Read Online This Dog for Hire by Carol Lea Benjamin - Free Book Online
Authors: Carol Lea Benjamin
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keep our mouths shut and our ears open.” That’s the second law of investigative work. But I sometimes have trouble with the mouth shut part. I thought Dennis would, too.
“Dennis, don't tell anyone you hired me or what I do.” “Oh, God.”
“What? Or should I say who?”
“I told Louis.”
“Shit. Anyone else?”
“No. I swear .”
“Okay. Let’s keep it that way. I have to lie sometimes. Do you understand?”
“I never thought about it. I’m not exactly experienced in this sort of thing. Sorry. I’ll watch my mouth. I promise.”
“It’s my fault, Dennis. I fucked up. I should ha\e told you. It just means Louis will be, well, more guarded with me.”
“You’re not thinking that Louis —”
“It’s possible. He did gain from Clifford’s death.”
“Not nearly what he lost.”
Now it was my turn to be silent.
“You’ll be there, at the opening?” he asked. “Definitely. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Would you?”
“Clifford would kill me if I did, no matter what it took. Sorry I woke you, Rachel, but you said I could call anytime, and, shit, it’s ten-thirty.”
“No problem. I was up late reading Clifford’s address book. His brother Peter lives in Woodcliff Lake, by the way, not Fort Lee.”
“Same difference. It’s all Jersey,” he said. “Dennis, while I’ve got you on the phone, I need to ask you something. You said Magritte’s collar and leash were missing, right?”
“Yes. They weren’t on the hook, and I didn’t see them anywhere else.”
“What did they look like?”
“Red leather, thin, buckle collar, not a slip, four-foot leash. Oh, and Cliff had hung a little bell on the liar. He liked the way it sounded when Magritte talked. Why?”
“Dashiell found them, on the pier. The leash was tied to the back fence, way Sow. buried in the snow. So he was there. Dennis, I’m sorry, but it looks as if Clifford took Magritte and went out to meet someone. Why else would he be on the pier at that hour?”
“You mean he took Magritte out to help him hit 0 n someone and then tied him up while he was having sex? That’s so cheap.”
“It’s done all the time, Dennis. Let’s get real here. Well, it may not be done all that often with a dog in tow, but guys are out there fucking in all kinds of weather and at just about any hour after-dark. Am I right?”
“Okay, okay, I hear you. You’re right. The police are right. So he had Magritte with him, and Magritte carried on while Clifford had sex. Magritte wouldn’t have taken this lying down, you know. He had this thing about not being stopped from what he was doing. So if you took him out to walk, you better keep walking, not tie him up and fuck. That wouldn’t have been part of his agenda.”
“Dennis, I didn’t say Magritte was happy to be tied up on the pier. And I know you're not happy to hear this.”
“Never mind that. We’re after the truth, aren’t we? So, the way I figure it, why take the dog? He only would have made a racket. He’d have sounded like he was being murdered. That’s just the way he was when he was thwarted. People think these dogs are quiet because they don’t bark. Trust me, they’re not quiet.”
“Dennis, I can’t say for sure why Cliff took Magritte with him, but you have to admit, a dog is ;l great icebreaker. No pun intended.”
“Okay, okay, I understand, but what about the money, the thousand dollars?”
“Clifford wasn’t quite as poor as you thought he was, Dennis. There’s apparently money in the family. ”
“And the thousand?”
“Maybe he was just careless about money, since he never had to worry about it. Or maybe, like a lot of guys, he liked to carry a lot of cash. I read once that women will walk around with twenty bucks on them and feel fine, but that a majority of men don’t feel right unless they’ve got at least a hundred bucks in their pockets. Maybe he needed the money for something the next day and forgot it was in his pocket. Re
“Dennis, don't tell anyone you hired me or what I do.” “Oh, God.”
“What? Or should I say who?”
“I told Louis.”
“Shit. Anyone else?”
“No. I swear .”
“Okay. Let’s keep it that way. I have to lie sometimes. Do you understand?”
“I never thought about it. I’m not exactly experienced in this sort of thing. Sorry. I’ll watch my mouth. I promise.”
“It’s my fault, Dennis. I fucked up. I should ha\e told you. It just means Louis will be, well, more guarded with me.”
“You’re not thinking that Louis —”
“It’s possible. He did gain from Clifford’s death.”
“Not nearly what he lost.”
Now it was my turn to be silent.
“You’ll be there, at the opening?” he asked. “Definitely. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Would you?”
“Clifford would kill me if I did, no matter what it took. Sorry I woke you, Rachel, but you said I could call anytime, and, shit, it’s ten-thirty.”
“No problem. I was up late reading Clifford’s address book. His brother Peter lives in Woodcliff Lake, by the way, not Fort Lee.”
“Same difference. It’s all Jersey,” he said. “Dennis, while I’ve got you on the phone, I need to ask you something. You said Magritte’s collar and leash were missing, right?”
“Yes. They weren’t on the hook, and I didn’t see them anywhere else.”
“What did they look like?”
“Red leather, thin, buckle collar, not a slip, four-foot leash. Oh, and Cliff had hung a little bell on the liar. He liked the way it sounded when Magritte talked. Why?”
“Dashiell found them, on the pier. The leash was tied to the back fence, way Sow. buried in the snow. So he was there. Dennis, I’m sorry, but it looks as if Clifford took Magritte and went out to meet someone. Why else would he be on the pier at that hour?”
“You mean he took Magritte out to help him hit 0 n someone and then tied him up while he was having sex? That’s so cheap.”
“It’s done all the time, Dennis. Let’s get real here. Well, it may not be done all that often with a dog in tow, but guys are out there fucking in all kinds of weather and at just about any hour after-dark. Am I right?”
“Okay, okay, I hear you. You’re right. The police are right. So he had Magritte with him, and Magritte carried on while Clifford had sex. Magritte wouldn’t have taken this lying down, you know. He had this thing about not being stopped from what he was doing. So if you took him out to walk, you better keep walking, not tie him up and fuck. That wouldn’t have been part of his agenda.”
“Dennis, I didn’t say Magritte was happy to be tied up on the pier. And I know you're not happy to hear this.”
“Never mind that. We’re after the truth, aren’t we? So, the way I figure it, why take the dog? He only would have made a racket. He’d have sounded like he was being murdered. That’s just the way he was when he was thwarted. People think these dogs are quiet because they don’t bark. Trust me, they’re not quiet.”
“Dennis, I can’t say for sure why Cliff took Magritte with him, but you have to admit, a dog is ;l great icebreaker. No pun intended.”
“Okay, okay, I understand, but what about the money, the thousand dollars?”
“Clifford wasn’t quite as poor as you thought he was, Dennis. There’s apparently money in the family. ”
“And the thousand?”
“Maybe he was just careless about money, since he never had to worry about it. Or maybe, like a lot of guys, he liked to carry a lot of cash. I read once that women will walk around with twenty bucks on them and feel fine, but that a majority of men don’t feel right unless they’ve got at least a hundred bucks in their pockets. Maybe he needed the money for something the next day and forgot it was in his pocket. Re
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