"That's great! Are you going dancing?" Marisol would be gloating the next time I talked with her.

"Dinner and dancing and then," Dovie waggled her eyebrows, "who knows."

I stuck my fingers in my ears. "Lalalala." First my parents, now this. I couldn't take much more. "What's the favor?"

Dovie looked up the stairs. "Rufus. I'll take him out before I leave, but he'll need a walk around nine."

Maybe my plan for Dovie to adopt Rufus had been ill thought out.

"And I'm not sure when I'll be home." More eyebrow waggling. "So he may have to go out again around midnight."

Definitely not my best idea. "Why don't I just bring him home with me now?"

Dovie's eyes lit. "Perfect! Why hadn't I thought of that myself?"

She wasn't fooling me.

22.

Rufus tugged me along and for a while I wasn't sure who was walking who.

Who. Whom? Where was Preston when I needed her? Scratch that. I couldn't handle Preston right now. I really just wanted some alone time. Now that the caffeine was kicking in I wasn't as tired, so I thought about indulging my love of musicals dragging out my DVD of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Dusk settled early this time of year. The bluffs were in shadow, while the setting sun danced along the water as Rufus did his business.

My cell phone rang, and I thought for sure it was going to be Sean with an update. It wasn't-it was Marisol, and sure enough, she was gloating.

"You should have seen Dovie and Dr. Kearney, Lucy. Your father couldn't have planned it any better."

"He would be proud."

"Well, I can't see auras, but I know people. They're perfect for each other."

"Maybe so." I didn't want to set my hopes as high as Marisol's. I'd been down this road before with my grandmother. "Have you heard from Em?"

Rufus tugged at the leash. He led me down the long drive toward the main road, sniffing his way along the lane and stopping to mark every bush in sight.

"She called from the airport before her flight took off. She sounds happy."

"I don't like her going alone."

"Me, either," Marisol agreed, "but it might do her some good. She's been having a harder time adjusting to single life than I thought. Has Aiden asked her out yet?"

The driveway was lined on both sides with woods Dovie's landscapers kept from encroaching onto the gravel. Flowers and trees had been added over the years to accentuate what Mother Nature had already made beautiful. In the spring, crocuses, daffodils, and tulips would be the first colors to show against the dull browns and greens left by a long winter. "Not yet."

"What's he waiting for?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe a sign from Em."

"This could go on forever. We need to push this along. Let me think on this. I'll get back to you."

She hung up, and I stared at the phone. Before I knew it, she'd be asking my father for a job.

Rufus stopped and marked the trunk of a beech tree. He pressed on, dragging me behind, and as we neared the end of the driveway I nearly fell over Rufus when he stopped short, freezing mid-step. Then I heard it. The snap of a twig to my right. Rufus barked. I squinted, trying to make out any forms in between the shadowy trees. My heart beat hard against my ribs.

After a long minute, Rufus licked my hand, set his nose to the ground, and led me away. I was being paranoid again, that was all. Twigs snapped in the woods all the time. There was nothing nefarious about a squirrel scampering from tree to tree.

Along the main road, two mailboxes sat along the edge of a small crescent cut out of the woods-a safe pull-off for the mail carrier. Rufus investigated the area around the black posts as I scooped the mail from my box.

While Rufus sniffed around, I picked through bills and catalogs and several handwritten envelopes to me-probably requests for my services. I opened one of the letters. It was a request from a teenaged boy to find the diamond necklace he had "borrowed" from his mother so his girlfriend could wear it to a costume party. He had gone dressed as a sugar daddy and she his trophy wife. I smiled but knew I couldn't help the boy unless he was willing to confess to his mother-I'd need to do the reading on her.

Tucked in between two letters was a postcard with a picture of the Old North Church on the front. It had a Boston postmark.

MISS YOU! WISH YOU WERE HERE! SEE YOU SOON!.

-CUTTER The smart-ass had mailed it before he left town.

Laughing, I tugged Rufus away from a poison sumac tree. Though it was winter, the oil could still rub off on his fur. "Come on, Rufus. Let's head back."

I heard revving sounds as a car barreled down the road, its engine roaring. I dove for Rufus as the car lurched to a stop two feet from where I cowered, sending bits of snow flying into the air along with my mail.

Rufus licked my chin as I shook with fear, with anger.

