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Chapter One
In the blink of an eye, your whole life can change.
Or more like a year.
Almost one year ago to this date, I was grooming dogs in my parents’ back shed because my good-for-nothing ex-husband Archie had cheated on me, and I left him back in Houston.
I never thought I’d be back living in Pecan, Texas or trading in my hairstyling job for dogs. Though some of these dogs were just as big of divas as the beauty queens I used to deal with.
Now that I had a name for myself in Pecan and the world of dog grooming, though, it was time for the next step.
My own storefront.
I found the perfect place along Main, and to my knowledge, no dead bodies had been found there, so I just needed the city council’s approval to open a shop there.
“All right, Bandit, now just don’t shake this off,” I muttered, adjusting the little black bow tie on his collar.
I might have been better off if I took Brownie with her poodle curls.
But Bandit was my guy. He’d been with me through a crazy divorce and everything else the past year. From the first time we found a grooming client’s owner face down in his hot tub to recently finding a groundskeeper who took out his girlfriend with peppers.
All those times Bandit had been there to help me.
He deserved the spotlight.
Well, or it would be Adam, my detective boyfriend, who worked on every case. Wait, no, fiancé.
Still getting used to that one.
Adam sat on the couch with Brownie on one side of him and Gus, our newly adopted corgi, on the other.
Both dogs were rescues from cases. Brownie from the son who tried to frame me for his mom’s murder and Gus from another case, who saved me from the groundskeeper. They both deserved a good home, and I think they enjoyed cuddling up with Adam.
At least I was still Bandit’s favorite.
Most of the time.
“Bandit looks great. City Council is going to take one look at him and say ‘Bam, permit granted.’” Adam put his hands up, waving them as if he was presenting a board.
I sighed, fluffing Bandit’s ears again. “I don’t know. I’ve heard they can be tough. I guess they recently denied a permit for Mrs. Allen to build a higher fence at her coffee shop and she’s on the board.”
Adam stood up, putting his hands on my shoulders.
My dang good-looking cop, dressed down in a Texas Tech T-shirt and gym shorts that he actually used for the gym and not lounging, somehow even still looked good out of his usual suit and tie.
He was like a cross between an old film noir police officer and a rugged drama action hero and yet he loved me and all of my craziness.
His brown eyes met mine as he smiled. “Mrs. Allen also believes that birds aren’t real and only won the vote on the board because she promised patrons free coffee if they proved they voted for her.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Now you’re talking like a true Pecan resident, spreading gossip.”
“Hey, it’s not gossip if it’s the truth. Mrs. Allen asked me for both her vote and to see if the police department could do anything about her fence.”
“Really?” I smiled.
“Really. And I told her I’d vote and see what I could do about the fence. So hopefully that should put you in her good graces.” Adam then sighed, running a hand over his freshly shaved head. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come tonight? Maybe having me there will help calm your nerves.”
Shaking my head, I took a step back, even though I didn’t want to and felt myself wince when I did it. “It’s just me in front of the city council, the mayor, and probably at least two Pecan residents complaining about a new laundry mat or Dollar General.”
“Another Dollar General?” Adam asked, raising his eyebrows.
I shrugged. “I mean, probably, but that’s not the point.
I blew out a deep breath before picking up Bandit one last time and straightening out my PECAN DOG GROOMING T-shirt. “This is something I want to earn. I don’t want the council to just give it to me because my cop fiancé is there or anyone else. I want them to be impressed with my words and my skills.”
He smiled and leaned in, placing a soft kiss on my cheek. “If that’s what you want, I support it. Now knock ’em dead, but please not literally. There’s a Mavs game on and I don’t want to have to put my work clothes back on.”
Pecan, Texas was a small town of a little over five-thousand people, according to the last census. Some of the bigger cities around us had their new town halls and police stations, but Pecan still kept their modest former schoolhouse as the base of their city operations.
Pulling into the gravel drive, I tried to focus on keeping my SUV from hitting Councilman Rodriguez’s fancy little red sports car.
Served him right if I did. The man was taking up at least two or three spots right in front of the building.
