No Bone About It: Naomi & Winston Mysteries, #3

By Maddie Sutton

It's a Bone-stravaganza at the Scott Vineyard!

A recent discovery of fossils right before a wine festival held at the local vineyard has everyone's tail wagging. Digging up these bones is a big boon for business...until the owner is found murdered and it lands everyone in bad dog territory.

Nothing smells right about the investigation. Chief Reed is forced to cede jurisdiction to a sketchy sheriff who has Naomi's hackles up at every turn, and when Naomi's friend--the owner's daughter--is dragged in for questioning during the wake, Naomi knows she has some digging of her own to do.

With the deceased owner's will missing and the fate of the vineyard at stake, can Naomi get to the bottom of the murder or will her investigation end up buried along with the victim?

The third book in the southern, small town Naomi & Winston Mystery series, No Bone About It contains no adult situations or gore, only fun and high jinks as the heroine solves mysteries and chases behind her perpetually confused, endearingly curious, and continuously chatty Chihuahua. This story has a light paranormal element.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maddie Sutton
• Release date: Sep 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201928148

Book preview

1

I was totally shameless when it came to home-cooked meals.

Cooking was a skill that appeared to skip my generation in the family. Neither my sister nor I was very good at it.

At least Sarah had the comfort of knowing that she didn’t come close to burning the house down. That dubious distinction belonged solely to me. In my defense, I was sixteen at the time and I was on the phone with Jolene.

As a result, my mother only allowed me in the kitchen to keep her company.

It developed into a family tradition.

Today, as Mom busied around the kitchen getting lunch together, Gramma sat at the table with her legal pad. Her hand moved smoothly across the page as she started her trademarked list.

Jolene sat across from her, her face tense with anticipation.

Don’t forget to breathe, I told her. She gripped the sugar bowl as her knuckles whitened. She was going to pass out if she didn’t take a breath.

"Miss LaLa has never done a list for me before."

My uncle Solly passed behind us to get to the refrigerator for a beer. Oh, an innocent sacrifice tonight. Break out the fancy silverware, Phoebe.

Mom snapped a towel at him to chase him out of the kitchen. Don’t be ridiculous, Solomon. It’s only the first time that hurts. Jolene will learn to enjoy it soon enough. She winked at me before going back to supper.

My mother had a cruel streak. I liked it.

Sarah leaned across the table to read the list upside down.

What does it say? Jolene whispered.

It says, Mom interrupted as she set a stack of dishes on the table. She followed it with a handful of silverware, someone needs to set the table. Sarah, is Robbie coming for dinner tonight?

No, she said with a heavy sigh. His cousin’s bachelor party is at the river this weekend. He wouldn’t let me go with.

That’s because it’s a bachelor party. Girls aren’t allowed, I reminded her.

"But the Red Otters are playing. I love them. They’re one of the best indie bands to come out of Louisiana in forever."

I made a face. My sister’s taste in music was questionable. The only indie band to ever come out you mean.

Louisiana has indie bands? Jolene asked.

Sarah shrugged. Louisiana has a thriving indie scene.

Dad strolled into the kitchen and waved his iPad in the air. Did y’all catch this news? They found bones out at Merrill Scott’s vineyard.

That had our attention. Even Gramma’s as she stopped writing and looked up. Who’s dead?

They’re not human bones. Animal. They’re saying fossilized bones.

Like a dinosaur? I asked.

Dad shook his head. No idea. Caught the attention of the Clarion Ledger, though. There’s a write-up online.

I reached for his iPad. This had to be seen to be believed. Mom passed between us and plucked it out of Dad’s hands. After supper.

Winston trotted into the kitchen, the new tag with his name and our new address jingling from his collar. I’m hungry, Mary.

Of course he was hungry. For a Chihuahua, he had a big appetite.

I got his kibble and refreshed his water bowl. Since no one else at the table moved, I took the plates and silverware to the dining table.

Mom beamed at me. Looks like Naomi wants to eat tonight.

Sarah jumped up. No fair. I was just getting ready to do that.

I think I’m going to be sick, Jolene said, if Miss LaLa doesn’t show me the list. How do you handle the anticipation, Naomi?

Guess I’m used to it.

Easy there, hon, Gramma said as she went back to writing. There’s a lot to cover.

Jolene craned her neck to look at the list. There’s more on there than was on Naomi’s.

"I owned a business before. But you lot still filled my to-do list when volunteering me for a charity dog event." While Sarah finished with the place settings, I counted chairs and situated them evenly around the table.

