ve never seen you lie like this before.  Biscuit sat down and looked up at her with quizzical eyes.

And I’ve never seen you be so bad at lying.  You’re awful.  Orchid leaned in to lick Sadie’s cheek.

“Really?” Jerry said with a touch of skepticism.  “I’ve never heard of a dog and cat relationship like that before.”

“Oh, well, just watch and see.  I’ll just start to walk away, and you’ll see...”  You better start barking like mad, my little dog.

Like a truly loyal pup, Biscuit tugged on the leash and barked as Sadie took a few steps away.

“See,” she said with a grin.  “He can’t stand to see her leave.”

“Then, I’ll head back with you.”

“Oh.  That won’t be necessary.”  She reached out for Biscuit’s leash and yanked it out of Jerry’s hand.  “Besides, now that Biscuit is a little calmer... well, I want a bit of time alone with both of them.”

Jerry looked at Sadie with a strange expression... as if she was a little off her rocker.

“Thanks for coming down.”  She turned to walk away, then quickly turned back to him.  “Oh.  I’m so sorry.”  She reached inside her purse and pulled out a twenty dollar bill.  “I don’t know how much you usually charge but I hope that this will be compensation enough for your trouble.”

He blushed.  “That’s okay.  I was...”

Sadie shoved the bill in his hand.  “I really appreciate it.  Thank you.”

She hurried back to hotel and took the elevator up to the penthouse.

What was that all about?  Biscuit jumped up, insisting that he be picked up as well.

Feeling indulgent, she picked him up and balanced both him and Orchid in her arms.

As the elevator doors parted, Sadie heard the uncharacteristically girlish giggle of her mother.  She walked out of the elevator, set her pets down and headed inside.

Seated on her mother’s white leather sofa was a handsome, older gentleman who had salt and pepper hair, a nicely trimmed beard and was wearing a very expensive looking designer suit with equally expensive shoes.

Beside him, Serena sat, gushing.

“Mom?” Sadie said as she approached them.

Serena jumped off the sofa and came to her with the brightest smile that Sadie had ever seen.  She was absolutely glowing.

“Sadie.  Honey.  I’m so glad you’re back.”  Serena reached out to take Sadie’s hand and pull her back into the living room where the older gentleman now stood.  “There’s someone here that I’d like you to meet.”

Sadie smiled at the distinguished man.  She felt like she’d seen him somewhere before but couldn’t find where.

“Michael,” Serena said.  “This is my beautiful and wonderful daughter, Sadie.  Isn’t she just like I told you?”

“All that and more,” Michael said as he extended his hand out to shake Sadie’s.

Sadie dutifully took his hand and appreciated the firm but not overbearing handshake.  “Nice to meet you.”  She looked intently at him, trying to remember where she could have seen him before.

“The famed Sadie Silver,” Michael said with a gleam in his eyes.  “I would recognize that face anywhere.  I’ve seen you on television a number of times.  You’re very photogenic.”

“Oh.  Thank you.”

“Yes.  Yes.  I’ve been following your career for a while now.  Well, ever since Serena here told me with such pride what her daughter was up to.  I can see why you’re her pride and joy.  Fascinating.  Absolutely fascinating.  I dare say, you could give Fay Da here in New York a run for their money.”

“Believe me,” Sadie said with a chuckle.  “I’ve been trying.  I’ve really been trying.”

“Well, I’m sure you can do it.  You seem to be the type of woman who can do anything she sets her mind to.”

As he spoke, Sadie finally remembered where she had seen him before.  She’d seen him on the cover of Forbes magazine.  Michael wasn’t just some good looking older gentleman... no, Sadie’s mother had snagged herself a billionaire hotelier.

But despite his immense wealth, the man had a very down to earth and likable way about him.  His smile was warm and there was a very paternal way about him.

They all sat back down and while Serena told Michael about her new fashion line, Sadie could see in the man’s eyes the love that he had for the woman in front of him.  He was clearly smitten with Serena, and when she rose to go get some tea, his eyes followed her every step.

After a moment, he turned his eyes back to Sadie.  “How long are you in New York City for?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Sadie said, shooting a glance at her mother.  “Depends on how things go here.”

“Well, I do hope that you’ll stick around for a while and take in the sights.  There’s so much to see and do here.  And I do hope that you’ll feel free to take up any suite in the hotel that you would like.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I do like it here.  There’s something about being back home... being with my mom.”  Sadie looked around at the ultra-glamorous suite.  “It’s not quite the style that I’m used to, but it’s nice being here all the same.”

“Well, just so you know... you can have any room that you like.”

Sadie frowned, not quite understanding what he meant.  “You mean... here... in my mother’s suite?”

“No,” Michael said.  “Any room in the hotel.  Or if a more contemporary and modern hotel is more to your liking, perhaps you would prefer the Belvedere Belle near Times Square.  Although, I must admit that the Piaza is really my favorite.”

“You own the Piaza and the Belvedere?”

“Oh, yes,” Michael said.  “The Piaza is my latest acquisition, and the Belvedere is actually one of my first.  That said, you’re welcome to stay at any of my hotels any time you wish.”  He leaned in closer.  “I do hope that you’ll be coming around for a visit more often.  After all... we’ll soon be family.”  He winked and patted her hand just as Serena returned with a tray of tea and pastries.

He suddenly leaned back and turned away as he sneezed violently.

“Oh, God bless you,” Sadie said.

He sneezed again then quickly pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, just as another violent sneeze took hold of him.

“I hope you’re not coming down with something,” Sadie said.

“No,” Michael said as he fought off another sneeze, making funny faces as he battled it.  “It must be...  ah... ah... ah... it must... be my allergies.”  But the sneeze won.  He stood and walked a few paces away.  “I don’t understand.  There are no dogs here.”

“You’re allergic to dogs?” Sadie said.

“Yes,” he said as he sneezed into his handkerchief once more.

“I’m so sorry,” Sadie offered.  “It must be me.  You came rather close to me, and I had my dog, Biscuit, in my arms just a short while ago.”

“What?” Michael said, clearly unhappy with the news.  “You have a dog, too?  Gee, does everyone have a dog around here?  When Serena said that she’d lost Muffins, I was devastated, but I thought I’d now be able to breathe freely.  But... geesh.”

“I’m really sorry,” Sadie said as she got up and looked around for her Yorkie.  “I’ll find him and close him up in my room.  I’ll make sure that he doesn’t come around you.”

“Good.”

“And I’ll make sure that he’s locked up when you come around again.”

“Thank you,” Michael said.  “I apologize for the inconvenience.  I’m sure that your little dog is very nice but, frankly, dogs and me... we don’t make a good mix.”  He looked at Serena.  “I know that Serena’s fashion house has decided to make fashions for dogs as well as for their female owners, but it does make things a little more complicated for me.”

“That is a shame,” Sadie said.

“Well,” Michael said rather matter-of-factly as he shoved his handkerchief back into his pocket.  “Hopefully that will change when we get married, right dear... and that should be soon enough.”

Chapter 5

As Michael headed off to check in on the photo shoot, Sadie turned to her mother.

“Dear,” Serena quickly said, “don’t look at me like that.  I’m not a teenager.”

Sadie readjusted her glare, softening it.  “I know that.  I know that you’re an intelligent and worldly woman, but...”

“But Michael is gorgeous, he’s smart, he’s fun... and, yes, he has money, but that has nothing to do with why I love him.”

“I know that, too.  You’re a successful and wealthy woman in your own right.  You don’t need a man’s money, but...”

“And we have so much in common.  He loves to travel, he loves good wine, fine food and... well, you saw the way he looks at me,” Serena said.  “He loves me, Sadie.  He really loves me, and he treats me like his queen.”

Sadie looked at her, reluctant to pursue the line of questions that she had in mind.  She took a sip of her tea and glanced over to where Michael stood watching the preparations for the shoot.

She hated the thought of shedding any doubt on her mother’s relationship with Michael... but she had to.

“Michael appears to have had a difficult time with... well, he seems to not have liked... that is to say...  you know, with his allergies... he might have...”

Darn it.

Serena looked at her with such joy and happiness.  Smiling, she waited patiently for Sadie to say what was on her mind.  Sadie couldn’t find the words to say what she really thought of Michael.  She wanted to be kind and gentle.  She wanted to be mindful of all the emotions her mother was already dealing with.

