“Sal.” Mark is waving his hand in front of her face. “Get it together, okay? This has to stop now. We need to go home, face the music—”
“No. West Acres in Weybourne, in Norfolk,” says Sally. “That’s where I’m going. Me and Champ.”
“And me and Tobes,” says Ree. “So go home if you want,Dad, but it’ll be just you.”
“And then what?” says Mark. “What happens after Norfolk? How long does our little…excursion around the country last? How do we ever solve this if all we do is run away? When do we get to go home?”
“I don’t know!” Sally bursts into tears.
“I’ve got an idea,” says Corinne.
“Oh, I just bet you have,” Mark snaps.
“Dad, you oaf, quit being rude to Corinne,” says Ree. “She’s trying to help us.”
“It’s fine. Be rude to me if you want to; I don’t mind.” Corinne sounds unruffled. “Let me tell you my suggested plan. You never answered my question before: Is Champ microchipped?”
“Yeah, he is,” says Sally.
“Okay. First step: We get you to West Acres, get you all settled in—”
“Just us, not you?” asks Mark. “I don’t suppose you’re going to be sleeping in a kennel, are you?”
Corinne laughs. “No way in hell am I doing that. No.”
“But we are, and it’sfine,” Sally insists, shooting a desperate look at Mark:Please stop resisting. “It’ll be…an adventure.”
“Where will the nearest bathroom be?” he says. “Or are we expected to do our business in the corner, on some straw?”
“You aresoembarrassing,” Ree tells him.
“You’ll have an en suite bathroom with a shower and a loo,” says Corinne. “That do you?”
“Oh, really?” Mark shakes his head. “These kennels are so luxurious they have en suites for humans attached to them too?”
“Here’s a promise,” says Corinne. “If you don’t have an en suite you’re happy with, I’ll give you a hundred grand. How about that?”
“Done!” Tobes extends his hand for Corinne to shake. “Agreed. My bank account’s happy to be the initial recipient.”
“Let Corinne tell us her plan,” Sally says quietly, wondering how Mark can summon the energy to argue about trivialities in a world that contains people who won’t rest until Champ is killed.
“We get you settled in at West Acres,” Corinne starts again from the beginning. “After a few days, once you’ve rested and recovered, you leave Champ at the kennels with me—”
“No,” says Sally.
“—and go back home. While you’re away, I get his microchip removed. You, meanwhile, go straight to the nearest policeman you can find. You lodge a serious counter-accusation. You say Champ’s missing, and you’re sure the Gaveys have stolen him and harmed him. You won’t be able to prove it, but a good half of the village will believe you, I reckon. The Gaveys are not well liked in Swaffham Tilney. Then weeks pass, and Champ is never found—and then a few weeks later, your ‘new’ dog appears. A dog-lover like SallyLambert wouldn’t ever choose to be without a dog, would she? Except this time, it’s not a puppy that arrives. Instead, it’s—Ta-da! Surprise!—a Welsh terrier from a rescue center. You’ll be able to prove he’s not Champ, if necessary, because Champ’s microchipped and this dog won’t be—except he will, of course, be Champ. You’ll have to call him Fred or Bartholomew or something, and you’ll need to explain that this time you didn’t want a puppy because blah blah, whatever…adopt, don’t shop…”
Corinne stops for breath. “What do you think? I think it’s the perfect plan. How will anyone be able to prove it’s Champ under a different name? And what did you do when Furbert died? Immediately went out and found another dog who looks exactly like him, right? So…to everyone else, this’ll just look like you’re doing the same again.”
The Lamberts stare at Corinne—all except Champ and Furbert. Actually, Sally could swear that Furbs’s spirit is by her side and as horrified as she is.
Corinne looks hopefully at them. “Solid plan, no?”
“No. I’m not doing that.” Sally has started to shake. “He’s Champ. He will always be Champ Cuthbert Lambert and no one else. I’m not changing his name, ever. I’d rather…flee the country, start a whole new life abroad—”
“Florida? Hawaii?” says Tobes.
“I’d changeourname, our address, our jobs, before I’d—”