Hush with your reasonableness, Jolene said. Are you going to help me or not?

Gramma clapped her pen down with a flourish and slid the pad over in front of Jolene, who picked it up with reverence. Thank you, Miss LaLa.

Don’t thank me yet, girl. We’re just getting warmed up. Naomi, there’s tasks on the list for you as well.

Of course there were. Nothing went on in the Cooper house that didn’t sweep up anyone foolish enough to walk through the door. I want to go back to the dinosaur bones they found.

That’s my daughter, Dad said proudly.

Can I have a bone, Mary? Winston looked up at me, tail wagging.

Having a dog who could talk to me was one of the more interesting turns my life had taken in the past few months. Moving back from the East Coast and settling into the slower life of my small hometown to open a business was another.

With the usual Cooper Family stubbornness, I endured.

Supper was enthusiastic, filled with chatting about local gossip, activities, and politics as we settled into eating. Winston, now finished with his dinner, curled up strategically within Gramma’s reach as she fed him under the table.

I felt perfectly comfortable yelling at Sarah’s boyfriend for sneaking my dog human food but I wasn’t about to call Gramma out for it. Mostly because she wasn’t about to listen to me anyway. As she got older, her hearing got more selective.

Sadly, and to my disappointment, there was no more talk about the bones.

Thankfully, I had something to distract me. I was trying to be there for Jolene who was going to fret herself into an early grave.

Winston and I eventually left my parents’ house to head home for the evening. Mom, as usual, loaded me up with leftovers. So I wouldn’t starve, she told me.

Fat chance of that. Happy Harts Grill was my main go-to for dinner. Their menu was varied enough, even though everything on the menu was grilled and covered in barbecue sauce. Barbecue sauce ran thick in my veins.

But I knew it wasn’t healthy.

I parked the car in the drive and went in the side door, tossing my keys on the kitchen counter. With Winston underfoot, it was a dance of ‘don’t step on the dog’ as I tried to put the leftovers in the fridge. My cell rang, Jolene’s number coming up on the caller ID.

What’s up? I asked into the phone.

I’m going to fail, Jolene wailed.

Um...okay. Jolene, you can’t fail. You haven’t started anything yet.

I know. But I’m going to start and then I’m going to fail.

The wailing was a little annoying.

I locked the door and set the alarm for the night. There was too much expensive equipment in my shop to leave unguarded. While Winston was an excellent watchdog, he was only good when we were actually here. What can we do to ensure you don’t fail?

"I don’t know. I’ve never done this before. I mean...Miss LaLa’s list is so long."

Now Jolene was being dramatic. I had seen the list. It wasn’t any longer than any list she did for me. I have a light day tomorrow and then I’ll be at the animal shelter in the afternoon. Want to meet and get coffee to look over the list?

Yes please, she said with a relieved sigh.

Alright. I’ll call you when I leave the shelter. Take a breath and put the list away. We’ll talk tomorrow.

Right. Right. Night, Naomi. And thanks.

Sure thing. She was my best friend after all. I wouldn’t drop her in the well.

Winston and I went upstairs to my bedroom. Once I was changed into my pajamas, I put my phone on to charge, grabbed my tablet, and crawled into bed.

Winston trotted up the ramp Dad built him to climb into bed with me. Now that I was in my own bed, no longer sleeping in my sister’s old bedroom, it wasn’t safe for Winston to jump down from an elevated height.

He curled up between my calves and I pulled up the article Dad had mentioned earlier about the discovery of the fossils.

There wasn’t much to the article but to say that they weren’t dinosaur bones but mastodon bones. Apparently Mississippi didn’t have a lot of dinosaur activity.

Who would have thought?

No one, that’s who. No one would actually believe Mississippi had dinosaur anything.

Mastodon fossils, on the other hand, had been found further south a few years ago by some kids in Bovina, which the article pointed out. The fossil site found at our local vineyard contained a full mastodon. That was significant.

No doubt Mr. Stillwell would find it fascinating. As a retired geography teacher specializing in the Mississippi region, and now curator of the Harmony Grove Historic Courthouse Museum, this was right up his alley.

Before I turned off the light, Winston was already stretched out, paws pushing against one of my legs, his back against the other. Thankfully, my bed was a queen. That might leave just enough room on my bed for me to sleep as well.

For such a small dog, Winston took up a lot of room.

2

I left Sarah at my shop, Tangled Tails, to manage the dogs waiting for pickup, and Winston and I headed for the Harmony Grove Animal Shelter.

We heard the barking from the road, Winston propped up against the passenger door to stare out the window. His tail wagged energetically. This was where Winston and I first met.