“Mom,” Sadie finally blurted out.  “What if Michael killed Muffins?”

Serena’s eyes widened with horror.  “Sadie!  What are you saying?”

Sadie looked around to see if anyone had heard her mother’s loud outcry.  Everyone was too busy to be bothered.

“Mom,” Sadie said softly as she leaned in closer.  “I’m just wondering.  I’m just looking at all the possibilities.  He just seemed so upset with Biscuit... and the way he talked about Muffins.  He clearly didn’t appreciate her.”

“Honey,” Serena said.  “I know that you enjoy solving a little murder mystery here and there, but you’re wrong.  Michael would never hurt Muffins.”

“But would you be able to live with a man who had?”

“But he didn’t.  He couldn’t.  Honey, if only you knew what kind of man he was.”

“But what if he did?”

“He didn’t.”

“Mom,” Sadie said.  She huffed out her exasperation.  “Okay, let me put it to you this way.  Are you going to be able to carry on any kind of relationship with whoever it is who killed your dog?”

“Well, no,” Serena said.  “Of course not.  How could I possibly face anyone who would do a thing like that?”

“Good,” Sadie said.  “I would hate to think that you’re so blinded by love that you would overlook such a thing.”

“If you think that Michael had anything to do with what happened to Muffins, you’re wrong.”

Sadie put her hand to her mother’s shoulder.  “I sincerely hope that I am, Mom.  I really hope that I’m completely wrong.  But I do have to look into it.  I have to investigate and get to the bottom of this.  After all, if Michael is to be my stepfather, I think that I should enter that relationship with my mind clear of all doubt.”

Serena nodded.  “All right.  If you must.  But I’ll tell you.  You’ll find nothing on him.”

I hope so, Mom, Sadie thought.  I really hope so.

“Oh, no!” a shrill voice called from the photo shoot.

“We’d better go in and see how things are going,” Serena said.

Sadie nodded as she followed her mother to the pet palace.

“What’s going on?” Serena said.

Fearing that Biscuit and Orchid had caused the commotion, Sadie immediately looked for her pets.  But Orchid was perched and pretty up on a fake tree while Biscuit lay on a silk pillow, bored.

The smell of burned plastic and nylon came to Sadie’s nostrils.

“What in the world did you do?” Autumn shouted at Florence who held up a charred little outfit with green and blue sequins.

“I don’t know,” Florence said, her face registering the shock of discovering the burned outfit.  “I don’t understand what happened.”

“I was going to shoot that very outfit next,” Autumn went on.  “Now my schedule is completely ruined.  What are you thinking?”

Florence looked around, clearly at a loss to what had just happened.

“I swear on my grandmother’s grave that you are one of the worse interns I’ve ever had,” Autumn said, growing angrier by the minute.  “No... not one of the worse – the definitive worse.  You are the worse intern.”

“I’m sorry, Autumn,” Flo said.  “I really didn’t do anything.  I don’t understand.”

Her fists clenched in anger, Autumn stomped her way to Flo.  “Well then, understand this.  You’re fired.”

As the crew watched on, Flo turned beet red.

“You can’t do that,” Flo said as her eyes filled with confusion and tears.  “I need this job.”

“Then you should have thought about that before you came here late this morning, then deliberately sabotaged my photo shoot by burning an important outfit.”

“I wasn’t that late,” Flo said, looking from Michael to Richard to the photographer and finally to Serena before looking back at Autumn.  “You guys had just arrived yourself.  You hadn’t even started anything yet.  I didn’t cause any delay.”

“And what about that?” Autumn said, pointing to the charred outfit.  “What’s your excuse for that?”

As tears streaked her cheeks, Flo set the destroyed outfit down, and glanced up at Serena.  “I’m really sorry.”

Sadie looked to her mother who simply nodded sadly.

“Leave my photo shoot now,” Autumn said.

Demolished, Flo walked out and headed to the elevator.

Chapter 6

“I’ll be right back,” Sadie said to Serena as she followed behind Flo.

Controlling her sobs, Flo stared at the elevator doors, waiting for them to part.

“That’s rough,” Sadie said.

“It’s humiliating.”

“Now, where is that dog running off to?” Autumn shouted from the pet palace.  “Damn it!  This whole this is a shamble.  Get that damned dog back here.”

Biscuit trotted up to Sadie and looked up at her.  Can I come with you?  I’m going crazy here.

Sadie nodded as the elevator doors parted.  She followed Flo in with Biscuit at her heels.

The women were silent for a moment as the elevator began its descent.

“I didn’t burn that outfit,” Flo finally said.  Her voice was small and frail.  “I know that I was in charge of making sure that all the outfits were clean and pressed and ready to be shot, but...”

“What do you think happened?” Sadie said.  “It didn’t just spontaneously combust.”

“I really don’t know,” Flo said.  “I left the pet palace for barely a minute to go rinse my hands.  When I came back, everything seemed normal.  Then I started to smell something... something burning.  At first I just thought it was somebody smoking or a funky candle, but then I realized that it was one of the outfits on the rack.  I saw a thin plume of really black smoke and...”  She looked at Sadie with a confounded gaze.

“I see.”

“I have to tell you,” Flo went on.  “Between Muffins’ death and now this, I suspect that...”  She fell silent for a long moment.  “Never mind.”

They reached the main floor and elevator doors parted.  Flo stepped out.

Holding the door open, Sadie stuck her head out.  “Tell me, Flo,” Sadie said.  “What do you suspect?”

Clearly confused by the unexpected and quick succession of events, Flo frowned.  “It just seems to me that someone is trying to sabotage Serena’s work.”  And with that, she turned and walked away.

As the elevator doors closed once more and continued its descent, Sadie looked down at Biscuit.  “I’m glad you got on board with me,” she said.  “I’m going to need a bit of your help with this.”

Biscuit let out a light little yap.

The doors opened and Sadie stepped out with Biscuit taking the lead.

“Looks like you know where you’re going,” she said as she took on a brisk step to keep up with him.

He stopped at a set of double doors.

“Is this it?”

Sadie walked into the large room.  A large table was set in the center of the room.  Two of the walls were filled with locked mailboxes.  The third wall had open cubicles.  The fourth wall was bare.

His nose to the floor, Biscuit surveyed the perimeter of the room.

“So?” Sadie said as she looked around.  “What are you getting?”

A female canine.  Biscuit stopped at one spot and sniffed persistently.  Yes.  Definitely a female.  Young.  No more than two years old.

“Can you tell what breed?”

Small dog.  Chihuahua? Miniature collie?  No... Scent hound.  Beagle.  Yep.  That’s a beagle.

Sadie came up to his side.  “What are you sniffing there?”

She bent down and found a small scattering of short and stiff beagle hairs.  “I’ll take a few of those tiny little hairs.”

There’s the scent of humans, too.

“What do you mean?”  Sadie said.  “Of course, you would pick up the scent of humans.  There are probably dozens of people who pass through here every day.”

Right.  But I’m picking up on a scent that is vaguely familiar.  Lots of sweat.  Probably... yes, a male.  Give me time to think about it.  I can’t quite put my paw on where I’ve smelled it before.  Then again, here...  He got on his two hind legs and put his nose as high up the wall as he could.  Now this is a female.

Sadie frowned.  “Do you mean Florence?”

Nope.  Biscuit continued to sniff at the wall.  Her scent is fresh in my mind.  This isn’t her at all.

Again, Sadie frowned.  “How can you tell that these scents have anything to do with Muffins?”

The way they’re all mingled in together.  I get Muffins, then this man, then this woman, then more of Muffins.  The scents are too closed together and blended up to be a coincidence.

As if to prove his point, he went over to the wall of letter cubicles.  See, here I get a lone woman, heavy perfume.  He moved over a step.  Here I get a young girl and right next to it... He sniffed for a moment.  An older male with the same essence... most likely her father.  Then over here the very heavy scent of two young females, probably teenage years, or young adult.  Very, very strong.  But they’re all individual and compartmentalized, in a way.

