Pineapple
Puppies
A Pineapple Port Mystery: Book Nine
Amy Vansant
©2019 by Amy Vansant. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by any means, without the permission of the author. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Vansant Creations, LLC / Amy Vansant
Annapolis, MD
http://www.AmyVansant.com
Copyediting by Carolyn Steele.
Proofreading by Effrosyni Moschoudi & Connie Leap
CONTENTS
CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Other Books by Amy Vansant
Chapter One
Mina gave the body on the ground one good kick with a sensible shoe.
It barely moved.
More importantly, it didn’t make a sound. It didn’t complain, which was unusual for that particular body.
She rested her knuckles against her lips and stared at the dead man, sorting her emotions. On one hand, Kimber’s death meant she was out of a job. On the other hand…
Stop it. That’s terrible.
Still…
Next door, the tiny Yorkie puppies had whipped themselves into a yipping frenzy. Mina rubbed her hands on her apron and waddled out of Kimber’s room to the next door down the hallway toward the stairs. Opening it a crack, she made sure to use her foot as a wedge to block any chance of escape. Tiny noses and paws pushed at her shoe as she eased them back.
Struck by the irony that the same black working shoe that had just touched death was now swarmed by so much life, she allowed herself a little smile.
Mina slipped inside the whelping room and shut the door behind her. She wanted to lie on the floor and let them run all over her. The poor things had lost someone, too. The puppies’ champion mother, Princess Buttercup, had suffered a complication during pregnancy and they’d lost her. She, Kimber, and presumably the puppies, had been devastated.
Since then, Mina had been the puppies’ mother, keeping the little furballs alive and happy as best she could. Kimber had loved those dogs, but now he was dead…Mina supposed she’d have to sell them. She didn’t have the time or the knowhow to raise them as show dogs.
She’d miss them. They were a tremendous pain in the neck but so cute. Even now one stared at her, dancing on his toes, readying himself to jump on her face the moment she lowered herself to the floor. He wanted to pounce. It was written all over his snout.
She was halfway to the floor when a stifled sob came from the closet. Mina fell back against the cabinet, startled.
“Who’s in there?”
“It’s me.”
The slatted door of the closet slid open to reveal a woman sitting on the floor of the closet, half-tucked behind a laundry basket. As the light fell on her, her eyes flashed white.
“What are you doing in there?” asked Mina.
The woman shook her head. “He’s dead.”
“I know. Get out. Don’t worry.”
The stowaway crawled out of the closet, mascara smeared beneath each eye where she’d been crying. Standing, she smoothed her shorts and wrapped her arms around her chest.
“What am I going to do? He fell.”
“You were there?”
“Yes. I mean, no. Not really. I heard a thunk while I was in here with the puppies and went to look. I think he tried to get out of bed and fell.”
Mina frowned. “You shouldn’t have been up here.”
“I know. I wanted to see the puppies.”
Mina shook her head and motioned to the door leading to the hall. “Get out of here.”
“What?”
“Get out.”
“But—”
“I’ll let them know it was an accident.” Mina closed her eyes as the puppies tumbled over her toes, hoping she was doing the right thing. There was nothing she could do for Kimber, but she could still help the girl. She’d already been through so much and with her family history…
The young woman’s hand reached out for the knob and then retracted. She turned back to Mina.
“What if they investigate?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if they think his death is suspicious? I touched things.”
“What things?”
“Knobs. Maybe the bed posts?”
“Anything else?”
She looked down.
“The puppies. They were all over me. They must be covered in my hair, my DNA—” She looked at Mina, eyes telegraphing her rising panic. “What if they know no one but you is ever up here? What if the girls mention it and then they find me all over the puppy room?”
Mina watched a puppy steadily chew the end of her shoelace, the fabric tucked in the back of its maw, where its sharp little molars could grind away.
What am I going to do with you little rascals?
“Take them.”
“What?”
Mina opened the closet and pulled out a small dog carrying case.
“Take them. No one will know they’re missing. I won’t mention them and I’ll clean the room.”
“They’re purebreds. You want me to sell them?”
Mina cocked an eyebrow. “You mean so you can get caught and they know you killed him?”
“But I didn’t—”
“You know what I mean. If you’re caught selling his dogs—”
“Right. I understand.”
“Just take them. I’ll clean up before I call the police. You take the dogs.”
“But what should I do with them?”
Mina began shoveling puppies into the crate. “Find them good homes. Loving homes.”
“But where?”
“Figure it out. I can’t do everything.” Puppies packed, Mina closed the carrying case and pointed to the handle on top.
