On the way back to Mr. Schuster’s house, we passed some of his neighbors out shoveling their driveways. A few of them smiled when they saw the big black dog trot by. Two women crossed the street to greet him. It was obvious that Orion knew them because he didn’t bark or growl.
“Good boy,” one of the women said. She was the taller of the two and had lively blue eyes. She scratched Orion behind one ear, which set his tail twitching. “You handle him well,” she said.
“Are you Mort’s granddaughter?” the other woman said. She was shorter and stouter, with sharp brown eyes.
“No. I’m just a friend.” When she looked surprised, I explained how I knew Mr. Schuster.
“Ah,” the first woman said. “A fellow animal lover. Well, it’s good to see Orion out and about again. We were worried, weren’t we, Esther?” The shorter woman nodded. “We haven’t seen him in ages, and we know that Mort’s son isn’t fond of dogs.”
“How is Mort?” Esther said. “We’ve dropped by the house a couple of times, but they never let us in to see him. They keep telling us he’s sleeping.”
I gave them an update on his condition. “He’s lucky his son is here to look after him,” I added.
Esther did not look impressed. “I’ve lived across the street from Mort for twenty-five years,” she said. “I used to play bridge with Ruth, his wife. But I can count on one hand the number of times Elliot came to visit when Ruth was ill. Since then?” She shook her head. “You’d think he lived on the other side of the world.”
“Now, Esther,” the taller woman said. “It’s not our place to judge.”
“I’m not judging,” Esther said. “I’m just stating a fact. Elliot Schuster was properly raised. But some children are just plain selfish. They think their parents are only there to bail them out whenever they get into trouble.”
What was she talking about? Was she saying that Elliot had been in some kind of trouble?
“I don’t think that’s fair, Esther,” the taller woman murmured.
“It’s perfectly fair, Edith,” Esther said. “You know as well as I do that that boy never came to visit unless he needed money. And when he did, he always asked Ruth, never Mort, because he knew Ruth would never say no to him.” She turned to me. “Mort told me himself that there comes a time when a child has to stand on his own two feet. But Ruth never denied Elliot anything.”
“He was her only child,” Edith said.
“And how did he repay her?” Esther retorted “He didn’t even show up for her funeral. Told his father he couldn’t get away. And have you seen him around here since then?”
“Well, he’s here now, and that’s the important thing,” Edith said.
“He probably only came for the same reason he showed up when Ruth was ill—to make sure that he’s in his father’s will.” Esther sniffed. “If I were Mort, I’d leave all my money to charity.” No wonder Elliot didn’t ask her into the house. “He’s making a real show of it too. The whole family is camped out over there. If he thinks that’s going to impress anyone, he can think again. And what about those children of his? Shouldn’t they be in school?”
Edith smiled weakly at me. “We really should let you go, dear,” she said.
But Esther had more to say.
“I heard there was a break-in at Mort’s place,” she said. “The police came around with pictures, asking if we’d seen anyone lurking around the house. Do you know anything about that?”
I shook my head. What pictures? Pictures of Nick?
“It had something to do with that boy who used to walk Orion for Mort,” Esther said. “Gene McGrath told me he heard he was a criminal. Can you imagine?”
“Mort wouldn’t have hired him if he was a criminal, Esther.”
“Gene said that’s the reason Elliot sent the boy packing—he found out he had a police record.”
“I thought he seemed very nice,” Edith said. “He was always polite. And he certainly seemed fond of Orion.”
“Well, when the police asked me if I’d seen anyone around who looked like they were up to no good, I told them, ‘You bet I did.’ I said I’d seen that boy skulking about after Elliot fired him. On the day they mentioned too.”
Terrific, I thought. At least one of Mr. Schuster’s neighbors had identified Nick as a troublemaker.
Esther’s sharp eyes searched mine. “Did they tell you if anything was stolen?”