As she swabbed the wall where Biscuit has persistently sniffed, and picked up a few fingerprints from the same area, Sadie looked at her dog with an impressed smile on her face.  “Who would have ever thought that I’d be taking investigative classes from a little Yorkshire pup?”

Ah, the things I could show you.  Just get down on all fours and find out for yourself.

“No, thank you,” Sadie said with a chuckle.  “I think I’ll leave the sniffing to you.”  She clapped her hands together.  “So, what else can you tell me?”

I don’t quite understand the connection yet, but I get the feeling that the scent of the sweating older male and the younger female are related.

“The male that you smell isn’t young,” Sadie said, more to herself.  Then she looked pointedly at Biscuit.  “Can we eliminate Jerry?”

Oh, I’m pretty sure.  I don’t get his scent in here at all.

“Good,” Sadie said, remembering how she liked the young man.  So, that left Michael.  “And, just how old do you think this male could be?”

Definitely old enough to have children.

“Ugh,” Sadie let out.  The very thought of her mother having children with Michael was enough to make her gag.  “Okay, so that means that we’re going to use other means in order to find out who was down here when Muffins was killed.”

I’m with you.

“That means, a quick call to...”

Palmer!  Yes!  Yes!  I miss Palmer.

Sadie grinned as she pulled out her phone and called the person that she knew was best suited for the job.  Palmer would make a quick job of analyzing the evidence that she’d picked up.

As the phone rang, she looked at Biscuit.  “If all goes well, we should have all of this settled before the start of the photo shoot tomorrow.”

Urgh.  Biscuit sat down and looked at her with uncertainty.  Those people aren’t my kind of people.  Too stern.  Too busy.  Too rushed.  I don’t like them at all.

Sadie smiled as Palmer picked up the call.

“What’s up, my partner in mystery solving?” Palmer immediately said, foregoing the usual greetings.

“I have a beautiful room for you up at the penthouse suite of the Piaza Hotel,” Sadie said.  “Want to come up and spend a day or two in New York City?”

“Damn.  With an offer like that, how can I refuse?”

“How soon can you get here?”

“The Piaza?” He hesitated a moment as he made the mental calculation.  “Probably within the hour.”

“Really?” Sadie said, surprised by the short amount of time required.  “Where are you?”

“I’m just across the bridge in Queens.”

“Great.  Perfect.  See you in a bit.”

Chapter 7

Sadie paced back and forth in front of the Piaza Hotel as she waited for Palmer to arrive.  In her pocket, she had the hairs and bits of fur that she had bagged, and the few prints that she had lifted off of the wall of mailboxes.

When a cab pulled up to the curb, she looked into the backseat and saw Palmer smiling back at her.  He paid the fare and got out of the cab with a small satchel in his hand.

He came to her, set his satchel down and pulled her in for a warm and long hug.  He held her in a way that he’d never held her before.  While his embraces had always been warm, they’d always been platonic in nature.  This hug had more... more emotion, more depth, and more importance.

Sadie pulled back and looked him in the eye.  “And what was that for?”

“I’m just so happy to see you,” he said with a bright smile.  “It’s so good to see you.”

“Me, too,” Sadie said as she hugged him back.  “I’m really happy to see you.”

He looked up at the tall building.  “So,” he said, clearly impressed.  “The Piaza Hotel.  You certainly don’t slum it when you’re in town, do you?”

“It’s my mother’s idea of home, sweet home,” Sadie said as she turned to head inside.  “Come on.  Wait until you see what she’s done to the place.”

They got into the elevator and exchanged furtive glances as they rode up.

“Get ready for a trip to old world Hollywood,” Sadie said as the doors opened.

Wide-eyed, Palmer entered the lavish suite, gaping.  “Art deco isn’t really my thing, but this is really nice.  Very chic.  A little over the top, but very chic.”

“I told you my mother had a penchant for this kind of thing,” Sadie said as she led him to her room.  “You can stay in my room while you’re here.”

He turned to look at her and cocked his brow in a mocking manner.

“I’ll be sleeping elsewhere, Palmer,” Sadie said.  “I have a room a few floors down.  Don’t get any bright ideas.”  She pushed the door to her room open.

“Cute,” he said, setting his satchel down on the floor by the door.  “Not in keeping with the rest of the place, but cute.”

“It’s a reminiscence of my childhood room.”

As Sadie went on to show him the rest of the luxury suite, Palmer occasionally whistled while running his hand over the expensive furniture, and fingering the lavish fabrics.

“Is the fashion business really this lucrative?” he said as they stepped out onto the patio and took in the expansive view.  “I mean, I knew that your mother was successful, but wow.  I didn’t know that she had made it this big.  I mean to be living in the penthouse of the Piaza Hotel...  That takes some big bucks.”

“Well, it probably helps a bit that she’s engaged to the owner, Michael Blakely.”

“Nice,” Palmer said with another cock of his brow.

“Well, I don’t really think so.”

“Why?  Look at this place.  You’ve got it made if this guy ends up your step-father.  You could probably stay in any room that you would like... for as long as you’d like.”

“Yeah,” Sadie said.  “That offer has been made.”

“So, what’s not to like?  Is the guy nice to your mom?”

“Yeah.”

“Does he love her?”

“He seems to.”

“So?  What don’t you like about him?”

Sadie turned to looked at him.  “He’s violently allergic to dogs.”

Palmer frowned.  “Gee, Sadie.  That’s an awfully shallow reason not to like a guy.”

Letting out a light laugh, Sadie slapped the side of his arm.  “That’s not all, silly.  Not only is he allergic, but it just so happens that my mother’s beloved beagle, Muffins, was found dead in the mailroom downstairs.”

“Oh.”

“It’s unclear how Muffins got out of the suite and all the way down there, but somebody wanted that dog dead.  Someone with allergies could very well be the culprit.”

“Okay.  So, do you want me to look... here in the suite?  Down in the mailroom?”

“No need.  I was down there earlier and picked up this.”  She pulled the hair samples and fingerprints out of her pocket and handed them to him.

Palmer nodded.  “Okay.  I’ll get right on it.  I assume you want me to remain discreet.”

“Exactly.  That’s why I wanted you to take my room.”

“Perfect.  I’ll get started.  Soon enough I’ll let you know if you’ll have a rich, new step-dad, or if you’ll have to tell your mother to drop him like a hot potato.”

Sadie crossed her fingers on both hands and held them up.  “Let’s hope that it’s not him,” she said.  “My mom really likes him, and she would be crushed if she learned that he’d done such a thing.  Then again, if it is him, she needs to know.”

Palmer held up the evidence and jiggled it.  “The answers are all in there.”  He turned to head into the bedroom.

As he closed the door behind him, Sadie’s phone rang.

She didn’t recognize the number and was reluctant to answer.  On the fourth ring, she picked up.  “Hello.”

“Sadie Silver?”

“Yes?”

“It’s Florence... the intern from the photo shoot.”

“Oh, yeah.  I really am sorry about what happened.”

“Yeah.  It sure is crappy.”

Unsure what Florence wanted, Sadie hesitated.  “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I know I just kind of threw this at you as I left the elevator, but I thought you should know the whole thing.”

“Sure.”

“Somebody on the inside is trying to sabotage Serena and her fashion line.  Whoever it is obviously has no scruples.  They’re desperate enough to even kill Muffins.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Do you have any idea just how big Muffins was?”

“Well, no.  Probably not.”

“She was more than just the star of Serena’s dog fashions.  People loved her.  Whether they were into fashion or not, they just adored her.  She had millions of followers on Instagram and other social media platforms.  She would be dressed in the latest fashion and would pose so prettily.  She was adorable, and the fans loved that.  When Serena announced that she would start adding the pet fashions to her regular line, Muffins was suddenly worth a whole lot more, especially in the eyes of her sponsors.  She was more than just the cute dog in cute clothes.  She was now synonymous with Serena Fashions.”

Sadie was silent for a moment as she took it all in.  “But if she was worth so much, why would somebody want to get rid of her?” she finally said.  “Who, Florence?  Who would want to do such a thing?”

“Richard,” Florence said simply.  “Richard Linklater.”

Chapter 8

Sadie walked up to her mother who stood staring out the window, her hands angrily set on her hips.

“Is everything okay?” Sadie said.

