Canine Christmas
Page 24
“Day before yesterday.”
“Did she seem normal to you?” Sanchez asked.
“Normal?” my man said. “I guess. I'm not sure what you mean.”
“Sergeant Sanchez means, did Miss Darrel seem preoccupied or anxious or actin' strange somehow?”
“She was auditing our books, officer,” my man said. “I let her do her job. I didn't sit and look at her all day.”
“And what is it you do exactly, Mr. Wadsworth?”
“I manage the family's estate.”
Sanchez said, “Uh-huh, I see.”
It was silent for a few seconds and then my man said, “I'd like to offer you some coffee or something, but I really have several phone calls to make before our offices in Europe close for the day, so …”
“Speaking of telephones,” Smolowitz said, “would you mind if Sanchez here used yours? Our squad car radio seems to be on the fritz this mornin' and we shoulda checked in to the precinct half an hour ago.”
“Not at all,” my man said. “There's one right in the study.”
I was on my feet and barking before it was all the way out of his mouth.
“What's up with the dog?” Sanchez said.
“He's probably locked himself in the bathroom again,” my man said. “Study's that door right there, Sergeant Sanchez. Go on in. Use line one.”
I barked louder. Faster. I leapt at the door.
“Had a dog did that,” Smolowitz said. “Drank from the toilet, I mean. Never could understand why he liked that over his water bowl.”
“I read in a magazine where it's the height,” Sanchez said, her voice now coming from the study. “Dog doesn't have to bend over for the toilet. Easier to drink that way, the article said.”
I howled and whined and barked.
“I was you, Mr. Wadsworth,” Smolowitz said, “I'd go check on that dog of yours. Reminds me of Lassie, you know? The way he use to sound when he was tryin' to warn little Timmy of somethin'.”
If you enjoyed the stories in
CANINE CHRISTMAS,
we invite you to investigate further:
THE PUZZLED HEART
by
AMANDA CROSS
Kate Fansler's husband, Reed, has been kidnapped—and will be killed unless Kate obeys the carefully delineated directives of a ransom note.
Tormented by her own puzzled heart, Kate seeks solace and wise counsel from friends both old and new. But who precisely is the enemy? Is he or she a vengeful colleague? A hostile student? A political terrorist?
The questions mount as Kate searches for Reed—accompanied by her trusty new companion, a Saint Bernard puppy named Bancroft. Hovering near Kate and Bancroft are rampant cruelties and calculated menace. The moment is ripe for murder….
Published by Ballantine Books. Available at your local bookstore.
CANINE CRIMES
15 canine crimes committed by
a kennel of top writers:
Deborah Adams
Laurien Berenson
Melissa Geary
Amanda Cross
Brendan DuBois
Jonnie Jacobs
Dean James
Taylor McCafferty
Jeffrey Marks
Anne Perry
Lillian M. Roberts
S. J. Rozan
Polly Whitney
Valerie Wolzien
Steven Womack
Published by Ballantine Books.
available at your local bookstore.
Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If this book is coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher as “unsold or destroyed” and neither the author nor the publisher may have received payment for it.
A Ballantine Book
Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group
Compilation and introduction copyright © 1999 by Jeffrey Marks
“Clicker Training” copyright © 1999 by Parnell Hall
“The Emerald Collar” copyright © 1999 by Leslie O'Kane
“Yellow Snow” copyright © 1999 by Jeffrey Marks
“O Little Hound of Bethlehem” copyright © 1999 by Barbara Taylor McCafferty
“Toy Pincher” copyright © 1999 by H. Robert Perry
“The Fencing Crib” copyright © 1999 by Mark Graham
“Red Shirt and Black Jacket” copyright © 1999 by Virginia Lanier
“The Village Vampire and the Yuletide Yorkie” copyright © 1999 by Dean James
“Psycho Santa's Got a Brand-New Bag” copyright © 1999 by Deborah Adams
“Midnight Clear” copyright © 1999 by Jean Haddam
“Fowl Play” copyright © 1999 by Patricia Guiver
“The Reunion” copyright © 1999 by Lillian M. Roberts
“Good Dog Wenceslas” copyright © 1999 by Melissa Cleary
“Habits” copyright © 1999 by Jeremiah Healy
“Eye Witness” copyright © 1999 by David Leitz
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by The Ballantine Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-90725
eISBN: 978-0-307-48267-9
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