They hadn’t discovered where he was staying or, most important, whom he was working for. She planned on meeting with Carney and O’Reilly as soon as they had time for her. While Abby was glad Woody had been cleared, she was ecstatic that neither he nor Luke Murphy had been injured. But on Sunday, the day after she returned, she was at her friend and mentor’s house for a solemn reason. The older of his two dogs, Ralph, had suffered a stroke and had to be put down. “I feel like a sissy asking you to come with me,” Woody said as Abby entered his house. She gave him a hug. “You’re not a sissy. Ralph has been a good dog for a long time. I know you’ll miss him.” Her heart broke when Woody wiped his eyes. “True that. He’s a great dog.” Tenderly Woody picked the big dog up. Ed, his other Lab, whimpered and looked up at them, tail between his legs. Gently Abby pushed Ed into the house. “We’ll be back, sweetie. I promise.” The dog whimpered but stayed inside, and Abby closed the door, throat thick as they walked to her car.
