Game of Dog Bones by Laurien Berenson

Author:Laurien Berenson [Berenson, Laurien]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2020-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

I finished the butterscotch scone. I probably should have wrapped the blueberry one in a napkin and taken it home with me, but instead I ate that one too. Since I’d skipped lunch I figured I wasn’t doing too much damage to the day’s calorie count.

But honestly? I don’t even lie well to myself.

Once I was alone at the table, a barista approached and asked if I wanted to hold a puppy in my lap. Maybe a cute Chihuahua mix with big eyes and a curly tail? I declined politely. I wasn’t even tempted.

She’d only gone a few steps away, however, when I called her back. “Change your mind?” she asked with a smile. She held the puppy out to me. “Button loves to snuggle. It’s her favorite thing in the world.”

I’ll bet, I thought cynically.

“Is Clark Donnay here today?” I asked her.

The question seemed to surprise her, but she nodded. “Sure, he’s in his office in the back.”

“Good.” I rose from my seat. “Clark’s a friend of mine. I think I’ll stop in and say hello.”

Okay, so we weren’t exactly friends. More like marginally acquainted. Clark and I had briefly met for the first time the previous weekend. But the barista didn’t know that. She was happy to show me to the door marked “Employees Only” that led to the pub’s back offices.

The rear part of the building consisted of a short hallway that led to just three rooms. The first one had an open door. Inside the room were several rows of stacked crates and two large, newspaper-lined ex pens. Each contained several puppies of various shapes and colors.

Most of the puppies were sleeping. Several were playing tug-of-war with a braided rag. Seeing me, they dropped the toy and raced to the side of the pen. The puppies jumped up on the wire barrier between us and began to bounce up and down on their hind legs, whining to be let out.

“Sorry, guys,” I said softly. “I’m not here for you.”

I didn’t stop for a closer look. I couldn’t stop for a closer look. We already had six dogs. I couldn’t afford to bring home more puppies just because I felt sorry for them.

The door to the second room was slightly ajar. I knocked and stuck my head inside. “Hello?”

The office was small but meticulously neat. I saw a metal desk, a matching file cabinet, two upright chairs, and a coatrack holding a puffy down jacket and a colorful knitted scarf. A window in the far wall offered a view of the back parking lot.

Clark was sitting behind the desk. He was hunched over, staring at the computer screen in front of him. A tall mound of papers had been pushed to one side of the desktop. Beside the papers was an empty cardboard coffee cup that had been knocked askew at some point. Spilled coffee dribbled down its side and there was a ring of dried liquid around its base.

Clark looked up, then sat up. He slowly straightened his back and neck, then gave his shoulders a stretch.

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