Dog Days (19 page)

“I know you will, Corny,” I assured him, trying, a little uncomfortably, to extricate myself. “And,” I reminded him firmly as he straightened up, beaming, “you’ll never lie to me again. About anything.”

“I promise!” he declared, raising his right hand solemnly. “My life is an open book. I have no secrets. Ask me anything. I’m as transparent as glass. I …”

Suddenly Cisco scrambled to his feet and raced across the room, panting happily. I knew before I looked around who had just entered.

Cisco flung himself on Buck, and Buck, smiling, scratched Cisco’s ears and ruffled his fur. I could not help thinking, with an odd little stab of pathos, about Cameo and Greg Sellers. And about Melanie and Miles, and the woman who was trying to tear them apart. Divorce had so many victims, so much fallout, so many unintended consequences. And while it rarely ended in murder, oftentimes the pain it caused the innocent was as severe as if it had.

Cisco lowered his feet to the floor, claws clacking, and Buck looked at me. He said, “You’re looking better.”

Corny stood protectively between Buck and me, his stance suggesting that if I but gave the word he would gladly fly into battle for my sake. I had to repress a smile.

“Buck,” I said, “This is Cornelius Lancaster, my new general manager at Dog Daze. Corny, Sheriff Lawson.”

Buck nodded politely. “Pleasure.”

Corny said stiffly, “Sir.”

“You were a big help out there,” Buck added.

Corny was unmoved, remembering, no doubt, that the last time he had seen this man I had struck him in the face. My enemies were his enemies. I rather liked that, even though it might be a little inappropriate right now.

I said, “Corny, do you think you could get me some more ice?”

The ice bucket was almost full, but he took the hint, however reluctantly. “I’ll just be a minute,” he said, picking up the ice bucket. He moved past Buck with a look that on anyone else might have been construed as dark.

Buck came over to me, a large brown envelope in his hand. Cisco followed him adoringly. “Here are your things. Your keys, your phone, some dog stuff. We kept the duct tape as evidence.”

I took the envelope. “Thanks.”

“I’ll send someone over in the morning to take your statement, but we’ve got enough on Sellers already to keep his lawyer busy for a while as it is. Kidnapping, assault on an officer with a deadly weapon, and, as soon as the ballistics report comes back on his gun, the murder of Tony Madison. Not to mention stalking and invasion of privacy. And that’s just the top of the hit parade. Of course,” he added, “our case would be a lot stronger if we could find that transmitter.”

I said thoughtfully, “I might be able to help you out with that.” He looked at me with interest and I said, “I have an idea. I’ll let you know tomorrow. Sellers said he didn’t kill his ex-wife,” I added. “He said he saw Madison do it.”

Buck gave a small lift of his shoulder. “That’s for a court of law to decide. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was telling the truth on that, though. From what we were able to dig up, that Madison was a pretty nasty guy. Three wives died under mysterious circumstances before this one, but there was never enough evidence to bring to trial. That’s why we were keeping such a close watch on him in the first place.”

I should have known the sheriff’s department had the investigation well in hand, even without my help. Buck knew how to run a case. And Jolene wasn’t bad, either.

A brief silence fell, which Buck broke before it became too awkward. “Ro and Mart are here,” he said. “They were in to see you earlier, but you probably don’t remember. Mart says she’s going to take you home with her for the night.”

“I’d really rather go home and see my dogs.”

“I told her you’d say that.”

He bent to rub Cisco’s ears one last time, then turned toward the door. “Well,” he said. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

I had to hold Cisco’s collar to keep him from following.

I said, “Buck.”

He looked back.

“I’m sorry I hit you.” I drew a breath and added, because I really meant it, “I hope things work out for you.”

After a moment he smiled, although it seemed a little sad. “I hope things work out for you too, Raine. I really do.”

When he was gone I reached into the envelope and pulled out my phone. I hesitated a moment, not because I was uncertain, but because I knew what I was about to do would change the course of my life. Or at least I hoped it would.

