Cavaliered to Death: A Dog Lover's Cozy Mystery (Barkview Mysteries Book 1) by C.B. Wilson

Author:C.B. Wilson [Wilson, C.B.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2021-08-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Me dressed and ready to run on the boardwalk at 7:27 a.m.? No self-respecting night-owl deserved this torture. Penny agreed. She growled at me from the gate. A chicken treat bribe got me a dirty look. A pull on the collar and the command to come did no good. No way, no how, was she moving. I didn’t have time for this. Any minute now, the Jack Pack would be pounding down the pavement right by us. “Come on, Penny. We’re supposed to be a team.”

She wasn’t buying any of it. In fact, she declared war when she turned tail and gave me her back. Apparently, dogs walked, and princesses preened.

Through the peek-a-boo sunlight, I glimpsed JRu tugging Sean way ahead of The Pack. Either I carried Penny or let this opportunity to question Sean jog right by. Like I’d waste donning running shorts and last year’s Barkfest t-shirt. I scooped Penny into my arms and matched his stride. “Good morning,” I said.

“Walking the dog generally means the dog walks,” Sean remarked.

You think? I ignored his amusement. “A rookie mistake, but I’m learning.” I exhaled fur from my mouth since Penny’s paws wrapped my neck in a copper and white scarf, her heart racing against mine.

“I’m glad the rumors are true. It’s about time Cat gets dog.” Five miles down the trail and Sean wasn’t the slightest bit winded. This guy had some great lungs. Twenty steps and I, on the other hand, needed pure oxygen. Come on, I wasn’t in that bad of shape. Was I? It had to be the fourteen-pound dead weight bouncing on my chest, pressing against my diaphragm.

“Temporarily. Until a good home can be found for her,” I said.

“That’s what they all say.”

“What does that mean?” Sudden irrational concern took hold.

“You know I support Jack Russell rescue, right?”

I didn’t know, but it made sense.

“Every foster home gets one they can’t part with. And you two look, uh, attached.”

Relief washed over me. “I’m not one of them.” Confidence brightened the day. No matter what I thought, or felt, Penny wasn’t mine to keep. When it was all over, she’d go home to Aunt Char and my life would return to lonely, I realized quite suddenly.

Sean’s I-told-you-so nod irked me. Before I could respond, he kicked up the pace. No way he’d escape on that note. I matched it. “So, was your San Francisco trip successful?”

He went from cocky to snarly in a blink. “No. Somerset’s disappearance killed the deal.”

“How could that…” I didn’t get to finish.

“The client decided J. Tracker’s collar wasn’t secure enough and cancelled the contract. I can’t begin to tell you how many more orders are on hold or cancelled.”

Compassion wasn’t in me over this. Regardless of who actually invented the technology, the collar had failed to protect the missing Cavaliers.

“We must find those dogs,” he said.

I didn’t like the sound of the desperation just beneath the surface at all. “Did Petronics get your contracts?” If J. Tracker was in trouble, Howard would have justice, not to mention a successful company of his own.

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