Evil Breeding by Conant Susan

Author:Conant, Susan [Conant, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

BEFORE RITA, ARTIE, STEVE, and I had left for the restaurant, I had performed the usual dog person’s predeparture safety survey. The procedure bears a superficial resemblance to normal home security precautions like fire and burglary prevention, but is, in fact, exclusively aimed at making sure that the dogs don’t die of smoke inhalation or get kicked, poisoned, or stolen by thieves. I’d made sure that the stove was off and that the front door and the door to the side yard were locked. I’d also cleared the coffee table of the remains of the drinks and appetizers I’d served to my guests. Rowdy and Kimi, agile creatures that they are, probably wouldn’t have knocked over the drinking glasses or plates, but I didn’t want to risk shards in their stomachs or in the pads of their feet. The cheese board could have triggered a dogfight, and the winner might have gnawed the wood and ended up with splinters requiring canine dentistry. Not to mention knives! I’d washed the cheese board and loaded the dishwasher. But having once read about someone whose dogs had died in a fire caused by a major appliance that she’d left running when she’d gone out, I’d left the dishes dirty. As usual, I’d checked the closet where I keep the dry dog food; if the dogs had found the door unlatched, they’d have torn into each other squabbling over the food and might have gorged themselves and bloated. I had definitely made sure that Tracker was in protective custody behind the firmly closed door of my study.

But when the four of us returned from the restaurant for what was supposed to be coffee at my place, the cat was perched on top of the refrigerator, and the dogs were prancing gleefully around. My first thought was that one of the dogs, probably Kimi, had opened the study door and gone after Tracker. Artie couldn’t understand my alarm.

“It’s a miracle she’s alive,” I explained. “These dogs were not raised with cats, and they aren’t good with them.” Actually, Tracker looked fine, at least for Tracker. Everything wrong with her was nothing new. She’d already lost most of one ear when I’d adopted her, and she has a birthmark on her face that’s the shape and color of a festering wound. From the head down, though, she’s a good-looking little plain black cat. I didn’t see any traces of blood. Steve had reached up to the top of the refrigerator and was patting her. She was purring. She hisses at me, but she loves Steve. “Steve, check her for puncture wounds, would you?” I asked. “I’ll get the dogs out of the way.”

After I shut Rowdy and Kimi in my bedroom, it occurred to me to glance at my study to find out whether Kimi had left evidence of what I was sure was her crime. I did, indeed, find a crime scene. The meaning of the dogs’ happy excitement was suddenly clear. In your

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.