Doggone by Gabriella Herkert

Author:Gabriella Herkert
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
Published: 2011-08-23T19:09:30+00:00

Chapter Twenty-one

‘‘A boy and his dog.’’

‘‘Lots of people have dogs, Sara.’’ We were driving back to the base.

‘‘I know. It’s just, well, that’s how I think of John. He’s obviously older, and Pavarotti isn’t the same dog, but isn’t he just an emotional kid still clinging to his best friend? Then there’s how much John Doe knew about Charles Smiths. What did you think?’’ I asked.

‘‘I think there are a lot of explanations for how John Doe ended up with the details of that murder scene.’’

‘‘I’m not saying you’re wrong. But don’t you think it’s at least possible that John Doe is Charles Smiths?’’

He checked the rearview mirror and passed a smoke-belching Chevy four-by-four.

‘‘Anything is possible.’’

‘‘The thing is,’’ I mused, ‘‘I’m not sure where that leaves us. We know that Henry DeVries was gunned down. We know that John Doe talked to him and knew things only someone very familiar with the murder of the Smithses could possibly know. We know that Charles Smiths witnessed the murder of his parents. We know Jack is Charles’s doctor. Maybe it’s time to talk to Jack.’’

‘‘He’s not going to tell us anything about a patient, even if he isn’t neck-deep up to no good.’’

‘‘He’s not going to tell you, maybe. I might have better luck.’’

‘‘No.’’

Touchy. Not that I blamed him. Jack was not to be trusted. Then again, keeping this enemy close might be worth the price of admission. ‘‘I’m not suggesting a solo. Would-be killers definitely require backup.’’

‘‘I control the sit,’’ he said flatly.

‘‘The what?’’

‘‘Situation.’’

‘‘You ought to come with cue cards.’’

He took the off-ramp. ‘‘I’ll work on that. It’ll have to wait until this afternoon. I’ve got another meeting I can’t get out of.’’ He glared at me. He did stern very well. ‘‘You are not doing this without me.’’

‘‘I am not doing this without you,’’ I dutifully repeated, putting my hand on my heart.

‘‘I mean it.’’

‘‘I don’t know why you’re so suspicious all the time. I said I wouldn’t go without you.’’

‘‘You have credibility issues.’’

‘‘Hey.’’

‘‘You know what I mean, Sara.’’

‘‘I can’t believe you’re still holding the psycho-killing pet sitter against me. One gun-toting lunatic in six months of marriage is a pretty good track record.’’

‘‘Three lunatics. The business partner and the secretary. Plus the shooter from the other night. Four.’’

‘‘That’s still not that many.’’

He groaned. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he frowned, then suddenly changed lanes. I turned around to see. A black Lexus sedan like a hundred others we’d seen.

‘‘What are you going to do while I’m working?’’

‘‘You mean whoever you assign to cover me won’t keep you informed? Report my every movement? Don’t bother to lie, Connor. You’re going to. I know you’re going to, and you know I know you’re going to.’’

‘‘I wasn’t going to lie.’’

That was probably true. There was no point. He was caught. Besides, I couldn’t see him as a casual liar. It would rub his moral streak the wrong way. I’d have to teach him, if he was ever going to be any good at it.

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.