The Lost
Spaniel is the third novella in the Lost and Found Pets series. Alexandra
Prescott opened Lost and Found Pets because she loves animals. Reuniting pet
and owner is more than just a job.
When
Alex’s mentor, Eddie Hill, calls about his lost Cocker Spaniel, Alex rushes to
the rescue. They quickly track the dog to an abandoned construction site, but
after bullets start flying, Alex realizes there’s more to this case than a
missing dog.
Alex and
Eddie have to dig into their pasts to find out who might want to harm them or
their pets. The list of suspects grows long as Alex tries to solve the mystery
of the lost Spaniel.
Excerpt:
The phone
on my desk rang startling me so much I actually jumped. Glaring at it, I heard
Claire snickered so I transferred my glare toward her. We had been getting
calls all morning, and she was currently on hold with one of the local shelters
which left me to answer the phone.
My agency,
Lost and Found Pets, is a private investigation firm specializing in finding
lost animals and reuniting them with their owners. Our business is usually
steady, averaging ten to eleven cases a week. We are busiest in the summer and
a little slower the rest of the year. But last week, I had recovered a lost
Savannah cat for a wealthy family who lived in the wealthy Highlands community.
Grace Carmichael, my client, had spread the word about our agency over the
weekend. We were now busier than we had ever been. We had four new cases in the
three hours since we opened, and I had turned down two others.
So the
ringing of the phone shouldn’t have startled me, but I had been concentrating
so hard that I still jumped.
“Answer
it,” Claire said with an encouraging nod. Claire is everything I’m not. She is
sweet, kind, and supportive. She has long blond hair, blue eyes, and a bubbly
personality. She is also really good with our clients which is why she usually
answers the phone. “And, Alex, try to sound friendly and helpful.”
My social
skills are not the best. I tend to be blunt and short with people, having
little patience with small talk. I can play the game if needed. I just don’t
see the point. Claire says I do it on purpose. I glanced at her and then back
at the phone before picking it up.
“Lost and
Found Pets,” I said in the most monotone and dismissive manner I could muster.
Claire sighed and rolled her eyes. This time I snickered, and a grin started
forming on my face causing Claire to laugh.
“Alex,”
said a gruff voice. My grin widened.
“Eddie.
What’s up?”
Eddie Hill
is my former boss and mentor. He had hired me years ago as a part-time employee
at his private investigative agency. Working for Eddie had allowed me to learn
the trade and get my own private investigator’s license. He had also taught me
more than anyone else. It hadn’t taken me long to realize I didn’t want to spy
on people or take pictures of cheating spouses so I decided to open my own
agency with a twist. This also gave me the control I needed to set my own hours
and limit the number of cases I took during a time when I needed to be with my
aunt.
Nora
Prescott-Northup had been recently widowed and newly diagnosed with cancer when
I arrived in her life at the precocious age of thirteen. My mother, Nora’s much
younger sister, had just died from a drug overdose, and I was all alone. Nora
had taken one look at me and welcomed me into her home. The cancer went into
remission for a while, and I graduated from high school and headed off to
college. But the cancer came back. I returned home to do what I could to help.
Working private investigation gave me flexibility, and when Nora’s health
deteriorated even further, I opened my own agency in the dining room of our
home. Without Eddie, none of this would have been possible.
“Alex,
girl,” Eddie said. “I need your help.”
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