Page 25 of The Attercop

“Yes?” she asked.

It let out a gentlewoof, looked toward the door, then back at her.

“Oh,nowyou want to go out, do you?”

The dog barked again, panted, then walked over to the door.

“Well, I guess it’s time to set you free. I’ll go with you. I need a stretch.”

She put down her half-finished coffee, grabbed her handbag and led the dog down to the street, heading north, away from the busy Kensington Road. As she walked away, the dog cocked his leg and relieved himself on a lamppost then quickly caught up to her, heeling at her side as if they had been together for years. They walked in silence, taking in the sunshine of the late summer afternoon. If the dog was intending to go back to his owners, he certainly wasn’t making much of an effort to do so.Whichever direction she went, he followed. She wasn’t sure how long they had been gone, but after several twists and turns, she rounded the corner onto the street in front of the office and was surprised to see a man standing at the office door, rattling away at the knob.

He certainly is persistent.

“May I help you?”

The man turned to face her. It was Harold Vanstone, the company’s lawyer. She checked her watch. “I’m sorry. I was so caught up in my walk that I completely lost track of the time.”

Harold shrugged. “I was beginning to think that whatever legal issue you wanted to discuss had driven you into insolvency before I had a chance to help you out.”

“No. It was the call of nature,” she replied, glancing down at the dog.

“Ah, you’ve acquired a four-legged accomplice. Well, that certainly is a good reason to close up shop,” he said, reaching down to scratch the dog’s head.

The dog squinted his eyes and seemed to smile, letting his impossibly long tongue drop out of his mouth.

“I think you’ve made a friend, Harold.”

“Nothing like a good dog to put life into perspective,” he replied. “We get all fussed up about things, when all we really need is a pee and a good scratch behind the ears.”

“Truer words were never spoken.”

“So,” he said looking up toward the second-storey office, “is it safe to assume that Declan’s not around?”

“He and his assistant are both out for the rest of the afternoon, but come upstairs. I’ve got the summons Charlie received and you can take a look at it.”

She unlocked the door and they proceeded up to the office. Harold settled into the couch, and the dog sat on the floor opposite him.

“Can I get you a cup of coffee?” Mrs B asked. “Or a glass of water, or perhaps something a little stronger?”

She saw the glint in his eye as a sly grin crept across his face.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, heading for Declan’s office. She returned a moment later with a cut-crystal glass holding a healthy shot of Scotch.

“Mrs B, you are the veritable human incarnation ofSoteria, the Greek goddess of salvation.” He accepted the glass and took a long sip. “Now, let’s have a look at this threatening missive.”

She retrieved the summons from her desk, then sat on the couch beside him.

Harold took his time as he read through the short document. He muttered “Hmm” a few times, adjusting the glasses on his face before reverently placing the document on the table. After taking another sip of Scotch he looked up at her. “My first question is, who is this Charles Watts?”

“It’s Charlie Watts,” she politely corrected, “and he’s a new detective working for the company.”

“Things are obviously looking up for the firm.”

She smiled. “Things have been better as of late.”

“And this Mr Watts… Is he a seasoned investigator?”

“No, he’s pretty new at it.”