Read Online Nothing To Sniff At (Animal Instincts Book 5) by Chloe Kendrick - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Chloe Kendrick
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“The house in Onyx, right?” The boy made a motion with his hand to enter the house, and I followed him into the house. He walked down the hall. It was amazing that it was such a similar action to what I’d done at the breeder’s home, yet with such a different feel to it. The breeder’s home had been smaller, but with a feeling of being lived in and comfortable in its design. This home, while much larger, felt sterile. The photos on the walls were in new frames. The decorations all appeared to have been placed on the wall by a decorator or by using a magazine picture as a stencil. While I knew money had gone into its design, I was left unimpressed.
We went into a room with filing cabinets, but even these had been upscaled. The cabinets were a dark wood, and the drawers moved effortlessly without the standard squeaks and groans of metal on metal. The young man pulled a file out of one of the drawers and handed it over. “Forwarding address. My dad was pretty sure it was real, because he’s going to get a refund on his security deposit. People are always more honest when there’s something in it for them.” He rolled his eyes, though I wasn’t sure if it was at man’s greed or his father’s aphorisms.
I had to agree with his words. I wrote down the address and thanked the young man for his help. He’d not been what I expected, but he’d been helpful.
This last address was back in Onyx, not far from where he’d lived before. It was amazing to me that in today’s society just a move a few streets from where you used to live made you a stranger in town. Troxel was less than a mile from his old rental house, and yet Delores, whose business it was to know everything, had not known where he lived. Granted, I knew nothing of my neighbors. Even though I got out regularly, unlike my mother, I had little to do with the people living around me. They saw me on walks with the dogs, but that was the extent of our interactions.
My thoughts went to Susan, who lived two thousand miles from where she had lived with us. She’d gone to drastic measures to get away from home. I hadn’t thought to ask about traveling companions on her bus trip, but I wasn’t sure that they would have provided me with that information. What had been so bad that she’d had to go away?
I tried to bring my thoughts back to the case and the fact that an innocent police officer was falsely accused of murder. I didn’t want to think about my family at the moment. I’d end up having to do something about my family, and I wasn’t sure what that would be yet.
I drove back to Onyx and found the new address. Sure enough, there was the fake Barkley in the yard, howling at anything that moved. I walked up to the dog and let him sniff my hand. “Hey boy, remember me?” I asked as he sniffed at me.
He put his paws on the chain link fence and began to bark at me, which I took for a yes. I patted him a few times on the head and then decided to walk around to the front door. I knocked twice before someone answered. If my old look had been one of wanting not to draw attention to me, he had gone to extremes with that look. His hair shot out in all directions. He obviously was just getting out of bed, even though it was four o’clock in the afternoon. He was wearing a pair of brown cargo shorts and a black t-shirt.
“What do you want?” he asked, not even bothering to look up at me.
“I want to talk about Barkley, the drug dog that you swapped for the guy outside.” I hadn’t had a plan coming here, but from his wardrobe and attitude, I felt a certain kinship. So I decided to shoot straight with this guy, much as I would want someone to do with me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His tone was flat. A novice would think that he was telling the truth, but the absolute lack of inflection made me believe that he wasn’t telling the truth. He was putting too much effort into trying to stay uninterested.
“I was at your
“The house in Onyx, right?” The boy made a motion with his hand to enter the house, and I followed him into the house. He walked down the hall. It was amazing that it was such a similar action to what I’d done at the breeder’s home, yet with such a different feel to it. The breeder’s home had been smaller, but with a feeling of being lived in and comfortable in its design. This home, while much larger, felt sterile. The photos on the walls were in new frames. The decorations all appeared to have been placed on the wall by a decorator or by using a magazine picture as a stencil. While I knew money had gone into its design, I was left unimpressed.
We went into a room with filing cabinets, but even these had been upscaled. The cabinets were a dark wood, and the drawers moved effortlessly without the standard squeaks and groans of metal on metal. The young man pulled a file out of one of the drawers and handed it over. “Forwarding address. My dad was pretty sure it was real, because he’s going to get a refund on his security deposit. People are always more honest when there’s something in it for them.” He rolled his eyes, though I wasn’t sure if it was at man’s greed or his father’s aphorisms.
I had to agree with his words. I wrote down the address and thanked the young man for his help. He’d not been what I expected, but he’d been helpful.
This last address was back in Onyx, not far from where he’d lived before. It was amazing to me that in today’s society just a move a few streets from where you used to live made you a stranger in town. Troxel was less than a mile from his old rental house, and yet Delores, whose business it was to know everything, had not known where he lived. Granted, I knew nothing of my neighbors. Even though I got out regularly, unlike my mother, I had little to do with the people living around me. They saw me on walks with the dogs, but that was the extent of our interactions.
My thoughts went to Susan, who lived two thousand miles from where she had lived with us. She’d gone to drastic measures to get away from home. I hadn’t thought to ask about traveling companions on her bus trip, but I wasn’t sure that they would have provided me with that information. What had been so bad that she’d had to go away?
I tried to bring my thoughts back to the case and the fact that an innocent police officer was falsely accused of murder. I didn’t want to think about my family at the moment. I’d end up having to do something about my family, and I wasn’t sure what that would be yet.
I drove back to Onyx and found the new address. Sure enough, there was the fake Barkley in the yard, howling at anything that moved. I walked up to the dog and let him sniff my hand. “Hey boy, remember me?” I asked as he sniffed at me.
He put his paws on the chain link fence and began to bark at me, which I took for a yes. I patted him a few times on the head and then decided to walk around to the front door. I knocked twice before someone answered. If my old look had been one of wanting not to draw attention to me, he had gone to extremes with that look. His hair shot out in all directions. He obviously was just getting out of bed, even though it was four o’clock in the afternoon. He was wearing a pair of brown cargo shorts and a black t-shirt.
“What do you want?” he asked, not even bothering to look up at me.
“I want to talk about Barkley, the drug dog that you swapped for the guy outside.” I hadn’t had a plan coming here, but from his wardrobe and attitude, I felt a certain kinship. So I decided to shoot straight with this guy, much as I would want someone to do with me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His tone was flat. A novice would think that he was telling the truth, but the absolute lack of inflection made me believe that he wasn’t telling the truth. He was putting too much effort into trying to stay uninterested.
“I was at your
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