“You got it. Of course, he wins whenever I’m here.”
“Your dog’s running tonight?”
“First race. That’s why we came.” She pointed to the program.
“Well, if we’re just betting names…” Tracy lifted the program and scanned it. “How about California Girl?”
“Hand over your money. We’ll keep it simple. California Girl to win, okay? Give me two dollars.”
Tracy remembered being with CJ when he had lost thousands and it hadn’t fazed him. She parted with the two dollar bills as reluctantly as if they were glued to her hand.
Alice bet on a dog named Dancing Dervish. Janya abstained when none of the names in the first race impressed her. Wanda left to take their bets to the window. By the time she returned the race had begun. She didn’t look happy.
“What’s wrong?” Tracy asked.
“Chase the Suspect injured his front leg when they were unloading him from the van. Looks like he won’t be running tonight. And I wanted you to see him.”
Tracy had her eye on the race, a pack of dogs wearing what looked like colored harnesses and muzzles. She was not impressed. Judging by the loudspeaker, the nearly black dog running toward the end was California Girl.
“So we’ll just have to come back in the fall,” she said.
“I got the feeling maybe he’s run his last race.”
Tracy glanced at Wanda and away from the dogs. “What happens to them? They go off to be somebody’s pets?”
“The lucky ones, maybe. The guy standing behind me at the window didn’t think he’d be one of ’em.”
Tracy abandoned the race and her choice, who was now bringing up the rear. “You mean they…” She checked to see if Olivia was listening, but the girl was standing at the railing watching the end of the race.
“He’s got so much heart. He doesn’t deserve a bad ending,” Wanda said. “You should have seen that dog run.”
“I can’t believe… They just…” Tracy shrugged.
“They got rescue organizations that take them sometimes.”
“Then maybe that’s what will happen.”
“This is kind of a shabby place, case you didn’t notice? Kind of second-rate, with second-rate dogs and owners. They have a vet, have to. But the guy behind me was saying this vet would rather put a dog down than try to fix him. Especially if his racing career is about over.”
There were a lot of things about the world Tracy had been happier not knowing. And here was another one. Revelations were coming thick and fast, and she wasn’t that fond of any of them.
“I’m going to see if I can find him,” Wanda said, getting to her feet. “Maybe they’ll let me pay his vet bill or something and take better care of him.”
“They’re not going to let you near the kennels,” Tracy said, standing, too. “I’m sure they don’t let just anybody back there.”
“That dog gave me so much pleasure. I’d come here, and there he’d be, running his little heart out. I used to think he knew I was watching and he was doing it just for me.” Wanda reached down and got her purse. “You coming or not?”
Of course she wasn’t coming. Tracy couldn’t imagine why Wanda thought that was a possibility. Then, in the same way her hands had reached for those hush puppies—six of them!—her legs began to move. She waved to Janya before they could take her too far away.
“We’ll be back.”
Janya did not look convinced. “Please stay out of trouble. I have not yet had my first driving lesson.”
Wanda made a bed for Chase in the corner of her kitchen, using an old blanket and a pillow. She was fairly certain dogs didn’t need pillows, having grown up with hunting dogs who slept in wire enclosures with nothing but dirt and straw to keep them comfortable. Still, she figured the pillow wasn’t going to hurt anything. And sure enough, the dog curled up on the blanket and rested his head on the pillow, like that was the way he had always slept.
“So, tell me again what your husband is going to say?” Tracy asked.
“You just can’t let go of that, can you?”
“I wish I could be a fly on the wall.”
“You’re sure good at being a fly in the ointment.”
“You were going to take this dog and run if you had to, weren’t you? If I hadn’t been there?”
“To sweet-talk the owner, you mean? I never saw anybody turn on that much sunshine in my entire life. I thought I’d go blind.”
“It worked. Along with whatever amount of money you put