Man, derailing diPietro from this shit was going to be a hard sell. Very hard. And somehow, the threat of eternal damnation just didn’t seem like enough of a motivator. Guy like this wasn’t going to believe in life in the hereafter. No fucking way.

As a cold wind rolled across the property, Jim looked back down at the dog.

The thing seemed to be waiting for an invitation. And prepared to sit it out for eternity.

“My apartment’s a pit,” Jim said as they stared at each other. “About on a level with that sandwich. You come with me and it ain’t no lap-of-luxury gig.”

The dog pawed at the air as if a roof and four walls were all it was looking for.

“You sure about this?”

More with the pawing.

“Okay. Fine.”

Jim unlocked the cab’s door and bent down to pick up the thing, hoping he’d read the conversation correctly and wasn’t going to lose the tip of a finger. All was cool, though. The dog just lifted its butt and gave its body up to the palm that encircled its belly.

“Damn, we need to put some weight on you, boy.”

Jim settled the animal on the passenger seat and got behind the wheel. The truck started up quick, and he turned the blowers off so that the little guy didn’t catch a chill.

Flipping his headlights on, he eased the engine into gear and followed the path Adrian and Eddie had forged, turning around and going out the lane. When he got to Route 151N, he hit the left-hand blinker and—

The dog ducked under his arm and sat in his lap.

Jim glanced down at the animal’s boxy head and realized he had nothing to feed the thing. Or himself.

“You want more turkey, dog? I can hit the Citgo on the way home.”

The thing wagged not only its tail, but its entire bony butt.

“Okay. That’s what we’ll do.” Jim hit the gas and eased out of diPietro’s driveway, his free hand stroking the dog’s back. “Ah, just one thing…any chance you’re housebroken?”

CHAPTER
8

Darkness brought with it, among many blessings, the benefit of prevalent shadow. Which made it far more useful than daylight.

As the man sat behind the wheel of the taxi, he knew that both he and his vehicle were invisible to the one he watched. She couldn’t see him. She did not know he was there or that he had taken pictures of her or that he had been trailing her for weeks. And this confirmed the power he had over her.