she cleaned people’s teeth for a living. “Hey, Katie. What brings you downtown?”
“My boyfriend has a place out on Alternate Forty. I was on my way home when I saw you walking Madonna. I just had to stop and say hello. How you holding up, sweetie?”
In answer, Madonna licked Katie’s entire face. Her tail wagged a few times before it dropped back between her legs.
“She didn’t eat her dinner,” I said.
“She won’t eat if she’s upset. When Mr. Davis had me watch her, I hand fed her for the first day or two. Once she got used to the change she was fine.”
“You still living with your parents?” I asked. Katie’s parents were Dudley’s next-door neighbors.
“Yeah.” Katie used both hands to massage Madonna’s whole face. “I’m saving my money so that when I get married next year we’ll have enough for a house down payment.”
“You’re engaged?”
Katie grinned. “Not exactly, but it won’t be too much longer, I don’t think.”
“You should be careful being out this late. The police don’t know what happened to Dudley. I wouldn’t be out here myself if I didn’t have to walk the dog.”
“Madonna and I are used to being out this time of night. I usually saw her and Mr. Davis walking the neighborhood every night when I got in from Adam’s.”
I liked information to fit in neat little boxes. It seemed that Katie knew something about Dudley’s final hours. “Did you see Dudley walking his dog last night?”
“Now that you mention it, I did see him, but he didn’t have Madonna with him. He waved at me, though, just like he always does.”
A chill snaked down my spine. Katie may have been the last person to see him alive. “Do you remember what time that was?”
“Sure do. Adam’s mother always makes me clear out by eleven on weeknights. It takes me fifteen minutes to get home, so that would make it eleven fifteen.”
Madonna suddenly arched her back and hunched her hindquarters in. A smelly, gooey mess piled up beneath her. My plastic grocery bag wasn’t big enough to hold all that.
Katie held her nose. “Gross.”
“She must not be feeling too good.”
Katie recoiled into her car. “Gotta run. If you need anyone to pet-sit Madonna, keep me in mind. Madonna and I are buds.”
Katie sped off. What I was going to do with the gloppy mess on Mrs. Waltz’s sidewalk? Holding my breath, I scooped up as much as possible in my bag, then I ran and threw the bag in my trash can. Yuck.
I’d never missed this part of owning a pet. It was one thing to care for a sick kid. They were your own flesh and blood, after all. Doggie diarrhea was above and beyond the call of duty.
I thought about Dudley’s neighborhood as I locked the door, started the dishwasher, and went to bed. Across the street from his house was a fallow farm field. That field backed up to the number six green on the golf course. Had Dudley planned to meet someone on the golf course? He could have walked there in less than ten minutes.
Madonna cried pitifully in my kitchen. She was in a new place, with strangers, and she couldn’t possibly understand that Dudley wouldn’t be coming back to get her. Tough love wasn’t meant for situations like this. It wouldn’t hurt anything if she slept in my room for a few days.
The dog seemed overjoyed by the change in plan and leaped into my bed. This wasn’t what I had in mind, but I was too tired to argue with a dog that outweighed me. On the bright side, the dog generated heat and she really wanted to be with me.
Why did Madonna think sleeping in a bed was acceptable? The only reasonable explanation was that Dudley had trained the dog to sleep with him.
Dudley, the super stud, sleeping with his dog. Was he so hard up that only his dog would sleep with him? I’d never once suspected Dudley was lonely. He always seemed to have something going on. I yawned and snuggled into my side of the bed and dozed off.
I awakened with a big dog head lying on my chest, my
“My boyfriend has a place out on Alternate Forty. I was on my way home when I saw you walking Madonna. I just had to stop and say hello. How you holding up, sweetie?”
In answer, Madonna licked Katie’s entire face. Her tail wagged a few times before it dropped back between her legs.
“She didn’t eat her dinner,” I said.
“She won’t eat if she’s upset. When Mr. Davis had me watch her, I hand fed her for the first day or two. Once she got used to the change she was fine.”
“You still living with your parents?” I asked. Katie’s parents were Dudley’s next-door neighbors.
“Yeah.” Katie used both hands to massage Madonna’s whole face. “I’m saving my money so that when I get married next year we’ll have enough for a house down payment.”
“You’re engaged?”
Katie grinned. “Not exactly, but it won’t be too much longer, I don’t think.”
“You should be careful being out this late. The police don’t know what happened to Dudley. I wouldn’t be out here myself if I didn’t have to walk the dog.”
“Madonna and I are used to being out this time of night. I usually saw her and Mr. Davis walking the neighborhood every night when I got in from Adam’s.”
I liked information to fit in neat little boxes. It seemed that Katie knew something about Dudley’s final hours. “Did you see Dudley walking his dog last night?”
“Now that you mention it, I did see him, but he didn’t have Madonna with him. He waved at me, though, just like he always does.”
A chill snaked down my spine. Katie may have been the last person to see him alive. “Do you remember what time that was?”
“Sure do. Adam’s mother always makes me clear out by eleven on weeknights. It takes me fifteen minutes to get home, so that would make it eleven fifteen.”
Madonna suddenly arched her back and hunched her hindquarters in. A smelly, gooey mess piled up beneath her. My plastic grocery bag wasn’t big enough to hold all that.
Katie held her nose. “Gross.”
“She must not be feeling too good.”
Katie recoiled into her car. “Gotta run. If you need anyone to pet-sit Madonna, keep me in mind. Madonna and I are buds.”
Katie sped off. What I was going to do with the gloppy mess on Mrs. Waltz’s sidewalk? Holding my breath, I scooped up as much as possible in my bag, then I ran and threw the bag in my trash can. Yuck.
I’d never missed this part of owning a pet. It was one thing to care for a sick kid. They were your own flesh and blood, after all. Doggie diarrhea was above and beyond the call of duty.
I thought about Dudley’s neighborhood as I locked the door, started the dishwasher, and went to bed. Across the street from his house was a fallow farm field. That field backed up to the number six green on the golf course. Had Dudley planned to meet someone on the golf course? He could have walked there in less than ten minutes.
Madonna cried pitifully in my kitchen. She was in a new place, with strangers, and she couldn’t possibly understand that Dudley wouldn’t be coming back to get her. Tough love wasn’t meant for situations like this. It wouldn’t hurt anything if she slept in my room for a few days.
The dog seemed overjoyed by the change in plan and leaped into my bed. This wasn’t what I had in mind, but I was too tired to argue with a dog that outweighed me. On the bright side, the dog generated heat and she really wanted to be with me.
Why did Madonna think sleeping in a bed was acceptable? The only reasonable explanation was that Dudley had trained the dog to sleep with him.
Dudley, the super stud, sleeping with his dog. Was he so hard up that only his dog would sleep with him? I’d never once suspected Dudley was lonely. He always seemed to have something going on. I yawned and snuggled into my side of the bed and dozed off.
I awakened with a big dog head lying on my chest, my
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