Page 66 of Heart Me Up
“Hey, Malcolm, let’s get you to bed.” Mal barely stirred, so Craig and I ended up mostly carrying him between us to the bedroom. It was much easier than getting him up the stairs at my house, so we had him in bed in no time. Craig showed me how Mal had been propping his leg up with some pillows while he slept. We turned out the light and eased the door shut behind us.
Craig headed for the kitchen and started fixing drinks for everyone.
“Youhaveto tell me what he says when he sees it,” Callie demanded.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Craig told her. “It’s going to be epic.”
I agreed. “Callie, the drawing is amazing, and I can’t believe you did it so quickly.” She blushed and thanked me. I cleared my throat. “Are you even going to show it to your professor?” Because there was no way she actually had a project like this.
She tilted her head, considering. “Maybe.”
When Callie went over to help Craig with the drinks, I saw my chance and cornered Greg by the window. He raised an eyebrow. I hesitated, throwing a glance toward Craig, who was rooting around in the fridge.
“I’ve been dying to ask you,” I said in a low voice. “What did you do to Drew after Lucy died?” Greg’s smile vanished.
He looked at Craig and Callie, then said, “Have you seen the backyard yet?” He grabbed my arm and tugged me toward the sliding glass door. He flicked on the switch for the outside lights and pulled the door open.
Once we were outside, Greg marched us onto the grass away from the house. The night air was a little cool and a lot humid. Craig hadn’t done much in the way of landscaping, not that I was one to talk. He had a large grassy area surrounded by shrubs along the fence line. Greg stopped short and stood so we were both facing away from the windows. “It’s a great yard for a dog, isn’t it?”
“I’d imagine so.” My chest ached for Craig’s loss.
“Craig was so happy when he bought this place. He and I had been sharing an apartment since we were in college. He adopted Lucy about two years after we opened the pet resort. She got plenty of exercise in daycare, so she did fine in the apartment. But when the business became successful enough, the first thing Craig did was buy this house so Lucy would have a yard.” He crossed his arms. “He and I are like brothers, but she was his child, through and through.” He sent a grim stare into the night. “So, yes, I did something to Drew.”
“I was hoping so.” Drew might have started on his personal redemption path with his non-profit fundraising for elderly pets, but to me he’d always be the guy who’d killed my boyfriend’s dog.
Greg gave a sort of barking laugh. “Well, I talked myself out of hunting him down and ripping out his throat, so he was pretty lucky there.” I turned my head to stare at him. He gave me a feral grin. “Oops. I meant, it would have been against the law.”
“Um, that’s the second really bloodthirsty thing I’ve heard you say,” I said faintly.
Greg laughed. “My whole family talks the same way. You should hear Callie when she gets super angry.” He chuckled some more while I imagined aDexter-styleModern Familyupbringing. “Anyway, Ialsothought about paying some guys to steal his car, or having someone dump a load of manure on his driveway while he was at work.”
I chuckled appreciatively, relieved he’d moved on to less bloody options. Though I was compelled to say, “But those would have been illegal as well.”
Greg snorted. “More importantly, he might have suspected Craig had something to do with it, and I wanted to avoid giving him any reason to contact Craig. I needed something that was more like the universe exercising karma and less like Craig exercising revenge.”
I nodded. “So whatdidyou end up doing?”
“Only three small things.” I snorted. I doubtedsmallwould be the right word. Greg unfolded his arms and put his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “I was lucky. My first try scored big time. One of our clients is Val Gallegos, the police officer. Maybe you know her?” I nodded. “Yeah, so I told her what had happened. She ran Drew’s name through the system. Turns out that fucker had a tendency to drive on the tollway without a tag.” He chuckled. “One of Val’s friends in Austin PD justhappenedto pull him over for a traffic violation the very next day. He got dragged down to the station to pay his fines. And wouldn’t you know the fines had doubled and tripled because of the time lapsed, plus he had a ton of late fees. It all added up to over a thousand bucks.”
“Nice.” And unable to be traced back to Greg.
“Andit turns out his HOA at the time put its rules on the internet for anyone to read.”
“You don’t say?” I grinned, and Greg’s teeth flashed in the darkness.
“After an anonymous tip, Drew had to repaint the outside of his house.”
“Wow, too bad for him.”
“But my last effort was the most effective.” Greg crossed his arms. “Drew was a pharmaceutical rep for a pet medication company. His clients were veterinarians.” His teeth flashed again.
“I like where this is going.”
“Oh, yes. Craig and I know a lot of vets, but Doc Pinkerton, he was the one who examined Lucy after she died and helped get animal cruelty charges brought against Drew.” Greg paused. “To Drew’s credit, he pled guilty. He was convicted of a misdemeanor. He didn’t have to do jail time, but he got a fine.” Then the teeth came out again. “I sent the doc a link to the public record of the conviction. He shared it with all of Drew’s other clients as well as the big boss at the pharmaceutical company.”
“He got fired?”
“Or transferred, or forced to resign. I don’t know and don’t care. All I know is, a month later he moved to Dallas, which was the best possible outcome for Craig.”
