Page 23 of Evil Bones
“Actually, we did scan the others.”
“Forgive my mansplaining, then. None of the other displayed animals had chips?”
“Nope.”
Balodis turned the scanner so I could see. A nine-digit sequence filled the screen.
Opening his laptop, Balodis brought up a website calledPetmicrochiplookup.org,entered the number, and checked a list. Shifting to one of dozens of registry sites,AKCreunite.org, he input the number again.
“Bingo bingo!” Stepping back to allow me a better view.
The dog’s name was Bear. His color was brown. His gender was male. As suspected, his breed was Boykin Spaniel.
Bear’s owner was a guy named Crawford Joye. Joye lived on Archdale Drive in Charlotte.
“Good God in heaven.”
I turned.
Balodis’s right hand covered his mouth. All color had drained from his face.
“What?” I asked, surprised at such strong emotion.
“I know that man.”
“Crawford Joye?”
Balodis nodded. “Joye’s a cigar smoker. I met him through a group that gathers at McCranies.”
“The pipe shop at Park Road Shopping Center.”
Balodis nodded again.
“What’s his story?”
“He’s a lawyer. A solo practitioner, as I recall. Does mostly divorce work. That’s about all I know.”
“Were you aware that Joye had a dog?”
“He never spoke of a pet.”
I was considering that when my gaze fell on an irregularity in Bear’s neck. Unnoticed until now, the dark cleft seemed wrong amid the ravaged flesh.
Using one gloved finger, I palpated, then probed the small hollow.
Sonofabitch
I knew what had happened to Bear.
CHAPTER 6
The bullet looked dark and deadly in my gloved palm.
Questions ricocheted in my brain.
Had Crawford Joye killed and decapitated his own dog?
Was Joye the person mutilating and displaying animals throughout the region?
