Read Nonstop Spaniels (Novella) for Free Online Page B

there. My friend introduced us, and then someone showed me around the place. I really liked Ivo and told Dan so. Ivo’s a really nice Brittany spaniel mix.”
    I knew that. He was one of the dogs I’d scooped up and taken to Carlie’s.
    “Dan seemed happy about it,” Bartt continued. “Said Ivo’d been there for a while and had nearly reached the time he’d be put down simply because he hadn’t found a home.”
    “Really?” I knew I must have sounded incredulous. Sure, Ricki had had her concerns, and Ideman had said he didn’t want to join NKLA. But despite my own doubts I was surprised he had been so open with this man about the possibility of killing Ivo. Bartt took a menacing step toward me. Beyond his shoulder I saw Nina pick up the phone and motion toward it, silently asking if I wanted her to call the police.
    I gave a quick shake no, then said, “Look, Mr. Bartt. Since you’re here, you must know I’ve taken Ivo away from PetForYou to make sure nothing like that happens to him. But we have a lot of policies here. Right now, Ivo’s being checked over by our vet of choice, and that’s not Dr. Ideman’s clinic. Assuming he’s okay, he’ll be available for adoption here in a week or so. You can always put in an application, but you should know that we only adopt out to people we think will provide a good home.” I hoped my smile wasn’t too challenging. “And if you think that’s you, you’re not really demonstrating it here.”
    I braced myself either to duck or run, but instead of attacking he wilted.
    “I know. I’m sorry. It’s just that . . . well, Dan was a con man, or at least I think he was. He said that the PetForYou shelter had some financial issues despite its being related to the veterinary clinic, which was fairly successful. I own my own trucking company, it does well, and I gave him some substantial contributions for the shelter. He kept asking for more, figuratively dangling Ivo in front of me to keep me coming back. I could have strangled him—” His eyes widened as he realized what he’d just said. “But I didn’t. I didn’t kill him and didn’t mean to imply . . . Really.”
    “Mm-hmm,” I said noncommittally as I continued to assess him as a more viable suspect.
    His gaze at me now looked imploring. “Please, Ms. Vancouver. I’ve already been questioned by the cops. I’m not under arrest or anything like that. And there’s no reason for me to be. But I really, really want to adopt Ivo. Will you let me?”
    All business now, I explained our process in more detail and handed him an application.
    “Assuming Ivo’s healthy, I’ll want you to come back and we’ll go over the application. If everything in it is in order, then I’ll probably allow the adoption to go through.”
    I again met Nina’s gaze. Her eyebrows were raised, as if she asked “Really?”
    “Of course, that’s only going to happen if you genuinely didn’t kill Dr. Ideman,” I said offhandedly and watched his reaction. He still seemed sad and withered.
    “I understand, the way I came in here and what I said, why you might think I did, Ms. Vancouver. But honestly, I didn’t. I was just so frustrated . . .”
    “I understand,” I said, then paused. “Do you have any idea who might really have killed him?”
    “Other than the lady they’re talking about in the news, that woman who was an intern or something at his veterinary clinic? They said she argued with him about killing animals unnecessarily. Hearing that made me believe even more that he might have wound up killing Ivo. But—well, I once met Dan’s ex-girlfriend, Janine Norgram. She seemed nice enough, and their breakup was a few months ago. I doubt she would have killed him, and other than her—I’ve no idea.”
    He left soon after filling out the application for Ivo. I now had enough information to follow up on him, both as a potential adopter and as a murder suspect. I also jotted down Janine Norgram’s