Fliss still managed to splutter out her disbelief. ‘I don’t believe Lena would do that. Surely not.’
Jenna raised her brows. ‘No, I didn't believe it either.’ She gave a quick shrug, irritated with herself for her oversight. ‘And I’m a police officer, you’d think I’d have picked up on something.’ She poked her forefinger against her chest. ‘Just as you and I had no idea, neither did your friend. She told Mason that Lena had come from a recommendation via her husband’s work, so she doesn’t even know Lena personally. I’m not even sure where the original recommendation came from, but obviously that’s what we’ll investigate. However,’ Jenna leaned forward and pointed a finger at Fliss again, ‘we’re going to have to make alternative arrangements for Domino for the time being, until we find somebody that we can actually trust. And, honest to goodness, next time, I’m going to do a security check on them. Because I had no idea, none, that this woman would use other dogs, who she’s been making a fine living from, to push drugs.’
Fliss met her gaze straight on. ‘How the hell do dogs push drugs?’
Jenna’s stomach gave another protesting growl. She picked up her knife and fork and started to eat again. She chewed and swallowed. ‘Oh, let me explain.’ The thrill of it tickled her. ‘She picked up the dogs from each of the houses. When we saw her, she had a shih-tzu, a black Labrador, a greyhound and a Dalmatian. Why she didn’t use something less obvious than that combination, I don’t know. Four black Labradors would have been more advisable. Anyway, because she had a Dalmatian, I spotted her immediately. It took me a split second to realise it was Domino.’
She paused to give one silky ear an affectionate rub. ‘She then took them in her car to what we believe is a house she shares with her boyfriend, a drug pusher. She attached drugs to the dogs’ collars, and then trotted around her neighbourhood on the pretence of walking the dogs. Well, technically, they were walking, but not in the fashion all the owners imagined. Why would any of us even think to double-check a dog and a dog's collar?’
Jenna continued to scoop small forkfuls of food into her mouth as she carried on. ‘I’ve never come across it before but Chris Bennett the dog handler had. We’re going to be doing spot checks.’ She gurgled at her own joke as she traced the black markings on Domino’s head.
‘So, she went door to door. And when the people open the doors, they greet the dogs. Slip the drugs away. Pop the money back onto the collar in a little pouch attached there.’
‘A pouch?’ A flash of confusion crossed Fliss’s face. ‘He’s never had a pouch when he gets home.’
‘Of course not, she would have removed that when she was in the car before driving Domino back home.’ She snickered. ‘The only walk Domino had was a house-to-house visit. He wasn’t having long, indulgent runs in fields as we’d been led to believe.’
‘But she sent me a picture each day.’
‘Yes, she probably just stopped somewhere, let him off the lead for five minutes and took a quick snapshot. But I said he didn’t seem any different. He still seemed full of energy, as though he hadn’t even had a walk. You pay for two hours, twice a week. And it made no difference. Two hours was a hell of a long time for her to have been dropping off drugs, I can tell you, although you have to factor in the dog pick up from various locations. We’ll be tracking all that down. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to get the whole pattern, but she’s in for questioning and we won’t be letting her go anytime soon.’
‘Well, he's obviously quite settled tonight.’ Fliss peered over the top of the small table at him and his ears flickered in acknowledgement. Fleur let out a contented grumble and kicked him in the snout.
‘He certainly is.’ Jenna scratched the top of his head and his eyes blinked and then closed again. ‘He was a good boy. Good boy,’ she lowered her voice to an affectionate growl. He wagged his tail and pleasure filled his half-closed eyes. ‘He spent a little time with Jim Downey being forensically checked and some of the time in the courtyard while I put my paperwork in order. He was with two other dogs and had the time of his life. And then, before I dropped him home, I took him for a walk. Let him stretch his legs out. All in all. That's why I never got much to eat today. A baguette sometime earlier, which barely touched the sides. Especially after I had to run.’
‘You ran?’ Disbelief echoed through Fliss’s voice.
‘Don’t be funny. I can run. If I need to.’ Damned if she’d confess she could barely bloody well keep up. That was for her to know and Fliss to find out…
‘If something’s chasing you.’ Her sister knew her too well.
Jenna scraped her plate clean and leaned back. ‘I was doing the chasing.’
Fliss continued eating. ‘Good job I made you some decent food then.’
‘It certainly is.’ Appreciation flowed from her voice. She took a quick look at the oven. ‘Are you sure Mason will want all of that?’ She pushed a little pathetic into her voice. ‘He’d never know.’
Fliss pointed her knife at her. ‘You leave his dinner alone.’ She laughed as she laid her cutlery across her empty plate. ‘Your face earlier when I said I made rice pudding. It was priceless. Worth hanging on to see your response when you thought that was the only thing in the oven.’
Jenna stared at her sister across the table and said nothing. Waves of contentment warmed her heart. It was good to see Fliss happy.
‘Would you like some?’
Jenna’s stomach gave a little hip hip hooray and she abandoned the thought of swiping Mason’s dinner in preference for the sweet fix she was about to have.
With a gentle nudge, Jenna pushed Domino’s face from her lap, scooped up Fleur and came to her feet, popping the little dog back down on the padded seating of the chair.
She gathered their crockery and cutlery and made short work of putting them in the dishwasher as Fliss served up their rice pudding.
They took their seats again and Fleur barely roused as Jenna shuffled her onto her lap and stared at her sister. ‘So, are we to expect this kind of meal from now on?’
Fliss snorted and poured a little fresh cream from its carton onto the steaming rice pudding. She raised her spoon and paused before putting any food into her mouth, a thoughtful expression on her face. ‘Don’t get too used to it. I know I’ll revert to my old ways, but for the next couple of days you’re probably in luck.’
Jenna could do nothing but admire her sister’s honesty and hope her cooking stint lasted a little longer than a few days. But she’d appreciate every one of them, just as she appreciated Fliss.
She finished off her pudding, picking up every last morsel until the plate was almost wiped clean, then settled back in her chair, her stomach a gentle bulge.
Fliss pushed her own plate away and met Jenna’s gaze. ‘You sound as though you had fun today.’
Jenna sobered. It hadn’t been fun, it had been damned long. A hard slog of a day with a small window of excitement that had pumped adrenaline through the department to lend them a boost of energy.
Jenna’s lips tightened as Fliss slipped a hand over hers, her eyes darkening with concern. ‘I know you don’t like to burden me with the hard stuff, but I know about the fire you were called to the other night. I assume it’s the same one I heard on the news today.’