was a miracle, but you both gave me a very special gift that night.”
“No, not me, that was courtesy of Elaine.”
“I don’t agree.” Kendra raised her glass in a toast. “But here’s to Elaine, the giver of many gifts.”
“Elaine.” Olivia drained her glass. She filled their glasses again. “I’m getting a little woozy. Did I mention I started before you got here?”
“Doesn’t matter. It numbs it a little.” She sipped the wine. “I had to go to the Big Rock tonight, and I was thinking how she’d have story time there for all of us once a week. They were usually about the sea, or mermaids, or wonderful mysterious creatures from the depths. How we loved those stories. All those kids she helped over the years were—”
“Why are you here?” Olivia suddenly interrupted to ask. “You were in Afghanistan and suddenly you’re here investigating those murders? Where’s Lynch?”
“Later. I don’t want to talk about Afghanistan. And I certainly don’t want to talk about Lynch.” She filled Olivia’s glass again. “It’s time to remember Elaine…”
* * *
4:40 A.M.
“Your phone is ringing,” Olivia said drowsily. She lifted her head from the arm of the couch where she’d curled up and fallen asleep sometime in the past few hours. Then she was digging through Kendra’s handbag on the coffee table. “Whoever it is keeps calling back.” She threw the phone on Kendra’s lap. “Answer it or turn it off.” She suddenly straightened. “Unless it’s Griffin with some word about Elaine.”
“I doubt it.” Kendra gazed blearily down at the phone. “Too early in the game to get any—” She inhaled sharply as she looked down at the ID. “Oh, shit. I forgot him.”
Olivia frowned. “Lynch?”
“Of course not. Metcalf.” She jumped to her feet. “I’ll be right back. Will you make coffee? We might need the caffeine.” Then she was running out of Olivia’s condo and up the steps to her own floor.
She heard the howling as she reached the second landing.
She heard the cursing as she threw open her front door. “I’m sorry. I got distracted and then I fell asleep.”
Metcalf glared at her. “Tell that to your super. He’s been up here twice because your neighbors are complaining you’re keeping a lion in your condo.” He looked balefully down at Harley, who had backed him against the far wall of the foyer. “And that dog doesn’t like me. I don’t care what your friend Elaine said about him having such a wonderful disposition. He’s been at that front door waiting for you since you went down to see Olivia. Between the growling and the howling, he had to have been heard by everyone on this floor.”
But Harley had suddenly noticed Kendra. He tore across the room and skidded to a stop in front of her, his tail wagging excitedly. He lifted his head and opened his mouth to—
She quickly put her hand on his muzzle to change the greeting from a roar to a whimper of questioning alertness. “Nonsense. You should have just given him a little attention.”
“He didn’t want it. All he wanted was House Hunters.”
“What?”
“When I realized you weren’t coming back anytime soon, I flipped on the TV. I tried to watch SportsCenter, but—”
“SportsCenter? You disappoint me, Metcalf. I thought you’d be watching the Syfy channel.”
He shrugged. “I tried. They were showing a Battlestar Galactica episode I’d already seen a hundred times.”
“Oh, good. For a minute there, I thought I was going to have to take away your geek card.”
“Not necessary. Anyway, the dog’s howling suddenly got unbearable. So I flipped the channel. And I kept flipping it. He only stopped howling when I put on HGTV.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Specifically, a show called House Hunters. They were having some kind of marathon. Do you realize all they do on that show is look at homes?”
“Yes. It’s very popular.”
He shook his head. “I don’t get it. Anyway, it kept Harley quiet for a while. I actually fell asleep on your sofa. But when they started showing infomercials, everything changed. That’s when he started stalking me around the living room.”
“Stalking,” she repeated skeptically. “He’s a service dog. They don’t stalk.”
“Don’t tell me that. I did my best, but he’s very selective.” He said flatly, “He’s Jekyll and Hyde. With me he’s Mr. Hyde. He showed me in no uncertain terms that he’d had enough and wanted to follow you. And after a while he got impatient and started stalking me around the living room until I started phoning you for help. Then he stopped and