Jeremiah counted them. One, two, three, four, five. Five people on his driveway looking at him with expectant faces, shining eyes, eager smiles—as though he were Santa Claus. “Oh, and they do have a dog,” Lara Crane said. “Wisdom and Justice found it in a garbage bin and brought it home. It’s just a puppy.” A dog. Jeremiah rubbed his temples. Suddenly he felt like a two-ton weight had dropped on his shoulders. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at his sons. They wore the exact same expression as the Muraya family. Please, Dad, please. He could almost hear them pleading. It was like the time they just had to have a toy Millennium Falcon from the Star Wars collection. Or a trip to Six Flags amusement park. Or a basketball goal mounted on the side of the garage. The desire for any number of things had made his sons act as if their lives depended on getting whatever it was. But this was no toy or vacation trip.
