“I’ll be sure to go through my sources with the new name,” Katherine said.
Kim thanked both women and left. She took the subway back to North Station and had to wait for a train to Salem. As she stood on the platform she vowed to redouble her efforts at sorting the impossible jumble of papers in the castle over the next couple of days. Once she started back to work she’d have little opportunity to work on it except on her days off.
Arriving back at the compound, Kim intended to drive directly to the castle, but as she cleared the trees, she saw a Salem police car parked in front of the cottage. Curious as to what that could mean, she headed in its direction.
As she approached, Kim spotted Edward and Eleanor standing and conversing with two policemen in the middle of the grassy field about fifty yards from the house. Eleanor had her arm around Edward’s shoulder.
Kim parked next to the patrol car and got out. The group in the field either hadn’t heard her arrive or were too preoccupied to notice her.
Curious, Kim started walking toward them. As she approached she could see that there was something in the grass that had their collective attention.
Kim gasped when she saw what had their attention. It was Buffer. The poor dog was dead. What made the scene particularly gruesome was that some of the dog’s flesh from its hindquarters was gone, exposing bloodied bones.
Kim cast a sorrowful look at Edward, who greeted her with composure, suggesting to her that he’d recovered from the initial shock. She could see dried tears on his cheeks. As nasty as the dog was, she knew he cared for him.
“It might be worth it to have the bones looked at by a medical examiner,” Edward was saying. “There’s a chance someone could recognize the teethmarks and tell us what species of animal could have done this.”
“I don’t know how the medical examiner’s office would respond to a call about a dead dog,” one of the officers said. His name was Billy Selvey.
“But you said you’ve had a couple of similar episodes during the last few nights,” Edward said. “I think it behooves you to find out what kind of animal is involved. Personally, I think it was either another dog or a raccoon.”
Kim was impressed with Edward’s rationality in the face of his loss. He’d recovered enough to have a technical discussion about potential teethmarks on the exposed bone.
“When was the last time you saw the dog?” Billy asked.
“Last night,” Edward said. “He usually slept with me, but maybe I let him out. I can’t remember. Occasionally the dog stayed out all night. I’d never thought it was a problem since the compound is so big, and the dog wouldn’t bother anyone anyway.”
“I fed the dog around eleven-thirty last night,” Kim said. “I left him in the kitchen eating.”
“Did you let him out?” Edward asked.
“No, as I said, I left him in the kitchen,” Kim said.
“Well, I didn’t see him when I got up this morning,” Edward said. “I didn’t think anything about it. I just assumed he’d show up at the lab.”
“Do you people have one of those pet doors?” Billy asked.
Both Kim and Edward said no at the same time.
“Anybody hear anything unusual last night?” Billy asked.
“I was dead to the world,” Edward said. “I sleep very soundly, especially lately.”
“I didn’t hear anything either,” Kim said.
“There’s been some talk down at the station about these incidents being due to a rabid animal,” the other officer said. His name was Harry Conners. “Do you people have any other pets?”
“I have a cat,” Kim said.
“We advise you to keep it on a short leash for the next few days,” Billy said.
The police put away their notepads and pens, said goodbye, and started toward their cruiser.
“What about the carcass?” Edward called out. “Don’t you want to take it to the medical examiner?”
The two officers looked at each other, hoping the other one would respond. Finally Billy yelled back that they thought it best not to take it.