Read Online Rachel Alexander 05 - The Wrong Dog by Carol Lea Benjamin - Free Book Online

Chard

    I was scrubbing organic carrots, getting ready to feed them into the Cuisinart, when Chip called.
    “I got your message. What’s wrong?”
    The light was gone from the garden. Being surrounded by buildings, it gets dark early.
    “Sophie’s dead,” I told him.
    “A seizure?”
    “It looks that way. The meds were next to her. I don’t know if she took them and they didn’t work, or if the dog didn’t get them to her in time.”
    “The dog? Blanche got the medication for her?”
    “No. Blanche let her know what was coming. She usually had the medication on her, in a little pouch. But at home, she left it on her nightstand, and if she wasn’t in bed, she’d send Bianca for it. My guess is, she did it as a step toward her alerting one day, you know, to focus her on how Sophie was feeling and have her respond.”
    Holding the phone in the crook of my neck, I put the Swiss chard on the cutting board and began slicing along the bright red ribs.
    “I’m sorry, Rach.”
    “Me, too.”
    “So, you’re going to work tonight, wrap things up?“
    “It’s not that simple. First of all, even if I chose to do nothing else, there are the dogs to think about. There may not be any relatives. At least, her dog walker doesn’t know of any. Nor is he aware of any plans she made for the animals. So the very least I can do would be to find out if there are arrangements for the animals and if not, to try to place them. Blanche is here for a day or two. The dog walker has Bianca. He says his own dog is just like her, too much energy for Blanche or he would have taken both. But I don’t mind having Blanche here.”
    “And what’s that sound?”
    “She hasn’t eaten all day. Maybe she didn’t eat last night. I’m getting her dinner ready. I’m chopping Swiss chard.”
    “Swiss chard?For Blanche? Don’t tell me.”
    But I did. “Raw carrots and yellow squash, ground up small to imitate what would be in the stomach of a kill, cod-liver oil for essential fatty acids, vitamin E for a healthy coat and its antioxidant benefits, glucosamine and condroitin sulfate to help maintain and rebuild healthy joints, raw chicken, kelp—”
    “And chard.”
    “For calcium.”
    “So homes for two bullies. The young one should be pretty easy. Blanche is going to be tough, though. She’s how old?”
    “You’re way ahead of me, Chip. I can’t place the animals until I’m sure that’s necessary. Anyway, I said taking care of the animals was the very least I could do. Doing the least is not my intention.”
    I put the sliced chard in a pile and began to cut in the other direction.
    “I’m going to do what Sophie asked me to do. Actually, that's the least I can do and live with myself. Sophie was concerned that Side by Side is cloning dogs that will not work as expected for their disabled owners and I’m going to do my best to find them and tell them that. I’m going to start by listening to the tapes again, see if there’s anything I missed when I took notes. Tomorrow, after acupuncture, I’ll go over to The School for the Deaf and see if I can talk to anyone who was close to Sophie. I know there’s one person she was tight with, the receptionist. Then as soon as the police release the apartment, I’ll stay there for a day or two so that I can take care of the girls in their own home and while I’m there, I’ll check all Sophie’s papers, bills, notes—whatever I can find. I have to see if she made arrangements for the dogs or if there are any relatives who might take them.”
    “Do you need my help with anything?”
    “Maybe later, if I have to find the dogs a new home.” I measured the cod-liver oil and dumped it into the bowl. “Chip?”
    “I’m here.”
    “I wonder if it’s the food.”
    “If what is?”
    “Blanche. She’s eleven and a half and still working. I thought service dogs retired by nine at the latest.“
    “Apparently Sophie didn’t know that.”
    “And neither did Blanche.”
    She was