Rachel Alexander 05 - The Wrong Dog

in his throat, muffled by her black sweater as he took the hand that had been holding the gun in his mouth and held tight. That was going to be one sore hand when he let go.
    A dozen dogs had stopped what they were doing and run up to the fence; two stood next to me on the bench, all were barking wildly. One of them, an Irish terrier, cleared the fence the way Dashiell had and was pulling on Elizabeth’s pants leg. The people had gathered, too, some of them shouting, some of them frightened, hanging back, trying to see what all the commotion was about.
    “Hey,” someone called out.
    The gun was lying in the grass, near Elizabeth Madison’s hip.
    “It’s under control,” I said.
    No one believed me.
    “What now, Ms. Alexander?” Philips said. “A citizen’s arrest for cloning?” He had that smirk on his face again. He was nearly gloating, not giving a rat’s ass about what was happening to Elizabeth just a few feet away.
    I checked my watch, then looked over at the path that led to the dog run. Agoudian was right on time, towering head and shoulders above Burke and Burns, all of them coming our way fast.
    “No, Doctor, it’s not a citizen’s arrest. It’s the old-fashioned kind. And the charge won’t be cloning. It’ll be murder.”
    The gate opened. Philips’s mouth opened. Burke hadn’t come into the run. He’d headed for Elizabeth. I knelt on the bench and told Dashiell out. He let go of her hand and backed up, still watching to make sure she didn’t move a muscle. The terrier was another story. It took Burke to get him to let go. When I heard Burke scream and curse, I knew exactly what the dog had done afterward.
    “In case it ever comes up again,” I said, looking down at Elizabeth, who was now holding her hand against her chest, “when you tell a dog ‘okay,’ it means he can do whatever he wants to.” I shook my head. “You tangled with the wrong dog, Ms. Madison. This particular dog, he doesn’t like it when someone points a gun at me. As a point of interest, ‘out’ is the command you need when you want to call a dog off. But unless there’s one of those outreach programs to teach dog training to women prisoners, you won’t need that information where you’re going.”
    She didn’t thank me. In fact, she may have been in shock. Her eyes seemed dilated and looked a bit glassy, but hey, what do I know? I’m a detective, not a doctor.
    She still hadn’t thanked me for the flowers, either. Possibly she hadn’t liked the note. What wasn’t to like? I wondered. It was short and sweet. Love and kisses, it had said. It had been signed “Mel.”

Chapter 34
    I Climbed the Stairs

    I called The School for the Deaf on my way over to Sophie’s apartment. When Ruth answered, I told her I had some good news for her.
    “Did you find Side by Side?” she asked.
    “I did.”
    “And am I on the list?”
    “That won’t be necessary.”
    “But I was hoping …”
    “I was hoping you’d agree to take Bianca, Ruth.“
    “Bianca? But I thought Bianca doesn’t alert.”
    “She didn’t for Sophie because she had no need to. The job was taken. Blanche always beat her to the punch.“
    “Oh. But then how do you know she’ll work for me?“
    “She will. I’ve seen her do it.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Her walker was shot. He seizured from loss of blood and just before he did, Bianca knew it was coming. She alerted him, but in this case, there was nothing we could do.”
    “He was shot?” she whispered. “He’s dead?”
    “He is, Ruth.”
    I didn’t tell her he wasn’t really a dog walker, that he’d been there to please his father, to keep him in the loop. I didn’t tell her who’d killed him, either, or what Mel had done for me, not on the phone anyway. “Everything that happened, it’s not what we thought it was. I’ll tell you all about it when I bring Bianca. I could come by tonight if you like. I have your address from Sophie’s book.”
    “Yes, yes. That would be wonderful. Oh, oh, I’m so excited, I, I don’t know what to say. It’s not just that I’ll have a seizure-alert dog, I’ll have part of Sophie with me, too.“
    “I understand. That’s why I’m so glad it turned out this way, that Bianca can give you what you need and that I’m able to offer her to you.”
    “Me, too.” She was crying.
    “I’m on my way to Sophie’s now,” I said. “I’m going to pick up Bianca’s medical records for you and anything else I can think of