The Deadly Dog Show (Roger and Suzanne South American Mystery Series Book 6) Read online

  THE DEADLY DOG SHOW

  BY JEROLD LAST

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and not to be construed of as real. The American Kennel Club is a real organization and each of the various shows in which Juliet competes actually take place annually at the indicated locations. However, as used and referred to in the novel, all of the human and canine characters and events are totally imaginary. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2013 Jerold Last

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Cover art by Natalia Hawthorne, BookCoverLabs.com

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Even more so than usual, my wife Elaine made lots of useful suggestions and constructive criticisms, and helped with editing several drafts of the manuscript. Elaine also shared memories of her and our time spent at several dog shows in the region, as well as her extensive experience as a handler, owner, and breeder of German Shorthaired Pointers. I’d also like to thank Kerry McKallip for her careful and thorough editing of a late draft of the book and Natalia Hawthorne at BookCoverLabs.com, who designed and prepared the new cover for the second edition. Thanks to Kerry’s efforts there are fewer run-on sentences, as well as fewer usages of “that” sprinkled like parsley at random, throughout this book. Special thanks are offered to our own Jolie (Grand Champion V. D. Nacht's Classic Beaujolais, SH, CGC) for serving as the inspiration and model for Juliet. She’s always been a special dog who tries her hardest to please us, and Juliet can only be a small part of the real thing.

  Rockefeller University looks like I describe it in Chapter 6, or at least it did when I spent a year there as a post-doctoral fellow. Suzanne and I both liked that rug in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Auditorium a lot. Roger and I share a common love of hot pastrami sandwiches. Two of my sons attended college at the University of California at San Diego, in La Jolla. That gave us a lot of excuses to become familiar with the area, including Delmar and Carlsbad in the North County. Carlsbad Ranch is a little-known jewel to include in your travel plans if you ever get there, and the dog beach is exactly where I described it.

  This book has its roots in frequent requests from Elaine and several of her friends for me to move my characters from the world of the Mercosur region of South America to the world of dogs and dog shows, at least temporarily. There is a brief scene in the book in Chapter 10 where Bruce makes a clumsy effort to show Juliet for the first time in a dog show and makes several mistakes in the ring, with predictable results. For some reason as we worked out the details of Bruce’s misadventures in his first experience in the ring, Elaine felt obligated to remind me of the only time I ever tried to show one of her dogs, a long time ago at a major show in Sacramento at the Cal Expo facility. Elaine was 8+ months pregnant with Matthew and I was completely unprepared when she told me it was my turn to show our dog Fliegen while she was going to relax and have a few Braxton-Hicks contractions. I can tell you from personal experience, when you don’t know exactly what to do and you haven’t practiced beforehand with the dog, it’s a lot harder than it looks to step in there and make everything go correctly, even with a well trained and experienced show dog. I’ve been told that the comic relief in my performance was very welcome, and that several of the old timers still remember the moment fondly.

  To the best of my ability I avoided the temptation in this book to base any of the dog show characters on real people we knew. Several of the people Roger and Bruce meet on the show circuit are deliberate caricatures of real dog show types and have one or more looks or behaviors taken from real life to give a bit of authenticity to the scene, but any resemblance to real people living or dead is purely coincidental. The only dog-related character in the story modeled after a real person is Sherry Wyne, who has several elements of my wife Elaine in the integrity of her breeding program and in her attitude towards dogs as beloved pets as well as featured performers in beauty contests.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter1.The client

  Chapter2.At home

  Chapter3.New York, New York

  Chapter4.The AKC

  Chapter5.Making the Rounds

  Chapter6.New York City nightlife

  Chapter7.Back to our hotel

  Chapter8.Juliet joins the family

  Chapter9.Suzanne gets a gift

  Chapter10.Starting the dog show circuit

  Chapter11.The next dog shows

  Chapter12.Meeting the owners

  Chapter13.A short break between shows at home

  Chapter14.Our first family dog show

  Chapter15.Detecting at a dog show

  Chapter16.Tempis fugit and we fidget: The second wave of dog shows

  Chapter17.Suzanne's stalker

  Chapter18.A break in the competition

  Chapter19.Back to the competition

  Chapter20.A stalker unmasked

  Chapter21.More detective work

  Chapter22.The local law in West Texas

  Chapter23.Back in California

  Chapter24.Dinner with "Dirty Steve"

  Epilogue

  To read more about Suzanne and Roger

  Chapter1.The client

  The initial offer came from Sherry Wyne, the western regional representative of the American Kennel Club, on a bright sunny day in October without a trace of smog in a cloudless sky. The kind of day the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce tries to convince tourists to believe happens every day in Southern California. She came into my office in Century City in Los Angeles, exactly on time for her appointment. After standing in the doorway and removing her sunglasses she put them into a case in her purse and gave her eyes a moment to adjust. I motioned towards the client chair across from my desk.

