Page 84 of State of Suspense

He rocked with silent laughter. “That’s good, because I’m kinda counting on that.”

She fell asleep smiling.

Chapter Fourteen

In the morning, Nick gently reminded Sam one last time that she needed to be ready for her date with Mrs. Hutchinson at three.

“Yes, dear,” she said as she kissed him goodbye. “I’ll be home in plenty of time.”

“I appreciate it.”

“You’re lucky I love you.”

“I’m the luckiest guy in the world because you love me. Be safe out there.”

“Always am.”

On the ride to HQ, she called Leslie Forrester. “I’m sorry to bother you so early.”

“It’s okay. I’m not sleeping very well, and I was going to call you today to tell you the funeral is scheduled for next Wednesday at the National Cathedral. Conlon will follow up with the details.”

“I’ll be there. The reason I called was to talk about your neighbor and the situation with the Dobermans.”

“Oh my. You don’t think that’s related to Tom’s death, do you?”

“Not really, but we’re investigating all possibilities, up to and including that. I wanted your take on that.”

“I wouldn’t put anything past him or his crazy-ass wife. They’re super entitled and think they should be able to do whatever they want on their property, including raising dogs that attack other pets.”

“Had it happened before your dog was attacked?”

“The neighbors on the other side of them say one of those dogs killed their cat. They can’t prove it, but they’re certain it was them. They’re always getting out of the yard. People are afraid to let their kids play outside.”

“Where does Animal Control stand on this?”

“To be honest, they’ve been mostly useless. They come by, cite the owners, and then we never hear from them again.”

Sam’s first stop at HQ would be to visit the folks at Animal Control. “What’s the wife’s name?”

“Laurel, and he’s Ralph. Tom called him Ralph Kramden.” It took a second for Sam to connect the name to the iconic grouch from the old TV show The Honeymooners.

“To his face?”

“Yep.”

Sam laughed. “That’s funny.”

“Not sure Ralph thought so.” She sighed. “I can’t believe I’ll never hear Tom call him that again.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how awful that must be.” And she didn’t want to imagine it.

“Thank you. It’s just such a shock. Ten days ago, we were laughing at dinner with the Coxes, and Damien Bryant. And now Tom’s dead, and Damien has been charged with crimes.”

“Wait. You had dinner with them ten days ago?”

“Yes. We got together frequently. Not so much since Damien started dating JoAnn, but before that, it was almost every week.”

“Who’s JoAnn?”

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