Page 40 of Promise Keeper

I didn't expect her to be so quick to the draw and was speechless for a moment. "I brought Liam to see Ellsworth. He's been depressed without him, and I think it would do him good to see that he lives here."

She blinked with exaggerated flicks of her lashes. "He's a dog."

"And he has feelings, just like you do. Are you taking the new development with Fiona all right? I'm sure it was a surprise."

"The ideas you have in that head of yours. I'm fine, thank you. Not in Florida, obviously, but fine. Is there anything else?"

"I guess not."

"Good. Tell Ben I hold no animosity toward him for this mess."

"I don't know why you would," I said, then remembered how I'd lashed out when it was my friend under the law's radar. "I mean, that's understandable. I'll let him know."

Ellsworth slinked between her ankles and meowed. Liam became a furry jumping bean on the end of his leash, darting between Irene's feet to chase his cat buddy.

Irene steadied herself against the door, grimacing and appalled by my dog's behavior. "Get that dog out of here!"

"Okay, Liam, you got to see him. Come on now." I knelt and pulled him into my arms. "Let's go home."

I turned and stepped from the threshold only to see Ellsworth streak past me. Liam barked and tried to free himself from my grip.

"Ellsworth!" Irene shrieked. "Look what you've done!" she shouted at me, pushing by me to run after her cat.

Liam wiggled and barked and wasn't staying in my arms no matter what. I put him down and hung on to his leash as he bolted in the direction the cat ran. "We'll find him," I called to Irene as I jogged past with Liam in the lead.

I headed down the sidewalk with Liam darting left and right, nose to the wind. The click clack of hard-soled flat shoes behind me told me Irene was on our tail. "Don't let him get too far!" she yelled.

"I don't see him!" I yelled back.

"Ellsworth!" she called, her voice high and strained. I thought she might break out in tears and started feeling bad for her. "I can't believe you brought that little flea bag to my house and now my cat ran off!"

My feelings of empathy quickly vanished. "There is not one flea on him, I'll have you know."

I wasn't used to jogging and cardio was never my strong suit. Before long I was gasping for breath. "Slow down, Liam. Slow down." I stopped and panted, bent over with my hands on my knees.

"I can't believe this!" Irene said, catching up with us. She pushed her hair back from her face. Her mouth trembled and her face was splotchy. "I can't believe it."

I had a feeling she wasn't talking about Ellsworth. "It'll be okay," I said.

"She's not to blame. This isn't right. I can't let this happen."

I didn't know how much proof she needed, but when a bone from a mystery skeleton is found in someone's backyard, it's likely that person had something to do with it. "Ben will get to the bottom of it," I said, trying to console her.

"No, he won't," she said, and sobbed into her hands. "He can't. He doesn't know what really happened."

"What? What do you mean?"

She shook her head, crying and on the verge of breaking into hysterics. I grabbed her by the shoulders. "Irene? Tell me what you're talking about."

"It's my fault," she whispered. Then she broke away from me, her face flooding red. "No, it'syourfault! He got it atyourhouse!"

"What are you talking about?"I was losing my patience and tired of being the target of her hostility.

Liam barked and took off, jerking my arm. Ellsworth sprinted past us through the neighbor's yard. In his mouth, he carried something I recognized from my attic. Something I'd mistaken as an icicle. "He has a rib bone!" I shouted.

"No!" Irene screamed. "No more bones, Ellsworth!"

I turned and looked back at her. "What do you mean nomorebones? Irene, what did you do?"

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