“Jailing an old lady on a mission may not look good in an election year.” I thought about our county DA. He’d made no secret of his plans for the governor’s seat in the future.
He laughed. “I believe you understand this game. That’s the one reason I’m not looking to hold an elected office. Even though the mayor keeps putting my name up for the county positions.”
“Mayor Baylor is promoting you? Isn’t that a good thing?” This was the first I’d heard about our mayor giving Greg props to anyone.
Greg cocked his head. “And if I got elected, who would be at my door wanting more favors than he already asks for? Now I can hold him off since the city council is the one who decides if I’m going to keep my job or not. Luckily, most of them like me.”
“I hadn’t thought about it that way.” Thinking of my own appointment to the council as the business liaison, I’d thought the mayor had kept me on because no one else wanted the job. Maybe he didn’t have the power to get rid of me. I’d have to talk to Bill Sullivan about the details one of these days. Bill was the head of the council and knew everything. And he liked me. Or at least he did before Aunt Jackie almost got his wife arrested.
“Anyway, can we plan dinner tonight? I’d take you out, but with this case, I think we need to grill. I’ll do the cooking, though. What do you have on hand?” Greg leaned forward, looking at my shopping list.
I quickly pulled it toward me with the borrowed pen. “On hand? Cheesecake and coffee. I’m heading to Bakerstown to shop. What do you want me to pick up?”
We batted around a menu between surf or turf or both, and finally settled on kabobs. I’d marinate the meats and get the veggies chopped, and then Greg could grill when he arrived. He came around the desk as I stuffed the notebook into my purse.
“I’m sorry I was gruff yesterday.” He kissed me. “I’ll make it up tonight.”
I pushed his hair out of his eyes. “You need a haircut.”
“I thought you liked it long.” He slapped me on the butt. “Get out of here, woman, you’re a distraction.”
“I bet you say that to all the women visiting your office,” I teased but headed to the door. “See you tonight.”
I didn’t even feel bad about using my phone to Google the name of the unfamiliar poison when I got back to my car.
CHAPTER 14
First stop in Bakerstown was Pampered Pet Palace. The place was a gold mine for all things pet related. They had a vet on staff, grooming facilities, and of course, all the food, toys, or bones Emma could dream about. They allowed leashed pets to visit with their owners, but I’d left Emma home today because, although she could go into Pampered Pet, she’d have to stay in the car while I shopped for groceries. The back porch was cooler in the heat of the day.
As I wandered through the store, I passed through the fish and snake display. There, in a glass case, was the brightest-colored frog I’d ever seen. I waved over a clerk and pointed. “That’s not a poison tree frog, is it?”
The young man smiled. “You know your frogs. That happens to be our newest addition. We’ve been carrying them for about a month, and they’re selling like hotcakes.”
“People buy them as pets? What about the poison?” The frog was strikingly beautiful, but I wouldn’t want one. What if Emma decided to eat her new playmate?
The guy opened the top of the cage and pulled out the frog with his bare hands. I took an involuntary step backward. “Hold on, these guys are harmless. The poison comes from what they eat, and since these were domestically raised, they only have a trace of the stuff in their systems.” He pointed to a little bump by the frog’s ear. Or what should be the ear. “In the wild, the frog stores poison in this pouch, then uses it to hunt his dinner.”
“So they’re just cute frogs?” I stepped closer to get a better look at the creature.
“Pretty much. I mean, I sell a lot to men who want to look like badasses. They just don’t realize the little guys are all talk and no bite.” He held the frog toward me. “Want to hold him?”
Laughing, I stepped back again. “No thanks. I’m more of a furry, cuddly pet owner. I’m here for dog food.”
I pushed the cart back to the dog food aisle, thinking about Kent’s tox screen. If the poison only came from the tree frog, and domestic frogs didn’t produce the poison, how in the heck did he get that particular poison in his system? It didn’t make sense.
Checking out, I watched Anne from the bank walk into the store. I waved her over. “Hey, what are you doing out of South Cove? I would have thought you were working.”
She tilted her head like she couldn’t place me, then a slight smile lifted her face. “I work Saturdays so I’m off on Mondays.” Anne nodded to the dog food. “I guess you are running errands, too?”