“Wait until you see my grandma’s place.”Her place.“It’s in a really cute, quiet neighborhood, and her best friend lives next door to me.Mae’s a riot.”
“Looking forward to meeting her.How you doing there, Rufus?”
He looked up at her, tongue lolling as he trotted along beside them.
“I’ll get him some cold water when we get inside.”Willow walked ahead to open the glass front door, waiting for Bronwyn to enter before following with Rufus.
The receptionist smiled at them, then at Rufus.“Hi again, handsome.Are you hot?Would you like some water?”
“Yes, please,” Willow said, and scratched the top of his head.“Is Raf—the sheriff in his office?”
“Sure is.Want to leave Rufus with me and go on back?”
She glanced down at him.“I’m not sure he’ll allow it, but it’s worth a shot.”She went to hand his leash over.The instant she took a step away, Rufus tried to follow, staring at her with anxious eyes.
“It’s okay, you can stay with me, and I’ll get you that water,” the receptionist said to him.
A glint of panic filled Rufus’s eyes.He strained at the end of the leash, paws scrambling over the tile floor as he tried to get to Willow.
“Whoa,” she said, taking the leash back.“Easy there.You’re all right, buddy, I was gonna come back, I swear.”She petted his head, and he settled down, still panting lightly.It distressed her to see him that anxious.“Thanks anyway,” she said to the woman.
“Of course.Poor boy.I’ll grab a bowl for him.Hang on.”
“Boy, he’s sure attached to you already.”Bronwyn crouched down next to him.Rufus sniffed at her, wagged his tail slightly and bumped her with his nose.
“Aw, that means you’ve been green lighted for petting,” Willow said in amusement, and Bronwyn started stroking his head.“What a quirky guy.He sure likes the ladies.”
Bronwyn grinned and scratched his chest.“Rufus, you really are a flirt.We just met.”
The receptionist came back with a bowl.They waited until Rufus had lapped up his fill of cold water before going to Rafe’s office.Willow knocked.
“Come in.”
She pushed the door open.“Hey, this a good time?”
“Yeah, is your friend—” He stopped mid-sentence, staring as Bronwyn stepped inside.He recovered fast, standing to hold out a hand to her.“Hi.I’m Rafe.Torres.Sheriff,” he added.
Bronwyn smiled and shook his hand.“I’m Bronwyn.Nice to meet you.”
“Same.”He withdrew his hand, his interest obvious to anyone with eyes, except maybe Bronwyn, who didn’t appear to notice as he sat back down.“So, Willow tells me you’re a bone expert.”
Bronwyn shot her a wry look.“I wouldn’t say that, exactly.”
“Whatever, you know way more about them than we do.”She gestured between her and Rafe.
“Do you still have the specimen?”Bronwyn asked him.
Rafe seemed to snap out of his trance.“Yeah.”He took the bone out of a drawer and placed it on his desk.
Bronwyn stepped closer.Glanced up at him.“May I?”
“By all means.”
She picked it up, looked at it briefly as she turned it over in her hands.“It’s a human left tibia.Shinbone,” she added for their benefit.“The proximal two-thirds of it, anyway.This is the bottom of the knee joint.”She tapped the flattish surface at the top of the bone, glanced at Willow.“Any sign of the other piece?”
“No, just this part.”
“You’re sure it’s human?”Rafe asked.