I got voice mail, but that was okay. I waited for the tone, and said, “Miles, hey, it’s me. Listen, there’s something I need to say to you.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“W
here was it?” Jolene demanded when I handed the small round disk over to her the next morning.

“In the lining of my purse. I thought I was putting it in a safe place when I put it in the zipper pocket,” I explained, “but I forgot I used to keep dog treats there too. The dogs had chewed a hole in the pocket, and the transmitter fell behind the lining.” Just like Corny’s schnauzer pin, which I’d already returned to him, had done. I added, “In a way, I guess it
was
a safe place. If it hadn’t gotten lost behind the lining, Sellers would have stolen it when he took my purse.”

A corner of Jolene’s mouth turned down dryly. “Dog treats?”

I shrugged. “It’s what I do.”

She sealed the little disc into an evidence bag and we walked out on to the porch. She had taken my official statement already, and told me that the preliminary ballistics report had shown that the bullet that had killed Madison came from Sellers’s gun. She had also talked to Corny, whose information about having seen Cameo and April getting into a car Tuesday night only confirmed Sellers’s story. It was starting to look as though Sellers might have been telling the truth about what happened to April, not that that made him any less guilty of subsequent crimes.

“It’s kind of sad, isn’t it?” I said as we stepped out onto the shade of the porch. It actually felt a little cooler today, although that might have been just me. After the three hours I’d spent locked in that truck I didn’t think I would ever complain about the heat again.

Jolene cast me an inquiring glance and I explained, “Sellers had a good idea with the transmitter. He might have nailed Madison, might even have saved April’s life. Even after April was found, if he’d just turned himself in and told you what he’d seen you could have arrested Madison before he even left the hospital. But he had to take the law into his own hands. Now the woman he loved is dead and he’s going to prison.”

Jolene murmured, “There’s a lesson in that, Stockton.”

I returned a dour look. “I have never,” I informed her, “taken the law into my own hands.”

It was Sunday afternoon, and the kennel was officially closed until five-o’clock pickup. I had given Corny the day off, but his idea of a day off was to set up the wading pools in the play yard and take the dogs out for a swim. I couldn’t help grinning as I watched Cisco, with a chartreuse foam Noodle in his mouth that was twice his size, chase Cameo around the yard. Pepper splashed from pool to pool, trying to keep up with the fun, but was continually distracted by the floating toys she found there. Corny tossed a flying disc for Mischief while Magic lounged shamelessly in three inches of water. I had never seen any of them happier. This was going to work out just fine.

Jolene reached into her pocket and took out a citation book. My grin faded as she tore off a sheet and presented it to me wordlessly.

“Are you kidding me?” I stared at her incredulously. “You’re giving me a
ticket
? For what?”

“Take it,” she said impatiently.

I snatched the ticket from her and glanced at it. There was nothing written there but a name and a telephone number. I looked at her uncertainly, puzzled.

She glanced away, trying to hide embarrassment. “It’s a doctor in Asheville,” she said gruffly. “He’s pretty good with PTSD. He might be able to help you with those nightmares.”

My irritation dissolved, and when it was gone I didn’t know what to feel. “Thanks,” I said in a moment, a little awkwardly. I folded the paper and put it in my pocket.

Her lips compressed, as though she were tasting something bitter, and she looked back at me. “You were right about your dog,” she said. “Nike is trained in law enforcement, not wilderness search. Cisco out-did her both times. I was thinking … maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if the sheriff’s department called on you from time to time. Unofficially, of course,” she added quickly.

“Of course,” I agreed, trying to keep a straight face.

“And with a clear division of labor.”

I nodded. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“And,” she added severely, “this doesn’t mean you’ve got free rein to go butting in where you don’t belong.”

“No chance,” I assured her. “None at all.”

She tried to stare me down. I just stared back. Then she muttered, “I’ve got to get back to work.”

She started down the steps.

