Jesse nodded.
“So I approach him, easy like, but he’s skittish as a bastard,”
Valenti said. “I had a hell of a time corralling him.”
“But you did it,” Jesse said, his face blank.
“Oh sure,” Valenti said. “I been
doing this job a long
time.”
“Dog got any tags?”
“Yeah. That’s the funny thing. He lived there.”
“Where?”
“The house he was hanging around. Belongs to somebody named
Kenneth Eisley at that address. So I ring the bell, and there’s no
answer. And I notice that the Globe from yesterday and
today is there on the porch, like, you know, nobody’s home.”
“How’s the dog?” Jesse said.
“He’s kind of scared, you know, ears down, tail down. But he
seems healthy enough. I fed him, gave him some water.”
“He look well cared for?”
“Oh, yeah. Nice collar, clean. Toenails clipped recently. Teeth
are in good shape.”
“You pay attention,” Jesse said.
“I got an eye for detail,” Valenti said.
“Part of the
job.”
“Where’s the dog now?”
“I got some kennel facilities in my
backyard,” Valenti said.
“I’ll keep him there until we find the owner.”
“You got an address for Kenneth Eisley?”
“Yeah, sure. Forty-one Pleasant Street. Big gray house with
white trim got three different condo entrances.”
“The address will help me find it,” Jesse said.
“You got it, Skip,” Valenti said.
5
They sat in the study looking at digital pictures on the computer screen.
“Look at them,” she said.
“Aren’t they sweet.”
“Your photography is improving,” he said.
“Maybe it would be more fun to do a woman this time,” she
said.
“Variety is the spice of life,” he said.
“Any of these look interesting?” she said.
He smiled at her.
“They all look interesting,” he said.
“But we need to find the right one,” she said.
“Wouldn’t want to rush it.”
“She may not even be in this batch.”
“Then we’ll do some more research and come back with a new
batch.”
“That will be fun,” she said.
“It’s all fun,” he said.
