Only the Dog Knows Read online

Only the Dog Knows

  Diane Roads

  Copyright © 2012 Diane Roads

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or distributed without the consent of the author.

  Bible verses used are King James Version.

  Serenity prayer is used as public domain.

  Original cover © Abraham Cline 2012

  Thanks to…

  I would like to give a special thanks to my husband for telling me to “write about it.” His encouragement kept me writing, writing, writing.

  Thank you to Abraham Cline who designed the cover, and without him being my computer geek/grammar geek, this book would never have been published.

  About the author

  Diane Roads born in Chicago now lives in Kansas with her husband. Her church’s school supply ministry is one of her biggest passions. Young writers can’t be inspired without pencil and paper. Her second passion is in her writing. Using her dog Emmy as role model she dared to dream when she wrote her first book Only the Dog Knows. Taking the events of her life she started to write and she hasn’t stopped. An avid reader of mysteries Diane gains support and encouragement with her writing from the Kansas Writers Association. No, she has never jumped out of an airplane, but would love to go up in a hot air balloon some day.

  Diane can be found online at Facebook, or on her blog at Wordpress.

  In memory of my shepherd Emmy and her second best friend J.B.

  They were the inspiration for this story.

  CHAPTER 1

  Jasper had a sinking feeling. The one he got in the pit of his stomach whenever he swallowed something he shouldn't have. He didn't know whether to take an antacid or what he should do. At this point he didn't think anything would help. He always got this feeling when he had bad news to deliver, and the noise in his ears wasn't helping him feel better. So he said a quick prayer before he rang the doorbell.

  Mrs. Twilliger could be heard all the way to the front door. She was yelling at someone in the house. All Jasper could hear when he came to the door was "just walk away." He thought he could hear anger in her voice directed at the man asking him to leave. He didn't know she was talking about something else, not wanting to upset her anymore he hesitantly rang the doorbell. As she opened the front door he saw a tall older looking man with a catch in his step going out the back.

  "Hello, Mrs. Twilliger. Remember me? I'm Sheriff Quagmire. Sorry to bother you this morning, but could I speak to Mr. Twilliger?"

  "No, I am sorry, but he is out of town," she answered.

  "Do you know where he went?"

  "I think Shreveport, he had a business meeting."

  "Do you know with whom?"

  "Mr. Rickets with Gulf Seas Imports."

  "When did he leave?" Jasper asked.

  "I don't know for sure sometime yesterday morning. I was leaving to do some charity work and he was going out the door on a walk. On the way back he was going to pick up a dog chew then leave for his trip. He must have been busy because he never called me last night. He always calls if he has to be out overnight. I thought it was strange, but he has been out so late a couple of times that he didn't want to wake me so he didn't call. He didn't have his phone so I couldn't call him. What's with all the questions? Why do you want to know? Has something happened to him?"

  "Well, Mrs. Twilliger, I am afraid I have some bad news for you. I was out walking with my dog Smokey and I stopped by the restaurant this morning on our walk. Smokey always likes to go out back where the hills are, looking for jackrabbits to chase. Well, when I came out after my coffee he was holding a wallet in his mouth. The identification in the wallet said it was Thomas N. Twilliger. I asked him to show me where he had found it. There were some tire tracks there and an Indian blanket. Can you tell me if this is his wallet and have you ever seen this blanket before?"

  "His wallet? Oh my. Oh no. Thomas where are you?”

  Her thought then went back to what was in his hands, “Yes, and that is my Navaho blanket that I was asking my caretaker Carl Carter about. I told him it couldn't have just walked away. I had left it on the chair out on the patio. Thomas had brought me that on one of his business trips when he went to Arizona. I really couldn’t imagine someone stealing it. I didn’t know what to think."

  "He is always bringing me something back. He is such a sweet husband I pray nothing bad has happened to him. I don't know what I would do with out him. I should have known something was wrong when Rollo was acting funny. I mean he got him a two-foot long dog chew and he hasn't even started to chew on it. All he would do is just sniff it and whine. In fact I think Carl said it was outside the dog run and he had to throw it in the pen himself."

  "And when I came home Thomas had left him out in his dog run all day. He never does that. I asked our caretaker’s son to bring him in and he growled at him. I don't understand; he is such a sweet lovable dog. Oh, please find him. If I had only known he hadn't left town."

  "We found some tracks towards the highway. I wasn't sure if it was Mr. Twilliger or not. You know that's a good mile from the restaurant. He must have followed the river to get there. What I want to know is why he didn't just walk back over the rise. Once you get to the top you can see the town. I have men out looking now, but so far nothing has been found. I was hoping he was here, but before we went any farther I thought I'd check his house first.”

  "We didn't see his car. Is it in the garage?"

  "I don't know. I haven't looked."