  Sherry walked over to the comfortably worn leather client chair, arranged it to her liking in front of my desk, and sat down gracefully. She glanced around the office from her seat. My large mahogany partners desk had a computer monitor on top, the computer tower and a laser printer under the desk could only be seen by their reflection in the large mirror hanging high on the wall behind my desk, and against the wall were a couple of file cabinets. All of these furnishings were remnants from my previous life as a patent attorney. A partially filled coffee pot stood in an electric coffee maker on top of one of the cabinets. The opposite wall featured a large window with a great view of the Tehachapi Mountains to the north, and several of my various martial arts competition trophies sat in mahogany bookcases lining the remaining wall space. The office lacked any trace of recent elegance. It was functional and the furniture lacked a decorator’s touch, but it had a nice view. The ambiance implied I should be attracted to the offer of a big case.

  Her voice had a hint of Western Canadian ancestry left far behind. I could hear it mainly as a hint of something different in her speech cadence, which was slower than typical for Los Angeles. An occasional British usage was detected in a few words that were pronounced differently, like “aboot” for "about". "Good morning. Are you Roger Bowman, the investigator?"

  I looked directly at a well-dressed woman in her early forties, very attractive with a suntan and an outdoorsy appearance despite wearing a typical dark gray business suit. "Yes, I am. How can I help you today? You didn't tell me very much about what you needed
done on the phone when we made this appointment."

  Sherry returned my direct look. Unlike 99% of the people who sat in that client chair, she looked very much at ease. "I'm here today on behalf of The American Kennel Club. Do you know anything aboot the organization?"

  I wanted to say something like "Cut to the chase," but knew from long experience that letting the client tell it the way they wanted is faster in the long run than trying to get to the point immediately. So I settled for stating, "They run dog shows and define the rules for how pure-bred dogs get to be champions who are recognized as high quality animals. They also maintain the registry for purebred dogs in the United States."

  My potential new client smiled. "Close enough for starters," replied Sherry. "We, and by we I mean the AKC, have a problem that we think you could help us with. But before I tell you what the problem is, I need to ask about your availability for a very complicated case. If you're interested in our case and can make the time to do it, I think I can promise you a very unusual, but positive, change in your life style over the next few years."

  I smiled back at her. "You're starting to intrigue me, Ms. Wyne. Tell me about this case. May I offer you a cup of coffee? It's fresh ground from a blend I like a lot. I plan on having one myself."

  She sat back in the chair and crossed her legs, assuming a very relaxed position. "Yes, thank you, Mr. Bowman. Black will be just fine."

  I poured two ceramic mugs of coffee, handed her one and kept the other, sat down behind my desk, put my feet up on the top of the lower drawer so I could look very relaxed too, leaned back, and appeared to listen attentively.

  Sherry shifted effortlessly from the role of client to her all-business persona. Her body language said that she was now going to take charge of our meeting. She sipped a bit of coffee then set the cup down on her side of my desk and began her story. "Let's start with your schedule for the next couple of weeks, Mr. Bowman. I would need your commitment to fly to New York City in the next week to meet with the AKC executives who will tell you the details I don't know and basically vet you for the job. If either you or they decide you're not the right investigator for what they need, you'll get all of your travel expenses reimbursed and you may bill the AKC your regular fees for the time you’ve spent traveling and interviewing. In addition, if you are willing to explore this job further you may keep whatever money is left over from the $5,000 retainer I've been instructed to pay you today. Will your current schedule allow you to visit our corporate headquarters in New York City that soon, Mr. Bowman?"

  From the standpoint of how much money I'd be paid, this case sounded like it might turn out to be, by far, my biggest case ever. So, I took it pretty much as it was offered to me. "Yeah, my schedule is flexible for the next few weeks. I can telecommute or delegate everything that needs to be done in the office and fly to New York in the next week. What else can you tell me now?"

  She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward towards me while speaking earnestly. "If the AKC decision makers like you, and I'm pretty sure they will, they're going to make some strange requests. They haven't told me what they plan to offer in return for your agreement to these requests, but I'd be glad to make a few suggestions if you're interested."

  This interview was getting more and more intriguing. Sherry Wyne was very good at her job and had me completely hooked. "Sure, why not?"

  Sherry leaned even further towards me, deliberately changing the mood from her interviewing me for the job to soliciting my complicity in a plot. "First, they’ll ask you if you like dogs. The correct answer to that question is a strong yes. Do you like dogs, Mr. Bowman?"

  "Yeah, I do."

  "Do you have a favorite breed, Mr. Bowman?"

  "Yes. If I were buying a dog I'd get a German Shorthaired Pointer."

  "That's a perfect answer, Mr. Bowman. May I call you Roger?"

  I can play the body language game too. I leaned towards Sherry and became a co-conspirator. "Sure."

