Free Do or Di by Eileen Cook Page B

gave another juicy sniffle and I looked into her face trying to convey I was a trustworthy person in case she was leery of a strange woman showing up at her door looking for her daughter. Her pupils were so dilated that they looked like black nickels pressed into her pale flesh. I took a step back. She didn’t look like me being strange would be an issue. She looked like she might not even be aware that I was there.
     
    “Friend, huh? Well, she’s not here.” She scratched her arms and I concentrated on not looking for track marks.
     
    “If you see her will you tell her that Erin stopped by?”
     
    “Wait a minute.” She went into the house leaving the door open. I could see into the hallway. There was a worn oriental-style runner down the hall and at the far end a glimpse into the kitchen. The chipped laminate counter was piled with dishes. I heard a flush and a guy wandered into the hall wearing a pair of jeans and no shirt. His hair was oily and he had entirely too much hair on his back. He gave me a flat, expressionless look and walked out of sight. I had my doubts that this guy was Diana’s dad. He also didn’t have a general positive male role model look to him. Diana’s mom came from the kitchen, preceded by a dog that looked like a mix between a German shepherd and a rabid beaver. The dog was straining at the leash toward me. The dog’s toenails clicked and scratched the floor as it thrust itself forward. I took several steps back.
     
    “Here.” She tried to hand the leash to me and a wrinkled plastic bag. I held my hands up as if it were a robbery.
     
    “I don’t want a dog,” I said. This struck me as one of those things that shouldn’t require an explanation. Did she think people went door to door in search of pets? Like a wandering Humane Society?
     
    “The dog belongs to Diana. Give it to her when you see her.” She thrust the leash forward again. Her hand touched mine and her skin felt hot and dry like paper about to burst into flame.
     
    “I don’t know when I’m going to see her.”
     
    “Me neither, and I don’t want the damn dog around. He bit Craig.” She didn’t explain who Craig was, but I suspected he was the shirtless wonder. I looked down at the dog. I wondered if he had caught any type of communicable disease from his contact with Craig.
     
    “I can’t take this dog.”
     
    “Well then leave him to play in the street. I don’t care.” She dropped the bag and I heard a couple metal bowls clang inside. She snorted back another glob of mucus and shut the door in my face. The dog sat there looking at me. His tail thumped on the stoop. I gave a sigh. I bent over and picked up the leash and led the dog back to my car. He jumped in the backseat, his tail picking up speed. As it wagged, clumps of fur flew off and started to coat my black upholstery in hairy drifts. I sat in the front and rested my hands on the steering wheel taking a few deep breaths. The dog’s muzzle was inches from my ear and I could both feel and smell his breath.
     
    “You have a name, dog?” He gave a few enthusiastic pants. Garbage Breath was a possible option. I wonder if Wayne had dog issues as a child. My cell rang in my purse and I fished it out. It was the station’s receptionist. Diana had shown up there to see me. She was in the lobby right now. The receptionist wanted to know if I still wanted her to call security. I told the receptionist to get Diana a cup of hot chocolate or something and to keep her from leaving. I was holding her personally responsible for making sure that girl stayed put. I revved up the car and raced back to the station.
     
    Diana was waiting in the lobby. She looked younger than I remembered. She was tall, but she tended to hunch her shoulders and her knees bent inward when she sat. She nibbled on her thumbnail. She looked up as I came in.
     
    “Must be nice to be paid for a job where you don’t even have to show up.” Her hands laced together and swung