  "Do you have a recent photo of Mr. Twilliger?"

  "Why yes. Here is one I took last week when we were at the park," as she pulled it from the mantel. “He was wearing a long black coat with his Baptist pin he had just gotten. I think he had it on him when he left. We hadn't taken one in so long. Not since he grew that beard and mustache. I was just telling him I didn't really like it. I wished he had shaved it before all of this. See here is one before he grew his beard. He looked younger in his brown hair than in his gray hair."

  "Thank you, I'll need to check with his office. What is the name of his secretary?"

  "It's Jenny Lynn. But that won't do you any good. She is on vacation in Hawaii. She had planned this trip three months ago as a gift to her niece who just turned 21. The office assistant, Linda, her back was bothering her and Thomas told her to stay home the rest of the week. The office is closed until next week. Thomas has a warehouse in the River district. I can give you Harvey and Linda’s phone number. He is in charge over there." Mrs. Twilliger said as she wrote down the number."

  "Do you have any children he might be staying with?"

  "No, our son Luke and his wife Ruth left three weeks ago to go on a mission trip. They were going to be gone until Monday. I don't know how I can find them. Oh dear, Thomas had all of their information on how to get in touch with them. I will have to see if I can find it."

  "Thank you. I'll get the picture back to you. Do you mind if I look around?"

  "Oh, yes, please do, just find my T.N.T.” T.N.T. was Mrs. Twilliger's pet name for her husband when the lights were out. “Oh, I mean my Thomas."

  "Mrs. Twilliger, I have just one more question to ask. I hate to ask this, but have you and Mr. Twilliger been fighting?"

  "Oh, no! Thomas and I love each other very much, and no, we have not been fighting."

  "Sorry, but I had to ask. Thank you ma’am. I'll let you know if we find out anything." And with that he walked out the sliding glass door to the patio.

 

  The back yard was a perfectly trimmed lawn and to the right the sidewalk went along the back of the house to the garage. Next to the garage was a fenced dog run to keep Rollo in with a door that led into a room in the garage. Rollo was in his run but seemed listless. Jasp
er wondered if he had been drugged. On the other side were steps leading up to an apartment on top of the garage. Just outside the dog run the ground had some scuff marks on it and two places where someone had put their heels in the ground. It looked like a person had been drug along to the driveway. If you were looking for it you could tell there had been a struggle there. Nothing else seemed amiss.

  As he looked up he could see a man coming down the steps. Rollo let out a moan at that time. It made Jasper feel sorry for the dog.

  "He seems to be a sad case. Oh, excuse me, are you Mr. Carter?"

  "Yes... but folks just call me Carl. And yes, he is. He has been that way since yesterday morn’. Don't know why."

  "Hi Carl, I'm Sheriff Quagmire. Could I ask you some questions?"

  "Sure, go right ahead."

  "Well, to start with, you wouldn't happen to know where Mr. Twilliger is, would you?"

  "He told me he was going out of town on business ‑ I think to Shreveport ‑ asked me to look after the missus while he was gone. Yo­­u can tell he sure hates leaving her alone when he has to go out of town."

  "Do you know what time he left?" Jasper asked.

  "No sir. Not for sure. I know he left for his walk about 8:00. He said he was going to get a dog treat for Rollo. I asked him why he didn't drive down and he said his car was still down at Jonesy's. He put his suitcase in the car before he took it to shop. Jonesy wasn't going to have it ready until about 9:00 so Mr. Tom thought he would get a little exercise before he started. He was going to get the dog chew, bring it back, and then head out. He knew it would be a long time before he would have a chance to stretch his legs. So when I came back at about 10:00 he wasn't here. I usually take care of that for him, but I was out late the day before."

  "Where had you been yesterday morning?"

  "I went down to the hardware store and then over to the Lawn and Garden Center. You know it just doesn't make any sense; he left the dog chew on the ground just outside of Rollo's dog pen. Poor Rollo, he was in such an uproar. I threw it in with him thinking that would calm him down. But it didn't seem to help. He didn't even chew on it. Later on when I saw Mrs. Twilliger I told her George and I were going back to pick up some stuff at the Lawn and Garden Center. She asked George if he would let Rollo in. Rollo wouldn't stop barking. And he raised such a fuss that I couldn't even get near him. Mrs. Twilliger put him in after we left. Now look at him. He won't bark at nothin’. He has this real worried look, like he's thinkin’ about something."

  "May I ask why you ask'n all these questions? Has something happened to Mr. Tom?"

  "I don't know. All I know is his wallet and Mrs. Twilliger's Navaho blanket was found behind the restaurant this morning."

  "That's where her blanket went. How in the world did it get there? The missus was real upset about losing that blanket. She kept saying she had a bad feeling but couldn't put her finger on what it was. She was worried about Mr. Tom because he didn't call her last night. He usually does. Like I said, he really loves her a lot. But there has been a time or two that his meetings have gone on late and he didn't call. Plus he didn't have his phone to check in. So we weren't worried too much."

