been wrong.”
“The guy with a limp? You know who he is?”
She sounded more than idly curious, which piqued my own curiosity. “Why? Have you seen him?”
She nodded. “He’s been hanging around for a couple of days. He never says anything, and he never tries to come inside, but he makes me kind of nervous anyway. But if he’s a friend of yours—”
“He’s not a friend,” I said quickly, “just someone I ran into a few days ago. Do you have any idea where I can find him now?”
Paisley shook her head thoughtfully. “I saw him about ten minutes ago, but I have no idea where he went.”
I was disappointed but not surprised. “Is he usually here at this time of day?”
She shook her head again. “No. He doesn’t really keep a schedule that I’ve noticed. He’s just . . . there sometimes.”
That didn’t surprise me either. It would have been nice to know when I could find him again, but I was thrilled to find two other people who’d seen him around town. I’d been standing still so long my fingers were beginning to hurt from the cold. I made a two-handed fist and breathed on it to warm my fingers. “Have you ever seen him with anyone? Getting into or out of a car?”
Paisley tilted her head to one side and thought a bit harder. “I don’t remember seeing him with anyone else. I could ask Mom. She’s seen him, too. Maybe she’s noticed something I haven’t.”
“Could you ask and let me know? It’s really important that I find him. But if you see him, please don’t tell him I’m looking for him.”
“Ooh,” Paisley said with a grin. “That sounds mysterious.”
I didn’t want to spark a wholesale panic by telling her the truth, but neither did I want to leave her thinking that I was playing some kind of game. “It’s not really,” I said. “I need to talk to him about something that happened the other night. I think he’s trying to avoid me, that’s all.”
Paisley’s smile slipped, and the spark faded from her eye. “Oh. Okay. Well, then, I should let you get back to work, and I’d better do the same.”
She trotted across the street, and I went back to trying to figure out where the limping man had gone. I couldn’t see anything in either direction likely to interest him, but with dozens of alleyways, parking lots, and miniature parks dot-ting the city, he could be anywhere by now.
Swallowing disappointment, I decided to take the long way back to Divinity and turned south on Twelve Peaks. I still had fifteen minutes left of my break, and a brisk walk to clear my head seemed like a good idea.
Max fell in beside me, and we walked around three legs of a block. We’d just crossed the street and started the long pull up the steep incline that was Grandview Drive when Max’s ears shot straight up, and he let out a high-pitched whine.
This wasn’t the first time since he’d become my dog that he’d done that, and a warning bell sounded in my head right away. If Max followed his usual pattern, the next step in this dance was taking off at a dead run. I tightened my grip on his leash, but I was a split second too late. His claws scrambled for purchase on the pavement, caught, and he was off.
He darted through the sparse traffic and into the parking lot of Walgreens, while I panted after him. I could see him dodging cars in the parking lot, turning, and weaving through the line at the drive-up prescription window.
“Max!” I shouted as I headed toward the drive-through window. I knew it wouldn’t do any good. When Max is in this mood, he doesn’t pay attention to anything. “Come back. Max!”
Struggling to follow him, I prayed that, since we were just half a block from Divinity, he’d turn up at home if I couldn’t catch him. With my lungs burning from exertion, I rounded the back of the building and saw Max straight ahead of me. Miraculously, he’d stopped running, and his attention was riveted on the hedge growing between the drugstore and the stairs leading
“The guy with a limp? You know who he is?”
She sounded more than idly curious, which piqued my own curiosity. “Why? Have you seen him?”
She nodded. “He’s been hanging around for a couple of days. He never says anything, and he never tries to come inside, but he makes me kind of nervous anyway. But if he’s a friend of yours—”
“He’s not a friend,” I said quickly, “just someone I ran into a few days ago. Do you have any idea where I can find him now?”
Paisley shook her head thoughtfully. “I saw him about ten minutes ago, but I have no idea where he went.”
I was disappointed but not surprised. “Is he usually here at this time of day?”
She shook her head again. “No. He doesn’t really keep a schedule that I’ve noticed. He’s just . . . there sometimes.”
That didn’t surprise me either. It would have been nice to know when I could find him again, but I was thrilled to find two other people who’d seen him around town. I’d been standing still so long my fingers were beginning to hurt from the cold. I made a two-handed fist and breathed on it to warm my fingers. “Have you ever seen him with anyone? Getting into or out of a car?”
Paisley tilted her head to one side and thought a bit harder. “I don’t remember seeing him with anyone else. I could ask Mom. She’s seen him, too. Maybe she’s noticed something I haven’t.”
“Could you ask and let me know? It’s really important that I find him. But if you see him, please don’t tell him I’m looking for him.”
“Ooh,” Paisley said with a grin. “That sounds mysterious.”
I didn’t want to spark a wholesale panic by telling her the truth, but neither did I want to leave her thinking that I was playing some kind of game. “It’s not really,” I said. “I need to talk to him about something that happened the other night. I think he’s trying to avoid me, that’s all.”
Paisley’s smile slipped, and the spark faded from her eye. “Oh. Okay. Well, then, I should let you get back to work, and I’d better do the same.”
She trotted across the street, and I went back to trying to figure out where the limping man had gone. I couldn’t see anything in either direction likely to interest him, but with dozens of alleyways, parking lots, and miniature parks dot-ting the city, he could be anywhere by now.
Swallowing disappointment, I decided to take the long way back to Divinity and turned south on Twelve Peaks. I still had fifteen minutes left of my break, and a brisk walk to clear my head seemed like a good idea.
Max fell in beside me, and we walked around three legs of a block. We’d just crossed the street and started the long pull up the steep incline that was Grandview Drive when Max’s ears shot straight up, and he let out a high-pitched whine.
This wasn’t the first time since he’d become my dog that he’d done that, and a warning bell sounded in my head right away. If Max followed his usual pattern, the next step in this dance was taking off at a dead run. I tightened my grip on his leash, but I was a split second too late. His claws scrambled for purchase on the pavement, caught, and he was off.
He darted through the sparse traffic and into the parking lot of Walgreens, while I panted after him. I could see him dodging cars in the parking lot, turning, and weaving through the line at the drive-up prescription window.
“Max!” I shouted as I headed toward the drive-through window. I knew it wouldn’t do any good. When Max is in this mood, he doesn’t pay attention to anything. “Come back. Max!”
Struggling to follow him, I prayed that, since we were just half a block from Divinity, he’d turn up at home if I couldn’t catch him. With my lungs burning from exertion, I rounded the back of the building and saw Max straight ahead of me. Miraculously, he’d stopped running, and his attention was riveted on the hedge growing between the drugstore and the stairs leading
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