he said, “we found a man in Grant and Ginger’s cabin, or rather I found one when he attacked me. But he claims to be Grant and says the guy who died in the accident with Ginger was his twin brother.” And then he gave her the details.

She ended up putting down her knife and fork, interrupting her dinner. “Seriously? The brother stepped into Grant’s life while he was away at work, and the wife didn’t know? Is that possible?”

“That’s what Grant says anyway. And maybe he’s just hoping that’s the way it was, that his wife and brother weren’t just carrying on behind his back all this time.”

She winced at that. “If so, that’s really disgusting, and honestly I’m not sure I could believe the wife wouldn’t have known it wasn’t him.”

He looked up at her for a long moment. “Do you think you could tell the twins apart?”

“As the wife, absolutely,” she said. “Everything would be different, you know? From the different clothing, different mannerisms, different smells, a different way of making love. They might look the same, but the men themselves would be very different.”

“Well, that was my opinion too,” Weston said, “so maybe Grant is delusional and is just hoping it’s that way. Otherwise, he has to accept they were carrying on behind his back.”

“And then you have to wonder if he isn’t the one who killed them,” she said. “If anybody killed them of course. But if you found out your brother was carrying on with your wife, and she was now pregnant with probably your brother’s child, what would you do?”

“What I would do and what I’d be tempted to do,” he said, “are two different things. But you’re right. Anyone would definitely be tempted to send them both over a cliff on a permanent basis.”

Not only had Daniela given him something to think about, Weston now had a different issue at hand as well. He stepped out the kitchen back door onto the patio and sent Badger an update. When Badger called a few minutes later, Weston wasn’t surprised.

Badger said incredulously, “Is it really a mix-up of identities between two brothers?”

“I’m not sure,” Weston said honestly. “When you think about it, it could go either way. The threatening letter does add some validity for Grant wanting to hide his identity.”

“But it also potentially gives Gregory, who may have thought about stepping into his brother’s shoes, a chance to reverse course, so he’s not who he started out to be.”

It took Weston a moment to figure that out, but then he could see Badger’s point. “Right, so you got a shitty scenario either way. Whether the dead guy is Gregory or Grant, the writer of the threatening letter may realize maybe the wrong brother was murdered, and, if the bad guys find out the other brother’s still alive, the bad guys may realize they got the wrong guy and come after whoever is left alive.”

“Exactly.”

“Then why would this brother hang around?” Weston asked. “What could be the reason for staying?”

“Maybe to see if something can be done? Maybe to see if the property has any value? It’s a homestead up there with a house on it. Depends on what kind of lifestyle he wants. What we need to do is find out if either of the brothers were in each other’s will.”

“The local police are on that,” said Weston. “And the problem is, none of this really has to do with Shambhala. She was supposedly in the back of the truck, but yet nobody saw her there, and nobody saw her at home. I caught her near the local feedstore.”

“Yeah, that’s another mystery,” Badger said. “And you’re right. That’s our priority. We need to find a home for her, where she’ll be safe and content.”

“She also didn’t react with this guy when we talked to him,” Weston said. “Not happy or negative.”

“Which, for a dog like that, is very odd,” Badger said with frustration in his voice.

“I know,” Weston said. “It’s all a bit on the bizarre side.”

“You want to check around and see if there are any potential places where we can foster the dog?” Badger asked. “And what’s your time commitment to this project? Do you want to come back immediately, or are you okay to stay for a week or two?”

An odd note was in Badger’s voice, and Weston realized he was really asking about the scenario with his daughter. “I’m currently staying with my daughter’s mother.” He realized how bizarre that sounded. “My daughter took one look at me and started bawling,” he said with a laugh. “On the other hand, she took one look at Shambhala and fell in love.”

“And is that a good place for Shambhala?” Badger asked curiously. “Can her mother handle a dog like that?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest,” he said. “She doesn’t have a whole lot of money, and she’s renting.”

“Okay,” Badger said slowly. “No offense intended here, but is she the kind who would look after the dog?”

“I believe she is the kind, Badger,” Weston said slowly. “But it’s a huge commitment. Shambhala’s only four, so there’s easily five to ten years left in her life, or more.”

“True enough,” Badger said. After a moment of silence he added, “Give me some time to think about our options here.”

“On any of the other cases, did you have to find a foster home?”

“No,” Badger said in surprise. “This is the first one we’ve come up against.”

Weston frowned. It made him feel like he had failed at his job somehow. “What happened to the dogs?”

“Depending on the circumstances, a lot of the guys kept them,” Badger said honestly. “And in Pete Lowery’s case, well, his dog had been taken from his care because he had to go into a VA home and couldn’t have the dog with him. So, at that point, the job to reunite Pete and his dog was our primary goal, not to mention Pete was perfectly capable of living at

Вы читаете Weston (The K9 Files Book 8)
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