Chapter Fourteen
Charlie stretched out in bed. He reached over and was surprised to find that Declan’s side was empty.
There was a potent sour gas smell in the air.
He propped himself up on his elbows and immediately saw what the problem was.
Curled up at the bottom of the bed was that damned dog.
The moment it saw it had been noticed, the dog stood, shook, and plodded up toward Charlie’s face, breathing its foul odour in his direction.
“Go away.”
The dog was having none of it. He was like an unpopular guy at the bar—the moment you looked at him, he thought he could have his way with you. The dog took a step forward and shook his head wildly, splattering Charlie’s face with drool.
“You little fucker, get away from me.”
The dog didn’t budge.
“Fine. If you won’t move, then I’ll go where you can’t follow.”
Charlie ran into the washroom and closed the door. He turned on the shower and dove under the water, drowning out the scratching and whining sounds from the other room.
“You’re not going to ruin my day,” he shouted.
Today was Charlie’s birthday. He turned twenty-six and he was determined that the day was going to be perfect.
Of course, Carrie knew about the special day, but she was out of town for work, so they’d made plans to celebrate at a later date.
Aside from her, Charlie hadn’t told a soul.
He thought he might play it cool and casually let it slip out sometime in the afternoon.
Declan would feel horrible, but he’d make up for it by taking Charlie out for a spectacular meal at a restaurant of his choice.
Charlie wouldn’t pick something too extravagant, but fancy enough that the two would get dressed up.
When they walked into the restaurant and the ma?tre d’ showed them to their table, heads would turn.
Declan did that in most places, but tonight…
they would both shine. Charlie realised that he should give Declan enough warning to run out and get him a nice gift.
It would be something…personal—something Charlie would never have expected.
But it would be perfect because Declan knew him well enough to know what he liked, even if he didn’t know it was his birthday.
The scrabbling in the other room had stopped. Charlie got out of the shower, towelled off, then cautiously opened the bathroom door.
Declan had returned and was facing the bed, in deep conversation with the dog who had spread-eagled itself across the bedsheets.
“Come on, boy. Off the bed unless you want Daddy to make you into it.”
Daddy?
Charlie stepped out into the room. Declan turned. “Mmm. Just the way I like you—naked.”
Declan walked over, scooped Charlie up into his arms and threw him onto the bed.
He crawled up his body, kissing him as he went, starting at his toes.
Charlie closed his eyes and welcomed the sensation of Declan’s warm, wet tongue.
His reverie was interrupted by a loud bark, and another wet tongue slid across his face.
“Gross! Get him off me!” Charlie yelled.
“Okay, boy. Down you get.”
The dog obeyed.
Declan laughed. “Maybe we should wait until we’re alone.”
Charlie sighed and walked back into the washroom and scrubbed the dog-slobber off his face.
Declan called out, “I’ve laid out some clothes for you. When you’re ready, there’s someone downstairs that I want you to meet.”
The dog barked.
Charlie asked, “Uh…before that, don’t you think we should be discussing the tiny, smelly elephant in the room?”
“Oh, you mean the dog?”
“Yes. I thought Mrs B was going to take him to the pound on her way home last night.”
Declan shrugged. “Well, that was her original plan. She took him in and they scanned him for a chip, but they found nothing. As she was leaving, the little guy just started to whimper and whine…and she said it didn’t feel right to leave him there.”
“Didn’t feel right?” Charlie asked. “But it felt right to bring him back here? And when did she bring him back? We were here last night.”
Declan nodded. “Yes. Well, she said she tried taking him home with her, but her sister didn’t want the hound in the house because it wasn’t doggy-proof.
Something about a lot of fine china figurines at tail and snout level.
So, Mrs B wound up bringing him back here late last night.
She made up a nice little bed for him on the couch. ”
Declan ruffled the dog’s fur. “You must have snuck up from the office to the apartment when I wasn’t looking. Didn’t you, boy? Such a smart dog. You just missed your Uncle Charlie.”
“We are not keeping that mutt, and I am not his uncle.”
“Oh, the plan isn’t to keep it. Mrs B figures he probably lives somewhere in the neighbourhood and she’s going to put up some flyers in the hope he can be reunited with his owners.”
The dog barked and let loose with a puff of gas that made Charlie’s eyes water.
Declan grimaced. “Mrs B picked up some special food at the pound that’s supposed to take care of that. If we don’t find the owners, she said she could take him with her when she goes home tonight. Now…get yourself dressed and come downstairs.”
