Page 26 of Evil Bones
“Tuesday, an elderly woman found canine remains near the town of Frog Pond.”
I studied Joye’s reaction as I spoke, alert for any sign suggesting involvement in the atrocity. I knew Balodis was doing the same.
“Big fellow, long wavy brown coat?” he asked for verification.
“Yes, sir. I’m so sorry. I know how hard it is to lose a pet.”
“Bear’s a great dog.” Joye was barely audible now. “He likes long walks. We took one on Tuesday.”
“In Park Road Park?”
“Yes. Bear loves going there.” Joye’s chest gave an involuntary hitch. “Loved going there.”
“You and Bear came to be separated?”
Joye nodded. “It’s my fault. Bear prefers to run off-leash. Occasionally, when few people are around, I allow him to do so. That day, we were alone on the trail.”
Joye’s expression moved through a range emotions. Sorrow? Guilt? Regret?
Balodis and I waited a full thirty seconds for him to continue.
“It was never a problem. Bear would dart off into the woods, chasing a squirrel or a rabbit, the way dogs do. But he always came back when I whistled. For some reason, he didn’t. I searched for hours, whistling and calling his name.”
“Did you report the dog missing?”
“Seriously?” With a derisive snort.
Joye had a point. A lost dog would hardly top a police priority list.
“Then what happened, sir?”
“I finally gave up. Figured I’d either get a call from some Samaritan, or Bear would find his way home.”
“Would you like the ME to handle the disposal of—”
“What happened to him? Was it a car? A coyote? Did he swim too far out and drown in the lake?”
“He was shot.”
Joye flinched as though slapped.
“That dog didn’t have a mean bone in his body. Who would do such a thing?”
“We don’t know.”
Then the question I’d been expecting.
“Who found him?”
I slid a sideways glance toward Balodis. The vet’s gaze met mine, quickly dropped to the hands folded in his lap.
The subtle exchange didn’t go unnoticed.
“What?” Joye’s eyes flicked from me to Balodis and back. “What is it you’re not telling me?”
Sharing the minimum amount of detail, I described the circumstances surrounding the discovery of Bear’s remains. The wrapped and decorated head nailed to the oak outside Frog Pond. The decapitated corpse discarded in the woods near Camp Thunderbird.
Joye listened, face growing harder with each particular.
