The woman sounded anxious, but he was used to that at this time of day.
‘Yes. How can I help?’
‘I just don’t know what to do. I’ve ended up with this dog . . . it’s not mine . . . and I think there’s something terribly wrong with it.’
‘OK. Can you describe the symptoms?’
‘Symptoms?’
‘Yes, does it appear in pain? Has it vomited? Had diarrhoea? When did it last eat?’
‘Pain, definitely pain. It won’t stop howling.’
‘OK. Are there any other signs of pain? Is it writhing, moving about as if it were in pain?’
‘No, it’s fine when it stops howling.’
‘So the howling is intermittent? How long has it been howling?’
‘Off and on since about ten o’clock last night.’
‘And does anything appear to trigger it?’
‘The minute I go up to bed.’ She let out an indignant huff down his ear.
‘Pardon?’
‘Whenever I leave it on its own in the kitchen and try to go to bed, it starts again. I’m absolutely shattered.’
Devon took in a deep breath, wanting to shake his head, hoping he’d heard wrong.
‘When you go up to bed? When you leave the dog? On its own?’
‘Yes.’
‘And where is the dog?’
‘What, now?’
‘No, when you leave it to go upstairs?’
‘In the kitchen.’
‘And is that where it normally sleeps?’
‘I’ve no idea. I told you I’m just dog-sitting. Its owner’s away. Every time I drop off to sleep it starts howling again. There’s got to be something wrong with it.’
Devon slumped back against the pillow, resisting the urge to put voice to the wordsGod give me strength. He was a professional. The woman was an idiot. ‘So the dog’s not howling continuously?’ He tried to keep his voice level.
‘No, only when I leave it on its own.’
Devon gripped the phone tighter. ‘So more like crying? Like a child might, if it were frightened of a new situation? Lonely perhaps? Left on its own?’
‘It’s a dog.’ She sounded cross and indignant now.
‘Yes, but funnily enough they have feelings . . . ’ Devon could feel his jaw tighten and his back teeth meet as he ground out the words, ‘which for obvious reasons they can’t voice, so they might, I don’t know, howl or bark or whine.’
‘Well, how I am supposed to know that? I don’t speak Dog. What am I supposed to do?’