“You know me, honey,” Serena said.  “I’m always optimistic.  I see the bright side of things.  But...”

“But what?”

“This photo shoot is turning into a nightmare.”

“Are Biscuit and Orchid acting up?  Did they get into some mess?”

Serena turned and walked through the living room, barely peeking towards the pet palace.  “No.  No.  They’re great.  They really are.  I mean, Orchid is very cool and aloof, but that only adds to her charm.”

Relieved, Sadie smiled.  “Then what has you so worried?”

“With the outfit that was burned, I won’t have enough to fill the catalogue of photos that I need.  This is supposed to be a twelve page spread in a pet magazine.  I promised high quality photos and now... Damn.  I don’t know what got into Florence, but she really screwed this up.”

“Well, don’t you have other outfits?”

“Sure,” Serena said with a wave of her hand.  “But they’re down at the office, clear across town.”

“I could go, if you want.”

Serena looked at her.  “Don’t be ridiculous.  I can’t ask you to go out there and spend an hour going through traffic and...”

“Mom.  It’s not a problem.  I’d love to do it.”

Serena suddenly turned to the pet palace.  “Kimmie!” she called out.

The short and spunky stylist came out, her wild brown hair framing her delicate little face.  Wearing a deep purple velvet flared skirt and a bright pink and black striped shirt, she was impossible to miss.  Her spiked black booties added even more character to the already wild outfit.

“What is it?” Kimmie said.

“I’m going crazy here,” Serena admitted.  “How are things going? Are they able to salvage anything?”

“With that burned outfit?  No.  Nothing.”

“I think we should go down to the office and get that little red number with the black fur lining.”

“Sure,” Kimmie said.

“Okay,” Serena said.  “Let me get my purse and we’ll get going.”

“Mom,” Sadie said.  “You already have a lot to take care of here.  You don’t have to come.  I’ll go with Kimmie, find the outfit you want, maybe even bring a few others just in case, and we’ll be back before you know it.”

“Oh, Sadie,” Serena said as she gently pinched Sadie’s cheeks.  “What would I do without you?”

Sadie kissed her mother’s cheek.  “I’ll be right back.”

Sadie and Kimmie left the penthouse, got into Kimmie’s car, and headed to Serena’s Fashion House.

“To tell you the truth,” Kimmie said as she turned the corner.  “I’m kind of glad to get out of there.”

“Really?  Don’t you like your job?”

“Oh, no.  It’s not that.  I love my job.  It’s just that the tension has been growing lately.  I think that everyone’s on edge, what with what happened to Muffins and all.”

“Have you been working for Serena Silver for a long time?”

“Oh,” Kimmie said as she glanced up a moment.  “Closing in on six months now.”

“How do you like working for Serena?”

“Oh, Serena?  She’s a darling.  I mean, I know that she’s a diva and she does love her fashion, but she really is a darling.  She’s fun and, wow... she has such a great sense of fashion.  She knows what people want.  Some people get a little frazzled when she’s a little too demanding, but it’s only normal.  I mean, if Serena wants to put out a quality product, she has to be demanding.  She can’t just let people slack off.”

“Right.  What about some of the other employees?  When you say that some of them are frazzled... like who?”

“In a general sense... everyone at some point or another.  But more specifically, Richard is almost constantly butting heads with Serena.  Then again, it’s kind of his job.  Right?”

“Right,” Sadie muttered, unconvinced.

“I mean, he is the one who keeps track of all the expenses... you know... the business side of things.  Serena takes care of all the creative parts, and he takes care of, well, in my opinion, the boring stuff.”

Kimmie pulled into the underground parking lot of a large building and they both got out of the car and headed to the elevator.

Sadie was happy she’d been able to convince her mother not to come.  In part, she knew that her mother already had so much to deal with, but a bigger part of the reason was that she wanted a chance to see how the employees acted when the boss wasn’t around.

Sadie was impressed by the luxury and opulence that greeted them from the moment they stepped onto the gilded mirrored elevator.

“Your mom really does like to put a touch of pizzazz on everything,” Kimmie said as they rode up to the eighth floor.  “She was also very specific in wanting the offices to be on the eighth floor.  Apparently, when she first came to set up shot here, they wanted to put her on the fourth floor.  They say that she really threw a fit and threatened to cancel her lease.”

Sadie smiled.  “Eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture.”

“Oh,” Kimmie said.  “I didn’t know that.”

“And four is an unlucky number.  Not that my mother adheres to that way of thinking in every matter, but I guess if she was setting to start a successful company, a little bit of luck couldn’t hurt.”

The doors opened and they stepped out into the main offices.  Dozens of employees were busily tending to their tasks, bringing samples here, carrying swathes of fabric there, analyzing patterns over there.

“I had no idea my mother had such a large team.

“Serena Fashions employs just over a hundred people,” Kimmie said.  “Come on.  I’ll show you where some of the work gets done.”

She led the way down a wide corridor and pushed open the double doors that led to a large and airy room.

“This is where the magic comes to life,” Kimmie explained.  “After Serena draws her creation, a pattern is made and here is where that pattern is laid out on the fabric.”

Sadie walked up to the wide and very long table.  A large roll of fabric was hitched up onto a racking system that the employee then pushed down the length of the table while the roll of fabric unfurled onto the table.

“He’ll lay out a few layers of three of four different fabrics,” Kimmie explained.  “Then he’ll take that straight knife cutting machine, and he’ll cut out the various pieces.”

Sadie walked on behind Kimmie, and they came to a corner where a dozen sewing machines were set up.  “Here, the pieces will be assembled, then over there they’ll be pressed and inspected, and finally, these samples will be sent to various buyers across the country.”

They walked on and passed by racks with thick paper patterns, large rolls of fabric in every color and pattern, and boxes filled with thread, buttons, sequins and other assorted embellishments.  Then they slowly made their way back to the offices.

“And this is the nitty gritty side of it,” Kimmie said.  “Not so glamourous.”

A young man with thick glasses came up to them.  “Kimmie.  So glad you’re here.  Can I see you for a minute?”

Kimmie glanced at Sadie.

“Go ahead,” Sadie said.  “I’ll explore on my own.”

Truth was, Kimmie leaving her alone was exactly what Sadie wanted.  As she walked through the hall, peering into an office every once in a while, she noted that Richard wasn’t in the office.  She assumed he’d probably made his way back to the hotel to take part in the photo shoot.

Despite her mother’s absence from the office, all the employees were doing their jobs, many of them being quite passionate about it.

No one was slacking off.  No one was wasting time talking around the water cooler, or engaging in private phone calls.  Sadie was relieved to learn that her mother had surrounded herself with a dedicated team of creative and knowledgeable people who were undoubtedly a huge part of her success.

But then she came to an office with a name on the door that seemed familiar; Samantha.

Right, Sadie thought.  The junior designer who fired Jerry, the dog-walking designer wannabe.  Well, this ought to be interesting.

“Can I help you with something?”  Samantha looked up from her desk as Sadie remained in the doorway to her office.

“Oh,” Sadie said, playing the innocent new and somewhat lost employee.  “Sorry.  Didn’t mean to bother you.  I’m new.  Just getting a feel of the place.  But I saw your name...”  She pointed to the name on the door.  “You’re the junior designer here, aren’t you?”

Samantha’s ego seemed to appreciate the recognition.  “As a matter of fact, I am.  But not for long.  I’m working hard to climb my way up to senior designer.”  She shrugged.  “Who knows?  Maybe one day I’ll have my own fashion house.”

“I admire your ambition,” Sadie said, though she didn’t add how Samantha’s ambition seemed to come with a heavy dose of arrogance.

“Well,” Samantha said as she disdainfully tossed aside a mockup of one of Serena’s classic designs.  “If she can make a success out of putting out stuff like that, I should be able to make it.”

“You don’t like Serena’s designs?”

Samantha stood and came around her desk.  She crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back onto the edge of her desk.  “They’re all right.  I mean, they’re okay, if you like the same old, same old.  There’s so little innovation.”

“But Serena puts so much pizzazz into her designs,” Sadie argued, borrowing Kimmie’s term.

“Pizzazz,” Samantha muttered as she waved dismissively.  “It’s outdated, gaudy and tacky.”

