Page 75 of Men or Paws

I walked in front of the camera again and put another fake smile on my face as I was sure ulcers were forming in my body. “Yeah?”

He grinned. “I want Houdini to do one of his tricks for me before I go.”

I blinked twice, not knowing how to respond to that.

That’s when I knew I was right.

Things were about to get a whole lot worse.

ChapterFifteen

Rocco

Just when I thought I was starting to figure out Beth, she went and pulled a fast one on me. Did she really think I wouldn’t figure out she was using a stunt double instead of the real Houdini while connecting with me on Zoom? Maybe she was testing out a new business idea, Decoy Dogs for Hire, or something silly like that.

I was suspicious of Beth’s behavior almost immediately after we connected. She looked nervous, jumpy, like something was bothering her, even though she tried to make it look like everything was peaches and cream.

Okay, I admit at first I thought that dog was Houdini, but only because he wasn’t very close to Beth’s camera. I did actually think he looked smaller, but I figured it was the angle of her video camera or maybe our connection.

But then it seemed very odd that he didn’t respond to my voice.

The pink collar was the next thing that didn’t make any sense. Combine that with Beth’s behavior and I knew something wasn’t right. Luckily, the answer was delivered to me moments later via text message when Douglas told me Houdini was in his yard again.

That meant the dog Beth had was an imposter.

Whose dog was it? How did she get it so fast? And why did she feel the need to lie? Those answers would have to wait because it was time to have some fun with Beth as a payback for her dishonesty.

“Pardon me?” Beth asked, her face turning white.

I held in a laugh and leaned closer to the camera on my laptop, repeating myself. “I want Houdini to do one of my tricks for me before I go meet the director for drinks. Bring him closer, so he can see me and hear me better.”

Beth was just the cutest thing when she squirmed.

She glanced behind her, then turned back toward me slowly, most likely the wheels turning in her head. “Um . . . can we do this tomorrow? I really should let you go.”

“I’m okay on time,” I said.

“Oh . . . are you sure? It’s really no problem. You’re busy, I get it.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

Beth pointed to herself. “Me?” She gave an exaggerated laugh. “Why would you say that?”

I shrugged. “You’re acting strange again. Is there something you’re hiding from me? Did you take one of my cars out for a joy ride?”

She crossed her arms. “Do you really think I would do something behind your back like that?”

You bet I do.

“Maybe not,” I said. “Okay, just take the laptop over toward him in the family room then.”

Beth hesitated, then glanced over the laptop, before looking back at me.

I was certain someone was there with her, maybe the dog’s owner.

“Look—there’s something I need to tell you,” Beth said.

There was no way I was going to let that happen.