Rachel Alexander 05 - The Wrong Dog

him?”
    There was a long pause.
    “I assumed so. She never actually said.”
    “Maybe she just forgot that the picture was there.”
    She didn’t say anything.
    “I don’t believe that either,” I said.
    “I’ll see you tomorrow, Rachel. Right out front.” Getting off the phone before she started to cry.
    I put the picture on the far end of the counter and started feeding vegetables into the Cuisinart, grinding them to a pulp, then doing the quiet work, mixing in the cod-liver oil and yogurt for the dogs, making salad dressing for myself, lost in thought about cloning until my cell phone rang, startling all of us. Dashiell woke up barking and the two bullies, unfamiliar with the sound, ran to the front door.
    “Where were you?” he said.
    “I’m at Sophie’s.”
    “I figured that part out, but this is the third time I’m calling.”
    “I didn’t hear the phone. The Cuisinart was on. Listen, Chip, can you tell me the names of the veterinarians who were making all those cloning jokes? I have Sophie’s checks and it seems she used three practices. I’d like to know if any of her vets were at the convention, particularly if the one who did the DNA test for the bullies was there, and if he or she was the one who started the talk about cloning.”
    “It would be easier if you told me the three names you have. We had twelve at our table. I don’t know that I could rattle off all the names, but if you hit one, I think I’d remember it.”
    “Sandra Cohen.”
    “Yes. Sandy Cohen. She was there. But she seemed much more interested in neutering than in cloning. Not much sense of humor either.”
    “Okay, hang on, I have my list on Sophie’s desk.” I could hear him talking to Betty as I went for the list. “How about Mark Murray?”
    “Yes. Big guy. Not too talkative. Rather grumpy looking, but smart. When he spoke, it was worth listening. He came to my talk. Of course, that made me like him, too.“
    “What about Cohen?”
    “Didn’t come. More points against her.”
    “And Chad Finkelstein, if you believe that for a name.“
    “Hey, I went to grade school with a Montgomery Rosenberg. I’ll believe anything. And yes, he was there, too. He’s short, fat, bald, chatty, thinks he’s funnier than he actually is, and he’s got sweaty hands. But, boy, did he go for Betty. Said he had a Shepherd when he was a kid and he’s loved them ever since.”
    “Did he ask if he could clone her?”
    “Actually, no one would have asked that once the jokes got going. It’s not a popular idea.”
    “So I hear.”
    “People are afraid of anything new. And with this, the consensus of opinion was that it was stepping on God’s toes, which makes a strange assumption right there, in my humble opinion.”
    “Well, don’t they always picture Him in sandals?“
    “You got me there.”
    “So, you were at the New York Jewish table, or what?“
    “Actually, Chad wasn’t at the table. He came to the talk and stayed afterward, to commune with Betty. He got down on the floor with her, and pressed his head against hers. He called it mind melding. He said there’s nothing like a German shepherd for it.”
    “Mind melding?”
    “ESP. He said his Shepherd used to tell him things that way.”
    “And Betty let him do it?”
    “To my total surprise, she did. In fact, she seemed to like it. Or maybe she just liked him. Their admiration was quite mutual. Before he left, he gave me his home number, in case, he said, I decided to breed Betty. He thinks she’s aces and he’d like a pup.”
    “He said ‘breed’? So he wasn’t the one who started the cloning jokes?”
    “I can’t say. They apparently started when I was teaching at the shelter, before I ever got to the hotel.”
    “And he wasn’t at your table when the jokes were being made?”
    “No.”
    “What about the others, Cohen and Murray? Where were they on all this?”
    “Let me think. After a lot of clone jokes, Cohen said she thought it was okay for farm animals, but that if pet owners ever tried it, they’d be disappointed.”
    “No news there.”
    “Murray just stuck with the jokes.”
    “The cops were telling them, too. Really b-a-a-ad ones.”
    “It makes people nervous, Rachel. Even veterinarians and the police.”
    “But Bianca is a perfectly lovely dog. She’s not a monster.”
    “So have you found out what the deal was yet?”
    “I’ve got a lot more to do. I’m staying here. I’ll work as late as I can so that I only have