Sadie felt like she’d been slapped in the face but hid her shock at Samantha’s harsh words.  “I guess it’s all a matter of taste.  After all, someone must like the designs if Serena’s House is such a success.”

“Don’t let that fool you, kid,” Samantha said, taking on the air of an old pro.  “That’s just what a good marketing strategy can do for you.  With the right publicity campaign, you can sell anything.  If there’s one thing that Serena did right, is that she surrounded herself with one of the best marketing teams in New York.  I mean, look at what they did with that ugly little beagle.”

Ooh, Sadie thought.  More harsh words.

“This is how smart the marketing team is.  They actually hired a stylist for that little beagle.  They actually had photo shoots and they actually made a veritable star out of the little dog.”

“But, that little beagle is just so adorable,” Sadie said, continuing with her charade of not knowing much of anything.  She pulled out her phone and found a photo of Muffins on one of the many social media sites.  Muffins was wearing one of the designs that Jerry had claimed to have designed.  Turning the phone to Samantha, Sadie gushed.  “I mean, look at that darling little face.  How can you not love her?”

Instead of smiling, as a cute photo of a dog is usually apt to prompt, Samantha just grimaced.  “Right.  What are the chances that you would show me that particular shot?”

“Well, isn’t it an adorable little outfit that she’s wearing,” Sadie argued.  “It’s not gaudy or tacky.”

“Exactly!” Samantha said as she looked more closely at the photo.  “That is my design!  Mine.  Serena just swept in and stole it from me.”

Sadie bit her tongue as she tried desperately to hide her anger.  How dare she imply that Serena had ever stolen anything.  How dare she insinuate such a thing.  By God, she out and out accused Serena of theft.

Sadie was beside herself with infuriating frustration, but she pressed a cute smile all the same as she put her phone away.  “I’m sorry to hear that,” she managed to say without sounding in the least bit upset.

“Yeah... well... me, too,” Samantha said as she returned behind her desk and sat down.

“It was nice meeting you,” Sadie said.  “Sorry for bothering you.”

“It was no bother,” Samantha said without looking up from the photos that she had on her desk.  “I think it did me some good to get it off my chest.”

“Right.”  Sadie turned to walk away.

“Hey!” Samantha called out.

Sadie poked her head back into the office.

Samantha looked up at her.  “What’s your name, anyway?”

“Heather,” Sadie quickly said.  It was a habit that she’d picked up a long time ago; always have a fake name ready to pull out at a moment’s notice.  No hemming and hawing.  “Heather McBride.”

“Nice to meet you Heather McBride.  Maybe we’ll work on something together someday.”  Samantha pressed a semblance of a smile, then returned to her work.

Putting Samantha’s remark behind her, Sadie walked through the offices of her mother’s thriving business, chatting now and again with various employees.

Everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy working for Serena, which was no surprise to Sadie.

When she noticed that Samantha had stepped out of her office, Sadie hurried to the open office in the hopes of finding something interesting.  She picked up a discarded plastic cup from the trash bin and quickly managed  to get a few fingerprints.

“Your work isn’t done yet, Palmer,” she whispered as she left the office.

She met up with Kimmie who had the new outfits for the shoot, and they headed back to the hotel.

*****

“I’VE BROUGHT MORE EVIDENCE for you to analyze,” Sadie said as she entered her room and handed him her little bag.

“Oh, gee,” he said, looking a little sheepish.  “I was just about to take a lunch break.”  He took the bag.  “But I’ll get right on it.”

“Not so fast, buddy,” Sadie said with a chuckle.  “I’ve also brought...”  And she pulled out a flat white box from behind her back.  “The best New York style pizza that you’ve ever had.”

“Oh, man,” he said, almost drooling.  He set the bag down and took the pizza from Sadie.  “Nothing beats a New York style pizza.”

“And some sodas.”

“Perfect.”  He glanced at his makeshift lab that was set up on Sadie’s dresser.  “I want to keep an eye on that,” he said as he held up the pizza box.  “Where do you want to eat?”

“Right here,” Sadie said.  “Like a good old slumber party.  We can eat right on the bed.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Crossing their legs in front of them, they both settled in on the bed, opened the box and grabbed a hot and juicy slice of pizza.

“You know how I love Fortune Falls,” Sadie said after taking her first bite.  “But if I were ever to move out of there and come to live in the big city...”  She held up the slice of pizza.  “This would be the reason.”

“I’m sure your mother would be happy to learn that,” Palmer said with a grin.

“Oh, she’d agree with me.  Mom loves New York style pizza just as much as I do.”

“And I do believe that the similarities end there,” Palmer said.

“So, you noticed.”

“You two are like the country mouse and city mouse.  I never thought that mother and daughter could be so diametrically different.”

Sadie made quick work of her first slice and reached out for another.  “It’s really all surface stuff.  I mean, she likes to flash and be noticed.  I prefer to fade into the background.  She loves to walk out onto the street and be surrounded by hordes of people.  I prefer to walk out onto my quiet country lane and not see a soul for miles and miles.”

“I’m with you there.”

“But,” Sadie went on as she wiped melted cheese off her chin.  “We both like to cook, though she’s more into the savory stuff while I leaned towards the sweets.  We both love animals.  You saw how distraught she is over the death of her beagle, Muffins.  We’re both kind and considerate.”

“That I can definitely vouch for.”

“Mom raised me to be respectful of other people’s feelings.  She taught me to look beyond a person’s anger or frustration and see what was really in the person’s heart.  She insisted that I never jump to conclusions about somebody.”

“How’d she do that?”

Sadie smiled as she remembered an incident a long time ago.  “When I was about six years old, we had an old lady who lived next door.  She would always step out onto the porch to yell at her dog.  Increasingly, she took to yelling at me whenever I would go out and play.  She was annoyed when I screamed with glee.  She was annoyed when I laughed.  She was annoyed when I swung on the swing because it creaked.  She was annoyed by everything.”

“Sounds like fun times,” Palmer said as he reached out for his third slice.

“And it was maddening because I tried to be nice to her.  I had brought her wildflowers that I had picked from the edge of the lawn.  I had brought her cookies that my mom had bought.  I even went over one day and offered to rake her leaves for her.  But she just yelled at me every time and told me to go home.”

“So, what happened?”

“I complained to my mom and told her what a horrible witch Mrs. Horowitz was.  I told her how I hated her and even confessed to her that I was planning on throwing eggs at the old lady’s house.”

“Ooh, a nasty little streak in that good little girl façade.”

Sadie laughed.  “Well, I probably would have never done it anyways, but it was fun to fantasize getting back at the old witch for being so mean to me.  But my mom sat me down and told me how Mrs. Horowitz had just lost her husband and son to an awful car accident.”

“Woe.”

“Yeah.  You bet.  I mean, I felt awful for all the things I had thought about her, all the mean things I had said to her... even if it was all in my head.”

“Good lesson there.”

“Mrs. Horowitz was mean to me for close to a year,” Sadie said, remembering the woman whom she’d referred to as old, but realizing that she’d probably been in her early forties at the time.  “Then one day, when my ball flew over the fence and into her yard, I was ready to head back inside.  After all, I couldn’t very well go into her yard to retrieve it.  She’d just yell at me.  But then I heard her call my name.  I turned around and there she was holding my ball out to me.”

Sadie could still see the woman’s face.  “Though she was clearly sad, there had been a semblance of a smile as she said, ‘Here you go, sweetie.’  I stood there for a moment, wondering if it was a trick, but then I went and got my ball from her.”

Palmer reached out to pat her hand.  “That’s a great story, Sadie.  Despite that, I honestly think that you would have turned out all right whether you’d known this Mrs. Horowitz or not.”

Sadie smiled.  “Thanks.  Well, anyways, that’s all in the past.  Although maybe it ties into why I’m always so eager to resolve a case, to make people feel better... even if it is a case like this one.  I mean, how many people have investigated the death of a dog?”

“Probably more than you think.”  He smiled and looked at her.  His eyes registered something that wasn’t there before, although it had always been brewing.  “Either way, I’m happy with all the adventures we’ve had together.”

“I do make your life interesting, don’t I?”

He threw down the crust of his last slice of pizza then took a big gulp of soda.  “That you do.  That you do.”

