Page 71 of Better Luck Next Time

Dottie, of course, agreed to come over right away.

Adalia and Finn waited outside with Tyrion, who continued to walk around and sniff the yard, peeing on several things in what Finn assured her was an encouraging development.

The frizzy-haired neighbor from a few houses down was walking down the sidewalk and did a double take when she saw the dog. Her eyes lifted to Adalia’s in horror. “You haveanotherpet?”

“Yep,” Adalia said, puffing her chest with pride. “This is Tyrion. He’s part dire wolf.”

The woman’s eyes grew wide and she hurried off, casting backward glances at Adalia and the dog.

“I’m not sure you should have provoked her,” Finn said, shaking his head with a grin. “River’s phone’s about to blow up with people petitioning to remove the wolf from the neighborhood. You better hope he doesn’t give them your number.”

“I can take it.”

Dottie arrived a few minutes later, wearing a flowing multicolored kaftan, her lavender hair wrapped in a bright blue and white turban. She held out her hands as her gaze landed on the husky. “What a darling!”

“Dottie,” Adalia said, “this is Tyrion.”

“Such a strong name for such a handsome dog,” Dottie said, crouching down to pet him. He instantly started wagging his tail. “I’ll go find our sweet girl so your boy can get to know his new home. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to come in.” She rose up spryly, as if crouching at her age weren’t a near-wondrous feat, then headed up the porch steps.

“Sweet girl?” Adalia snickered under her breath.

“Dottie always seems to see the best in people…and animals.”

There was no disputing that.

They chatted about the show for a few minutes—Finn asked if she’d be willing to make a couple of artist visits while he was out of town, and she agreed. But when Dottie didn’t reemerge after ten minutes, Adalia made a show of looking at her watch.

“What do you think? Has Jezebel murdered her?”

“Probably not,” he smirked. “But the last time Dottie was given full run of this house she nearly burned it down. Maybe we should go in and check.”

“Good idea. It’s one thing for Jack to come back to a new dog, and another to come home to a new dog sitting in a burnt-out house.”

They took Tyrion around to the back yard, tied his lead to the tree by the bench, making sure he had plenty of shade, then went in through the back door.

“I’ll go first,” Finn said, motioning for her to get behind him.

“See, I told you that you were courageous,” she teased. But she didn’t object. She didn’t feel like getting clawed any more than he did.

Dottie was standing in the middle of the kitchen, holding a smoking oversized cigar. An open can of sardines sat at her feet at the center of a three-foot-diameter circle she’d drawn in chalk. Several multi-colored crystals had been spaced out along the line.

“Um, Dottie…” Finn said, his hesitation apparent, “this looks…interesting.”

Adalia shot him a huge grin before turning back to Dottie. “What do the crystals do?”

“The energy from the blue and yellow crystals is intended to draw Jezebel to the center of the circle, while the purple, black, and clear ones will keep her there.”

“Why didn’t we use this setup in June when Jezebel was on the loose?” Finn asked, glancing down at his arms as if he could still feel the cat’s claws.

“I’ve been reading up on it, dear,” Dottie said patiently, “in case Jezebel lost her way again. I confess, I never expected to use it in the house.”

“Are you planning to catch her?” Finn asked.

“I was thinking we’d draw her into the circle, then bring in your newest guest while she’s safely inside,” Dottie said.

“And the crystals will keep her there?” Finn asked.

“That’s the plan.”

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