Tiger's Eye by Barbra Annino Page B

up but it sank back down. I also said I would wait so I could point them in the right direction. The concrete block never came up.
    I could tell from his tone that he didn’t buy the story, but he didn’t press it either. When I hung up, my dog was standing in front of me, carrying something.
    I held out my hand and he deposited a cell phone into it. It was a cheaper model, a flip phone.
    A good deal of sand caked the cracks and crevices, and only a few teeth marks marred the edges.
    Could this have belonged to the man in the lake?
    If it did, it was evidence, and since I had no intention of handing over the watch until I figured out if the floater wanted me specifically to find it or just anyone, I figured that withholding any more evidence would be an even more serious crime.
    Rationalizing behavior that authorities may construe as poor judgment is another Geraghty trait. One I was getting better at every day I lived here.
    Not that I was proud of it.
    A few minutes later, Leo and Gus came through the tree line.
    “Why couldn’t we bring him, Chief? You know he doesn’t like to be away from you.”
    Leo muttered, “Not now, Gus.”
    “Who?” I asked.
    “He’s such a cute little thing, Stacy.”
    “Gus,” Leo warned.
    “What, Stacy likes dogs.” Gus was talking and moving like a man with way too much caffeine in his system. “You know how all them dogs came running around the park yesterday? Well, most of them had owners who lived right in town, but this little Chihuahua had nobody, see—”
    I swung my head toward Leo. “You adopted that piranha? Are you kidding me?”
    “He’s a good dog.”
    “He tried to eat all four of my extremities,” I said.
    Leo laughed. “Yeah, he really doesn’t like you. But he’s great with everyone down at the station. I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding.”
    “Try explaining that to his next victim when he goes for the jugular.”
    “How about you explain why eight of the dogs recovered were considered deceased by the people who buried them?”
    I swallowed hard. That wasn’t good. How could that happen? Lost dogs, yes, but resurrected dogs? That was way too much. If Birdie found out I had screwed up that bad, she was going to kill me.
    “Can we just get on with this, please? It’s been a trying day.” And my grandmother’s sure to make it worse when she hears about my drunken, botched spell.
    Gus flipped open a notebook and I explained where in the lake I saw the body, leaving out the part of momentarily turning into a mermaid. I listened as Leo told him who to call first for the dive and then I remembered the phone. I pointed them to that as well.
    “Is that it? Can I go now?”
    “Yes. I think we have everything we need. Are you going to cover the story?”
    “I don’t know.” I stuffed my towel in the bag and slipped my cover-up on. “That’s up to Parker. Come on, Thor.” He came prancing up to me and I clipped the leash on him.
    We were halfway up the bank when Leo called, “One more thing, Stacy.”
    I turned back.
    “You look amazing in a bikini.”
    I pulled into the driveway at the inn and cut the engine. Thor’s tail thumped in anticipation, and I decided it mightbe a good idea to have a chat with him. I swung my arm over the seat and turned to face the dog.
    “All right, my friend, listen up.”
    Thor’s ears tilted toward me.
    “When we go inside, I want you on your best behavior, do you understand?”
    He groaned and slapped a paw on the passenger headrest.
    I narrowed my eyes. “I mean it. That girl in there is in pristine condition and she’s going to stay that way until I can find her family. So that means”—I counted on my fingers—“no sniffing, no licking, no leg-lifting, no googly eyes, and—above all else—keep the lipstick in the tube. Comprendo?”
    Thor slapped his other paw on the front seat, settled his chin between the pair, and looked at me with raised eyebrows.
    “Good. Let’s go.”
    I hopped out of the