Chow Down (A Melanie Travis Mystery)

it!”
    I supposed she hoped Faith would leap forward eagerly. It didn’t happen. Indeed, I had to nudge Faith with my knee to even get her moving in the right direction.
    The Poodle hesitated and looked up at me for permission. “It’s okay,” I said. “Go take a bite.”
    What she took was a sniff. And then a tentative nibble. Faith picked up one small nugget of kibble and rolled it around in her mouth.
    I held my breath, praying that she wouldn’t spit it back out. Finally, Faith swallowed.
    “There,” I said, trying not to sound too relieved. “She likes it.”
    Simone looked disgruntled. She reached down and snatched the bowl away. Faith watched it leave without apparent regret.
    “Well, that was underwhelming.”
    “Faith had a big breakfast.” I was lying but what the heck. The contest seemed to have that effect on me.
    “Most dogs love Chow Down.” Simone’s tone was so insistent that I found myself wondering if she was lying, too. “They can’t get enough of it.”
    Fortunately for me, Faith wasn’t anything like most dogs. And if that cost her the contest, so be it.
    That thought brightened my day enormously.

10
    F aith and I were sent back around the corner to Cindy Burrows’s office next. Simone’s work space had been elegantly spare. By contrast, the product manager’s office was small and cluttered.
    File folders and piles of papers were stacked everywhere. Any surface that wasn’t littered with papers held framed photographs. I saw at least half a dozen pictures of a flashy black-and-white Border Collie. Cindy was with the dog in some of the photos. In others he seemed to be performing, making impossible twisting leaps to snatch a Frisbee out of the air.
    “Great dog,” I said by way of a greeting.
    Cindy immediately grinned. “Thanks. That’s Gus. And he is a great dog. He was tristate disc dog champ last year.”
    “He looks like he’d be a natural for the Chow Down contest. Did you think about entering him?”
    “I wish I could have. He’d be a great spokesdog for the product. But it wouldn’t have been fair.” She waved me toward a chair and leaned back to perch on the edge of her desk. “You know, nepotism rearing its ugly head and all. Besides, I adore Gus. He’s my best friend. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel, sitting in the committee meetings and listening to the other judges rip him apart.”
    “So that’s what you’ve been doing to us? Ripping our dogs apart?”
    “Not usually, no.” Cindy looked like she wished she’d kept her mouth shut. “Well, sometimes. But only because it’s necessary.”
    I sat down and patted my knees. Faith hopped her front legs up into my lap. I pulled her toward me protectively.
    “We have five excellent finalists. And there’s only going to be one winner. Under the circumstances, we don’t have any choice but to be critical of every little aspect. It’s a big responsibility, being in charge of a major product launch like this. None of us wants to screw up.”
    I read between the lines and decided Cindy was the one who was worried about making a mistake. Doug, Simone, and Chris were all older than she was. Their positions within the company were probably more secure. Certainly their jobs were at a higher level; each had probably handled pressure like this before.
    Judging by their titles, the other three committee members all had wide-ranging responsibilities within the company. Cindy was a product manager. Chow Down was her product. This launch was a make-or-break proposition for her.
    “I can see your point about favoritism,” I said. “Especially if the other committee members have dogs themselves . . .”
    I let the thought dangle, hoping that Cindy would feel obliged to fill in the blanks. Getting to know the judges a little better could only be a good thing. Besides, it didn’t seem fair that the contestants were the only ones giving up personal information.
    “Doug’s got a Lab,” she said with a nod. “Chocolate. His name’s Hershey, Doug’s kids named him. Then his wife divorced him and took the kids. Doug ended up with the dog.”
    I wasn’t about to comment on the contest chairman’s marital difficulties. Instead I went for an observation that seemed safe enough. “Doug looks like he’d be a Lab kind of guy.”
    The two of us smiled. Spend enough time around dogs and their owners and you realize it isn’t a myth that people tend to look like their pets.
    “What about Simone?” Cindy asked.