"Are you crazy?" I shouted as the driver opened the door. Then I couldn't say anything at all.

"Don't look so scared, Ms. Valentine. If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead by now."

"I thought that wasn't your style?"

Smiling, Tristan Rourke said, "It's not, but it sounded good, didn't it?"

He walked over to me, patted Rufus's head. "Cute dog."

Rufus flopped onto the snow and rolled onto his back, obviously hoping Tristan wasn't opposed to giving him a belly rub.

Grendel would have held out. He had a lot more pride.

Tristan crouched and obliged the dog. Rufus's tongue hung against the side of his muzzle in ecstasy.

I glanced at the car, an older-model black Chevy, trying to memorize the license plate number. Just in case I made it out of here alive.

"Don't bother," Tristan said, crossing his arms. Muscles bulged. He wasn't wearing a coat. "It's stolen."

"Why am I not surprised?"

He laughed and scooped up my mail, leaving Rufus wriggling in the snow trying to stand up.

Handing me the stack of mail, Tristan said, "I don't have long."

"Why have you been following me around?"

"I want Meaghan's information."

As if I was going to hand it over to him when he was wanted for murder-despite what she thought she wanted. She wasn't thinking straight. Love could do that to a girl. Luckily, I wasn't obligated to share the information. She was no longer a client of mine.

"Maybe you should turn yourself in," I suggested.

"Why?"

Good question. If he turned himself in, he was going to jail. For a long, long time. That wouldn't hold much appeal to me, either.

When I didn't say anything, he added, "I'm not guilty, Ms. Valentine. I didn't run over Spero, though I'd like to thank the person who did."

"There's an eyewitness."

He shrugged. "That person is mistaken."

Not a chance.

"Now, about Meaghan's information..."

"No," I said.

"I don't want to do this the hard way."

I took a step back.

He sighed. "Didn't I tell you violence wasn't my style?"

"I didn't believe you."

Rufus tugged on the leash. He was eager to get on with his walk. I heard an engine in the distance, drawing closer. I wouldn't mind a bit if it was a police cruiser.

Tristan heard it, too. He jumped into his car, rolled down the window. "I always get what I want, Ms. Valentine. I'll be in touch."

Unfortunately, I believed him.

He drove off, and the car I had heard coming never materialized. I let Rufus walk me back to the house.

We were almost to my front door when Rufus froze again, his ear cocked, his head tipped to the side in doggy concentration. I tried to pick up on what caught his attention, but I could only hear the crashing of the waves against the bluff.

Suddenly Rufus bolted. I lost hold of his leash as he darted off toward the woods on Dovie's side of the lot. He was barking and wagging his tail as he galloped along. I dropped the mail and gave chase but was winded by the time I reached the top of my lane. I watched Rufus run down the driveway, and in a blink he was out of sight. I knew I couldn't keep up with him. I went back for my car. And three hours of frantic searching and many tears later, I had to admit to myself I'd lost him.

23.

Grendel was sleeping atop my head when I woke to the sound of the phone ringing. It had jarred me awake from the most awful dream-I had lost Rufus.

I sat up, rubbed my eyes. They were crusty from salty tears.

Right. It hadn't been a dream.

I rolled to my right, quickly grabbed the phone from its base, hoping someone had seen the message I'd posted on craigslist last night about a missing golden retriever. "Hello?"

"Uva," Raphael said. "It's me."

I focused on the clock. It was just after seven. I'd slept for only an hour. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Your father needs you to come in to the office as soon as possible."

"Why?" I had a dog to find. If this wasn't important ...

"There's been a break-in and Oscar wants you to check and see if anything is missing."

There was a tight edge to Raphael's voice. I knew he hadn't told me everything yet. "What else?"

There was a long pause. "There was also a break-in at the penthouse. The Vermeer is gone, the Gandolfi, too."

I sat up. "Tristan Rourke."

"We think so, yes."

I knew so. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I'd only had an hour's rest. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Taking a quick shower, I let my hair air-dry to save time. I fed Grendel and Odysseus and grabbed the LOST DOG poster I'd made of Rufus last night. I needed to make copies and hang them on every streetlight around town. But as I gathered all my things, I couldn't help but wonder if I would be wasting my time.

It seemed to me Tristan Rourke had been on a stealing spree last night.

Had it extended to dognapping as well?

It certainly wouldn't be the first time.