Sadie finished her last piece of pizza then closed the box and set it aside.

“Paris has definitely been my favorite so far,” Sadie said.

“I think I preferred Catalina,” Palmer threw back.  “That was a hoot.”

Sadie contemplated him for a long moment.  He was so easy; easy to talk to, easy to be with, easy on the eyes.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” he said with an uncomfortable snort.

“I’m just appreciating the relationship that I have with you,” she said softly.  “My mom always told me that there was no point in having dozens of friends if you can’t count on any of them when the chips are down.  So, how lucky am I to have you?”

“Not as lucky as I am to have you.”  He leaned into her, his lips parting.

Sadie closed her eyes, ready to accept the kiss that was coming.

“Hey, guys!” Serena called out as she threw open the door.

“Mom!” Sadie whined.  Then she noticed Michael standing behind her.  “I didn’t know that you two were back.”

“We just wanted to stop by to invite you two to dinner,” Serena said.  “We’re going down to the Piaza Florentina down here at the hotel.”

“Their seafood salad is the best in town,” Michael said.

“Not to mention their bolognaise sauce.”  Serena then looked at the pizza box on the bed.  “Oh.  Have you already eaten?”

“I just had to treat Palmer to some great New York style pizza.”

“And it really was great,” Palmer added.

“Well, Florentina has the best tiramisu in the world.  So you could just have dessert if you want.”

“Now, I’m really sold,” Sadie said as she got off the bed.  “I have to try that.”

As they walked out and headed to the elevator, Serena gave Sadie an up and down glance.

Sadie anticipated an objection.  Aside from the original complaint about her traveling attire, her mother had said nothing about how she dressed.

“With everything that’s been going on, I almost forgot to tell you,” Serena said.  “You look really nice, Sadie.”

Sadie smiled as she looked down at the deep blue slacks she wore with a curve hugging teal sweater.  “Thanks, Mom.”

Chapter 9

“That was fabulous,” Sadie said as they returned to the penthouse suite.  “Thank you both so much for inviting us to join you.  You were right.  That tiramisu was fantastic.”

“It was a pleasure dining with you,” Michael said.  “After all, I would like to get to know you better before we officially become family.”

Sadie smiled.  She still had a lot of reservations regarding him, and she wasn’t quite ready to just throw her arms open and welcome him into the family.

“We’re going to go out and have a little drink on the patio,” Serena said.  “It’s a clear sky and we should have a full moon tonight.”

“I have a lot of work to do still,” Palmer said.

“Yeah,” Sadie said.  “Thanks, but I think I’ll go and give him a hand.”

“Suit yourself.”

Sadie led the way back to her room.

“That Michael,” Palmer said as he closed the door behind him.  “What a guy.  You’d think that being that rich would have made him a snob, but he’s pretty cool.  A real down to earth kind of guy.”

“Right,” Sadie muttered as she wandered around the room, looking at nothing in particular.

“What is it?  You don’t like him?”

“Let’s just say that I’ll like him a whole lot more if we manage to clear him of killing Muffins.”

“Well,” Palmer said as he came to his makeshift lab.  “It shouldn’t be...”

Sadie looked at him when he failed to finish his sentence.  “It shouldn’t be... what?”

“Long,” he muttered, though he was clearly preoccupied with something else.  He picked up the bags of evidence that Sadie had brought him, picked up various instruments of his trade, then picked up the bags of evidence again.

“What’s wrong?” Sadie said as she walked up to him.  “What are you looking for?”

Muttering to himself, he went back to the door.  “You came in,” he mumbled.  “You gave me the bag... then showed me the pizza... I put the bag of evidence...”

Sadie watched him as he mentally tried to track his steps.

“Where did I put it?”  He returned to the dresser drawer where everything was.  “I put it here.”  He looked up at Sadie.  “Didn’t I?”

“I’m pretty sure you did,” Sadie said as she looked at everything that was spread out on the dresser.  “But Palmer.”

He continued to mutter to himself.

“Palmer,” she said again as she picked up a bag and held it up.  “This is the bag that I brought you today.”

“Oh!” he said with surprise.  “How did I miss it?  It’s right there.”

“Yeah, but what’s not here is the evidence that I got from the mailroom yesterday.”

He slammed his palm into his forehead.  “Right,” he said with a snort.  “I got the order of the bags confused.”

Sadie then took a closer look at the room.  “The pizza box.  I’m sure I left it at the foot of the bed.  Someone moved it.”

Frowning, Palmer turned to her.  “You think that someone came into the room?”

“I’m sure of it,” Sadie said.  “And I know exactly who orchestrated it.”

“Who?”

“Michael,” Sadie said with firm conviction.  “That’s why he brought us down to the restaurant.  That’s why he insisted that we stay a moment longer when we were good and ready to come back up.  That might even be why he wanted us to go out on the patio for drinks.”

“Yeah, but it’s your mother who invited us.”

Sadie hesitated as a jumble of thoughts all rammed into her head at the same time.  “Well... he probably suggested it to her earlier.”

“You’re letting your concern for you mother’s wellbeing cloud your judgement on this, Sadie.”

She looked pointedly at him.  “Then why was the mailroom evidence taken.  You’d already taken everything out of the evidence bag.  You already had it all laid out and ready to analyze.  But the evidence from the office was sitting right there... all nice and tidy.  All they had to do was walk in, grab the bag, and walk out.  Why go to the trouble of picking everything up from the mailroom... unless... that is precisely the evidence that they do not want you to analyze?  Why, Palmer?”

Palmer took a closer look at what was left on the dresser.  “If it’s any consolation, I’d already run the prints through.  And look.”  He held up a vial.  “They didn’t get everything.  Anyway, if nothing else, we should be able to eliminate Michael from your short list of suspects.”

“Okay.  That’s good to know.”

“In the meantime, I’ll get started on what you brought back from the office.”

Sadie walked to the door.  “Okay.  I’ll see you later.”

“You’re not staying?  I thought you said you were going to help me out.”

“This whole missing evidence thing doesn’t sit well with me.  I have to find out what happened.  I’ll be back soon.”

She headed out and got into the elevator.  She didn’t really know what she was looking for, but she knew that she needed to find some answers.  As she got out of the elevator down on the main floor, someone called her name.  She turned to see Jerry heading her way.

“Hi,” Sadie said.  “I didn’t really expect to run into you again.”

“After the way that you ran off the other day, neither did I.”  He smiled and didn’t seem to really hold it against her.  He glanced at the elevator.  “I happened to be in the neighborhood and wondered if perhaps your little Biscuit was in need of a good walk this evening.”

With everything that had been going on, she’d all but forgotten about her beloved pets.  She wasn’t even sure if Biscuit had been out at all that day.

Despite her apprehensions about Jerry, she nodded.  “I think you might be right.  Want to come up with me to get him?”

“Sure.”

They boarded the elevator and Jerry cocked a brow when he realized that they were heading to the penthouse suite.

“You sure know how to live in style,” he said.

She contemplated telling him about her situation, but in the end, she just smiled.

Once inside the suite, Sadie headed to the pet palace where the photo shoot was almost wrapping up.

“Biscuit,” Sadie said when she saw that he was just sitting there waiting for the crew to get ready.  “Want to go for a walk?”

Do I?  He bolted toward her.  Where have you been?  For the past hour I’ve had to pee.  Do you know how hard it is to hold it in when you have an inept handler picking you up by the belly every other minute?

“Sorry about that,” Sadie whispered as she led Biscuit out to where Jerry waited.

Jerry!  Trotting as fast as his little legs could carry him, he ran to the dogwalker.

“Let me just grab a jacket and I’ll be right with you,” Sadie said.

“Sadie!” Breathless, Autumn ran out of the pet palace and came to her.  “Can I see you a minute?”

“Well, I was just about to...”

“I can handle him on my own,” Jerry said, then he looked down at Biscuit.  “Hey, little buddy?”

Sure thing.  Sure thing.  Let’s go.  Let’s go.

“Okay, thanks, Jerry.”  Sadie then turned to Autumn.  “What is it?”

“Can I talk to you in Serena’s office?”

Office?  Sadie didn’t even know that her mother had an office in the suite.  “Um.  Okay.”

“This way,” Autumn said as she led the way.

