Chow Down (A Melanie Travis Mystery)

dogs?”
    Cindy gave her head a quick, emphatic shake. “That was just a coincidence. I didn’t know a thing about Ben or Brando when I first read their application. They reached the final five through their own merits.”
    “And you became ‘just friends’ after that.”
    “That’s right. Ben’s a nice guy. I admit I was kind of surprised when he first called me, but I was flattered, too. I mean, he’s pretty famous and all . . .”
    Cindy was blushing again. I felt almost sorry for her. Call me a skeptic, but I sincerely doubted that Ben would have pursued the young woman if she hadn’t been in a position to further his chances in the contest. Surely that thought must have occurred to her.
    “So Ben was the one who approached you?”
    “Well, yeah . . . It wasn’t like I would have called him. Ben said he really wanted to get to know me better. But right away we both agreed we needed to keep things low-key until after the contest was over. You won’t—”
    “Spread the news around?”
    Cindy nodded. “I’d really appreciate it if you kept things to yourself. People might take things the wrong way, you know?”
    Of course I knew. I was taking it the wrong way myself.
    “Weren’t you afraid that people would see the two of you together here?”
    “I didn’t even think about that. Coming all the way up here to Farmington seemed safe enough. It didn’t even occur to me that we might run into someone we knew.”
    That was because Cindy wasn’t a dog show person. Exhibitors routinely traveled all over in search of good judges and facilities. A ninety-minute drive was nothing compared to some of the trips I’d gone on.
    “Oh!” she said. “The judge is going back for another look at Brando. That must be good, right?”
    I could have told her that it was probably too little, too late, but I knew she’d find that out in a minute when the judge made her final selections. Suddenly I had no desire to stay and watch Cindy watch Ben lose.
    “I hope you have a good time today,” I said.
    “Thanks, I’m sure I will. Ben promised to show me the insider’s view of the dog show world. I know I’m going to be fascinated.”
    Cindy wasn’t that much younger than me but suddenly I felt eons older. She looked as though she had stars in her eyes; I wasn’t sure I’d ever been that naive. It would have been nice to believe that Ben wasn’t just using her as Brando’s ticket to fame and fortune but that seemed like a long shot to me. I really hoped that when the contest was over, and his use for her had ended, that he let her down gently.
    Heading back to the grooming tent, I pondered this new information. A secret relationship between a judge and one of the finalists? If I was in that situation I would want to keep things quiet, too. Cindy said that she and Ben had met for the first time at the reception, but I wasn’t sure that I believed her.
    Could Larry Kim have discovered something he wasn’t supposed to know? Had he threatened to make a fuss? Was Ben the person I’d heard arguing with him in the stairwell just before he fell? And what, if anything, did this have to do with Lisa Kim’s disappearance?
    I blew out a windy sigh. That was my problem. I was always good at coming up with questions. It was the answers that gave me headaches.

24
    “T here you are, finally,” Aunt Peg said when I got back to the setup. “We were wondering what kept you. Sam thought perhaps you’d gotten lost.”
    Sam slipped me a quick wink. He was busy line brushing Tar and didn’t look like my extended absence had caused him the slightest bit of concern.
    It was Peg who’d apparently grown bored while waiting for Maggie to wake up. In my absence, she’d taken it upon herself to remove Bertie’s Standard Poodle from his crate and begin brushing out the dog’s mane coat. That was supposed to be my job, but I wasn’t complaining. It was good for Aunt Peg to have something to do.
    Some people cherish peace and quiet, but not Aunt Peg. She sees such times as opportunities to stir things up. And trust me, we’ve all been there. It’s not a pretty sight.
    Today, thankfully, it looked as though Aunt Peg had used her powers for the sake of good rather than evil.
    Bertie was back at the setup, too, and she had her Toy Poodle out on a tabletop. “Excellent hair,” she said. “Terry?”
    “Of course. I’d never trust anybody else to make such a drastic change.”
    Bertie’s third Poodle entry was a Mini. I