Bo remained pressed against me.
And for a moment nobody moved.
Then my phone rang.
A number I didn’t recognize.
I answered.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Collins?”
“Yes.”
“This is Attorney Richard Bell.”
The lawyer.
The one Janine had mentioned.
The timing felt unreal.
“I understand you’ve located Walter Grayson’s dog.”
I looked at Bo.
“Yes.”
“Good,” he said quietly.
Then he added something unexpected.
“You should know there was a second instruction attached to Walter’s letter.”
The man immediately looked up.
“What instruction?”
The lawyer ignored him.
His voice remained calm.
Professional.
Measured.
“Walter requested that whoever found Bo receive a locked cedar box stored at my office.”