They entered the small office and Autumn closed the door.

“Your mother’s company has grown very fast,” Autumn began.  “Serena’s Fashion House is now one of the major players in the fashion world.  With all of this new fame has come a whole lot of publicity.  We’ve been working on this marketing strategy non-stop.  The crew is tired.  They’re overworked and this is causing them to make mistakes, but also to be stressed out and questioning whether they want to continue to work on this dog fashion campaign.”

Not knowing what to say, Sadie looked at her and waited for her to go on.

“I know what you’re going to say; that’s part of doing business.  That’s the cost of success, but... well, I just thought that you should know.  I’ve been wanting to tell Serena, but... what with Michael around all the time, I never have a minute with her.  To see her with him, you’d almost think that she didn’t care about the fashion line anymore.”

Without saying more, Autumn walked out leaving Sadie to wonder what that was all about.

“Well, what do you want me to do about it?” she said into the empty office.

Was this all some way of letting Sadie know that many of the employees were unhappy at Serena’s Fashion House?  Was it somebody right there in that pet palace who had killed Muffins and who wanted to continue to sabotage the fashion line?

Then Sadie remembered what Florence had told her.  Someone from the photo shoot had burned that outfit... but were they the same person who’d also killed Muffins?

Chapter 10

Sadie woke up early the next morning and got ready for the day.  She was eager to get dressed and head to the photo shoot.

Just as she walked to the window to take her first glimpse at the day, Palmer called her.

“I know.  I know.  I said that I’d be there first thing this morning,” Sadie said.  “I should be at your door in all of twenty minutes.”

“I was able to work with what I have, and I think you’ll be very interested in the results.”

“Great.  Can you text them to me?”

“Give me a minute.”

“Thanks.”  She ended the call.

She walked in (where?).  Still in her robe, she smiled as Biscuit ran up to her, happier than she’d seen him in a while.

“You’re in a good mood this morning.”

That late night walk was really good.  We should do that all the time.

Sadie smiled.  “We’ll see.  How did it go with Jerry?

The dogwalker?  That guy is a doll.  I love him.  Can we bring him home to Fortune Falls?

“I don’t really think that he’d appreciate that.  Besides, he’s still on my list of suspects.”

Well, I think that you can cross him off.

“Why is that?”

I know a true dog lover when I see one.  This guy could never hurt a dog, never mind kill one.

“Well, Palmer is going to send me the results of his analysis.  Soon, I’ll be able to tell you if you were lucky to have survived walking with Jerry.”

I can’t wait.

“Then, let’s go.  We should have an announcement to make by the time we get to the penthouse.”

They headed to Serena’s suite.  Despite the early hour, everyone was already at the pet palace, ready to carry on with the photo shoot.

Autumn was giving orders, while Richard paced in front of the window.  Even Samantha was there smirking at the goings on.  Serena and Michael sat in the corner looking into each other’s eyes and Palmer stood just outside the doorway trying to make sense of the whole thing.

“Hi,” Sadie said as she came up to Palmer.  She set Biscuit down just as the elevator doors opened and Kenwood stepped out with Noodles rushing in.

“Kenwood,” Sadie said.  “I’m so glad you could make it.”

She noticed Palmer’s grim greeting, but he remained polite and cordial.

“Noodles is really excited to stand in for Biscuit.  She’s never been in a photo shoot before.”

Biscuit sat at Sadie’s feet and looked up at her with narrow and angry little eyes.

Gee.  Thanks a lot.  There goes my chance to see my name in lights.

“You’ll thank me later,” Sadie told him.  “Being a star isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  At least Noodles is the sheriff’s dog.  No one would dare hurt her while Kenwood is here.  I mean look at him... so tall and strong.”

Oh.  Biscuit looked at her with bright eyes.  I see.  You still think that the killer is here.  Are you saying that I was their next target?

Sadie picked him up.  “I’m afraid so, my lovely puppy.  And I couldn’t bear to lose you.”

He licked her face repeatedly.

With her little heels clickity clicking all the way, Autumn came to Sadie, her lips pursed, and her arms crossed over her chest.  “What’s the deal with the new dog?  I don’t want a poodle for this shoot.  I want Biscuit.  What’s wrong with him?  Why can’t he finish what he started?”

“Let’s head back into the pet palace,” Sadie said as she walked past Autumn.

“Wait.  Tell me why I can’t have Biscuit?”

Everyone in the pet palace stopped what they were doing as Autumn continued with her loud tirade.

“The reason that I won’t allow you to work with my little Biscuit here is because the person who killed my mother’s Muffins is among us.”  Sadie then pointed to Noodles who was in the safety of Kenwood’s big, strong arms.

“Is that the new dog?” Serena said.

“Yep,” Sadie said.  “And I’d be willing to bet that the killer isn’t going to dare get near her with Kenwood around.”

With his free hand, Kenwood pulled out his handcuffs.

“You see, everyone,” Sadie went on, “my friend, Palmer, analyzed the evidence that I’d brought him and he was able to help me narrow down my list of suspects.”

“What are you, a detective?” Autumn said with a sneer.

Sadie turned to her with dark eyes.  “Someone dared to try to destroy my mother... someone killed my mother’s beloved puppy... You better believe I’m going to do everything that I can to get justice.  And with the help of my little Biscuit who has a very keen nose, I’m going to do just that.”

Clinging desperately to Michael’s hand, Serena came up to her.  “Oh, Sadie.  I’m almost afraid to ask.”  She looked lovingly into Michael’s eyes then back at Sadie.  “But I have to know.  If I’m ever going to find peace, I have to know who killed Muffins.”

“You can relax, Mom,” Sadie said.  She looked at Michael and smiled.  “Michael didn’t do it.”

Serena put her hand over her heart and let out a loud sigh.  “Oh, thank goodness.  Thank goodness.”

“Are we going to get to the bottom of this today?” Autumn said as she tapped her watch impatiently.

“Indeed,” Sadie said.  She’d already noticed how sweaty and shifty Richard had become.  “Richard Linklater.”

“Yes,” he said with a stiff upper lip.

“How do you like living at the Piaza?”

“What?  What are you talking about?”

“You have been staying in room 1212 for the past few months, haven’t you?  I hear it’s a very nice room with a gorgeous view.”

Serena looked at him.  “You never told me that.”

“And how does your daughter, Samantha like the room?”

“What?” everyone shouted.

“Samantha is your daughter?” Serena said.  “Your daughter?!  But her name is Rittenhouse.”

Richard shrugged.  “She chose to take up her stepfather’s last name when her mother remarried.”

Serena’s eyes narrowed as she turned to look at the young woman.  “You’re in the design department, aren’t you?”

Samantha nodded.  “For two years now.”

Serena looked at Richard.  “Why didn’t you tell me she was your daughter? I could have taken her under my wing.”  She looked to Samantha again.  “Tell me, what have you worked on?”

Gleeful, Samantha pulled out her portfolio.  “These little doggy fashions... oh, and this one...”

“I thought that was from Kimberly, the head of designs,” Serena said.

“Actually, that’s mine.”

Everyone turned to the sound of the unfamiliar male voice.  In the doorway, Jerry stood.

“And who are you?” Serena said.

“Mom,” Sadie said.  “This is Jerry.  He was working for your fashion house up until recently.”

“Well, if you designed this,” Serena said to him, “you must be a talented young designer.  Why did you leave my fashion house?”

Jerry looked at Samantha who clucked her tongue and turned away.  “My designs were stolen, and I was then dismissed.”

Serena gasped.  “I’ll make sure to remedy that right away, young man.  I want you on my team.”  She then turned to Sadie.  “But Sadie, that doesn’t answer the question of who killed my Muffins.”

“You’re looking at them right there, Mom,” Sadie said as she gestured to Richard and Samantha.

Sadie looked to Kenwood.  “I think you might need another pair of handcuffs if we’re to hold these two until the NYPD arrives.”

Kenwood pulled out another pair of handcuffs.  “Always ready.”

Sadie smiled.  “I know you are.”

With a knowing smile, Serena glanced up at Kenwood, then at Sadie as she cocked a brow.

“Don’t look at me like that, Mom.  It’s not what you think.  Kenwood is the new sheriff of Fortune Falls.  And he’s pretty terrific.”

