Read Silence Is Golden (A Pet Psychic Mystery No. 3) for Free Online

couldn't have gotten far."
    "Okay. Thanks, Frankie." I gave the area one more scan.
    "I'm so sorry, Darwin," a devastated Jeanie said as I came back into the boutique.
    I gave her a quick reassuring hug. "It's all right. You go on. I'm sure we'll find her."
    Frankie kept me updated by text which areas she was searching. I was trying not to think about what would happen if Linda decided to call me for a home visit before I had found Goldie. Oh yeah, sure. We'll let you adopt a prize-winning golden retriever you've already let run away to god-knows-where. Not.
    Two hours had crawled by without luck when my phone vibrated with a number I didn't recognize. "Hello?"
    "Is this Darwin Winters?"
    "Yes?"
    "My name is Eugene Roth. Linda over at Baywater Kennel gave me your number. I... um... she told me you had picked up Goldie and well, she's here. I just got home and found her on the front porch. Can you come get her?"
    I had stopped in the middle of typing a customer's phone number into the computer. So many thoughts and emotions were assaulting me I couldn't get a handle on a single one.
    "Miss Winters?"
    She had gone home? My heart dropped like a rock into my stomach. Poor, grieving soul. I squeezed the collar I was ringing up and closed my eyes. "I'm here. Yes. I'll come get her after I close my pet boutique. I know where you live." I hung up and stared at my palm. The diamond pattern from the collar's hardware was stamped onto it. Tears filled my eyes. "Unbelievable."
    "Everything all right?" Mr. Keller asked, his ancient, yellowed eyes peering at me with compassion under unruly white brows.
    I swiped at my eyes with the back of my hand. "Sure. Yeah. Fine." I really had to concentrate hard to finish the transaction. "I just wonder how some people can walk around without a heart. Thought that was kind of a requirement for being a human being."
    Mr. Keller smiled knowingly. "Known plenty of heartless humans in my time. I'm sure there's a special place in hell for 'em." He chuckled.
    I gave him a thankful smile as I handed him his purchase. "Well, you're definitely not one of them, Mr. Keller. You have yourself a great day, now."
     
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    It wasn't difficult to find Eugene's house again. As the cab pulled up, I thought about the night Victoria died and how I had sat in the driveway while Will notified Eugene that his wife wouldn't be coming home. My skin warmed at the thought of Will. He acted so tough sometimes, but the man had secret stores of compassion it was a real privilege to witness.
    "Can you wait here, please?" I scooted out of the back of the cab. "I should only be a minute."
    I hurried to the front porch of the two-story, yellow stucco place and rang the bell. Eugene answered the door. I had only viewed him from a distance before. Close up, he looked like a wreck. His eyes were puffy and his pupils were dilated like maybe he was on something. His already pale German features were positively ghostly. All my visions of giving him a piece of my mind faded away. No need to beat a man when he's this down. As he motioned for me to come in, I stepped into the foyer and offered him a small smile of sympathy instead.
    "I'm so sorry for the loss of your wife, Mr. Roth. I can't imagine how devastated you must be."
    "Thanks. You have no idea." He choked and then closed his eyes to compose himself. "Goldie is upstairs under the bed." He motioned for me to follow him to the grand stairway. His gait was still impeded, like he was moving in slow motion. Probably still in shock. Okay, maybe Goldie was better off somewhere else. He clearly was barely taking care of himself. "It's where she used to hide from thunderstorms and fireworks. I tried all of her favorite treats. Nothing will coax her out."
    He led me upstairs and then down a hall to a cavernous master bedroom. A king-sized brass bed, covered in a gold silk comforter and piles of large pillows, ate up a good chunk of space, but there was still room for two large