I was pretty sure that anything I told Esther would make its way quickly around the neighborhood, so I shook my head.
“I should be going,” I said. “When I see Mr. Schuster, I’ll tell him that you were asking about him.”
“Please do,” Edith said. “Tell him Esther and Edith wish him well and that if there’s anything we can do—anything at all—he has only to call.”
Orion and I were halfway up Mr. Schuster’s driveway when a car pulled up alongside of us. A tall, burly man in a gray overcoat climbed out of it. Orion strained against the leash, barking and growling. It took all my strength to hold him. The man held up his hands in mock surrender.
“Friend, not foe,” he said.
“Orion, quiet,” I said. But Orion continued to bark. His tail was straight out. So were his ears. I wondered if he and the man had met before.
“That’s a fierce-looking dog,” the man said. He smiled, but the look in his eyes didn’t match the expression on his face. “Is your mother here?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Mr. Schuster—Elliot Schuster—is home, but I don’t live here. I’m just the dog walker. Do you want me to tell him you’re here?”
“That would be great, thanks,” the man said. He watched Orion and me go onto the porch, but he didn’t follow us. I think he wanted to keep his distance. Orion had that effect on people.
I opened the door and called Elliot. He strode out of the den, holding the list of references I had given him.
“Ah, Robyn,” he said. “I called your school and spoke to your principal. She had nothing but good things to say about you. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve got the job. Welcome aboard.”
“Thank you,” I said. “There’s a man outside to see you.”
“Finally,” Elliot exclaimed. He headed for the door. Orion must have seen the opportunity for another walk because he charged after him, nearly dislocating my shoulder. Elliot froze.
“Orion, sit,” I said sternly. To my immense relief, he obeyed. “Sorry,” I said to Elliot. “He loves to be outside.”
Elliot nodded tersely. He steered a wide path around us and stepped outside. Through the screen door, I heard Elliot say, “Are you from the insurance company? I must say, I haven’t been impressed by the service—”
“I’m not from the insurance company,” the man said. “I was hoping to speak to Mrs. Schuster. Is she here?”
“No, she isn’t.”
“Do you expect her back soon?”
“I’m not sure when she’ll be back,” Elliot said.
“Would you please tell her that Mr. Jones dropped by,” the man said, “and that I’ll be in touch?”
“Can I tell her what this is about?” Elliot said.
“She’ll know,” Mr. Jones said.
I heard humming behind me and turned toward the sound. Connor was coming out of the kitchen with a can of pop and a bag of potato chips. When he saw Orion, the color drained from his face.
“It’s okay,” I said. “He won’t—”
The front door opened, and Elliot came back inside, muttering to himself. It was too much activity for Orion. He leapt to his feet and started barking. Connor scrambled back into the kitchen. I held fast to Orion’s leash and tried to calm him down.
“Would you like me to take him upstairs to see your father?” I said.
Elliot shook his head.
“The physical therapist was here while you were out. Dad is getting around quite well with a walker now. He’s so determined, but I’m afraid all that exertion wears him out. Perhaps tomorrow.” He went
back into the den, frowning.
As usual, Orion balked at returning to the basement. By the time I had settled him, Connor was outside shoveling the driveway. He paused for a moment and looked at me but didn’t say anything. I decided to take the initiative.
“Orion’s bark is far worse than his bite,” I said, smiling at him.
“Tell that to my mother,” Connor said grimly.
“He was probably just startled,” I said. “He’s a great dog. Really. Ask your grandfather.”
“I don’t like dogs.”
“I didn’t used to like them, either,” I said. “I was bitten once when I was a kid. I was terrified of dogs after that.”
“You don’t look scared now.”
“That’s because I learned more about dogs from your grandfather.” I’d learned even more from Nick, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.
“My dad says you volunteer at the animal shelter where Grandpa used to volunteer.”
“I volunteered there last summer. That’s where I met your grandfather,” I said.
“Do you know a guy named Nick?”