“Oh, I do miss Fortune Falls.”

“Enough to come back?”

“Well,” Serena said.  “I don’t know about that, honey.  I mean, I have my business here... and Michael.”

“Perhaps you should consider the move,” Richard blurted out.  “With all the money that you’ve spent on this publicity campaign this past year, you’ve practically emptied the bank.  You’ll be lucky if you break even.  Might as well throw in the towel now.”

“You’re such a naysayer, Richard,” Serena said.  “My fashion line is selling more than ever, but you keep telling me that things aren’t going well.”

“That’s because it’s about time that you quit, Serena Silver.  You’re too old for this.  It’s about time that you stepped aside and let someone with real talent take over.”

“And who would that be?”

“Who else?  My daughter, Samantha.  She’s the real star designer here.  If you hadn’t started to make those damned appearances with that silly little dog of yours, she would be the real star.  If you hadn’t embarked on this outrageous campaign...”

“That’s why your stupid little dog had to go,” Samantha hissed.  “You don’t deserve what you have.”

Kenwood handed Noodles to Sadie, then slowly and calmly went to Richard and handcuffed him.  He then handcuffed Samantha who started sobbing.

“I just can’t believe it,” Serena said with a shake of her head.  “I can’t believe that you would do such a thing.  Burn an outfit?  That’s nothing.  That’s just material and thread.  But to kill my dog?  To kill a living thing just so you can get ahead?  Just to ruin me?”

Richard huffed.  “And I would have done even more if it hadn’t been for your nosy daughter and her boyfriend over there.”  He nudged his shoulder toward Palmer.

Serena looked at Palmer then back at Sadie.  “Boyfriend?”  She then looked at Kenwood.  “Boyfriend?  Two?”

“Oh, Mom,” Sadie said with a laugh.  “This isn’t the time.  Let’s just say that it’s complicated.”

“It can’t be that complicated, dear.  Love is pretty straightforward.  You love being with someone, and that’s all there is to it.”

“Well, Palmer and I do love to spend time together.  We really are close that way.”  Sadie looked at Palmer with a warm gaze.

Kenwood shrugged.  “I guess I should have known,” he said.  “I kept my hopes up, but deep down I knew.  Just looking at the way you two look at one another... I knew.  You always call on him first.”

Sadie set Noodles and Biscuit down and went over to Palmer and reached for his hand.  “I think that deep down inside, I’ve known all along.  I guess my hard head just didn’t want to fully realize it.  But it’s true, Palmer.  You really are the one that I couldn’t live without.”

Holding Richard’s elbow in one hand and Samantha’s in the other, Kenwood walked by.  “Take good care of her,” he said.  “I’ll come down and arrest you if you don’t.”  He walked out with the father and daughter duo.

Palmer looked into Sadie’s eyes and smiled.  As he leaned in, Sadie closed her eyes, anticipating a warm kiss.

“So!” Serena called out with a celebratory clap of her hands.  “How about a double wedding?  Wouldn’t that be a hoot?”

“Oh, Mom,” Sadie said with a chuckle as her kiss with Palmer was once again interrupted.

“It’d be great.  I love Palmer.”

Sadie looked at her mother with a silly grin.  “I have, just now, realize that I really, really like this guy, Mom.  Could you give me a minute to figure out where I want to go from here?  I’m not quite ready to tie the knot.”  She looked at Palmer and smiled.  “Not yet.”

“Well,” Michael said.  “I do hope that we’ll be seeing a lot more of both of you at future family functions.”

“You bet,” Sadie said.

“Michael already loves Palmer,” Serena said.

“That’s great, because Palmer already loves Michael, too.”

“And don’t worry about what Richard said,” Serena went on.  “My finances are great.  After all, I have Michael who is more than happy to invest in me and my designs.  My fashion house will be the grandest of them all.” Serena looked lovingly at her daughter.  “What about you, dear?  Are all your plans working out like you’d hoped?”

“Better than I had ever hoped.  I have my regular clients and they’re all great, and loyal and I couldn’t ask for more.”  Sadie stopped then thought about her clients.  “You know though...  There is this one guy who is always calling to order my red velvet cupcakes.  He’s very mysterious and he has this really adorable and sexy voice, too.”

Palmer grinned and pulled out his phone.  “Guilty as charged. I’m actually the mysterious caller who orders red velvet cupcakes from your bakery every time I’m in New York City.”

“You?” Sadie squealed.  “It’s been you all along?”

Palmer laughed as he pulled her into his arms.  “Yeah.  Seeing how I wasn’t getting anywhere as Palmer the analyzer, I thought I would try to be the mysterious and sexy alter ego who calls to request those rich and luscious red velvet cupcakes from you.”

Sadie leaned in to plant a wet kiss on his lips.  “I’m really disappointed.”

Frowning, Palmer said, “Really?  Why?  I thought you liked mysteries.”

“I like solving mysteries,” she said with a sly grin.  “You’d think that with all my sleuthing skills that I would have caught on to the fact that it was you.  How in the world did you get that past me?”

They all laughed.

“Don’t worry, my beautiful detective,” Palmer said as he gave her a hug.  “Your excellent sleuthing skills will be put to use soon enough.”

“Until next time,” Sadie says.

*****

Thank you for picking up Mom’s Manor, Mop, and Macaroons

(Sadie Silver Mystery #12)

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Get the next Book in the Silver Mystery Series!

Collect the Series

Catalina, Crimes, and Coconut Pies (Sadie Silver Mystery #1)

Paris, Poison, Pain Au Chocolate (Sadie Silver Mystery #2)

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Paris, Ice Pick, and Petit Fours:  A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery

(Sadie Silver Mystery #3)

Fortune Falls, Felons, and Fudge: A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery (Sadie Silver Mystery #4)

Apple Valley, Ax, and Ambrosia: A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery (Sadie Silver Mystery #5)

Staying Inn, Scarf, and Sugar Cookies: A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery (Sadie Silver #6)

Sin City, Shoes, and Sundaes: A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery (Sadie Silver #7)

Haunted Castle, Hanging Doll, and Honey Ham: A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery (Sadie Silver #8)

Dog Park, Dagger, and Donuts: A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery (Sadie Silver Mystery #9)

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Costume Party, Cuffs, and Cupcakes: A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery (Sadie Silver Mystery #10)

Tea House, Tights, and Toffee: A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery (Sadie Silver Mystery #11)

Mom’s Manor, Mop, and Macaroons: A Cozy Contemporary International Crime Mystery (Sadie Silver Mystery #12)

About the Author Kailin Gow

From visiting Romania, ALA YALSA Award-winning and Million-Selling Author Kailin Gow was asked to write stories about vampires; visiting the Black Forest in Germany and seeing the castles of Europe inspired her to write fantasy; visiting Asia's mystical mountains inspired her to write action adventure and mythological dystopians. From her experience in college as a peer counselor and her volunteer work with women's shelters, she was inspired to write contemporary romance with social issues for women, new adults, young adults, and teens. Having faced adversity, including battling stereotypes and bullying, Kailin Gow has become a well-known speaker and influential figure in media. Her adventurous bold spirit has taken her around the world, where she has ridden on top of elephants through jungles, hand-fed sting rays, studied kung fu from a Shaolin Temple monk, and learned cooking from a celebrity chef. She is a USA Today Bestselling author and has been a #1 Amazon bestselling author over two-hundred times. Her Bitter Frost Series is in development as a TV Series, and her contemporary romance Loving Summer is set to become a feature film. An multi-award-winning filmmaker, director, and actress; Kailin’s films have premiered at Cannes, Los Angeles, Rome, England, Paris, Korea, Japan, and even in India’s Ministry of Culture.

Compelled to write her first fiction book because of 9/11, Kailin Gow now has over 400 fiction books published under Kailin Gow and various Pen Names in many genres.  As a speaker and host, she has hosted international shows at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, been a celebrity judge at beauty pageants, been a judge for writing contests, and hosted television series.  She was featured as an Indie Author Success Story on the homepage of Amazon.com for a month and is also included in Amazon’s book called Transformations. She is the first Asian American to have been featured on Amazon’s homepage as an Author Success Story, and the first to have sold over a million books.

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