In deference to the brigade, we now hold the victory parties at 6:00 P.M., because they like to be asleep before dark. Also, this way they feel like we’re taking advantage of the early bird special.
I hadn’t had a chance to talk to Kramer much in the two days since the verdict, so he has some questions. “How did you know it was Davenport?”
“What first tipped me off was that there was a dog missing on the truck, and we discovered that the dog who escaped in the Chesterfield area at least a month before Zimmer’s truck carrying him was supposed to be there.”
“So?”
“So the dogs were just props; they never changed. They were just used as camouflage to hide the real purpose, which was to transport the missiles.”
“I don’t understand,” he says.
“They weren’t bringing new groups of dogs up North to be placed; they were bringing the same dogs each time. That’s why rescue groups didn’t know what Sondra was talking about when she called them to ask if they had been getting deliveries of dogs from down South.”
He smiles. “I bet using rescue dogs like that really pissed you off.”
I nod. “You got that right. But it also triggered in my mind other things that Davenport had said. I have this weird ability to remember conversations; I don’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning, but I remember things that were said to me years ago.
“In this case, I started to look at things Davenport said in a new light. For example, he had said that Zimmer answered a Craigslist ad to get the job and would always email him lists of where the dogs were going.”
“So?”
“So we knew that Zimmer didn’t have a computer, an email address, or even a phone. Sam described him as being in the technological Dark Ages. Also, when I asked Davenport if he had ever heard of Chesterfield, New Jersey, he said no. But in the same conversation he said that there would have been no reason for Zimmer to go that far off the highway to stop there.”
Kramer nods. “Got it. How did he know it was far off the highway if he never heard of it?”
“Exactly.”
“So what is happening to the people who invested in Davenport’s conspiracy?” he asks.
“The FBI is rounding up whichever ones they can find. But it’s not going to be easy; they covered their tracks very well, and many of them are outside the country. Greg Hepner’s been arrested, though, so that’s one down.”
“Ironic,” he says. “Now Hepner’s company will crash, and some other companies and people will profit from it.”
“It’s the way of the world.”
“What about Tina Bauer?”
I shrug. “No sign of her, and I doubt there ever will be.”
“Laurie was right about you,” he says. “You’re the best.”
I nod. “She worships the ground I walk on.”
He laughs. “So she says.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“California. A friend of mine is an investigator out there; we’re going to go into business together. Hollywood is filled with cheating spouses just itching to be spied on.”
And it’s a whole continent away from Laurie, is what I think but don’t say.
Everybody seems to be having a good time, even Hike. I ask him what’s going on with Darlene, and he says, “I’m moving on.”
“Exactly,” he says. “It’ll be fine. I never let anything bring me down.”
“Hike, I’ve always said that about you.”
“And Hilda’s got a granddaughter she thinks will be perfect for me.”
“Go for it. The rugelach alone will make it worth it.”
Edna comes over to me and asks, “So I guess we’ll take a break for a while now? It’s never good to overdo this client thing.”
“You think one a year is enough?”
She nods. “You know me; I’m the ‘roll up your sleeves and get to work’ type. But I don’t want you to wear yourself down.”
Willie tells me that all the dogs from the truck have been placed, with the exception of Wiggy. “She’s a keeper,” he says. “And Cash loves her.”
Just as Laurie and I head for the door, Kramer comes over to us and says to me, “I certainly hate to bring this up, but we’ve never talked about your fee.”
I nod. “Consider it a gift from Laurie. It was important to her.”
Laurie smiles, and I put my arm around her. “Let’s go home, woman.”
ALSO BY DAVID ROSENFELT
ANDY CARPENTER NOVELS
Collared
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas
Outfoxed
Who Let the Dog Out?
Hounded
Unleashed
Leader of the Pack
One Dog Night
Dog Tags
New Tricks
Play Dead
Dead Center
Sudden Death
First Degree
Open and Shut
THRILLERS
Fade to Black
Blackout
Without Warning
Airtight
Heart of a Killer
On Borrowed Time
Down to the Wire
Don’t Tell a Soul
NONFICTION
Lessons from Tara: Life Advice from the World’s Most Brilliant Dog
Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Rosenfelt is the Edgar-nominated and Shamus Award–winning author of eight standalones and sixteen Andy Carpenter novels. He and his wife live in Maine with twenty-five of the four thousand dogs they have rescued. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Begin Reading
Also by David Rosenfelt
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
RESCUED. Copyright © 2018 by Tara Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover photograph of golden retriever mom and puppies © Avantipress.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Rosenfelt, David, author.
Title: Rescued / David Rosenfelt.
Description: First edition. | New York: Minotaur Books, 2018. | Series: An Andy Carpenter mystery
Identifiers: LCCN 2018012217 | ISBN 9781250133069 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250199577 (signed edition) | ISBN 9781250133083 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Carpenter, Andy (Fictitious character)—Fiction. | Agency (Law)—New Jersey—Fiction. | Murder—Investigation—Fiction. | Animal shelters—Fiction. | Dog rescue—Fiction. | GSAFD: Suspense fiction. | Mystery fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3618.O838 R43 2018 | DDC 813'.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018012217
eISBN 9781250133083
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Firs
t Edition: July 2018