“Hey,” I said.

She looked back, and I couldn’t resist. I made the sign for a telephone with my thumb and pinky held to my ear. “Call me,” I invited. “We’ll have lunch.”

For a moment she stood there, looking thoughtful, and then she said, “Maybe I will.”

My jaw must have dropped, because she burst into laughter. I think it was the first time I’d ever seen her laugh. “Not in this lifetime, Stockton,” she said, and I thought her step was particularly jaunty as she continued down the steps to her car.

~*~

By midafternoon Corny had shampooed and blow-dried Cameo, polished up her pink rhinestone collar, trimmed her nails and brushed her teeth, and had her looking her very best for the trip to her new home—which, fortunately for Cisco, was not very far away. Don’t think I didn’t agonize over the decision to let her go, both for Cisco’s sake and my own. But part of being in the dog rescue business is learning to put the welfare of the dog before your own, and sometimes before that of someone you love. And when I saw the look on Marshall Decker’s face as he knelt to hug Cameo, and the way Cameo grinned back at him, I knew I’d done the right thing.

“He needed her more than we did,” I told Cisco as we watched them drive away. “And Cameo needed to be somebody’s princess.”

I sat on the porch with my feet on the top step, Cisco lying beside me with his head between his paws. I rested my hand on his neck, fingers entwined in his fur. “It’s not as though we’ll never see her again,” I went on. “Marshall promised to bring her for play dates, and whenever he has to be out of town she’ll stay with us. And if he’s elected sheriff, she’ll be at the office all the time. We can see her anytime we’re in town.”

Cisco just sighed. He definitely was not going to make this easy for me.

“You’ve got to think of what’s best for Cameo,” I said. “She’s been through a rough time. She just lost the two people she loved most in the world, and she needs someone who can help her get through that. And, Cisco.” I looked at him sympathetically. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but she just wasn’t that into you.”

Cisco lifted his ears and turned his head toward me, making me think for one surprised moment that he’d actually been listening. But it was only Corny, coming up from the kennel with a freshly groomed Pepper on lead. She was looking good and prancing high with a colorful tug toy in her mouth, occasionally pausing to give it a shake or toss it up in the air. Cisco got to his feet alertly, watching her.

“Three down, two to go,” Corny said cheerfully, referring to the dogs who, after a morning spent splashing in the pools and chasing each other around the yard, had all needed baths.

I got up to take Pepper’s leash. “I could help,” I said. “It won’t kill me to hold a blow-dryer and a slicker brush.”

“Don’t be sil! My job, my pleasure! You don’t lift a finger until you’re fully recovered. Can I bring you some more lemonade? Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be lying down in the air-conditioning?”

I knew that level of solicitousness would get old fairly quickly, but for right now I was fine with it. To tell the truth, I could use a little pampering, and he did make great lemonade.

“Thanks, Corny, I’m good for now.” I reached to put the gate in place across the porch steps, but he darted in front of me to do it himself. Like I said, it’s nice to be pampered.

Cisco watched with waving tail as I unclipped Pepper’s leash and she bounced across the porch, waving her toy gaily. When I released Cisco’s leash he dashed after her, nipping at her tail feathers and then whirling into a play bow. She tossed the toy up into the air and he caught it. The next thing I knew they were playing tug like the old friends they were.

“Men,” I murmured with a wry grin, “are so fickle.”

Both Corny and I turned our heads at the sound of tires coming up the driveway. The car was an unfamiliar white sedan, and Corny said, “That must be an early pickup. I’ll take care of it. Honestly, what part of ‘no pickups before five’ do these people not understand?”

He started to move the gate and go down the stairs, clucking his tongue reprovingly at the impudence of the early arrival. But the car did not turn toward the kennel, and as it drew closer, I thought I recognized the driver.

“That looks like a rental car,” I said. “I don’t think it’s a customer. I think …” I squinted my eyes against the sun for a better look, and my breath caught a little. “I think that’s Miles.”

