1 Lost Under a Ladder Read Free Page A

those on the guy who’d just disappeared. “We don’t know one wasn’t, and this is Martha’s place,” he said, as if that explained everything. “Just a few more questions.” He looked at me pleadingly.
    I wondered what he would do if I said no. I considered it. I really wanted to see what was happening with Martha. But I gave a brief nod.
    No, no one else appeared to be in the shop when I entered, although I’d seen some people and a dog leaving. No, I saw no indication of what had caused the woman’s problem.
    Then—“Was there any sign of superstitions at work here? I mean, I realize you might not know, since you’re not from around here, but any broken mirrors? Birds flying inside? Anything like that?”
    What would he say if I told him about the woman’s comments on how she knew she’d be fine, thanks to seeing a black and white dog? Would he subject Pluckie to a doggy interrogation?
    “Um … no.”
    He looked relieved. “Good. I’m not officially supposed to ask that, but around here, well … we always do.”
    “I get it,” I said. And I did. This was the unique town of Destiny. “Anything else?” I made sure my icy stare suggested that there’d better not be anything else. And there wasn’t.
    Signaling to Pluckie to join me by a soft tug on her leash, I sidled around the cop, who was just finishing his notes, and reentered the back room.
    Martha lay on a gurney now. It hadn’t been wheeled in through the shop and past me, but a rear door was open at the far side of the storeroom. Beyond appeared to be an alley. I could see another building’s concrete block wall across a wide gap of space.
    Martha’s face was obscured by a plastic mask, and an oxygen tank was strapped to a narrow pole on the gurney. One EMT was fussing with how the thing was connected, and the other EMT must have gone outside since I didn’t see her. The cop who’d rushed in here seemed to be perusing the shelving and boxes that lined the room , and the one who’d talked to me followed me in and started doing the same.
    I figured they were looking for evidence of a crime, no matter what the cop who’d interviewed me had said. Would they find any? I still assumed that the woman had just had some kind of medical emergency, but what did I know?
    The man who’d rushed past me stood beside her now, holding her hand. “You’re going to be fine, Martha,” he said softly. The glaze in her eyes lifted a little, and she nodded. She aimed a glance toward me, then downward, as if she expected me to confirm what he said— and the reason for it.
    Pluckie just sat down beside me. Martha couldn’t possibly see her, but she must have figured my dog was there.
    The man apparently realized what she was attempting to convey, since he looked down and smiled. “A strange dog,” he said, then smiled at me. “That’s good luck, especially around here. That’s why this is the Lucky Dog Boutique. Lots of strange dogs come into this place, and Martha’s home is upstairs.”
    Somehow, I felt comfortable relaying to him what I’d been reluctant to say to the young cop interviewing me. “A black and white dog this time, while she was on her way to a business meeting, she said. She knew she’d be all right.”
    “A business meeting?” He looked at me inquisitively, as if I had further answers for him.
    I shrugged. “That’s what she said.”
    He glanced at her, but she obviously wasn’t going to explain. He looked back at me. That was when the two paramedics joined up again near the gurney.
    “We need to take her to the hospital now, Chief,” they said to the man. “Okay?”
    “Absolutely.” He looked down at her as they started wheeling her out. “I’ll come visit you in a little while, Martha,” he said. “Feel better fast.”
    Which she possibly would, in a hospital.
    I was curious now, though. Chief ?
    “Anything interesting?” he asked the two uniformed cops who seemed to be slowing down in their scrutiny of the