Paw and Order by Spencer Quinn Read Free Book Online Page A

wrong,” Suzie said. “A friend of mine’s dead.”
    Lizette’s eyes opened wide, glittering and green. “I’m so sorry. Who . . . ah . . . ?”
    â€œA consultant named Eben St. John,” Suzie said.
    â€œThe name’s not familiar,” said Lizette.
    â€œHe was shot,” Suzie said. “Murdered.”
    â€œOh, my God,” Lizette said, putting one hand to her chest. The other steered the hose nozzle back and forth in a steady rhythm over the flowers. “Shot? Murdered? What happened? Do they know who did it?”
    Suzie started in on a long explanation. I watched the flowing water from the hose. Spray me! It didn’t have to be for long: a quick spritz would do.
    But no. When I tuned in again, Lizette was saying, “. . . distance between him and the flowerpot?”
    â€œTen feet or so,” Suzie said.
    â€œRuling out suicide.”
    â€œThat’s what the police thought.”
    â€œWho was in charge?” Lizette said. “I—I happen to know some people on the force.”
    â€œA lieutenant named Soares.”
    Lizette shook her head.
    â€œI hear you also know Lanny Sands,” Suzie said.
    â€œThe political guy?” Lizette said. “I know who he is, of course, but we’ve never met. Where did you hear that?”
    â€œI must have got it mixed up,” Suzie said.
    Lizette looked about to say something, but at that moment she noticed that I seemed to be in the flowerbed.
    â€œI get the feeling he wants me to spray him,” she said.
    â€œA safe bet,” Suzie said.
    And the next thing I knew—yes! Spray, spray, and more spray! Nothing wrong with Lizette, in my opinion. They both watched me getting sprayed, the sight maybe relaxing them a little.
    â€œYour imposing friend find you all right?” Lizette said.
    â€œImposing friend?”
    â€œThe rather big gentleman who belongs to this dog,” Lizette said, turning the nozzle and cutting off my water supply. “Bernie Little—your boyfriend from back home, if I understood right.”
    â€œHe did,” Suzie said.
    What was this? A rather big gentleman who belonged to me? As I shook off the water—sending my own spray right back on Lizette and Suzie, fun on top of fun!—I went over all my belongings. There were my collars, black for dress-up and gator skin for every day, gator skin replacing my old brown one on a case that’s way too complicated to go into now, but let’s just say I never wanted to see a huge green dude name of Iko ever again in my life. Then I had my water bowl at home, plus my food bowl, and don’t forget the portable water bowl for the car. The Porsche itself: a belonging? What else could it be? And shared with Bernie, the way I like to do things. Hey! That meant the house on Mesquite Road in the Valley was mine, too! Mine and Bernie’s, of course, goes without mentioning by now. And I’d be happy to share my collars and bowls with him if he wanted. I’d actually seen him drink from the portable water bowl on several occasions, the latest being toward the end of the Police Athletic League picnic. Other than those, I had no possessions, so I’d gotten nowhere on this problem, whatever it was.
    â€œ. . . considered journalism myself at one time,” Lizette was saying. The light caught her green eyes in a way that seemed to green them even more. Lizette was one of those humans you wanted to stare at, hard to say why.
    â€œOh?”
    Lizette smiled. She had very white teeth, small and even. “In a former life. Now I’m with a Web developer.”
    Suzie nodded. “Where was this, if you don’t mind my asking?”
    â€œExcuse me?”
    â€œThis former life.”
    â€œAh,” said Lizette, “you’ve picked up the remains of my accent?”
    â€œBut I can’t place it.”
    â€œI’m from Quebec originally,”