Not this exact building. The new facility was a gift from Winston when his very rich previous owner had been murdered, leaving him as the beneficiary of her estate. He wanted Inge and Pieter Handel, the owners and operators, to have the Victorian-style house as the new shelter, with plenty of land to expand as needed.

I parked Mom’s car off to the side, next to the Harmony Grove Animal Clinic’s portable clinic van. I scooped Winston up and we headed in the facility. Afternoon, Inge, I said to the older woman behind the counter.

Naomi, how good to see you. Winston, my dear sweet boy, is that a new tag I see?

Winston’s tail wagged furiously. Mary got it for me!

She shook her head. You know, sometimes I get the impression he actually understands what I’m saying.

I grinned uncomfortably.

After getting struck by lightning, Winston and I had this bond which enabled me to understand what he said. Although, I still hadn’t figured out why he called everyone Mary. From conversations with him, I was of the opinion he believed he was calling everyone by their name but it was coming out as Mary.

It was odd because he said the names of other animals with no issue at all.

I could only think that it was an artifact of the lightning strike.

I still bore the Lichtenberg fractal scarring along my arms even months after the event.

He’s a pretty smart dog, I said noncommittally. So is Dr. Sawyer in the back? I guess that means you have some new guests?

Dr. Lloyd, this time, Inge said. She spread a towel out on the counter so I could set Winston down. He immediately headed to her to get his pettings and greetings.

Oh. I hoped I didn’t sound disappointed. But I was. Kane Sawyer was the other partner in the vet clinic and he had a very gentle disposition in dealing with the animals. It didn’t hurt that he was very easy on the eyes as well.

And exceedingly generous. He spent his entire day off helping me move all of my furniture out of storage into the building that housed both my grooming business and my home.

Winston sat patiently under Inge’s attention. I think we have a couple of dogs in the back that need nail trims. If you could look them over for fleas as well, I’d be grateful. This summer has been horrendous with fleas and ticks.

I’ll get everyone squared away in short order. Is it okay to take Winston back with me?

It’s fine. Things are calm at the moment. Sarah was in earlier to clean out kennels so there should be no issues back there.

Hear that, Winston? You get to go visiting.

Yay, Mary! I like visiting!

Such a unique dog, Inge said as we headed to the back of the shelter.

Winston trotted ahead to scope out if any of his friends were still there. Inge Handel had a perfect record for adopting out dogs. The Harmony Grove Animal Shelter was a no-kill shelter, so Inge did everything in her power to see every animal that crossed her threshold was adopted out.

In one of the small receiving/examination rooms, Dr. Lloyd was giving a new arrival a health check. How are you, Dr. Lloyd? I said, stopping in the doorway.

The vet tech, a young woman named Tiffany, smiled at me as she held a cat still for Dr. Lloyd.

He straightened and glanced over at me. Shoving his glasses back into place, he smiled at me. Miss Naomi, how good to see you. Is Winston with you?

He is making his inspection tour of the kennel area. I leaned out of the doorway to make sure he was still in sight. Currently he sat in front of a kennel staring in at another dog. They barked at each other. I couldn’t help but get tickled at their holding a conversation.

Help me, a plaintive voice said from the table. I glanced at the cat wrapped up in the towel.

Um...do you need another hand? I asked, stepping in so I could rest a soft hand on the bundle.

We’re just about done.

So is this a surrender or a stray?

Surrender, I believe. She’s in good shape. I have her scheduled for spay next week. If you want to get the nail clippers and trim up her nails, that would be a huge help. I am running late getting back to the clinic.

I went to the cabinet to retrieve the cat nail clippers. I’ll be more than happy to help.

Dr. Lloyd finished up and motioned for Tiffany to unroll the cat. I scooped the cat up before she was able to escape off the table and took her to the cabinet off to the side.

She was an extraordinarily fluffy cat. My hand disappeared beneath her fur when I picked her up. Beneath all the fluff was a frail, thin body. Let’s get you trimmed up and more comfortable, I said softly to her. Maybe give your fur a good brushing.

That would be wonderful, the cat said. She looked at me with wide blue eyes. Her coloration, off white with a black face and ears, feet and tail, led me to believe she was a long-haired Siamese of some description.

I glanced at the vet and the tech but they didn’t notice, or perhaps didn’t care, that I was talking to the cat. I don’t get to groom cats very often. I’ll take good care of you.

While Dr. Lloyd packed up, I nipped at her claws. Whoever had her before took care of her. I couldn’t