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Tossing her keys onto the counter, she trudged over to her fridge to see if there was anything to eat. Bean followed her into her apartment, his tail wagging happily. “Did you happen to go grocery shopping for me while I was away?”
Bean plunked down in the open doorway, his pink tongue hanging out the side of his mouth and his tail still wagging. Raven opened the door to her fridge, then sighed with disappointment. Nope!
A cup of yogurt and a half empty bottle of wine were the only items in her fridge. With a groan, she closed the fridge, not even interested in the wine and she knew that the cup of yogurt had expired two months ago. Yep, it had been that long since she’d last gone grocery shopping.
Staring down at Bean, she glared at the canine. “You didn’t get me any food, you traitor!”
Bean didn’t respond. Instead, he jumped onto a chair, a wary look in his eyes since he knew he wasn’t supposed to be there.
She could order some food to be delivered, Raven thought, scratching behind Bean’s ears again. “You’re a bad boy,” she whispered, then snuggled her face into Bean’s fur. “And as soon as your momma gets home, I’m going to tell her that you snuck out again.” The adorable dog reciprocated the affection by head butting her hand, his silent plea for more snuggles.
“Do you want some Thai food?” she asked. Bean didn’t have an opinion, but Raven knew that the little guy would try to steal something, regardless of what was ordered. He simply danced slightly, then jumped down off of the chair to twirl in a circle by her feet. “By unanimous opinion, Thai it is!”
With renewed energy at the thought, Raven lifted her phone and flipped over to her favorite delivery app. She called her neighbor at work, letting her know that Bean was at Raven’s apartment. Then she called her favorite delivery restaurant. Moments later, she had delicious drunken noodles and panang gui with chicken on the way. It would arrive in twenty minutes, just enough time to shower off the stink of her day. She walked over to her neighbor’s apartment and grabbed some dog food, bringing it back to her place. She’d return the canine later, once her friend got home from work. For now, it was nice to have the company.
She thought about how Tim had been so adamant about not having pets. When she found her “special” someone, that person had to want pets. Was there anything better than coming home to a sweet dog with a wagging tail at the end of a long day? Raven couldn’t keep a pet herself because of how often she traveled, but…she stared down at Bean who was exploring her bedroom. “You’re so cute,” she whispered, smiling when the dog’s ears twitched.
Fifteen minutes later, dressed in flannel pajama bottoms and an overly large sweatshirt with her hair pulled up into a wet, messy bun, Raven walked back down the hallway to her family room, dodging Bean as she went. He raced ahead of her, dodging between her legs when Raven didn’t walk fast enough.
“Maybe that’s why I like you, Bean,” she teased as the dog jumped up onto the couch while Raven sifted through her mail. She’d been gone for three days this time and had miraculously connected two powerful attorneys. Clients never, ever, connected that quickly, but Raven was taking the win. And the fee!
Bills. Bills. A wedding invitation from a previous client, which made Raven grin, and a letter. “What’s this?” she asked.
Bean had no idea and his eyes narrowed as his impatient dancing increased.
The doorbell rang and Raven tucked the letter under her arm as she reached for her purse, grabbing some cash for a tip. “Dinner is here!” she sing-songed. Again, Bean wiggled with excitement. “Easy crowd,” she muttered, then walked over to the door. Checking through the peep hole, she saw the delivery guy from the right restaurant standing outside her doorway.
She pulled open the door and smiled at the delivery guy. “Hey Joe,” she greeted him, having ordered from this place several times before. She extended her hand with the cash, and took the bag of delicious smelling dinner.
“Evening, Ms. Markley,” Joe replied, smiling as he accepted the tip. “Have a good one!”
And he was gone, hurrying off to deliver the next meal.
Raven loved Joe. No idle chit-chat. No bothersome greetings. Just a quick, efficient hand-off.
Raven turned and locked the door again, then carried the food to the kitchen. Immediately, Bean appeared underfoot. “Down,” Raven said with an unyielding tone. “See? I can be firm,” she told the dog who quickly sat down, then jumped up again and came around to stand at Raven’s feet, gazing up at her. “You’re going to cover me with fur, aren’t you?” Raven admonished, taking down a plate so she could dish out some of the food. “That’s your evil plan. To cover everyone in your fur so that you can use us as camouflage.”
Bean neither confirmed nor denied this plan. He simply spun around, then stared hopefully up at her, waiting for his prize.
“Fine, keep your secrets,” she said and pressed the tops back onto the food containers and put them into the fridge. There was a reproachful whine and Raven chuckled. “You thought that I’d forget and leave the food out again, didn’t you?” she said, glancing down at the dog who was staring up at her. “Well, I know you better now. It might have taken me twenty or thirty times to remember to put the food away, but I finally figured you out.”
Bean ignored the tone and rushed to the kitchen doorway, then paused to glance over his shoulder to ensure himself that his minion was following. “On my way, you cutie,” Raven replied and picked up her plate, carrying it over to the sofa. She also grabbed the bowl of dog food. She’d give Bean a few treats, but it wasn’t healthy for dogs to eat human food. Especially Thai!
Once she was settled on the sofa, she extended her legs and pushed several pillows behind her back. Bean immediately jumped onto the sofa and waited not-so-patiently.
“Here you go,” Raven said and stabbed a piece of beef, handing it over. Immediately, Bean took the meat and rushed off with it. He carried it to his food bowl and started to devour the treat. Because it was nearly eight o’clock in the evening and Raven hadn’t eaten since breakfast, she did the same, closing her eyes as the spicy noodles and coconut goodness hit her aching stomach.
When her hunger subsided, she reached over and picked up the envelope of the mysterious letter. “This was mailed to my previous address, Bean,” she told the dog who was now sitting on the floor, happily licking his paws clean. The canine wasn’t impressed by the significance of the statement. “Who sent me something and doesn’t have my new address?”
Obviously, Bean didn’t know and he started circling a spot on the rug before settling down for his twentieth nap of the day.
Raven set her now-empty plate on the side table, well away from Bean’s reach, and tore open the envelope. But two seconds into reading the letter, she gasped and dropped the letter. “No!”
Bean’s head jerked up and he stared at Raven with mild curiosity. But since nothing else happened, Bean settled his snout back onto his front paws.
“You didn’t catch me.” Four words. That’s all there was. Not even hand written. The letter had been typed.
Standing up, she carefully carried the letter and envelope over to her kitchen and grabbed a plastic food storage bag, dropped the letter in and sealed it up. Then Raven grabbed her phone and dialed her contact at the FBI.
