Page 99 of Black Dog

“That I’m questioning her sanity.”

“Well, it’s not my fault and there are only two of us in this conversation, so it must be your fault.”

“Let me put it to you this way,” Stone said. “If Joan still believes that Eddie Jr. is somewhere in the house, after Strategic Services has searched her house again and found no trace of him, is she nuts?”

“Those people of Mike’s are very good,” Dino said. “My wife is one of them.”

“I concur. Nevertheless, after the first search, Joan ‘feels’ that Eddie is still somewhere in the house.”

“How firmly does she believe this?”

“Firmly enough to order Mike Freeman to conduct a second search, this time with a different team.”

“Well, it seems to me that one of two things is happening,” Dino said.

“What are they?”

“Either one, Eddie Jr. is hiding somewhere in Joan’s house, or two, Joan is batshit crazy.”

“You mean, not entirely sane.”

“Batshit crazy is worse than not entirely sane. It’s batshit crazy.”

“Thank you for your psychiatric diagnosis,” Stone said. “I think that, since a new search has been ordered and should be underway shortly, we should withhold final judgment on the matter of Joan’s sanity until such time as we know the results of the new search.”

“Tell them to check the washer and dryer,” Dino said.

“Why the washer and dryer?”

“Because if Eddie Jr. is living there, he has to have clean socks and underwear at some point.”

“I will add that to their instructions,” Stone said, then hung up. He texted Mike Dino’s order, and Mike responded that his crew was on the way to Joan’s house.

FIFTY

A couple of hours later, Joan came into Stone’s office. “Will you go over to the house with me? I know that Mike’s people are there, but I’m still afraid to go inside, unless you’re there and armed.”

“I can arrange both of those things,” Stone said.

—

Fred drove up to the garage door at Joan’s house and stopped. “We need a new code to get in,” he said to Stone.

“Hang on,” Joan said. “I’ve got it.” She dug into her purse, came up with the remote control, and pressed the button.

The garage door silently opened, and Fred drove them in. They were greeted by Mike Freeman and his crew leader.

“I’m glad you came,” he said. “I’ve got something to show you.”

They followed him up to the kitchen and into the laundry.“In there,” Mike said, pointing at an appliance. He handed Stone a pronged piece of plastic, like big tweezers. “So you won’t leave DNA on anything.”

Stone opened the door and probed the interior, then came up with something black.

“What’s that?” Joan asked.

“A sock,” Mike said.

“Well, Dino called it. He said that if someone is living in the house he would need socks and underwear.”

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