Sneak Thief (A Dog Park Mystery) Read Free Page A

noses. One every 12 to 18 months, going back to the ‘80s. They were spaced so far apart, no one realized they were connected until Diana made her debut in New York.
    â€œRoller assigned me to this mess.”
    â€œYou couldn’t turn him down?”
    â€œI could, but Heckle and Jeckle were chomping at the bit to work it and Cynth begged me to save her.”
    â€œI owe the pleasure of your company to Cynth?”
    Peter tilted Lia’s chin up, leaned in for a brief kiss.
    â€œYou owe the pleasure of my company to being gone every night this week. Can’t I miss my best girl?”
    â€œYour best girl is in the back yard, peeing on the azaleas.”
    â€œHow about my best green-eyed girl?” he asked, toying with an escaped tendril of hair while he looked into her eyes. Lia felt a pleasant thrum inside. Peter loved to play with her hair and he was always so serious about it. He pulled the paint brush out of her Boho bun, letting the knot unwind over his hands, running his fingers through to the ends to fluff it out. He leaned closer, inhaling the scent of her freesia shampoo. “How’s the job going?”
    â€œCould be worse.” Lia tilted her head to one side, exposing her neck for a nibble. “The working conditions are good. It makes up for the way they nit-pick over the answers on these standardized tests. Sometimes I think a room full of drunk howler monkeys came up with the grading criteria, but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it. They give us chocolate.”
    â€œWell, then, that’s okay. So you like it?” Peter traced an index finger around the outside of her ear, giving her chills.
    â€œScoring the same question a thousand times in a night gets to be a grind, but for a side job, it’s better than I expected. The people are really nice. My team leader is cool, and the girl who sits next to me is fun. It’s like having another sister. Her name’s Desiree.”
    â€œThat’s a name you don’t hear often.”
    â€œOh, it fits,” Lia said. “Every time I turn my head, I catch some guy staring at her. If it’s not the room supervisor or one of the team leaders, it’s one of the other scorers.”
    â€œI wouldn’t stare at her.”
    â€œHow do you know?”
    â€œI’ve got you to stare at. You’re all I can handle.” He tapped the slight dent in her chin with his index finger, then traced down her neck, over the collar of her tee shirt, halting when he hit a bump. “You never wear it out where anyone can see it. Don’t you like it?”
    Lia fished an opal pendant out of her shirt. The gem retained a layer of stone matrix and nested in a fluid gold setting, the polished face flashing color as it swayed on the gold chain. It reminded Lia of an egg, life glowing through a hole in its shell, something mysterious about to be born.
    â€œI love it. I’m afraid of losing it or damaging it somehow. If it’s inside my shirt, I can always feel it and I know where it is.”
    They were interrupted by the sound of scratching at the back door. Lia let the dogs in and grabbed a Bass Pale Ale and a glass of herbal ice-tea before she returned to the living room. Viola sat on the couch next to Peter, sneering at her as Peter scratched behind her ears. Honey and Chewy watched from their beds across the room, waiting to see what Lia would do.
    â€œSee, she’s your best girl. I’m not allowed to sit next to you when she’s around.”
    â€œNow that’s just silly.” Peter patted the couch. “I can pet you both at the same time.”
    â€œOh, yeah?” Lia sat down, handing Peter his beer. A low rumbling noise emerged from Viola’s throat. Lia stood up. It stopped. She sat back down. The rumble grew louder. She stood up. It stopped. “See?”
    â€œI don’t get it. When did this start?”
    â€œShe would get like this when Luthor had