The Killer at the Lake by Rick Van Etten

Author:Rick Van Etten [Van Etten, Rick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 36

“It’s actually a couple of things,” Jessica said.

“Okay.” I sensed her hesitation, perhaps fearing I was going to dismiss whatever she told me. I smiled to reassure her and said, “Just tell me.”

She drew a deep breath. “All right,” she said. “First, it was how Maisie acted when she saw him. You saw how she just acted with you, coming right over to be petted. She didn’t do that with Fletcher.”

“What did she do?”

“Well, I told you how he was just sitting here, like he was waiting for us. When Maisie saw him, she stopped and just stood there looking at him. She didn’t go up to him to be petted like she ordinarily does with everyone. She didn’t act afraid, exactly, just standoffish. It was more like she sensed something about him that was just…off, and she didn’t want to get any closer.”

I gave it a moment’s consideration then said, “Hmmm,” for want of a better response. I thought about it for another moment, then added, “That does sound a little unusual. Not like her, anyway. But I think you need to be careful not to read too much into it. Maybe she was just surprised to see him, and a little uncertain about whether he would appreciate her approaching him.”

“I know what you’re saying about not reading too much into it. But don’t you see? She always goes right up to people. She never holds back. But it was almost like she associated him with Mom’s death, and she didn’t want anything to do with him.”

I had to be honest with her. “Now I think you’re reaching,” I said. Much as I love and appreciate dogs, I don’t believe they possess some sort of super power of intuition regarding a person’s character. Sure, they like some people and dislike others, but I thought what Jessica had just suggested was too much of a stretch.

Then again, I reminded myself that I’d been surprised the morning Maisie had shown up carrying Hannah’s shoe and had then led me to her body. I couldn’t deny that dogs sometimes did things that surpassed what we humans thought them capable of doing.

Jessica sighed. “I know, I know. But even when I came over to the table and sat down, she still stayed away from him. She came over and laid down right next to me. I had the feeling she was being protective.”

“Did she growl at him, or do anything like that?”

“No, but when we got up to leave, she stayed right beside me, between us. Between him and me, I mean. Again, it was almost like she was trying to protect me in case he tried anything.”

“What did he do at that point?”

“He just stood there and watched us leave. And that reminds me of something else. Don’t you think it was weird that he was waiting here for us when we got back from our walk? I mean, you said you’d seen him earlier but he wasn’t parked over here. He must have driven over after you left.

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.