Corny looked at me with lifted eyebrow. “Do we like him?”

The car drew to a stop and the passenger door flew open, discharging a young girl with tangled dark curls wearing a sequined tee shirt depicting the skyline of Rio de Janeiro. I knew that because “Rio de Janeiro” was written in sequined scroll across the top of the shirt. “Hey, Raine!” Melanie called. “We’re home!”

A smile spread slowly over my face as the driver’s door opened and Miles got out. “Yes,” I answered Corny softly. “We do.”

Miles closed the car door and stood there for a moment, looking rumpled and travel-worn in jeans, sunglasses, and a two-day growth of beard, and oh-so-good to me.

Corny glanced at me, then lifted his glasses to peer more closely at Miles. “Good choice,” he murmured appreciatively.

He moved the gate as Melanie raced up the steps and flung herself into my waiting embrace. Nothing had ever felt better than that kid’s hug, ever.

“Hello,” Corny greeted her when she stepped away.

Melanie did a brief double take, returned an uncertain, “Hi.” And before I could introduce them she caught sight of her dog. “Pepper!” she cried joyfully, and ran across the porch to embrace her. The two of them fell into a happy tangle, with Cisco adding to the celebration with a few excited barks. My smile turned into a full-fledged grin.

“I’ll be in the kennel,” Corny said, holding the gate for me, “if you need me.” And, as I went down the steps toward Miles, he added, “Somehow I don’t think you will.”

I stood uncertainly in front of Miles. With his eyes obscured by the sunglasses I couldn’t tell much about his expression at all. I said, “Hey.”

He let a beat or two pass. Then he said, “I had the strangest voice mail as we were landing in Miami. It was from someone who sounded a lot like you, but she was saying things I never thought I’d hear come out of your mouth. So I thought I’d better drive up and make sure you were okay. That you hadn’t been abducted by space aliens or suffered a concussion of some monumental degree, because with you anything is possible.” He looked me up and down and added, “Looks like a good thing I did, too. What did you do to your knee?”

I replied with a shrug. “Just a little tussle with space aliens. Nothing serious. Bruised, not broken.” Then, “You didn’t really drive up from Miami.”

“Atlanta,” he replied, and waited.

I tilted my head a little, trying to discern some hint of his mood behind the glasses. “This person who sounded like me, what did she say?”

“Oh, something outrageous about being in love with me. Can you believe that?”

I nodded slowly. “I can,” I whispered.

I reached up and took off his sunglasses. His eyes were deep and thoughtful and silver gray, waiting patiently for me, as he so often did. I said, “I do love you, Miles, and I love Melanie. The only reason it took me so long to say that is because I was afraid it would hurt too much if I lost you. And maybe I will lose you. Maybe it won’t work out for us. But if it doesn’t, I don’t want it to be because I didn’t try. I’m better when I’m with you, Miles, and I think you’re better with me. Maybe not in every way, but in all the ones that count. And …” I drew a breath, searching those quiet, kind, and patient eyes. “If I’m the reason you’re in a custody battle now, then it’s only right that I should stay and help you fight. If you want me,” I added, with the just the smallest note of uncertainty in my voice.

Miles drew me gently into a long and slow embrace, resting his chin atop my hair, just holding me. “I want you,” he said simply.

I thought I could have stood there forever, content and at peace for the first time in what felt like years. Then Melanie called from the porch, “Hey, Raine! You didn’t see my earrings!”

I smiled and stepped away from Miles. He smiled back. “It’s good to be home, sweetheart,” he said.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “It’s good to have you home.”

“Raine!” Melanie called impatiently.

Miles slipped his arm around my waist as we walked back to the house. “Anything interesting happen while I was gone?” he asked.

“Not much.” I leaned my head against his shoulder. “I hired a new guy for the kennel.”

“Good for you.”

“I placed a rescue dog,” I added, in the interest of full disclosure. “And Cisco and I went on a search.”