The Hard Way by Carol Lea Benjamin Read Free Book Online Page B

blinked, and I wondered if he knew what he had been doing before the war. But I went on with my story instead of asking because in dog training, going slowly is the fastest way to achieve success, and I thought that might be true with Eddie as well. “I was teaching a dog-obedience class at the local high school, in their gym, after school was out for the day, and one of the students was a little brown dog named Zooey.”
    â€œZooey,” Eddie repeated, making me wonder if the name meant anything to him.
    â€œHe was a scrappy little dog, the kind who’d happily mix it up with another dog who gave him half the chance. He led his mistress into the gym, pulling hard on the leash. I could see why she’d brought him. He was clearly the one in charge, but also curious, interested and ready for anything. Or so it seemed.”
    â€œBut he wasn’t?”
    â€œHe looked around, got the lay of the land and made a plan. No way was he getting trained. No way was he giving up his control of his owner. As soon as class started, he held up his right paw and began to limp. Of course, I stopped the class and examined his paw and his leg. I articulated the leg, felt for heat—that would signal infection. I checked the paw for glass, stones, even the tiniest pebble could make a dog limp. But there was nothing wrong. Not a thing.”
    Eddie’s eyes were shining now, this time because he was enthralled. “What happened next?” he asked.
    â€œI told the lady he was okay, that sometimes dogs would fake an injury because they didn’t want to get trained, but that trained, Zooey would have a better life. He could go more places. And bottom line, he could keep his home, which might not be so if his problems got bigger as he did. But she wouldn’t believe me. She insisted the injury was real and sat out the class with Zooey perched on her lap looking mighty pleased with himself.”
    The waiter came by to see if we wanted dessert. I asked Eddie if he liked cheesecake and he said, yes, he did, very much, so I ordered two pieces with tea for me and coffee for Eddie.
    â€œGo on,” he said.
    â€œWell, the next week, Zooey pulled her into the gym again and as soon as class started…”
    â€œHe held up his right paw and began to limp.”
    I nodded and Eddie grinned.
    â€œAnd once again, he got to sit on his mistress’s lap and watch those other foolish dogs obeying command after command. The third week, full of optimism and hope, his owner gamely tried again. And once again, Zooey began to limp. Only this time, I pointed at him and said, “You are so busted.”
    â€œWhat happened?” Eddie asked.
    â€œHe forgot which paw to hold up. He switched legs.”
    Eddie smiled and nodded.
    â€œZooey learned the hard way,” I told him, “the way most of us learn all the important lessons of our lives; when you’re working undercover, you’ve got to stay in character. If you want to get away with limping in class, you’ve got to limp all week, otherwise…”
    â€œYou might limp on the wrong foot,” Eddie said.
    â€œI learned the hard way, too,” I told him.
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œA broken arm. It could have been worse, but Dashiell was there.”
    We heard his tail thump on the floor right after I said his name.
    â€œSo when we’re working together, you have to call me Eunice, not Rachel. But more important, Eddie, you have to think of me as Eunice. We’re looking for someone who committed murder. He might do it again, to save himself, if he knew the truth.”
    Eddie nodded.
    â€œAnd you call Dashiell Lookout. Or you can just ignore him, not call him anything. Can you do that, do you think?”
    â€œIt’s sort of like acting, isn’t it?”
    â€œYes, but the best kind, the kind where you stay in character even when you don’t have any lines to say. Because you never know who might