Isobel had warned me not to let anyone in her family know that Nick and I were even acquainted.
“No,” I said. “Why?”
“My grandfather said he met a guy named Nick at the animal shelter. If you volunteered there, you must know him.”
“There are a lot of volunteers at the shelter,” I said. “I mainly met the ones who worked in the office. That’s where I did most of my volunteering. What does this Nick do at the shelter?”
“My grandfather said he was in some kind of special dog-training program.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with the dog training.”
“So you don’t know Nick? He didn’t send you here?”
It sounded like Nick had made as negative an impression on Connor as he had on Elliot.
“I heard your grandfather was sick, so I came to see how he was doing,” I said. “That’s all.”
“How did you hear?” he said. “Who told you?”
“Someone at the animal shelter,” I said. It was the only answer I could think of that might satisfy him.
Connor studied me for a moment as if I were a puzzle he was trying to solve.
A car horn tooted. Connor and I stepped aside to let a dark blue Honda into the driveway. Isobel got out of the passenger side. She smiled and waved to me.
“Did you get the job?” she said.
I nodded.
A woman climbed out of the driver’s side. Isobel introduced me.
“Mom, this is Robyn, the girl Daddy hired to walk Grandpa’s dog.”
Claudia Schuster nodded shyly at me and said she was pleased to meet me. She confessed that she wasn’t much of a dog person but that she could see that Orion was important to her father-in-law and that she was glad I would be looking after him until they made more permanent arrangements. I wondered what she meant by that. Just as I was about to leave, Elliot came to the door and called to his wife: “A Mr. Jones came by to see you. He said he’d drop by again. Who is he, Claudia?”
There was a moment’s pause before she said, “He must be from the home care service I called. We can’t stay here forever, Elliot. And your dad is going to need some help after we leave.”
I found it hard to believe that Mr. Jones, with his phony smile, could be in the business of helping people. But you never know.
On the way home, I called Nick’s aunt’s house. I’d decided that I should at least put Nick’s mind to rest and tell him that I’d seen Orion.
Glen answered the phone. When I asked if I could speak with Nick, he said, “No, you may not. And stop calling here. Nick is not allowed to come to the phone.”
“But—”
He hung up on me.
What did he mean, stop calling? It was the first time I had tried.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I
felt so sorry for Orion that I got up extra early the next morning to take him for a short walk before school. The minute classes were over that afternoon, I ran to get my backpack so I could take him for a longer walk. He was a big dog and needed plenty of exercise. Morgan was waiting for me at my locker.
“Um, excuse me, but weren’t we planning to work on our project?” she said. “Or have you decided to delegate all of the work to me?”
“I have to walk Orion,” I said as I slung my back-pack over my shoulder. “Come over to my dad’s place after supper. We’ll work on it then. I promise.”
Elliot answered the door at Mr. Schuster’s house.
“Robyn, hi,” he said. “I have someone here, so I can’t chat. The physical therapist just left. Why don’t you take the dog upstairs before you walk him, while Dad is still awake?”
He went into the living room. As I hung up my coat, I couldn’t help but overhear part of his conversation.
“I had those coins insured so that if anything were to happen to them, my father would be compensated,” Elliot was saying. “Now something has happened. They’ve been stolen. I filed a claim on my father’s behalf. I don’t understand what the delay is.”
I went to the basement to get Orion. He barked when he heard me on the stairs, but he stopped when I got to the bottom and jumped up so that his front paws were on the barrier. He wagged his tail when he saw me reach for his leash. I clipped it onto his collar and slid the barrier aside so that he could pass.
“Perhaps, Mr. Schuster, I should speak with your father,” another man was saying when Orion and I emerged from the basement.
“My father isn’t able to communicate verbally at this point,” Elliot said. “We’re not even sure how much he really understands. While he’s ill, I’m in charge of his affairs, and I demand to know why this is taking so long.”
