Free The Kizuna Coast: A Rei Shimura Mystery (Rei Shimura Mysteries Book 11) by Sujata Massey Page B

garment bag. Obviously, this was a highly prized item.
    I gushed out my thanks and swore to bring it back in good condition.
    “Okay,” he muttered. “But what are you doing about the dog? Not that I’m offering to take her. She’d eat Mutsu within minutes.”
    “Well—I hope to take Hachiko with me to Sugihama.”
    “Is Helping Hands cool with that?”
    “Actually, I’ve been afraid to ask, in case they say no.”
    “You’re leaving tonight.” Richard said. “If they don’t let her on, you won’t get to go at all. Right?”
    “Sometimes you’re just too logical,” I grumbled. “Yes, I know. But I can’t figure out the right move.”
    “Make the dog seem like an asset, not a liability. You could tell them Hachiko’s a search-and-rescue dog or something.”
    “But that’s not really true—”
    “She’s going to help you search for Mr. Ishida, right?” Richard paused. “I suggest you say something, rather than nothing.”
    Feeling Richard’s eyes on me, I took a swig from my glass, picked up my phone, and rang Yano-san’s cell number. I was less hopeful than my friend about how the conversation might go. If Mr. Yano didn’t think people should bring contact lenses, surely he’d take the same attitude toward pets.
    Mr. Yano didn’t pick up; his voice mail recording was on. I was about to start my plea but suddenly realized leaving a message could give the volunteer organizer plenty of time to concoct a strong rejection. So I hung up.
    “I only got his voice mail,” I told Richard.
    Richard took a long sip of wine. “Getting back to the search-and-rescue idea. I think it could work. You could play some training games this afternoon, so at least the dog has the appearance of skill. You’ll need yummy treats, of course—”
    “I can’t train a dog,” I interrupted. “I’ve never had one.”
    “You said she has a beagle nose. Beagles are used all the time for searching suitcases in airports. People seeing those dogs expect them to be skilled.”
    It was true that appearances were important. I considered how I’d judged Mayumi because of her hair. “To make Hachiko look like a search-and-rescue dog to Yano-san, she needs to wear a red coat.”
    Richard had already picked up his cell phone. “I’m calling Isetan to see if they’re open for business today.”
    Richard and I hadn’t shopped together in a long time. Normally, we made pilgrimages to both the men’s and women’s departments, but today we headed to the famed department store’s pet fashion boutique, which occupied almost half a floor. On a winter-clothing sale rack, I found a quilted red coat from Rich Dog World that looked big enough for Hachiko. The children’s floor yielded two small Tory Burch T-shirts with appliquéd white crosses that would be easy to remove. One hundred dollars poorer, we returned to Richard’s apartment, where I sewed the crosses onto the dog coat and Richard put Mutsu in the Meowtize cloak he’d impetuously bought for an upcoming party.
    The fat cat did not look any better in black sequins, but I kept my opinion to myself and finished the last bits of packing. My duffel was quite heavy now. I decided to drop it off at Mr. Ishida’s store before going to the vet’s to retrieve Hachiko. With a kiss to Richard, I was off with my luggage by four o’clock.
    As expected, I received a friendly reception at Animal House when I made it clear I was taking Hachiko away with me. Too quickly, her leash was in one of my hands and a red shopping bag with sedatives, lemon-scented poop bags, and dog biscuits was in the other. Dr. Kubo had also written a list of daily care instructions, which would have been helpful, except they were printed in tiny eight-point kanji.
    Hachiko trotted out of Animal House alongside me. It seemed like her jaw stretched into a smile at the sight of the familiar Tokyo traffic. When we turned onto Mr. Ishida’s block, she surprised me by breaking into a run. She yanked me the