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excuse me, even I can hear Rowdy’s howling at this point.” Tim gathered up his groceries, and walked from the market. “Good day, Miss St. John.”
    “How rude! What an insufferable man!” Kathryn St. John said irritably. And how did he know she was a Miss ?
    “I think he’s kinda cute,” the checker responded, gazing after Tim as he went to his car. “He looks like a nice guy, Miss Kathy.”
    Tim could feel the women staring after him as he made his way to the car. Rowdy practically turned himself inside out at the sight of him. Tim opened the trunk of the car and put the grocery bags inside, slamming the lid down, and got into the driver’s side. He turned and looked at the dog. “When did I ever mistreat or desert you, you overgrown mutt? Here I am telling everyone what a good dog you are, and you howl like a banshee just because I leave you alone for a few minutes,” Tim said.
    Rowdy licked his face, making happy-dog noises.
    Tim laughed. “Go lie down,” he ordered the dog. “We have a lease to sign, and then we’re going to our new home. You’re going to have your own yard, Rowdy.”
    He put the car in gear and drove back to Mrs. Kirk’s office. She was waiting with four copies of the lease for him to sign. His late father had been an attorney. He had taught Tim to read anything he was going to sign. The lease was pretty boilerplate. He noted one small clause that read the price of the house to be determined by current market conditions at the time of the sale. He initialed it, signed where indicated, and pulled out his checkbook.
    “It’s a city bank’s account,” he told Mrs. Kirk.
    “As long as it’s good,” she told him with a smile. “If you’re interested in opening a local account, Egret Pointe National Savings Bank is reliable and safe.”
    “Thanks,” Tim said. “I’ll open the account tomorrow. Can you tell me the official address of my new home?”
    “It’s Sixty Wood’s End Way,” Mrs. Kirk replied.
    Pulling out his cell phone, Tim pressed in a number, waited, then said, “Hi, this is Timothy Blair. Your van can deliver my stuff to Sixty Wood’s End Way in Egret Pointe tomorrow. Give my cell number to your driver. My cleaning woman will be at the apartment at eight A.M. to let you in and lock up afterwards. Yeah, thanks.” He snapped the phone shut.
    “My goodness,” Doris Kirk said. “You are certainly very efficient, Mr. Blair. Here are your keys to the house. They are the only set in existence.”
    Tim took the keys, and then said, “Do you have a cleaning woman you can recommend, Mrs. Kirk?”
    “I do. Mrs. Bills, but she’s very particular about who she will clean for, so let me give her your number, and she’ll call you.”
    “Fair enough,” Tim said. “Thanks so much for finding me such nice shelter. I want to spend the rest of the week getting settled. Next Monday I have to get back to work and meet my teachers. School starts in just a few weeks.”
    “It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Blair. Good luck!”
    When he had left her office and driven off, Doris Kirk picked up her desk phone and dialed a number. The phone rang three times and was picked up. “Evie, it’s Doris Kirk. I’ve just rented the Torkelsen house to the new Middle School principal. He asked me if I could suggest a cleaning woman. I told him you, and that you would call him.”
    “What’s he like?” Evie Bills asked.
    “Handsome, well-spoken, and has a little money, from what I can gather,” Doris Kirk said. “I liked him. No-nonsense type. Came out from the city today to rent, and his moving van arrives tomorrow. He brought a sleeping bag for tonight. Has a dog. A silly-looking shaggy terrier mix with big brown eyes named Rowdy. The dog adores him.”
    “Well, that says something,” Evie Bills replied. “Dogs don’t adore bad guys. How am I going to call him if he hasn’t had a phone installed yet? Does he have a cell?”
    “He does,” Mrs. Kirk said,