Free Howl Deadly by Linda O. Johnston

about letting Beggar out to greet you, but I didn’t get there in time.”
    “How is your sweet Irish setter tonight?”
    “Fine,” she said. “I walked Lexie and him together an hour ago, just before it got dark. Are you calling about our pet-sitting schedule tomorrow? I hope so.”
    Fortunately, I was already sitting at my cramped, round kitchen table in my cramped, square kitchen. Otherwise, I might have sunk down in anticipation. Rachel’s words sounded like a harbinger of her unavailability tomorrow, which would mean I’d need to double up on my own pet-sitting obligations.
    Well, I owed her for doubling up on hers for me.
    “That’s one reason I called,” I acknowledged, “besides making sure you knew I was home. And to thank you again for stepping in and also making sure I had enough additional pet-sitting backup while I was gone.”
    “No problem. Only—”
    “Only?”
    “I heard on the news about the guy who was killed at HotWildlife. It’s not enough that you’re hunting a missing wolf. Are you investigating another murder?”
    I sighed and stared at the phone. Word was already out. “Looks that way,” I finally said with a sigh.
    “Awesome!” she exclaimed. “You’re so good at it, too. The way you solved the murder of Sebastian Czykovski for us at Animal Auditions —that was my favorite case of yours so far.”
    Rachel had been a tenant, an assistant, and a friend during several murders I’d found myself involved in resolving. I wasn’t surprised that she was especially interested in the one at Animal Auditions , since she’s one of the hosts of the show. She had helped Brody come up with scenarios for our next mini-season, and he’d said planning was already moving along.
    “Thanks,” I said drolly.
    “Do you have any clues yet? Any favorite suspects so far?”
    “It just happened earlier today,” I said. “It’ll take time to unravel, I assume, like the others I’ve unfortunately been involved in.”
    She must have caught my less-than-ecstatic tone at last. “Oh. That makes sense. I hope this was another guy like Sebastian, who you weren’t especially fond of in the first place.”
    I answered her partially unasked question. “I didn’t know him well at all, but I’d no reason to dislike him.”
    “Was his name really Jon Doe?”
    “That’s right,” I said, although her query kicked a little button inside my brain. I’d lots of questions about Jon Doe, especially regarding anything he might have done to bring himself onto Brody’s computer screen for a search.
    As part of attempting to ascertain who killed him, I might have a lot of digging to do.
    “Anyway,” Rachel said, “I have a really big audition tomorrow, Kendra. I guess my being on Animal Auditions may have helped my acting career. It’s for a small part in a really big film. Do you . . . I mean, is it okay if I . . . ?”
    “If you’re asking if I can fill in for you and do all tomorrow’s pet-sitting, the answer is yes,” I said. “That’s our deal. You help me when you can, without being chained to what I do. And you’ve gone above and beyond that over the past few days. Go for it, Rachel. Break a leg!”
    I didn’t know if she’d get the role, or how much time it might involve, but I hoped she’d still be able to help me out.
    “You’re the greatest, Kendra,” she said, and I felt her warm hug leap from the mansion on my property, through the phone, and into my apartment.
    “Of course I am,” I said, then hung up.
    A little while later, I’d walked Lexie for the last time that night, showered, and gotten ready for bed.
    And willed the phone to ring, as it always used to do a while back, when I was dating Jeff Hubbard, the P.I. and security guy.
    Dante was a whole lot less predictable.
    I wasn’t about to call him, since he’d said his reason for dropping me off alone was that he needed sleep.
    But the fact he didn’t call kept me awake long into the night.
    Or maybe it was because