Never liked that man, especially when I overheard he told someone he didn’t need to pay for my dog grooming and could do it himself. I saw his wife walking their golden retriever the other day and that thing had a hack job with nothing left but some fur on the poor girl’s ears and tail.
It was things like that which soured in my stomach as I got out of the car, the balmy spring breeze blowing through my brown waves.
I should have worn it up, like I usually did for work, but I was sweating so badly from nerves that I didn’t want the council to see the big puddles on my hairline and back.
The air conditioning wasn’t started up yet, so the inside of the building was just about as hot as the outside. Soon the city would definitely need to up the budget and crank that thing.
The current conditions didn’t help my sweating, or my nerves for that matter.
City hall meetings were held in the gym of the old school where a few long folding tables were covered in black cloth and sat right at center court.
Like I predicted, the only people sitting on the wooden bleachers were the city secretary, a middle-aged woman with cat eyeglasses and a perma-scowl. And then the usual suspects, a few older farmers in their flannel and VFW hats who sat at the back and just liked to observe.
The old men were worse gossips than the women sometimes.
I took my spot right at the front with Bandit at my side. The ever-faithful dog knew not to make a peep and sat on his hind legs, tilting his head like he was just waiting for his introduction.
Mayor Vance pranced from the back hallway to the table first. The woman seemed to float everywhere like she was a little pixie. Well, a pixie in five-inch heels and bedazzled jeans.
She was my parents’ age but tried not to look it with her Botox and collection of blond wigs. The ones she said never came from city funds to pay for, but I didn’t know how else a woman who sold lipstick online could afford all those fancy things.
She was followed by the other five members of the council. The first one I recognized as Mrs. Allen from the coffee shop, sulking in. The woman was a former high school and college wrestler and still just as intimidating, almost taller than the men on the council. And with the intimidating scowl under her pixie cut to match.
She was followed by Councilman Rodriguez, the only one in a full three-piece suit with his dark black hair gelled back like a cartoon villain. Then came my friend Piper Mason’s sister, Hilde. She was the spitting image of her sister, just with shorter hair and less smiley. She was still in her volleyball coaching apparel, blue shorts and a white T-shirt with COACH bedazzled over the middle of her chest. The last two men, who I didn’t recognize, followed in and I tried to make eye contact with each one, smiling politely. But neither paid any mind to me. It was as if they were focused on getting to their seat.
Or to check their emails under the table, like I’d seen them do before in meetings.
“Please rise,” Mayor Vance’s voice boomed, much deeper than one would expect from someone her size. Maybe the big hair gave her more presence.
We stood for the pledge and invocation then took our seats again.
I couldn’t concentrate on the other agenda items. Or when one of the farmers stood up to complain that he believed kids were coming on his property and trying to tip his cows.
Another council member had to explain that cow tipping wasn’t a real thing, but the farmer wasn’t having it.
I definitely remembered our science teacher in the sixth grade explaining to us that cows don’t sleep standing up and they were too big to actually push over. But they did have a pressure point, like humans, that could make them fall over.
Not that Archie and I tried it on a few farms.
The clock ticked by slow as molasses.
I was used to waiting, the joys of being a hairdresser with flaky clients, but this was exceptionally slow.
Each time one agenda item finished, I’d let out a breath, but then someone in the audience would have us circle back and my knees would go back to shaking all over again.
Even Bandit caught onto my nervous energy, whining and putting his head on my lap, which gave us a few stink eyes from Councilman Rodriguez, so I had to keep my emotions in check and freak out later.
Finally, Mayor Vance cleared her throat. “For new business, we have Leslie Winters here to talk about her dog-grooming business.”
“It’s showtime, Bandit,” I whispered before standing and walking slowly toward the council, the little dashie prancing at my side and swinging his ears like the supermodel dog he was.
I’d practiced this speech a million times before and tried to focus on that I knew what I was doing and not the rapid beating of my heart. Or sweat pooling on my palms and now getting on Bandit’s freshly washed fur as I picked him up to show off his fresh blow out.
