Just Between Us by Rebecca Drake

Author:Rebecca Drake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

chapter twenty-four

SARAH

The Sewickley Borough Park is a park in the classic sense of the word, a parcel of wooded land dedicated to riding and hiking trails. There’s a single paved road through it that dead-ends at a clearing with a glass-fronted trail box containing a yellowed copy of the park rules posted next to a topographical map and some parking spots. On warm, sunny days, people park all along the sides of the road and enjoy picnics and sunbathing and it’s a favorite spot where dogs can roam off-leash. I was hoping that the cold and the time of day would keep most of the pet owners away, and not just because I don’t really like dogs. We needed a private place to meet and I was glad that I passed only one car as I drove along the road toward the dead end.

There was one car other than Alison’s in the official parking spaces and I didn’t recognize it. As I pulled in a few spots away, tires skidding on gravel, I heard a dog yipping and saw Alison leaning into the backseat of her car struggling to contain George. The other car was empty. As I got out of mine I could hear Alison saying, “Hold on, settle down,” and she didn’t hear me coming as she practically wrestled with her dog to get his leash on. If she let George off-leash he’d disappear into the woods in pursuit of squirrels. Apparently he had some pointer blood and it was just in his nature. Well, it wasn’t in my nature to chase him through a maze of oak, maple, and birch trees.

“Hi there,” I called in greeting, trying not to startle her, but she jumped anyway, whirling around.

“Oh, hey, I didn’t hear you pull in.” She looked pale and frazzled, her blond hair falling out of the neat bun she’d worn at the funeral. George looked far more enthusiastic, large brown eyes wild and even larger tongue dripping slobber. He bounded forward to jump up on me and I stepped back so his paws hit the air instead of my shoulders. “Down, boy!” Alison yelled, yanking on his leash. “George, down!” The dog partially responded, but he couldn’t stop moving, bobbing and weaving around Alison like a manic boxer, before bolting toward the open field, dragging his owner behind him.

I hurried after them, the thermos I’d brought bouncing in the bag hanging from my shoulder. The sun was setting and I shaded my eyes as Alison let George lead us around the snowy clearing. He had his nose down and up, sniffing eagerly at every bench and rock, lifting his leg against the wooden post holding the trail map. I checked my watch; it was just after four P.M. I hoped Julie and Heather would get there soon.

As we walked, I saw a man emerge from one of the trails about a hundred feet away with a German shepherd who was off-leash. The dog tensed as it spotted

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