really,â Becca interjected. âJeremy said we should leave it as undisturbed as possible.â
Owen had to force himself to unclench his teeth, which had automatically ground together the instant she said Jeremy again. He indicated his trashed house. âI think that ship sailed a long time ago.â
âNeverthelessâ¦â Chief Deb shooed him again.
Though he didnât want to stay here, not with that there, Owen refused to be shooed. Heâd taken great pains not to be seen walking today; he wasnât going to ruin that now.
âYouâll have to stay somewhere else, Owen,â Deb said.
âI donât have anywhere else.â
The silence that followed that statement made him wish it back even before Becca spoke.
âYou canââ
âNo.â
âYou donât even know what I was going to say.â
âIâm not staying at your place.â
âI didnât ask you to.â
âShe can barely fit in her place.â Deb eyed Owen. âYou never would.â
âWhere do you live?â he asked.
âAbove the clinic.â
âIn Doc Bradyâs room?â
Owen had been there once with Becca when theyâd brought him a bird with a broken leg. Oddly, by the time they got there, the creature was hopping around on it pretty well, and it had flown off as soon as Doc Brady held it out the upstairs window of his teeny-tiny abode.
There wouldnât be room for him and Reggie in Doc Bradyâsâmake that Doc Beccaâsâplace, even if he were willing to go there.
âI can stay at a bed-and-breakfast. There must be a hundred of them.â
More like a dozen, and at this time of year, just after prime leaf viewing, they should be pretty empty.
âUnfortunately none of them accept pets,â Becca said.
âReggieâs better behaved than most of their clientele.â
âNo doubt,â she agreed. âBut their clientele doesnât drool and shed.â
âI bet some of them do.â
âWhat about Stone Lake?â At Owenâs confused expression Chief Deb continued. âBig-city lawyer got sick of lawyering and bought Stone Lake Tavern. Built some cottages on the water.â
âHe lets dogs stay in them?â Owen asked.
âOnly when they bring along their duck-hunting owners to pay the bill.â
Stone Lake was more of a pond than a lake but ducks still floated on it.
âSounds perfect. Iâll just pack up and be on my way. Donât feel you have to wait for me. I promise not to touchââ He waved at the altar.
âNot so fast.â Chief Deb held up her hand like a crossing guard stopping traffic. âI have questions for you that I want answered before you go anywhere.â
Her shoulder mike squawked static. âSay again,â she ordered, moving into the kitchen, nearer to both an open window and town.
Â
Chapter 5
Owen was acting strangely. Not that finding dead things in your house wouldnât make anyone kind of off, butâ
âWhy is it your house?â I blurted. âI thought it was your motherâs.â
âShe signed everything over.â Owenâs gaze went to the mess and stuck there. âLucky me.â
âIâm sorry.â
âYou didnât trash the place.â His eyes came back to mine. âDid you?â
âOnce upon a time, I might have.â Iâd been hurt, angry, young, but I also hadnât been here. By the time Iâd returned to Three Harbors for good I was Dr. Carstairs, and I had better things to do.
âDoubtful,â he said. âYou were always a Goody Two-shoes.â
He was right. The one rebellion Iâd ever made was him. That had worked out so well, I hadnât bothered with rebellion, or men, since. Animals were more my speed. They were honest about their feelings. If a dog loved you, you knew it. If it hated you, you knew that too. Pretty damn