Page 123 of Concealed in Death

“Why did you steal the dog?” Eve interrupted.

“What?”

“The dog. You were charged a few years back for dognapping.”

“I didn’t steal the dog. I released it from its neglectful owner who kept it chained outside, summer and winter, with no shelter, who often forgot to feed it or give it fresh water. And”—oh, she was wound up now—“who told me when I spoke to him about it to mind my own fucking business, using that word in front of my little girl.”

“Nice,” Eve commented.

“One day instead of taking food and water over to the dog when the abusive, ignorant, disgusting excuse for a human who owned it was out—probably getting drunk, again—I took over bolt cutters. Then I took the dog to the vet.”

“You got charged.”

“Because I refused to give the dog back to him. The dog needed to stay at the vet to be treated for dehydration, malnutrition, fleas, mange, among other issues.”

“Aw.” Peabody’s dark eyes filled with sympathy. “Poor thing.”

“Yes! I refused to say where the dog was, and the pathetic man called the police. I was charged with taking the dog, and when the dog was examined, he was charged with animal abuse. That was satisfying.”

“What happened to the dog?” Eve wondered.

“We named him Bones, my daughter’s idea.” She smiled now. “He’s healthy, sweet-natured, and enjoying living in New York.”

She pulled out her pocket ’link, swiped, then held it up. On screen sat a sleek brown dog with floppy ears and a dopey look in his eyes.

“He’s so cute!” Peabody exclaimed.

“He is now, and worth the arrest and the fine.”

“If you’d’ve called the cops, you’d have avoided the arrest and the fine,” Eve pointed out.

“Maybe, but I was too mad. And I enjoyed breaking Bones out of jail. So, now that we’ve settled that, about the media—” She broke off as her pocket ’link played a bar of—of all things—one of Mavis’s current hits. “That’s my girl’s signal.”

“We’ll head over to Kendrick.”

“I’ll be a minute.”

“Take your time.”

“I hate when people are mean to animals,” Peabody said as they headed out.

“The guy was obviously an asshole,” Eve said, “but taking the dog that way? It’s playing vigilante and shows a little problem with impulse control.”

“Maybe, but Bones sure looked happy. You’re really not going to tell her the theory?” Peabody glanced back as they turned toward Elsie Kendrick’s area.

“I don’t know her well enough to trust her, and don’t know if I’ll trust her when I do know her well enough.”

She walked in to find Elsie working at a control panel. “Hey. I’ve just about got her. Just fine-tuning.”

“These are really mag.” Peabody turned from the sketches pinned to Elsie’s board. “They’re really beautiful. I wonder if maybe we could have copies for the ones who had somebody. Their parents or guardians, who cared about them.”

“I can make copies, sure.”

“That’s a good thought, Peabody.”

“Here’s our last girl.” Elsie set the controls for the holographic reconstruction.

Eve watched it shimmer into three dimensions.