“Hey, y’all, some of you know me, and for those who don’t, I’m Leslie Winters, the local dog groomer—”
“But you don’t have a specific dog-grooming license?”
I blinked hard, looking up at the voice to see Councilman Rodriguez rifling through some papers.
I cleared my throat. “Not currently, sir, but I do have my Texas state beauty license.”
He hmphed. “And it looks like that’s set to expire soon as well.”
I forced the biggest smile I could, even though the man wouldn’t even look up at me. “Those will both be done before my lease would start at the old pizza place at 121 Main.”
Councilman Rodriguez finally looked up with the smarmiest smirk I’ve ever seen on anyone, and that included the bad guys in all the cop shows I watched. “Ma’am, do you have any idea what kind of work it would take to reconfigure that building into a dog-grooming salon?”
I opened my mouth to speak, ready to point out to him that I already had contractors willing to work and a layout for the building.
I had it all mapped out.
The former kitchen would be where the wash tubs would go. Blowing stations would be at the bar, which of course had a great counter height, but I would just need to remove the stools.
And then the plush beds and waiting areas would be right in the seating area. I even thought I could reuse some of the old booths. Maybe even learn to reupholster.
Or have my dad do it.
But he held up his hand to stop me before I could share any of that. “It also says you’ve been running your grooming services currently out of a shed at the William’s place?”
“Well, it’s actually a barndominium.”
He raised his bushy eyebrows. “Like one you also live in?”
I swallowed hard. “Yes, sir. I rent from the Williams’ family currently.”
He shook his head, letting out a deep breath. “The Williams land is zoned for agriculture, not for business. That’ll have to cease immediately.”
My eyes widened, feeling like they were about to bulge out of my head. “What?”
He tsked, thumbing through the papers. “And until you have an active grooming and stylist license, along with a business license, we can’t go forward with approving any of this. Let alone let you continue to run any of this dog-grooming shenanigans without it.”
He chuckled, a genuine stupid little chortle as he looked at sulking Mrs. Allen next to him. “To think, people are spending crazy money on dog grooming in this town. What, with this economy?”
I should have kept my mouth shut, but my own heartbeat was ringing in my ears. “Well, some people actually think their dogs deserve a good grooming. You and your dog could both use my services for that matter.”
Mrs. Allen covered her mouth as she laughed but Councilman Rodriguez’s nostrils flared, no sense of laughter left on his face. “That’ll be all, Miss Winters. You’re denied. Come back when you have a plan and less of an attitude.”
I was too furious to stay.
I couldn’t even look at anyone as Bandit and I stomped out of the building and into my SUV.
Not ready to head back to Adam’s yet or even to the barndominium, I drove around town, the radio blasting country music.
How dare Councilman Rodriguez say those things? Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to throw his dog’s bad haircut in there, or his for that matter, but I vowed after I left Archie that I’d never let a man talk to me like that.
My phone rang from the center console, and I glanced at the time, blinking, and took a double take.
Had I really just been driving around for over an hour?
I guessed the back country roads of Pecan, Texas really did go on forever. And everything looked the same in the dark.
Adam’s handsome face with his days of stubble was on my screen, so I clicked answer and then turned on speaker phone.
“Leslie, where are you?” he panted, out of breath like he’d just ran a marathon.
“Um, just driving around out near Pecan Lake. Had to clear my head. Is everything okay?”
“You’re not still at city hall?”
I sighed. “No, I left an hour ago. They denied my permit and I just needed to, well, take some time before I headed home.”
“Is anyone else with you?”
I tilted my head and frowned even though I knew he couldn’t see it. “No, just me and Bandit, why?”
“I’ve been dispatched to city hall. Apparently, Councilman Rodriguez was found with a pair of dog clippers stabbed in his chest.”
I pulled the car over on the dirt road, careful to avoid the crab apple trees. I was trying to really understand his words but found myself just breathing hard as I gripped the steering wheel.
The councilman I just insulted was found dead.
With grooming clippers.
And I had no alibi for where I was the past hour.
I was definitely in deep dog doo-doo.
End of Excerpt
