One Dog Too Many (A Mae December Mystery) by Lia Farrell

left her body in the closest possible place where it wouldn’t be spotted immediately. This might indicate a perp who wasn’t strong enough to haul the body very far.”
    “So why would she have the traffic counting cord around her neck?” This sounded like Deputy Fuller.
    “We think the perp might have done that to tie Ruby’s death to the controversy about widening Little Chapel Road,” Ben said. “Johns, did David Allison’s shirts show anything suspicious?”
    “No, but he might have changed clothes after work. I’m going back today to pick up whatever hasn’t been washed.”
    “Has the car been gone over?” That was Ben’s voice again.
    “Yes. Nothing but evidence of the vic and her dog.”
    Mae covered her mouth so they couldn’t hear her laugh. Elvis shed up a storm during every car ride. In fact, there was enough red fur left in her tote bag to knit a sweater.
    After everybody gave their opinions and ideas, Ben asked Detective Nichols to summarize what the next steps would be.
    “Our first step is to meet with all the people Ruby saw on the fifteenth. We’ ve already talked to everyone who lives on Little Chapel Road. So far, we’ve interviewed Lucy Ingram, the Ryans, David Allison and Beth Jensen. The Connollys are gone for the month. MaryLou Dennis has been in a medical rehab facility for several weeks. Both those houses were supposedly empty at the time of the murder.”
    Ben said, “Where’s that plat map, the one that shows all the lots on Little Chapel Road? Hadley, put that up on the board, will you? Everybody, please note the names of all the homeowners on Little Chapel Road as shown in this diagram.”
    “I see there’s a Connolly. Any relation to James Connolly, Ruby’s attorney?” Wayne asked.
    “Yes, he’s the ir nephew. Here’s the Dennis property. MaryLou is Joe Dennis’ mother. All these people have a history—Joe Dennis grew up in this house and he’s currently remodeling Mae December’s house.”
    “Joe Dennis and Ruby dated when they were young and may have been sexually intimate at that time.” It was the detective’s voice. “We can’t exclude the possibility that they might have been having an affair currently. This makes him a person of interest.”
    “Right, I talked to Joe, and he still seemed to have feelings for her,” Ben said.
    Mae silently disagreed. The only feelings Joe still had for Ruby were those of aggravation and maybe a little protectiveness. If Ben had ever seen Joe and his wife Neesy together he would have known better. The two of them were obviously very much in love.
    Detective Nichols went on. “Ruby had some kind of connection with each of her neighbors, except possibly the Van Attas, Anne and Jason. We talked to them yesterday. If they have any ties to our victim, I couldn’t find them. There was one interesting thing we got in the interview, though. Do you have your notes, Robert?”
    There was a pause. Fuller cleared his throat. “Jason Van Atta reported seeing lights on in MaryLou Dennis’ house the night of March fifteenth. He assumed Joe was working late. Mrs. Van Atta told us she saw lights in the Connolly residence that night as well.”
    Standing out in the hall, Mae was taken aback. She never realized Ruby had been so involved in the lives of all the Little Chapel Road residents. Of course, she wouldn’t talk to me if my hair were on fire, unless she needed somewhere to stash Elvis .
    Detective Nichols spoke up. “We need to find out if the Connollys had a house sitter, or if anyone was supposed to be there that night. We’ll also need corroboration that Joe Dennis was working at his mother’s house the evening of the fifteenth.”
    “The most critical detail to get now is the name of the person Ruby dined with the night she died. I would also like to have more information about her appointments with the lawyer and the doctor. Let’s get going.”
    Chairs scraped back from the table and Mae ran down the hall to the