Free Dinner And A Murder: The 3rd Nikki Hunter Mystery (Nikki Hunter Mysteries) by Nancy Skopin

practical for me to have a dog. I know there are a lot of dogs living on boats here, but I don’t think that would work for me. I could adopt him and then find him a home on shore. That way he won’t be put to sleep and I’ll be able to live with myself.”
    “He must be some dog.”
    “He is. He’s still a puppy, but his feet are huge so he’s going to be big. He has short hair and black markings around his eyes and muzzle, and he’s smart. He makes eye contact. Most dogs don’t make eye contact. Short hair is good, right?”
    “Short hair is very good,” she said, smiling indulgently.
    I took a sip of the Beaune Cru. Sometimes price does make a difference.
    “You know how I feel about dogs,” I said. “Speaking of which, have you seen D’Artagnon lately?”
    “I know his arthritis is getting worse, if that’s what you mean, but I haven’t seen him out on deck today.”
    “Neither have I.”
    I was wondering if Kirk had decided D’Artagnon was suffering too much, but I didn’t want to say it out loud.
    Over dinner I filled Elizabeth in on my high school reunion, all the sordid details, including Steve’s phone call today. Then I told her about my new case, how I’d asked Sam to help me for the first time since I’d gotten my license, and how worried I was about Paul. She listened to everything I had to say in silence before responding, which is her way, and then told me I was stupid to feel guilty about being attracted to Steve at the reunion. Of course I was no longer attracted to Steve. Steve was pond scum.
    “Caring for Bill doesn’t mean you’re dead, Nikki. It means that when you’re attracted to someone else, you don’t act on it. You think Bill’s never attracted to anyone else?”
    That wasn’t something I was prepared to contemplate at the moment, what with my current state of nicotine withdrawal.
    At the end of the evening I felt lighter, even though I’d eaten my weight in spaghetti and tiramisu. I promised that next time we got together I’d let Elizabeth unload and I would listen.
    “I’ll look forward to that ,” she said, with an eye roll.
    I left around 9:00 and walked slowly past Kirk’s boat. D’Artagnon was nowhere in sight, but I was relieved to see that the dog biscuits I had left on the bow were gone.
    When I got home I called Bill.
    “Do you like dogs?” I asked.

Chapter 11

    T here was a moment during which I imagined Bill looking at the receiver in confusion.
    “Why?” he finally asked.
    “There’s this big shiny red-haired puppy that followed Rocky home today. He’s a shorthair and he has huge feet and big brown eyes and he’s adorable, but Frank called the Humane Society and now Buddy’s in jail.” I took a breath.
    “Buddy?” Bill said.
    “That’s what Frank named him. If nobody claims him and nobody adopts him, you know they’ll put him to sleep.”
    “So, you want to adopt him?”
    “Just until I can find him a good home.”
    “You’re a soft touch when it comes to dogs. Why don’t you give it a couple of days, in case his owner is out there looking for him?”
    “Sure. Of course. That sounds reasonable.” It did sound reasonable, but in the meantime Buddy would be in a cage.
    The next morning I tucked my Cyber-shot mini digital camera into my purse, and drove to Burlingame, to the Peninsula Humane Society. I pulled into the parking lot, heard the barking, and instantly felt the pull of all those homeless pups.
    I’ve never noticed that cats have a particular scent, but as I entered the lobby I inhaled the aroma of multiple dogs, and it instantly brought a smile to my face. I was still smiling when I introduced myself to the first employee I spotted, a perky blonde in jeans and a pink polo shirt. Her nametag read Cindy. I asked if Fiona was working today.
    “Fiona works in the afternoons,” she said. “She’s a volunteer.”
    “I spoke with her last night about a dog that was picked up at a marina in Redwood City yesterday. His