They looked over all the dogs at the shelter. There were far fewer than Jamie had expected. “It waxes and wanes,” another young, male worker told them.
“That one’s cute,” Emma said, pointing to a medium-sized, reddish, long-haired dog with a fanlike tail. As if realizing she’d singled him out, he bared his teeth and growled low in his throat.
Camryn said, “I was here when he came in. He’s adjusting, but he was very neglected.”
Burton added, “Probably needs some more time.”
“What about that one?” Harley asked. The dog in question was black and white, with half its face black, the other white. It silently watched them, making no sound.
Camryn looked at Burton. “I don’t know her. She’s new.”
“That’s Duchess,” Burton said. “Don’t let her quietness fool you. She’s pretty vocal sometimes. She was just dropped off by a couple who were divorcing and moving into separate apartments. She was their watchdog.”
“Is she friendly?” Harley asked.
“Pretty much. She’s a little more trusting. She’s just getting used to things.”
Harley squatted down in front of the dog, who eyed her from behind the cage. She held the back of her hand near so the dog could smell her. Duchess stepped forward cautiously, took a few sniffs, and seemed to relax a bit.
“Duchess,” said Emma.
“Meant to be,” said Harley.
“Do you want to fill out the paperwork and take her on a test basis, just to make sure she’s the right fit?” Camryn asked.
“Yes!” declared Emma.
Burton took Duchess from her cage and the dog went to Emma as if they were long-lost friends. There was a grin on Emma’s face as she rubbed Duchess’s head.
It was kind of amazing to Jamie how quickly that bonding took shape. “Well, we need to go get some things. Like dog food and a dog carrier,” she said, watching Emma and Duchess bond.
“I’ll come with you,” said Camryn.
“Oh, wait.” Jamie stopped short on her way out of the shelter. “I’m working tomorrow. Duchess will be by herself. Maybe we should wait before we—”
“Noooooo!” Emma cried.
Camryn said quickly, “We have volunteers who will help with the transition.”
Burton said, “I could do it. I don’t work tomorrow.”
“Okay . . .” Jamie was starting to worry she’d bitten off more than she could chew. “I realize we’re going to need a dog door, too.”
Hearing a “no” in her words, Emma began to breathe fast, like she did when she was about to have a fit.
“We’ll figure it all out, Mom,” Harley jumped in. “Please!”
Jamie held up her hands in surrender. “I want the dog, too,” she told both Emma and Harley. “Let’s go to the pet store and get her stuff.”
An hour and a half later, they were on their way back home, with Camryn following after them in her car. Emma had calmed down and Harley’s mood had elevated. Jamie could tell already that not only was Emma in love with their new pet, but Harley was as well. Though Duchess was in the carrier for the ride home, both Emma and Harley talked to the dog encouragingly the whole way. Duchess seemed to take it all in stride. At least, she wasn’t whining or barking. Though they were ostensibly “testing things out,” Jamie knew they’d crossed the Rubicon as far as the dog was concerned. There was no turning back for either Harley or Emma.
Jamie invited Camryn to hang out with them for the rest of the day. She said she would stick around for a while as Duchess got the feel of the house, but she had to leave by four. While she was at the house, she and Jamie discussed what had happened to Marissa the night before as best they could, given both Harley and Emma were around, though the two of them were distracted by the dog. Before she left, Camryn held her hand to her ear, thumb, and pinkie outstretched in classic phone receiver style and mouthed, I’ll call you.
Jamie nodded and was waving at her as she pulled out of the drive when her cell phone buzzed. When she saw it was Icky Vicky, she almost didn’t answer. In the end, she took the call in her sleeping room, closing the door tightly behind her so she couldn’t be heard.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Jamie! I heard what happened to Marissa Haynes . . . um, Dalworth! Oh my God. At the same house as Emma? Is she all right? Do you know? I know she and your daughter are friends.... Do you know anything?”
So, it was a gossip call.
“I know Marissa and the Ryerson twins are fine.” Did she? “Physically unhurt,” she amended.
“Was it a burglar?”
“I don’t really know.”
“A prank?”
“A prank?” Jamie repeated.
“Bette called up Ted Ryerson. She invested some money with him and they dated briefly about a year after his wife’s death. He said it could be a prank.”
Teddy and Bette? Bette was older than Jamie and Teddy was at least seven years younger than she was. Not that that mattered, but they seemed like an unlikely couple.
“He told Bette about it. I guess he met with Cooper today. Do you know anything about that?”
She was fishing. “No,” Jamie said truthfully.
“Oh, I’d heard you were seeing him.”
“Me?” she asked. “Who told you that?”
“I think your sister told Jill. Did you know Jill’s part of the charity that works with Theo’s Thrift Shop? She stopped in and talked to Emma, who said you were dating. That won’t make Bette happy.”
Jamie groaned inwardly. “It’s more like we see each other when we’re picking up or dropping off our daughters.”
“Okay. Well . . . not the word on the street. Laura Haynes certainly thinks something’s going on with you two, too. You’ve really crushed Bette’s aspirations as well, I can tell you.”
“Nothing really to tell.”
“Your daughter wasn’t there last night? I thought the two of them were
