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everything; but, of course, it wasn’t the same.
     
    So, I knew going in how much Sunny loves animals. I just didn’t figure on the trip being such an ordeal for me.
     
    I’d told Sunny in the car that we’d play it real cool . . . pretend we were looking for a dog to adopt. Then we’d casually mention Flora Adams. That was the plan.
     
    When we stepped inside, all you could hear was barking galore. It was enough to give you a migraine and make you give up the notion of ever wanting a dog, even if you really wanted one, which I did not. But, then we actually stepped into the kennels and saw those dogs. Oh, my goodness. Have you ever been to a dog pound and looked at all those faces . . . looked into all those expressive eyes? Why, you wanna take every one of those precious things home.
     
    But, hey, I’m realistic, too. I’m too old to train a puppy. And I really don’t need anything else to take care of. My budget’s pretty much strapped as it is. Besides, I’m a free spirit—when I wanna go somewhere or do something, I don’t want some blasted dog I have to think about first.
     
    And yet . . . . There he stood . . . a Chocolate Lab . . . staring at me with these amber eyes that seemed to see into my very soul.
     
    Sunny had done passed him by and was cooing at some puppies. “Ooooh, Mimi, look!” I heard her say.
     
    I tried to look . . . tried to walk away from that amber gaze . . . but I just couldn’t do it.
     
    “Can I help you?”
     
    I jumped, startled by the man’s voice. I glanced at him and then back at the dog. “He’s a big fella,” I said. “Is he mean?”
     
    “Naw,” the animal control officer said. “He’s a little timid; but once he sees you aren’t gonna hurt him, he’s your best friend.”
     
    I kept looking at the dog.
     
    “Would you like me to take him into the office so you can see how you like him?”
     
    “Please,” I said.
     
    Sunny came up to me, mouth wide. “Are you gonna get him, Mimi?”
     
    “We’ll see.”
     
    Sunny and I stepped back so the man could put a leash on the dog and lead him into the office. We followed them in, and the man shut the door between the office and the kennels. It made it a lot quieter, and I was glad for that.
     
    The man handed Sunny and me some treats to give the dog. “Here. He loves these.”
     
    Sunny went to feedin’ the dog. I figured it was a good time for me to talk. “I don’t know how Flora did it,” I said, “coming here every Friday to give these dogs ham.”
     
    The man grinned. “She made sure the cats had full bellies, too.”
     
    “Cats?” Sunny asked. “Where are they?”
     
    “They’re in a separate facility. I’ll show you later, if you want me to.”
     
    “Don’t you wanna take every one of them home with you?” I asked the man. “Didn’t Flora?”
     
    He shrugged. “Sure, we’d like to save every animal that comes in here . . . but we can’t. It ain’t possible. You realize that and then you do what you can. That’s why Ms. Adams brought ’em ham on Fridays. She knew it made ’em happy . . . at least for a little while.” He looked at me. “You a friend of Ms. Adams?”
     
    “I’m investigating her disappearance.”
     
    “I read about that in the papers.” He shook his head. “A real shame.”
     
    “Do you think it could’ve been Alzheimer’s or something like that?” I asked.
     
    “I guess anything’s possible, but she never acted flaky to me. I just hope somebody didn’t do her in.”
     
    “Yeah,” I said. “Me, too.”
     
    Wouldn’t you know it? That darned dog picked that very moment to leave Sunny—treats and all—and come lay his head on my knee.
     
    My lips in a tight, stubborn line, I grudgingly scratched the dog’s head. “I don’t have any business takin’ home a dog.”
     
    The dog thumped his tail against the floor.
    I looked at the man behind the desk. “Well, don’t just sit there. Don’t I need to fill out some papers