  "That's too bad. I sure hope you find him. You know Mr. Tom is such a nice man. I remember when he brought that blanket back for the missus. He was always bringing me and the missus back something. He even brought me back a scrimshaw knife that trip. Funny thing, I couldn't find it this morning when I got ready to use it. I don't know where I could have lost it. Is there anything I can do to help?"

  "Just say a prayer for him." Jasper said

  "No problem. No problem at all," Carl answered.

  "May I ask who George is?"

  "Yes sir, he is my son. I am really glad to have him here with me."

 

  Before he could ask any more questions Mrs. Twilliger came running out to say Jonesy, the man at the garage was on the phone. He wanted to know if it would be okay if he dropped off Thomas' car on his way to lunch. He told her to tell him to leave it there and go to lunch. And that he would call and come by this afternoon to talk to him. With a whimper she went back in.

  Carl said, "If you will excuse me I had better go check on Mrs. Twilliger. She doesn't handle stress too well when Mr. Tom is gone."

  "Okay, I have just one more question for you. Do you know where Mr. Twilliger went to get the dog chew?" questioned Jasper.

  "Why yes, he went to the drug store. They keep a good supply down there and Mr. Tom has walked down there on more than one occasion to get one. It is the closes place around here. Is that all you need?" Jasper nodded.

  He never told Carl what he had found in the back yard. There might be a simple explanation for what he had seen. He didn't want to say anything until he knew more. He didn't know Mr. Twilliger very well and the scuffmarks could mean nothing. But why was Rollo so quiet? What's with his secretary being out of town? Did she have company? It wouldn't be the first time one of the eccentrics of Quagmire had crossed over the line and found him a girlfriend, but for now he was holding judgment. Whatever had happened to Mr. Twilliger, "God only knows", he thought.

  At that point he said a little prayer for Mr. Twilliger. He prayed that he was still alive and that God would keep him safe until he found him. He also prayed for guidance in looking for him. This was one prayer he wished he didn't have to make.

  Jasper had a history with their house. Sheriff Jasper P. Quagmire V lived in the town named after his great-great-grandfather Jasper P. Quagmire I. That grandfather had been a very rich man when he moved to River Point. He opened a bank and a general store. He wanted everyone to think he was an upstanding citizen so he built a Church. Outside of the Quagmire name, the Church was the only thing Jasper had in common with his grandfather. His great-great-grandfather had donated one to the town and Jasper went to one. So seeing how he had donated most of the town. The town’s folk honored him by changing the name to Quagmire Ville.

  Jasper is the Sheriff in this small but affluent little town. The town he was born in. He can remember enjoying his childhood living on Front Street across from the river that went through the town. The last time he caught a big fish in that river, he was a teenager. A few years later he joined the police force.

  Along with one very famous retired doctor, there were also many eccentrics living in the town of Quagmire. Many of the big city people referred to them as those living in Quackmire, which brought on talk of changing the town's name. The discussion of what to change it to had been going on for almost 10 years, and Sheriff Jasper P. Quagmire the fifth would have preferred that they drop the subject or hurry and change it, because someone new was always moving into town and asking if the town had been named after him, or calling him “Sheriff Quackmire.” He could just see his grandfather rolling over in his grave every time someone said that.

  It wasn't until the stock market crash in 1929 that his family lost all of their money and big house, but here he was, standing in the backyard of a before the turn-of-the-century Victorian style home with most modern conveniences and a swimming pool. This was the very house that Jasper P. Quagmire the third had lost when the stock market crashed. It was a castle when it was built in the 1800's with 17 rooms, but now it seemed like modest living quarters for the town of Quagmire.

  The town of Quagmire had experienced its share of problems just like any town. Half of the town was very rich. The other half made their money taking care of the rich. Mostly the people got along very well, so this was kind of a surprise to Jasper. He was hoping Mr. Twilliger had just changed his plans and gone somewhere else. Who knows, maybe he was in Hawaii, but until he knew differently, he had to treat it as foul play.

  His mind started thinking on what he had to do next. It was time to head back to the station and step up the search. He also wanted to check on Jim and Smokey. One of his men, Jim Clarkson, had Smokey with him trying to pick up the trail. He also wanted to get the chopper in the air. With any hope they would have fou
nd Mr. Twilliger by now and he was okay. Something told him their hope wasn't going to be that good. It had been too long and the trail was probably cold by now. Maybe he would get a break and Harvey would know where he was. Calling the State Police was big on his to do list also, but first he wanted to trace the dog chew back to where it came from. Just because everyone said Mr. Twilliger went shopping doesn't necessarily mean he did.