“Your father’s coin collection is extremely valuable, as I’m sure you know,” the other man said. “Before we settle the claim, we have an obligation to make sure that the coins are unrecoverable or that they weren’t misplaced. If I could just ask you a few more questions . . .”
I guided Orion to the stairs.
“Misplaced?” Elliot said. “The side door to the house was pried open with a crowbar. The coins are gone. The police made an arrest.”
Orion and I climbed the stairs.
“I’ve read the police report, Mr. Schuster,” the man from the insurance company said. His voice was soft, almost soothing. “But you arranged for that policy only recently—”
As soon as we got to the top of the stairs, Orion bolted into Mr. Schuster’s room, dragging me with him. We almost knocked over the walker that was standing just inside the door and startled Isobel, who was sitting beside Mr. Schuster, and her mother, who was straightening the sheets on the bed. They both stared fearfully at Orion. I shortened the leash to keep him close to me. Only Mr. Schuster smiled. I glanced at Isobel.
“Remember what I showed you?” I said.
She hesitated and then nodded. She got up and crept toward Orion, one hand extended, watching him warily in case she had to snap her hand away from his enormous teeth.
“Isobel, be careful,” Claudia Schuster said, her voice shrill with anxiety.
“Don’t worry,” I said, trying to reassure her so that the fear in her voice wouldn’t set Orion off. “If you relax, Isobel, he’ll relax.”
Isobel drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She let Orion sniff her hand. Slowly, cautiously, she ran a hand over the top of his head and scratched behind the big dog’s ear. His tail began to flick merrily back and forth. Isobel looked at me and smiled.
“See?” I said. “He looks like a big, mean old dog, but he’s really a pussycat.”
I led Orion—okay, so he led me—to the chair where Mr. Schuster was sitting so that he could pat him. Orion roowfed softly.
“He misses you, Mr. Schuster,” I said.
“I told Grandpa that Daddy hired you to walk him,” Isobel said. “He’s happy about that, aren’t you, Grandpa?”
Mr. Schuster nodded.
“The physical therapist said Grandpa’s making great progress. Didn’t he, Mom?”
Claudia Schuster nodded as she hastily finished making the bed. She seemed to be in a hurry to get out of the room.
I heard footsteps on the stairs. Mr. Schuster turned toward the door. His lopsided smile disappeared when he saw Elliot.
“Well?” Claudia said.
Elliot sighed. He turned to Mr. Schuster. “I just spoke to the insurance adjuster, Dad. He says it’s going to take time before they settle the claim and pay you for the loss of your coin collection.”
“Time?” Claudia said. “How much time?”
“He didn’t say. But you know how insurance companies are. Sometimes I think they’ll do anything to weasel out of paying up.”
“Do you think they’re trying to weasel out of this claim?” Claudia said.
“Apparently the problem is that they were just recently insured. Too recently, according to the insurance adjuster. And the fact that you employed that boy, knowing what you did about him—” He shook his head in exasperation. “It seems that they’re not fully satisfied with the facts of the case. He kept asking me if I was sure there wasn’t any way the coins might have gone astray.”
“Gone astray?” Claudia said.
“He didn’t come right out and say it, but I don’t think he’s convinced that the coins were stolen.”
“I don’t understand,” Claudia said. “The police arrested that boy. They’re sure he did it. They even found some of the coins—”
“The way he was talking, I got the impression that the insurance company suspects us of having staged the robbery so that we could collect the insurance money,” Elliot said.
“Why would we do that?” Isobel said. “Everyone knows how much Grandpa loves his coin collection. He loves it almost as much as he loves Orion.”
Elliot stepped tentatively into the room. Orion sprang to his feet and barked. There was nothing aggressive about his stance, but Elliot immediately retreated.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” he said. “I thought that insuring your collection would protect you if anything happened. It appears that I might have been mistaken. The insurance adjuster says he’ll keep me posted.”
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