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there was one major drawback—he was covered in blood.
    I took a step back and found myself wedged up against the camel’s stall praying this guy wasn’t the killer.
    â€œElwood? Oh. Sure. Elwood,” I rambled as the smell of the guy’s shirt turned my stomach. “I was looking for Dr. Franklin. The office was locked.”
    â€œSorry about that,” he said in a deep voice that almost made me forget the blood. “I had an emergency and forgot to change the sign. I’m Dr. Franklin, but folks around here call me Lionel.”
    He held out a hand to shake mine, but I couldn’t do it. His hands were clean, but his long-sleeved shirt was caked with goo, and the smell was growing stronger.
    He looked down at his clothes and grinned. “Excuse my clothes, but Doc Truman’s horse was giving birth and required my assistance. Birthing of any kind can be a little messy.”
    â€œI can see that.” I let out a sigh of relief that the blood wasn’t human. I didn’t want this guy to be the killer. He was too good-looking for that kind of disappointment.
    We stared at each other for a minute, not sure what to say. I felt a wet camel nose against my cheek and flinched, making Lionel laugh. It was a deep, rich sound that made my body hum.
    â€œI see Elwood likes you. He doesn’t normally take to people so fast.”
    I smiled and gave Elwood a pat, careful not to dislodge his fedora. “Elwood is a strange name for a camel.” Then again, I’d never met a camel, so what did I know?
    Lionel scratched Elwood’s side and nodded. “I thought so, too, but it suits him. Elwood was a circus performer before he was sent to me. Strangely enough, he used to do a Blues Brothers act with a clown. They tell me it took the clown a year to train Elwood to wear a hat, and now he won’t go without one for more than a couple of minutes.”
    â€œI’m surprised the clown gave Elwood up. I’d think a hat-wearing camel would be big a box-office draw.” I know I’d buy a ticket. Right now I was trying to decide how well a camel would fit in my Wicker Park apartment.
    Lionel put his forehead against Elwood’s, and the camel made another throaty noise. “The clown died, and Elwood became so depressed he wouldn’t eat. That’s why six months ago the circus manager brought Elwood to me. Turns out he liked it here, and he’s been with me ever since.” Lionel took a step back from the camel and let his eyes roam from my feet up to my hair, finally stopping to look me right in the eyes. “Now that you know me and Elwood, would you mind telling me who you are?”
    â€œOh, sorry.” I straightened my shoulders and gave him my perkiest smile. “My name is Rebecca Robbins. My mom owned the Toe Stop.”
    â€œI’m sorry about your mother,” Lionel said, his eyes darkening with compassion. “She was a real nice lady.”
    â€œThanks.” My own eyes started to tear up, and I clenched my fist. I wasn’t going to get all weepy.
    â€œSo,” Lionel asked, scratching the camel’s side, “did you come by for a reason?”
    My eyes widened. I had no idea what to say. A real investigator would have thought of a cover story, but I wasn’t a real investigator, so I hadn’t. And while honesty was normally the best policy, asking straight out if he killed Mack seemed like a bad idea. I looked around for inspiration. The guy was a vet. Talking about animals seemed like the most logical option, so I said, “I was thinking about getting my grandfather a pet and thought you might be able to recommend one.”
    Lionel’s lips quivered. “Really?”
    I nodded and expanded on my lie. “I hate the idea of Pop living alone and thought a pet would be good company.”
    â€œFrom what I hear, he has plenty of company.”
    My cheeks heated. Apparently, the whole town knew about