the screen while she waited impatiently for his reply. Would he admit to poisoning the woman?
White queen checks black king at g8.
She knew the game was lost and didn’t pay attention to her next move.
She didn’t know which part of their on-line relationship was more frustrating. She wasn’t a great chess player, but she was pretty good. Better than most players she faced. To have him kick her butt so quickly was demeaning. On the other hand, the game meant nothing in comparison to the poisoning case. How could he have that privileged information?
She wanted to say no. She didn’t want to talk to him again. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise when she read that he wanted her attention. No single woman living alone wanted to think some strange man was out there stalking her. And she just
But she agreed to meet him again. If he had information about the poisoning case, she felt duty bound to pursue what he knew. Even though he told her he wasn’t responsible for the poisoning, how could she believe him? He could be a killer.
Peggy started to reply, but Nightflyer was already gone. She sat and stared at the screen for a long time, trying to decide what to do. Should she tell the South Carolina police? She wasn’t sure Nightflyer said anything he could be arrested for. But if they found out who he was, they might be able to get a lead on where the anemonin came from.
She poked around on the game site again. There wasn’t a list of E-mail addresses for members. In fact, there was no membership required to play. It was something that drew her to the site. She didn’t like to leave her name and E-mail address all over the Internet. She wished she’d been a little less picky. If the site required membership, it would be easy to find out his real-world identity.
A long, deep howl drew her away from the computer. The dog had been quiet in the laundry room all evening. She took him out for a walk at ten. He shouldn’t have to go again. But that disturbing howl was followed by another, this one longer and louder than the first. Imagining Clarice calling the police, Peggy ran down the cold marble staircase and opened the laundry room door to see what was wrong.
The dog was whimpering and howling from his place on the vent. As soon as he saw the door open, he ran head-first into her. Peggy almost lost her footing and grabbed the counter for support. The dog nudged her with his huge head, then licked her arm and hand until she was soaked.
“What’s wrong, boy?” She patted his head and rubbed his belly. He responded by wagging his tail so hard that his whole body shook.
There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with him. He had plenty of water. He’d eaten a huge amount of dog food earlier in the day. She patted his head one last time, then closed the laundry room door and started back upstairs.
The howling began again. This time when Peggy went back to the laundry room, the dog bounded out and headed for the main staircase.
“Oh no, you don’t!” She chased him, and he ran up the stairs. He smelled the carpet when he reached the second floor. Immediately, he followed his nose to her bedroom. By the time she caught up with him, he was happily ensconced on her bed. His head was resting on her pillow.
“You’re not sleeping in my bed,” she told him in her strongest teaching tone. “Come on. Back downstairs.”
But no matter how hard she tried to get him out of her bed, he wouldn’t budge. She brought out some crackers to try and lure him back to the laundry room. He didn’t move. Finally, she admitted defeat but promised that this was only a battle and not the war.
“I suppose I’m going to have to come up with a name for you. I can’t go on calling you dog. Maybe if you have a name, you’ll listen better. It doesn’t mean I’m going to keep you. Don’t get your hopes up. If someone doesn’t come to claim you, I’ll get in touch with the Humane Society. There must be someone who wants a big horse like you.”
7
Snowdrop
Botanical: Galanthus nivalis
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Common Name: Candlemas bells
