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The woman that came into the room wasn’t classically beautiful, but something about her was intriguing. Her hair was so dark it was almost black, cut in a slightly choppy way to curve around her smooth face. The round glasses that sat perched on her nose almost swallowed her, but they made her bright green eyes that much bigger. She smiled as she walked into the room and held out her hand as he stood from the table. Rowdy noted that her hand was finely boned, her skin almost translucent pale. She wore a very soft pale, blue sweater, and blue jeans cupped her curvy hips.

She shook strongly, though, and straightened before him. “I’m Annabelle Finch,” she said softly. “And you’re from Lost and Found?”

Her gaze ran down his length, then back up, almost too quickly to catch, and he wondered what conclusions she had drawn. Did she see how broken he was?

Rowdy gave a single nod, missing the feel of her delicate hand in his own. He blinked and had to force himself to remember why he was here. “I am. Have you made any headway with the shelters? Did you call animal control?”

Annabelle pulled out a chair and sat at the table, setting her planner book in front of her. “No and yes.” She flipped the brightly covered book open to a tabbed page in the back. A list of names had been written on the page in colorful pens, with notes below each one. “No one has seen Cookie. I’ve had a few ‘almosts’, but no confirmed sightings. I have flyers being printed up as we speak, and we’ll be posting those in the neighborhood tonight, with a significant award attached.”

Rowdy appreciated her enthusiasm, but he wondered if she knew what she was letting herself in for. “You know you’re going to have scammers crawling out of the woodwork for the money, probably.”

Her face fell a little and he felt like he’d kicked a puppy. But she rallied, giving him a slight smile. “I know, but we have to do what we can. If only to reassure Mrs. Dodd.”

Rowdy nodded, adjusting in the chair to ease his hips. She was motivated to please her employer, which was admirable. “Do you know if Mrs. Dodd has anyone that would want to wound her? Damage her business?”

Annabelle sighed and took off her glasses. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, and Rowdy could see how stressed she was. Lines pinched her mouth, and her eyes seemed tired as she thought about his question. This job was probably not in her wheelhouse either.

“I’ve racked my brain trying to think if anyone could have grabbed him or harmed him, but I’m coming up blank. He’s a treasured pet of a woman that most of the people in the neighborhood love.”

“Who doesn’t love her,” Rowdy asked, picking up on the slight distinction.

Annabelle frowned. “Well, no one actively dislikes Mrs. Dodd, I don’t think, but she can ruffle feathers if she’s passionate about something.”

“What do you mean,” Rowdy asked, leaning forward on the table.

Annabelle shifted in her seat, obviously uncomfortable even mentioning something negative about her boss. She glanced around the kitchen, maybe looking for help, but Emma had disappeared.

“I’m not looking for gossip,” Rowdy told her, “But it is important that you’re honest with me, Annabelle.”

She looked out the window. “Well, we have a party coming up in a few days for the animal shelter. It’s called Paws for a Cause: A Holiday Gala Benefiting Sheltered Souls, and last year we did have… an incident.”

Rowdy nodded encouragingly.

“There were many, many cars at the clubhouse, and a few of the residents were unable to make it through the crush to get home. They were delayed for several hours.”

Rowdy didn’t let the surprise show on his face, but he needed to reiterate what she’d said. “People couldn’t get home because of the gala last year?”

Annabelle nodded, frowning. “The valet company cancelled on us at the last minute, so we had to rely on the golf club’s valets, and they were just completely overwhelmed by the number of invited guests. They did the best they could to get the traffic moving and parked, but it was a considerable headache.”

“And when is this holiday gala scheduled for, this year?”

“This coming weekend,” she admitted softly.

“And is Cookie an attendee?”

Annabelle scraped a hand back through her hair. “Yes. He’s the guest of honor. Mr. Dodd adopted him from this shelter several years before he died. Called him Mrs. Dodd’s pound puppy. After he … rescued us from the fire, Mrs. Dodd had a party in his honor. Over the years it’s turned into a gala to raise money for shelter animals. Mrs. Dodd dresses him up in his own little tux.”

Rowdy sat back in his chair, thinking. It seemed a little too coincidental that the man of the hour would disappear right before his big show. “And if Cookie wasn’t there, would Mrs. Dodd cancel the event?”

Annabelle frowned. “I’m not sure, honestly. The invitations have been out for weeks, so I doubt it. This is the shelter’s biggest fundraiser, so it would be a terrible blow if we didn’t go through with it.”

3

Annabelle watched the handsome investigator’s face barely flinch in reaction to her words, even though she knew how ridiculous they sounded. Dogs in tuxes and all that. They were very true, though. Cookie, as well as the other animals that came in from the shelter, were a big part of the draw of the gala. Each of the dogs chosen to be ambassadors for the party were almost guaranteed an exclusive new home. The Dodds had been championing this cause for many years, now, and it had grown exponentially. Since it was right before the holiday, people were eager to prove their giving spirit. Last year had been a bit of a shit-show, but the parking situation had been out of their control.

This year, she had a back-up company in addition to her chosen company, and they would be ready to send valets out at the first distress call.

Annabelle prided herself on everything running smoothly, and she’d never dreamed there would be a screw-up so bad. At least four neighbors had been unable to make it home that night. Since they lived on a dead-end road past the clubhouse, with only one way in and out, it had been catastrophic. She’d fielded angry calls and emails for days after and had done her best to smooth things over. And she’d known as she started planning the next party that these issues would pop up again.