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and emotional. “I think we’re going to be good friends.”
    “Me, too. Now let’s stop all the gushy stuff and eat.”
    When we were done eating, I drove Bella back to Save’Em and parked at the rear, close to the little house where she’d left Sammy.
    “Want to come in and check on Durwood?” she asked.
    “I’d love it.”
    She unlocked the gate to the wooden fence surrounding the rear of the place and let us both in, then locked it again behind us. The property was lit similarly to HotRescues, with energy-saving halogen lights at safe intervals to illuminate the yard around the cottage, the park area, and the backs of the animal shelter buildings.
    “Just a sec. I’ll get Sammy.” Bella went through a similar procedure to unlock the house while I approached the rear of the main building. In a minute, she came back outside with Sammy at her side, unleashed but looking attached to her. “Let’s go see Durwood.”
    “Are you the only person here at night?”
    “Usually. Some staff members stay till nine most of thetime, and others come in at around six in the morning, so I’m not alone much. And if you’re worried about my being alone in an emergency, they’re all on call.”
    “Still …”
    We were inside the building by then. It, too, was lit by dim lights. “This way,” Bella said. Sammy stayed beside her.
    Most dogs we passed didn’t look up from their comfortable-looking beds on the tile flooring. An occasional muzzle lifted; eyes opened halfway, then closed as the dog went back to sleep. None even barked at Sammy, which showed they were familiar with him.
    That demonstrated to me that the dogs had no major fears about where they were. A wonderful testimonial to Save’Em.
    We were soon at the isolation ward. Bella told Sammy, “Sit. Stay.” Of course he obeyed. I liked that dog. My obedient Zoey and he would get along well.
    Bella and I went inside. Durwood was in an enclosure. Unlike the others, he didn’t stay asleep but stood immediately as we neared him. He didn’t bark but made a quizzical snuffling sound, like, “Did you come to take me out of here?”
    “I know it’s too soon to tell,” I said to Bella, “but do you think there’s any chance of his getting adopted? If not, maybe I should take him back and see if I can get anyone interested.”
    “We’ll see. You can always retrieve him if you want. But even if he doesn’t find a new home, he’ll be loved here. In fact, once he’s out of isolation, I want to introduce himto another dachshund who’s one of our favorites here—Ignatz. I think you met him the first day you were here.”
    “Of course. He’s adorable.”
    “He’s also in need of a pack member. I’ve got Durwood in mind to fill that role, assuming they get along.”
    “That’s what I’d hoped!” I said. “And if anyone comes along who’s interested in adopting one—”
    “I’ll make it a condition that both are adopted together.”
    I gave Bella a quick hug of approval. “Thank you so much! I won’t worry about Durwood, at least for now.”
    “Come visit him anytime. In fact, visit him—and me—often.”
    We continued walking around the main building. When we looked in on the cats, a couple were on the prowl within their special habitat, but most were asleep, too.
    I was finally ready to leave. I still had to go to HotRescues to pick up Zoey on my way home. In fact, if I’d been away for a while I almost always visited my shelter before I could settle down for the night. Micromanaging? I’d been accused of that by my nasty ex and, at the time, had felt hurt. Now I happily admitted to it as one of my special talents.
    Bella and Sammy walked out the back gate with me toward my car. It wasn’t alone in the parking lot. Apparently Bella noticed the other vehicle, a black Mercedes sedan, at the same time as me. She dashed toward it, Sammy at her heels. “What the hell are you doing here, Miles?”
    The driver’s window rolled down. “Just