words I would have thought to put together.
âIâll fix your hair for you, and show you a few makeup tips.â
It was my turn to give her a look, like: Whoâs kidding who here?
âYou know,â she went on. âWhat the chief said, about me staying here with you awhile? Thatâs not a bad idea. If he canât work it so Iâm off patrol, well still, I could be here a lot of the time, and we could go on doing the investigating weâve been doing. Get to the bottom of this so youâre not afraid.â
I narrowed my eyes and looked hard at Deputy Dolly. Did I want to spend a lot of time with her? Did I want her around at all? Did I need someone here with me when Jackson came to visit? Hmm.
âAnd you know what else?â Dolly was perking up, sitting straighter. Her light eyes were wide open as if sheâd been struck by a perfect thought. âGet yourself a dog. If you had a dog nobodyâd dare bother you. Trust me. Creeps donât like barking dogs. Everybody up here in the woods keeps at least one of âem. Look at old Harry. He must have a dozen dogs back there. Donât see anybody fooling with him.â
First positive idea Iâd heard. A dog. A sweet little black and white face leaped into my head. Simonâs puppy. Perfect. The little guy would have a home. Iâd be safe.
With Deputy Dolly and a puppy, whoâd dare come after me?
ELEVEN
Being alone wasnât as alluring as it once was. In the morning, after Dolly left to go to work, the walls crept closer. I felt as if I couldnât breathe; couldnât get my own stale air down far enough into my lungs because Iâd breathed that same air before, tasted it before, was so overly familiar with that air Iâd become allergic to it. And the sound of my refrigerator thumping and buzzing, my damned birdcall clock Iâd thought so charming when I bought itâall of it was driving me crazy. My ears hurt at times, from the quiet that fell in between the mechanical sounds. My skin ached for the presence of another human being. Not to be made love toâit wasnât a deep down yearning sex thing. More a need to feel the floor shiver with movement I didnât make myself, to have a laugh or a word travel toward me, to share an emotion, draw a response, be given a touch of solace. For the first time in three yearsâI was more alone than I could stand.
I liked the idea of getting a dog. Dollyâd made fun of the idea of a puppy protecting me from anything. She said I should visit the shelter in Traverse and get an older dog that needed a home, who knew how to bark and tear a strangerâs leg off. Old/youngâI figured it didnât matter much since Iâd never had a dog before and Iâd be starting from scratch either way. Better to begin with a young one that wouldnât sense my inexperience and give me trouble. It seemed to me, with an old dog, it would be like JacksonâIâd be jumping through hoops for him within days. Not to say that Iâm a wimp. More that it takes a lot of energy to control people and things. I never had that kind of energy.
Only enough to call Gaylord and talk to Officer Brent. I needed to know what was happening on the state police end. I had to write a follow-up for Bill. Getting to work felt like plugging into a stream of energy, tapping into things and people in motion. Better than standing at a window watching a quiet lake and a couple of loons, and doing nothing.
Brent was up in Mackinaw City, working on a case. Again, I got another officer.
âWe donât know a lot at this point, Miss Kincaid.â The policemanâs voice went deep and official.
âThe arm and the head, theyâre from the same person?â I needed at least that much from him. Not two disparate bodies. Certainly not two of them.
âI think we can assume the ⦠eh ⦠appendages are from the same person. That would be all
William Sleator, Ann Monticone