Stud Rites

choosing a weapon known to be in Betty’s possession and pieces of paper bound to bear the clear prints of Betty’s fingers, why the lamp she had made and handled herself? And why pages that bore her own name? Furthermore, if she’d gone out of her way to implicate Betty, why would she then have rallied her comrades in Betty’s defense?
    By comparison with a dog show, a session of the United States Congress is devoid of politics. In her precampaign campaigning for the breed club board, Sherri Ann might have been making a move that eluded me. Especially if she thought that Betty were supporting Freida, she might yet turn on Betty. Sherri Ann’s loyalty to Betty was open to question. Mine was not. I needed to find out immediately everything Kevin knew about probable cause, warrants, and the seizure of evidence. Did the police have the right to demand Betty’s fingerprints? ”Leah,” I repeated, ”where is Kevin?”
    ”He got badgered into buying a lot of raffle tickets,” she reported, ”and he won something.”
    ”And?”
    ”And it’s supposed to be a secret.”
    ”What’s so secret about—”
    ”It’s a present. For you. He wants to save it as a
    Christmas present for you. So he’s stashing it in Steve’s van. He’ll be back. Hey, Holly, I wanted to ask you. Comet?”
    ”You read the centerfold. You looked at it last night.”
    ”So a lot of people owned him.”
    ”That happens with show dogs. You know that. A lot of top show dogs have a lot of owners all at once. Casey has four; Daphne has three. But, yeah, a lot of people owned Comet, and not at the same time.”
    ”Remind me who.”
    ”Well, J. J. Hadley. Hadley was his breeder. And then after Hadley died, his widow, Velma Hadley. Velma Hadley sold him to Elsa Van Dine. Then, uh, when Elsa Van Dine got engaged and was moving to England, she sold Comet to Timmy Oliver. Timmy got the money to buy Comet from James Hunnewell, and he and Timmy co-owned the dog. Except that Timmy was a co-owner in name only, I gather. It wasn’t a normal co-ownership. Hunnewell didn’t trust Timmy—”
    ”Surprise, surprise!” Leah was lighthearted. Even so, as I watched her face, I could see the thought cross her mind that my own prejudice against co-ownership could be overcome by just such a special arrangement.
    ”Yeah, who does trust Timmy? So Hunnewell had Harriet Lunt draw up some sort of elaborate contract that gave Hunnewell total control over everything. Hunnewell paid the whole purchase price and all the expenses, and Timmy paid nothing, so I guess it was fair. Duke told me that Timmy couldn’t so much as say boo to Comet without Hunnewell’s permission. And then, uh, I have the impression that it was just shortly before Comet died, Duke Sylvia managed to buy Timmy out. So then Duke co-owned him with Hunnewell. Duke had handled Comet all along, for everyone. Legalities aside, Comet was really always Duke’s dog. I know it sounds like a lot of people, but it’s not all that unusual, and—”
    ”So, Z-Rocks.”
    ”She didn’t make the cut,” I said. ”Weren’t you looking?”
    ”What I want to know is, did Hunnewell really like Z-Rocks as much as Timmy Oliver says?”
    ”How would I know? Duke says... I’m not sure whether Duke said that he didn’t or that he wouldn’t have.”
    ”And Duke would know.”
    ”As well as anyone. He knew Hunnewell way back, and he’ll tell you that you can’t second-guess judges, but, yeah, of course, Duke is as good at knowing what judges like and don’t like as anyone is. It’s his business. So, uh, yes, I’d say Duke was probably right. Besides, Z-Rocks is linebred on Comet, and she’s perfectly decent, but she’s just not outstanding.”
    ”So Timmy is lying.”
    ”Let’s say Timmy has a highly developed capacity for self-deception. Leah, if you don’t mind, I want to go check on Rowdy. Do you have a room key? And if you see Kevin, tell him I want to talk to him, okay? Oh, and do me a favor, will you? If the opportunity arises, why don’t you not introduce Kevin to Finn Adams.”
    ”Oh, they’ve already met,” Leah said blithely. ”Kevin knows who he is. Kevin says you’ve told him all about Finn. Kevin recognized his name right away.”
     

 
     
    MY IMAGE of the Last Judgment owes more to the American Kennel Club than it does to Michelangelo. For one thing, although the Blessed and Damned huddle together, everyone is decently dressed, and the Judge, in particular, knows