Declan kissed Charlie on the forehead, sighed and went down to the office.
Charlie frowned. Today was not going to be what he’d dreamt it would become. It was going to be another typical day with the man he loved, one filled with chaos. When he thought of it like that, things didn’t sound so bad.
Charlie quickly dressed and headed down the stairs. As he stepped into Declan’s office, he heard muffled voices coming from the other room. He made his way through the doorway and was greeted by Declan, Mrs B and Gwen, who all shouted out, “Happy birthday!”
“How…how did you know?” Charlie stuttered out.
“Oh, the secrets you can find in someone’s personnel record,” Mrs B replied.
Gwen walked forward holding a large cake, alight with a mass of candles.
“Happy birthday, Charlie. Now make a wish and blow out the candles before we set off the heat detector.”
Charlie closed his eyes. Please give me a lifetime with Declan, he wished, then blew out the candles.
When he opened his eyes, Declan was standing in front of him holding a small wrapped package. He smiled and said, “Happy birthday.”
Charlie gently took the package in his hands.
“Thank you,” he squeaked out.
“It’s more than just a box,” Declan said. “There’s something inside. Open it.”
Charlie tore the paper off and saw the label on the box.
It said it was an Acix smartwatch. Charlie knew his digital toys, and this was one of the best out there, but before he said anything, he opened the box, just to be sure.
One Christmas he’d been fooled by a package labelled as a skate sharpener, and inside had discovered a wooden back-scratcher instead.
He took a breath and opened it. He couldn’t contain his excitement.
“It’s amazing!” he yelled out, removing the electronic wonder from its container. “This does everything! How did you know?”
Declan grinned. “I do pay attention to what you talk about…sometimes.”
Charlie threw his arms around Declan and gave him a passionate kiss as the dog barked and danced around them.
“Here, you—come,” Mrs B called out, and the dog immediately ran to her. “He’s a smart boy,” she said. “Far more obedient than the other men in the office.”
Mrs B gave Charlie a card, and Gwen served up the cake. “Well, I really should be heading down to the café before customers think I’ve gone out of business.”
“Hold on a sec,” Mrs B interjected. “I have one more thing to give Charlie and I want you here.”
She handed him a present enclosed in tissue paper. It was thin, and about the size of a business-letter envelope.
Charlie gently removed the wrapping, revealing an engraved brass plaque that said, Charlie Watts, Private Investigator.
“I’ll let you attach it to your door,” Mrs B said. “It’s time to replace that paper sign you have up there now.”
He stared at it for a moment, then threw his arms around her. “Thank you, Mrs B. You have no idea how much this means to me…especially coming from you.”
He took the gift, tore down the paper sign and carefully mounted the brass plaque on his door.
Gwen said, “I really should be going. Happy birthday, Charlie.”
She came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek then headed down the stairs.
Charlie polished the nameplate for the umpteenth time.
Mrs B whispered to Declan, “Is it all confirmed for tonight?”
Charlie’s heart raced. What is he planning?
Declan headed toward him. “So…tonight…”
“Yes?”
“There are a lot of great places to eat in town…but I thought, it being your special day, we should do something a little different.”
“Okay…”
“Well, that’s all I can say for now. But be ready for five o’clock. In the meantime, we’ve got a business to run.”
“Speaking of which,” Mrs B said. “Our lawyer, Mr Vanstone, dropped by. He had a look at that summons and said Charlie probably has nothing to worry about. I’ll need to forward him the case notes, but it looks like everything is going to be fine.”
“Thank God,” Charlie said.
“I also got the signed contract with the payment from Jules’ father,” Mrs B continued. “So, Charlie, you may want to get in touch with her to fill her in on the next steps.”
“Will do,” Charlie replied.
“Good,” Declan said. “I’ve got a meeting set up with Gary Sawchuck this morning. I’m going to tell him what we found out about the guy who may have attacked Angel. We’ll rendezvous back here later this afternoon before we head out for the big celebration.”
“Can’t wait for tonight,” Charlie said. “And, Mrs B, I’ll go get those case notes into shape for you.”
Charlie headed back to his office. He sat in his chair and looked at the new smartwatch on his wrist, then up at the brass plaque. This had to go down as the best birthday, ever! Nothing could spoil this day.
As he opened his computer files, the dog trotted in, his face covered in birthday cake.
“Mrs B! We need to find the owner of this dog! Today!”