darling and the center of attention. I think he’s too old to get used to living with a puppy,” Irene sighed.
Krister brushed off her protests with the paper he was holding in his hand and said, “Oh! Now you’re being pessimistic, kiddo. He’ll get used to it. It’ll be fun for him not to have to be alone when we aren’t home.”
“What do you think we should name him?” asked Katarina.
Irene looked at the little creature and then said acidly, “What about Tinkler? And do you see what he’s doing under the kitchen table right now?”
Chapter 18
THE MORNING AFTER THE first night, it was clear to the Huss family that it was going to take a while for Tinkler to become house-trained and acclimated to his new environment. Sammie had openly shown his distaste toward the ill-mannered rascal. Tinkler adored his father even if it was doubtful that the dogs had a clear idea of the relationship. The result was that Sammie had desperately tried to crawl under the beds and hide in the recliner while Tinkler thought that it was a very funny game and stubbornly followed him. When Sammie became really annoyed and barked at Tinkler, the little one had been scared out of his wits and become sad. He had sat whining and crying in the darkness, abandoned. No one in the Huss family had slept many hours that night.
“Summer vacation starts tomorrow. Then we can keep an eye on him,” said Jenny.
“Weren’t you going to work at Domus over the summer?” Irene asked, tired.
“I don’t start until Monday.”
Irene turned to Katarina. “When does swim school start?”
“The fifteenth. And it’s arranged—I’ll be able to work both sessions,” Katarina answered.
“How long will that be?”
“Six weeks.”
“That means that we have supervision for Tinkler until the fifteenth of June. Pappa and I have our vacations three and half weeks later. What do we do with him between June 15 and July 8?” Irene wondered challengingly.
“Dog sitter—,” Katarina started.
“That won’t work at all! She can’t take care of a little puppy. We have to be grateful she has the energy to look after Sammie. And she’s on vacation after midsummer and won’t start again until August 1.”
The little problem in question came bounding in, wanting attention. Katarina picked him up and burrowed her nose into his soft coat. Tinkler struggled wildly, wanting to taste some of her liver pâté sandwich. One of his eagerly jabbing back legs kicked over a full tea mug and spilled the contents over the entire table.
“My graduation clothes!” Katarina cried.
She jumped up and brusquely set the puppy on the floor. Maybe he was hurt or just very scared, but he began to cry pitifully. Katarina had tears in her eyes as she looked at her white trousers and white sleeveless top. Large tea stains decorated both pieces.
“Stupid dog!” she screamed.
The tumult woke Krister, who came down to the kitchen, heavy with sleep. When the situation was clarified, he oiled the insubordinate waves by offering monetary compensation for overtime, to be in effect the rest of the day. The twins were mollified.
“HOW’S ITgoing with the puppy?” asked Irene.
She looked at Tommy through the steam from her coffee mug.
“Just fine. She’s actually very cute. Agneta has been home with her since we got her on Sunday. But now the kids are out of school, so they’ll have to take care of her,” he said.
“What’s her name?”
“Nelly.”
Irene finished the last of the coffee in her mug.
Strange, she hadn’t noticed the slightest stimulating effect from the coffee. Maybe it had been mixed up with decaf?
“We searched Zorro Karlsson’s house yesterday. And now we have him! He kept trophies. Three pairs of underwear and a shoe were in a box in his closet. The items have been identified by the victims.”
Tommy sounded very pleased and he had every reason to be. He had wagered on a faint lead, the smell of food. But it had led to the perpetrator.
Irene got a bitter taste in her mouth when she thought about the things Basta had taken as trophies. Where did he store . . . Irene didn’t have the energy to complete that line of thought.
Svante Malm looked in through the doorway and said, “Howdy. I’m going to provide a briefing at morning prayers. Isn’t it about time for that now?”
His happy, smiling, freckled horse-like face and the red, gray-streaked hair standing on end made Irene think of healthy carrot juice. Get your eight hours of sleep and get into shape with