Page 92 of Wag More Bark Less

It’s the murder dress.

Murder dress makes Forever Mom sad.

Destroy!

But where’s Forever Mom?

Sniff, scan, sniff, scan.

Back door’s open.

Run, run, run.

Hurry, Forever, Dad.

The murder dress is loose!

THIRTY-THREE

LUKE

I picked up the shred of white fabric off Maggie’s living room floor, the same remnant Ellie sniffed at before sprinting out the back door.

The texture was unmistakable—tulle.

Fuck.

Today was supposed to be Maggie’s wedding day. Violet pulled me aside during breakfast earlier, asking me to keep an eye on her sister. She didn’t buy that Maggie was fine. But what did I do? Went to the damn store and left her home alone without even her dog.

I wasn’t planning to be gone long.

I thought she just needed a moment to catch her breath after the delightful chaos that was the last twenty-four hours.

She seemed fine.

But the woman dragging a beat-to-hell wedding dress through a yard blanketed in leaves looked anything but fine. When I spotted the neon-green candle lighter in her hand, real panic hit.

“Maggie, wait!”

I raced down the deck stairs.

“Don’t try to talk me out of it.”

Her eyes were puffy and red, as though she’d been not just crying, but sobbing. Fuck, why did I leave her alone? Even the strongest people fell apart from time to time. I, more than anyone, should’ve understood that today would get to her sooner or later.

“You can’t burn that,” I said gently.

She chucked the dress onto the pile of ash from last night, flashing me a murderous glare. “Yes, I can.”

I reached for her wrist, catching her hand before she ignited the flame. “It’s illegal.”

“You going to arrest me, Chief?”

“If you light that dress on fire, it’ll pour thick black smoke into the air. Half the town will call the fire department before the beads even start popping. After the drought we just had a few weeks ago, they’ll be here in minutes. Your dress won’t have fully burned, and you’ll get stuck with a massive fine for burning prohibited materials.” Seeing the rage still burning in her eyes, I added, “I’ll get one, too, for the record.”

Her shoulders fell, and her eyes went shiny. “So, that’s it, then?”

I should say yes. That’s what the responsible Chief Mason would tell anyone else in this scenario. But the anguish on Maggie’s face made me want to fly to Washington and hunt down the jackass who’d been stupid enough to break her heart. I wanted nothing more than to take away her pain.