1 PAWsible Suspects by Chloe Kendrick Read Free Book Online Page B

what do you need?” she asked.
    “Did Ruby ever mention the breeder who sold her the Scotties or her vet’s name? I was hoping to talk to them about the dogs. They seem to be at the center of this mystery.”
    “Hold on a second. I might have the groomer’s name. Ruby always thought that I should have a dog for protection. If that was the case, I’d want something big and scary. Scotties are adorable, but I don’t see them as a threat.”
    I remembered last night and thought she might be wrong. I waited while she put the phone down and went to look up the information. She came back in a minute, out of breath. “I have the breeder’s name. It’s Harriett Anderson.” She read off a phone number to me that I duly copied down. She quickly hung up, and I got ready to visit the neighbor. I threw on the first things I could find, which were jeans and a bright green pullover. It was warm, but I hoped that I wouldn’t run into Detective Green in the outfit.
    I thought about taking the Scotties with me to interrogate the neighbor, but I didn’t want to disturb Perry. He seemed pretty laid back at the moment, and I didn’t want to put him under any undue stress. After all, he’d had stitches and pain pills in the last day.
    If he’d been hurt at the Jenkins’ house, it would be better if he visited the house again with Ruby, so she could comfort him. Dogs have good memories when it comes to people or places and the memories associated with them. Perry had plenty of good memories at Ruby’s house, but his most recent memory would have been the attack.
    So I went by myself to the Jenkins’ house. The snow still covered the street and made an icy fence against the chain link. I didn’t bother with the Jenkins’ house. No one was there. I walked to the house with the two Beagles, but apparently everyone was inside, a good idea since the high was only supposed to be ten degrees today. The old man answered on the third knock and looked a bit startled to see me. “What can I do for you?” he asked. Now that I knew to look for it, he did have a scar on his eyebrow. It was just confirmation of what I already knew.
    “Perry had a very interesting story to tell me after I picked him up at the animal hospital. He told me that his neighbor had dropped him off there. Care to comment on that?” I skipped the whole part about how I had evidence to prove it from the hospital’s video. I would save that for if we needed to go to court. Otherwise, I’d leave it.
    The man took a look at me. I could tell he was puzzling over whether or not to tell me the story. I’d learned in life that sometimes it’s better to the let the other person talk first. So I waited.
    Finally he looked at me and said, “I don’t know how you know it, but you’re absolutely right. That’s just plain scary. I thought those stories were all fake.”
    “Years of practice. They just tell me what’s on their minds and what they’ve seen. I have to translate that into what actually happened. Needless to say, Perry was pretty upset about what happened at the house.”
    “He should be,” the neighbor said, seeming to get into the spirit of me talking to the animals. “Poor little guy was banged up pretty bad.”
    I nodded, remembering what the vet had said about Perry’s condition. He’d had a nasty gash on him, though the vet was unsure what had caused it. Maybe the neighbor would be kind enough to confess all.
    “Do you want to just hear the whole story? I don’t know if Perry would know everything that I heard, but I can tell you my side.”
    “That sounds reasonable.” The house was warm, and I was able to unzip my jacket.
    The man motioned to a pair of chairs in the corner. They were thread-bare, but clean and faced each other. I’d be able to watch the man’s face as I heard his story.
    He started again once we’d sat down. “Well, it was the night that Ms. Jenkins disappeared, but I’m sure that Perry told you that.”
    I agreed with