  Sherry's voice became more enthusiastic. "I don't know if you checked me out and knew the right answer to my question or whether the stars are aligned perfectly and the gods favor you as our lead investigator on this case, but I don't think it matters. In addition to being the AKC regional representative for the western region, which means I attend all of the AKC-sanctioned dog shows in the region and handle any problems that might arise on behalf of the organization, I breed, show, and hunt dogs. I’m based in Sacramento, California and breed some of the best German Shorthaired Pointers in Northern California. Part of the deal the AKC is going to want is for you to get a dog and start showing it at most of the western regional shows. Can I make a suggestion here?"

  If I had a tail I’d have wagged it here. I didn’t have the tail, so I settled for an earnest expression. "Your suggestion would be most welcome."

  Sherry stood up and started to walk over to the window, looking out at the Tehachapi Mountains to the north. "You may have to do some tough negotiating when you meet Harold Carswell in New York City because this is going to cost the AKC a lot of money, but if I were you, I'd demand first that you need a dog that can win at these dog shows. You’ll want to borrow one of my finished champions for the duration of this job. I'd suggest Juliet. They'll know which bitch I mean; she has the potential to become a top ten winning bitch in the country. As your cover for going to all of these dog shows, you can be the rich dilettante sponsoring a winning dog who wants to show Juliet as a special, so she qualifies for the Eukanuba and Westminster Kennel Club shows. As a rich and not too bright sponsor you’ll be able to get away with asking the kinds of naive leading questions that would be considered rude if an experienced dog person asked the same thing. Dog-show people love to gossip, especially when they’re promoting dogs they own or their own breeding programs. If they think you might be willing to sponsor their next champion dog you should be able to get away with asking them anything, even personal questions they normally wouldn’t answer.”

  She paused a few seconds to let that all sink in, then continued. “If the AKC agrees to proceed on the basis of that arrangement you should ask them to cover all of your costs: entry fees, handling fees, and transportation and lodging to and from each show for you, your family, and your professional handler. I'd also ask them aboot tcovering the cost of a puppy which you and I would choose from Juliet's next litter so you can maintain your cover as a dog fancier if the AKC ever needs your services in the future.”

  I whistled appreciatively. She was talking about a lot of money here. Sherry continued, "As you can guess from what I just told you, the AKC is going to want to hire you for the entire upcoming cycle of Western regional dog shows. On the west coast, that means almost the entire year, with a break between Thanksgiving and mid-January. This could be a part-time or full-time job depending on your needs, since the dog shows are generally on the weekends, but can run from Thursday to Sunday or Monday. The AKC can afford to pay you whatever you ask, so before you get to that interview, you may want to think aboot what works best for you in terms of part-time versus full-time work for at least a year, maybe longer."

  I looked pensively at the mountains through the window behind my potential new client. "Can you tell me what this case is all about, Sherry?"

  She walked back from the window and sat down in the client chair while finishing her cup of coffee. "You make very good coffee, Roger. I apologize in advance for this answer, but no. I'm not being coy here; I honestly don't know. I know that something is wrong on our western show circuit, but it's just a feeling I have and that I've discussed with the AKC corporate folks. I don't know how much more they might know than I've been told."

  I fiddled with some papers on my desktop. "Why me, Sherry? How did you find your way to me as a possible detective? Surely the AKC hires private detectives from all over the United States routinely for security jobs."

  She leaned towards me again. Her body language, as well as her words, said that we were co-conspirators in this discussion. "The AKC decided t
hat whoever we hired had to be an outsider who lived in the region, preferably in California, and who nobody on the local dog show circuit knew anything aboot. They wanted someone who wouldn't be recognized as an investigator and couldn't possibly be involved in whatever is going on, so they asked me to find someone who fit those requirements. I found you by chance, partially because your wife Suzanne had made some inquiries from me about buying a dog last year and partially because your name came up when I asked for suggestions from a police investigator I know in Los Angeles, Charles Brown. You apparently met him on a murder case you both worked in Los Angeles last year. It was as simple as that. I had a highly recommended private investigator whose wife was interested in one of my dogs. Your name jumped up to the top of my list. And here we are."

  This was getting more and more interesting. I tried to rein in my enthusiasm until our little negotiation was completed. "What do you mean by feeling something is wrong on your dog show circuit, Sherry?"

  Sherry got up from the client chair again and started to pace. "I don't really know. We breeders have a pretty good idea about which dogs in the group are structurally and temperamentally the best and which dogs should win if they're handled properly in the show ring. Different judges are idiosyncratic and look for different styles of dogs to pick as winners, so you can never know for sure which specific animal will win on any given day, but a good breeder can usually guess which dogs will win most of the time. The wrong dogs have been winning too often in several of the different breeds. Not so often that it's obvious, but often enough for me to feel that something isn't right.”