Read Online Karma's A Bitch (A Pet Psychic Mystery) by Shannon Esposito - Free Book Online

bowl?” He sat by the front door with his head hanging. “Well, I hope you don’t get a belly ache.” I sighed, reaching for my straw bag. I wasn’t sure what the effects would be of so much undiluted essence. “Let’s go.”
    I decided the time had come to go back to our morning breakfast routine at Hooker Tea Company. So, after a quick walk in the park with an extra large poop bag, he waited patiently as I mopped the wood floors of the boutique, put some fresh homemade treats in the display case, and straightened out some collars and t-shirts left in disarray. Then we headed out the door.
    A twinge of sadness twisted my gut as we approached our favorite table. Did Karma feel it, too?
    “You wait here, boy.” I lifted a chair and placed the end of his lead around the leg. I wasn’t delusional. I knew the chair would just go with him if he decided to go anywhere. This was more for the peace of mind of the people walking by who were leery of a hundred and fifty pound dog sitting there alone.
    At the counter, I had to fight a big old lump in my throat when I ordered only one ham and cheese omelet. I wasn’t prepared for these little things that kept fashioning the loss of my friend into sharp edges once again. I ordered Mad Dog a black tea, just in remembrance. It made me feel better.
    “Excuse me,” I said, trying to make it back through the small knot of customers with my tray. I was learning to pay attention to people in my space: adapting. That was the name of the game, wasn’t it? Adapting to change, good or bad.
    “Oh,” I stopped short at the table. “Hey.” Detective Blake was leaning down, two big hands scratching under Karma’s ears. Karma’s tongue lolled, his eyes squinted in pleasure.
    “Hi, Miss Winters.” He stood, dusted off his slacks and hands and smiled. Good god in heaven, the man had an electric smile. “How’s he adjusting to his new arrangements?”
    “Fine.” I set the tray down and then slid Karma’s plate in front of him. “Took him a few days to eat. He was in a real funk. Then I took him back to visit Pirate City.”
    “You what?”
    I slid into a chair and stirred the honey into my tea. Should I have not told him that? It wasn’t against the law. Still, he was making me feel like I did something wrong with the way he was staring at me like I was crazy. “It was fine. The people there were friendly and it seemed to help Karma.” I snuck a glance at him as he slid into the chair across from me and folded his hands together. His crisp sapphire shirt matched his eyes. Holy moly, it was hot this morning.
    “Listen, Miss Winters…”
    “Darwin.” Why did everyone insist on making me feel like my mother?
    “Darwin. I don’t know where you came from…”
    Same planet as you. “Savannah.”
    “Okay. But, here, you can’t just go wandering into the homeless camp. It’s not a safe place; there are drug abusers, criminals, very, very desperate people who wouldn’t think twice about robbing you…or worse. Do you understand?”
    “Yes.” I poured raw sugar into Mad Dog’s tea, like he liked it, and stirred. There was no way I was giving up on finding out who took Mad Dog away from us, and that was something I knew I had to make Detective Blake understand. “It’s a shocking way for human beings to live. And I did notice the violence. There was a boy there that looked injured just like Mad Dog. Someone is beating these poor people up. Like they don’t have enough problems.”
    “All right, look.” Detective Blake rubbed the space between his eyes and sighed. I noticed a distinct lack of a wedding band. Gah! Stop it, Darwin. This heat was really getting to me. “Since I have a feeling you’re not going to listen to anything I tell you, I’ll tell you this as a warning. Last month a guy named Harold Barber got released from jail. He’s homeless, though I don’t think he stays at Pirate City. They call him Scary Harry.”
    Sounded like a Sesame Street character