The Fright of the Iguana by Linda O. Johnston

Author:Linda O. Johnston [Johnston, Linda O.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781101096321
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2007-10-02T04:00:00+00:00

WHICH I DID. Pronto. As soon as Tom gave the go-ahead to depart with Saurus. Zibble, as we’d anticipated, was given pretty much a clean bill of health. As long as he ate, peed, and pooped okay over the next few days, and didn’t show any other signs of a change in well-being or personality, there was no cause for further concern.

With Saurus, Hillary would need to take special care, keeping close watch on where he hung out in his habitat, whether he ate and drank sufficiently, and whether he, too, acted any differently from the way he normally did. Assuming one could observe any differences in such an inscrutable creature.

On the drive to the Dorgan home, Hillary expressed indignation over the way the cops had acted not only toward me, but also—and mostly—over her actions to retrieve her animals. “What was I supposed to do—contact the authorities and let them insinuate themselves so intrusively into the situation that the thief killed my pets while the cops scratched their butts over how to get them back?”

A colorful way to put it, one I liked a lot. “They have their procedures,” I said mildly, “even if civilians don’t find them the best way to achieve what everyone wants.”

“That’s for sure.”

I certainly understood her ongoing rants, but I admit my relief to reach her home. I helped her move Saurus back into his habitat. As I left his presence, he seemed to watch me, perhaps thanking me in his own inimitable, incomprehensible manner.

Hillary was less subtle. “I really appreciate all you’ve done, Kendra,” she told me. The check she handed me for my pet-sitting was way above my standard fee, and I attempted to return it in its entirety.

“I still feel terrible about all that happened, Hillary.” Yes, by now, we were genuinely on a first-name basis—both of us. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“You helped me get Zibble and Saurus home safely,” she contradicted and refused to shred the check.

I decided to keep a minimal amount and send the rest to a pet rescue organization, although I wasn’t sure yet which one. I’d give it some thought and get advice from Darryl.

Or maybe I’d use it to further the senior citizen pet-visit program that Rachel had become involved with.

Guess I had some pondering to perform before making a decision.

Good thing it was still Saturday, but almost half the morning had passed. I felt terrible about leaving my pet-sitting charges alone for so long.

I determined to spend much longer with them than usual.

After, of course, taking care of my own prized puppy, Lexie, who remained home alone.

And so I didn’t take the time to report in to Tracy or any other Pet-Sitters Club of SoCal members about my triumphant retrieval of my missing pet clients until way into the afternoon.

Tracy was, of course, the first I called. When she didn’t respond on the first ring, I had a fleeting wonderment about whether she had been arrested for Nya’s murder. Followed by a feeling of deepest guilt.

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