“Yes, of course,” Cassie said.
She led the way out of the elevator into a narrow hallway on the seventh floor. The luxury apartments were built with a flair for mid-century modern and were mostly glass, metal, and lots of sharp angles, with starburst light fixtures as a nod to the atomic age.
“Peanut can be timid, so we should go in quietly so as not to cause her any stress,” Cassie said.
She unlocked the door and made her voice soft when she called out, “Hey, Peanut, it’s Aunt Cassie. Are you okay, baby girl?”
There was no answering bark. She reached inside the door and flipped on the light switch. She staggered back in horror and pressed her hand to her chest.
“Oh my god, the place has been ransacked! It must have been the killer. Ack, what if he harmed the dog? I can’t bear it!”
Hayley pushed past Cassie with her hand on her gun. Mel peered around the two women to see what sort of carnage had occurred. Joe grabbed her hand in his and did the same.
A feather floated towards them and Hayley batted it out of the air. The sound of nails scrabbling on wood sounded and Mel glanced into the room to see a chubby black dog with a pushed-in nose and pointy ears come careening around the sofa right at them. At the last second the dog turned, going back the way it came, and sent a spray of feathers up into the air in its wake.
Joe pushed past Hayley and reached down on the floor. He picked up the very empty, very limp cloth of what was formerly a throw pillow.
“I’m not sure the place was ransacked so much as dog-sacked,” he said.
Peanut came galloping past them again with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. She looked ridiculously happy. Then her back legs gave out and she did a big skid into the feathers like a pro ballplayer sliding into home base.
Mel laughed. The look of surprised delight on the dog’s face was hilarious.
“Peanut,” Cassie said. Her voice was full of admonishment, but it didn’t slow the dog down one bit. The feathers the puppy had kicked up fell like snow, and Cassie sneezed.
“I’m going to wait outside,” she said.
Hayley glanced from her to the dog and nodded. “Wait right in the doorway.”
Cassie’s response was a triple sneeze. Mel and Joe exchanged a look.
“You go that way,” Joe said. He pointed to the left. “And I’ll go the other. Let’s try and catch her in the middle.”
“Don’t touch anything but the dog,” Hayley said. “I’m going to check the rest of the apartment.”
She shuffled through the knee-deep feathers into the kitchen and then turned down the hallway to check the back rooms.
“Hey, Peanut,” Mel said. She hunkered low and tiptoed around the couch. “Whatcha doin’?”
“Making a mess,” Joe answered. He, too, was crouched with his arms out, as if getting ready to tackle the dog.
Feathers stuck to Mel’s clothes and drifted up towards her face. Peanut was on the other side of the couch, where the feathers were deeper. She had her butt in the air and was wagging her stumpy tail as if this was the greatest game ever.
Mel had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. In a cuteness competition, this dog would win hands down.
“It’s okay, Peanut, we’re not going to hurt you,” Mel said.
“That’s right, puppy, we’re the good guys,” Joe said.
Peanut’s head moved back and forth as she studied them. Mel got the feeling she was looking for the weak link. Sure enough, just when they were within grabbing range she sprang to her feet and bolted right between Mel’s legs, almost knocking her down as she went.
“Peanut, wait!” Mel cried.
She spun to chase her if the dog headed to the door, but Peanut was not about to give up her pile of feathers. Instead, she galloped around the back of the couch and plowed into them face-first, skidding across the throw rug and landing with her backside on Joe’s foot. Even Joe was charmed as he let out a belly laugh that made Peanut quiver with doggy joy from her snout to her feet.
“She’s insane,” Joe said to Mel.
“Happy, at any rate,” Mel said. She bent down to scoop Peanut up, but the dog wriggled out of her grasp and did two more loops around the couch, kicking up feathers, before she skidded to a stop between Mel’s feet. Not to be thwarted again, Mel bent over and snatched her up before she could get to her feet.
“Gotcha!” she cried. She felt as if she’d just won a hog-wrestling match. The wriggling bundle in her arms didn’t seem to mind being held, and with a snort of approval, a little pink tongue licked Mel’s chin.
“What the hell happened here?” Stan’s voice barked from the door.
Mel crossed over to the doorway. She held up the dog and said, “Peanut, meet Uncle Stan.”
The dog and the man studied each other as a feather drifted down and landed on Stan’s head. Mel heard Joe chuckle behind her as Stan glowered at the lot of them.
Mel ducked her head to keep from laughing out loud.
“The apartment is clear,” Hayley said. “No sign of anyone having been back there. I think our looter kept it to just the one pillow.”
“Good grief, it looks like the scene of a massacre,” Stan said.
Mel held the dog close. Peanut tried to lick her face again, but Mel was catching on and dodged her.
“We’ll need to get her food, leash, bowls, and a bed if she has one,” Joe said. “We are more of a cat house than a dog house at the moment.”
“I’ll gather her stuff,” Mel said. She thrust Peanut into Joe’s arms and then went into the kitchen. She had to open three cupboards before she found the garbage bags, but once she did she began to load the dog’s food bag from the pantry as well as her bowls from
