I Was His Waiting Room novel · Chapter 8 of 32
Chapter 8: The Tailgate
The cruiser pulled up to the firehouse at ten past seven, blue lights going for no reason at all.
Every porch light on Gibson Street came on.
Two officers got out. One older, heavy, tired. One young, with a notebook already open.
Juniper was asleep on a pile of horse blankets in the first new kennel run, her belly finally round.
"Evening, ladies," the older one said. "We got a call about a stolen service animal. Yellow Lab?"
"She's right there," I said. "Asleep. Nobody stole her."
"The complainant says she's a service animal for a disabled woman and you took her out of the home without permission."
"Under the contract the complainant signed."
I handed him paragraph nine and my photos of the balcony.
He read the paper. He scrolled the photos. The rain, the tipped bowl, the ribs.
"Okay," the older one said slowly. "This reads like a civil thing. But she's saying the dog is hers outright, the contract's just a formality, and you've got a grudge. Your word against hers."
"And her aide's."
"Aide's not here. Complainant is very upset. She's got a fiancé who called the station twice."
Of course he had.
I'd called Niall from the curb in Back Bay.
His pickup came around the corner while the officer was still talking.
He parked behind the cruiser and got out with a laptop under his arm.
"Officers," he said. "Niall Prendergast. I'm with the family that's been paying for this dog."
The young one looked up from his notebook. "Paying?"
Niall set the laptop on the hood of my truck and turned it toward them.
The family office ledger. Thirty-six lines.
He opened one of the invoices beside it.
"Service dog training, Juniper," he read. "Ongoing program. Dog remains enrolled with trainer M. Costigan."
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