Faith nodded.“Thank you, Jenny.This has been very helpful.”
Jenny released another bitter laugh.“Sure.I mean, Sarah’s dead, so it doesn’t really make a difference.”
“It does,” Faith insisted.“Justice is always worth the effort.”
What if it was Turk?
She pushed that thought away and got to her feet.She squeezed Jenny’s shoulder and said, “You’ll get through this.You all will.For Sarah’s sake.”
Jenny nearly rolled her eyes but caught herself and said, “Thank you.”
Faith left her then.She understood Jenny’s anger and wasn’t offended by the young woman’s attitude.She’d just lost someone close to her.It was hard to think clearly when you lost someone close.
As for Faith, she was thinking very clearly.They had their first lead, and an aggressive man who blamed Sarah for his aggressive dog might very well be aggressive enough to take his frustration out on her in the worst possible way.
“Turk?”she called.“Come on, boy.Let’s go get Jess.We have our first lead.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Matthew Brooks sighed when he passed the building’s sign.The Dallas Doghouse.God, what an awful name for an animal shelter.
Still, it was a damned good shelter if he said so himself.Much better than the budget motels the county offered.Here, dogs lived communally and had soft beds, toys to play with, actual good food, and a large outdoor recreation area, dubbed the Playground.Not so imaginative, but better than a name that called to mind a strip club when it didn’t call to mind the couch Matthew slept on when Brenda was pissed at him.
He pulled into the lot and noticed that once again, he was the first person here.This shelter didn’t open until eight despite Matthew begging that they open at six so they could accommodate single adopters before their workdays.
Well, Carl would be here.He was probably parked around back.Their night watchman was a seventy-one-year-old former Animal Control Officer who had the easiest job in the world.They were located a quarter mile from the police station, so no one was going to start shit here, and the dogs were all happy, which meant they were all well-behaved.Matthew was pretty sure that Carl spent most of his nights eating snacks and watching tv in the waiting room.
He parked near the side entrance to the Playground.He wanted to do a quick scan for debris before he sent Carl home and got started.People didn’t try to start shit here, but drunks occasionally tossed bottles over the edge.Funny how the police would tackle someone at a convenience store for wearing a hoodie and putting their hands in their pockets but couldn’t be bothered to keep people from littering.
Well, you couldn’t win everything.Besides, it was never much of a mess.He’d have the place shipshape by eight no matter what it looked like now.
He hopped out of his car and noticed a man leaning against the fence, arms folded across his chest, head drooped.Oh, lovely.One of them fell asleep.
As he approached, though, the man looked up and smiled.His eyes seemed clear, if a little intense.He was probably just here for a dog.
“Hey, buddy,” he said cheerfully.“You looking for a dog?”
“Well, I would be,” the stranger replied.“Except I kind of already found a dog.You just didn’t want me to have him.”
Matthew frowned.He didn’t handle adoptions anymore, but he hadn’t heard of anyone being denied recently.“I’m sorry to hear that.Are you sure it was here?”
“Oh yeah, it was here.It wasn’t me, though.It was a nice kid who would have given Hunter a nice life.”
Matthew’s frown deepened.This guy looked like he might be a few beers short of a sixpack.The irony of his previous assumption that the guy was drunk wasn’t lost on him.
“Okay, soyouweren’t adopting a dog?It was your nephew or something?”
The man laughed, throwing his head back and looking right and left.Matthew didn’t like that right and left look.It was almost like he was making sure he wouldn’t be seen.His hand strayed toward the knife he kept on his belt.Thank God he lived in Texas where defending himself wasn’t against the law.“Look, buddy, I don’t handle the adoptions here.If you come back after eight, you can talk to Bob.He’s the evaluator.”And he will be accompanied by police officers who have your description.
“What about Hunter, though?What happened to him?”
Matthew closed his hand around the handle of his knife.“Dude, Hunter’s like the third-most common name for dogs.I’ve got a half-dozen Hunters inside right now.”
“Oh no.Not like this, Hunter.That dog was special.”The man’s face changed, his smile twisting into an ugly frown.“He would have been fine in a good home.He would have been okay.There was no reason to euthanize him.”
Now Matthew knew what the stranger was talking about.His blood froze, and he unclipped the sheath of his knife.“I think it’s time for you to go, buddy.”
“Oh, I will,” the guy replied.“You first, though.”
