Page 69 of Men or Paws

I pulled a fancy black dress shoe from the rack and inspected it.

Salvatore Ferragamo.

Italian and expensive, of course.

“You have good taste, Mr, Romano, but you need some color in your life,” I mumbled to myself, placing the shoe back in its place on the rack.

Back by the bed, I held one of the decorative pillows close to me and smelled it, shaking my head in disappointment. Gwen must have washed the pillow covers, because I couldn’t smell Rocco on it.

I was about to pick up another pillow, but then stopped myself when the paranoid side of my brain clicked into gear.

Did Rocco have security cameras in the bedroom? In his closet?

I glanced to the right and then the left before walking over to the large mahogany dresser, pulling down the stuffed bear that was sitting on top.

People hid cameras in toys and stuffed animals. I’d seen it in movies.

I looked into the bear’s eyes. “Anybody in there?” I poked the bear’s eyes a couple of times with my index and middle fingers, then squeezed his head, his stomach, and lastly his legs.

I set the bear back down, coming to the conclusion that there was no camera, and that also, quite possibly, I was crazy.

What I really needed was to distract myself and catch up on my reading until it was time to connect on Zoom with Rocco. The cushiony chair in front of the window was the perfect place for my literary escape.

Too bad I forgot my Kindle in the guesthouse.

I glanced over at Houdini.

His eyes were now closed, like he was ready for a nap, so there was no need to take him with me. I tip-toed back out of the bedroom, down the hallway, and through the kitchen to the sliding glass door that led to the backyard.

Back in the guesthouse, I went to get my Kindle, but then stopped in the kitchen after seeing the Tupperware of dog treats on the counter. Thinking how happy Houdini would be when he saw them, I reached for the treats to bring them with me, but instead knocked the empty wine bottle to the tile floor, shattering it.

“I’m such a klutz,” I mumbled, shaking my head.

I blew out a frustrated breath and swept up the shards of glass that were scattered everywhere, dumping them into the trash can. Paranoid that I might have missed some glass, I cleaned again using the vacuum cleaner. The last thing I wanted was for Houdini to step on an errant piece of glass, plus I tended to walk around barefoot while I was at home.

Confident I had gotten all the tiny shards off the floor, I headed back to the main house, setting the dog treats on the kitchen counter, then continued down the hallway with my Kindle, ready to relax and read.

I entered Rocco’s bedroom and froze.

Houdini wasn’t napping on the end of the bed.

“Houdini?” I called out, then listened.

Nothing.

I searched every nook and cranny of the house, calling his name multiple times until I arrived at the entryway of the house and spotted something I did not want to see.

The front door was wide open.

I swallowed hard, not liking the feeling in my gut.

Houdini had escaped again.

ChapterFourteen

Beth

“Let me call you back,” I said, not giving Holly enough time to even say hello after she called me. “I’m in extreme crisis mode.”