Rough Justice Part 40

'Liam says she was in the house or the garden all day.'

Heaton grimaced. 'Then I think you have to consider that someone did target her.' She sighed. 'That's horrible. I'm so sorry.'

'In cases like this, do you have to notify the police?' asked Shepherd.

The vet shook her head. 'No, but I suggest that you do,' she said. 'We can't have people throwing poisoned sausages around. A child could pick it up. Rat poison is deadly to animals and humans. Do you have any idea who might have done it?'

Shepherd had a pretty good idea who'd done it but he didn't want to tell the vet. 'What happens now to Lady?' he asked.

'That's up to you,' she said. 'I can dispose of the remains if you want. Or there are places that can arrange burials. Or some people bury their pets in the garden. It's up to you.'

'Can I talk to Liam and get back to you?' said Shepherd.

Heaton smiled. 'Of course you can. There's no rush. We'll keep her refrigerated, so any time next week will be fine.'

Shepherd stood up and offered his hand. She shook it. She wasn't wearing a wedding ring, he noticed. 'And let me know what I owe you,' he said.

'Sally can give you the bill on your way out,' she said. 'Look, I don't know how you feel about having another dog, but I've been taking care of one that's just given birth and I know her owners are looking for homes for the puppies. The mum's not pure-bred, like Lady, I'm afraid, so the pups are a bit of a mixture, but the mother has a lovely temperament.'

'I'll ask Liam,' said Shepherd. He thanked her again, then left her office. He paid the bill with his Visa card and got back into his car. He started the engine, but sat where he was for several minutes working out what he should do next.

Shepherd drove home and parked in the driveway. He looked up at Liam's bedroom window and saw his son standing there. He waved and Liam waved back half-heartedly. Shepherd went inside. Katra was in the kitchen, chopping onions. 'Katra, you didn't give Lady any meat yesterday, did you? Hot dogs?'

'I didn't feed her at all,' she said, brushing her hair from her eyes with the back of her hand. 'Liam gave her some dog treats. He was training her to stay and he was giving her a tiny piece when she did what he wanted.'

'So he was in the garden with her?'

Katra nodded. 'For an hour after he got back from school.'

'And did you see any meat or anything like that lying around?'

Katra frowned and brushed her hair away from her eyes again. Her eyes were watering and Shepherd wasn't sure if she was upset or if the onions were making her cry. 'No,' she said. 'Definitely not.'

Shepherd closed the door to the hallway to make sure Liam couldn't overhear them. 'I don't want you to say anything to Liam, but the vet thinks Lady was deliberately poisoned.'

Katra covered her mouth with her hand and whispered something in Slovenian.

'You mustn't tell Liam, okay?' said Shepherd.

Katra nodded. 'Who could have done such a thing?'

'I don't know for sure,' said Shepherd.

'The father of that boy in Liam's school,' she said. 'Maybe him? I told you I thought he burst the tyre. And what about the brick through the window? That was him, I'm sure.'

Shepherd knew that Katra was right, but he wanted to downplay her fears. 'Honestly, I don't know,' he said. 'We mustn't jump to conclusions. It might just be a random thing. Lady didn't bark, or bite anyone, while I was away, did she?'

'She was a sweet dog,' said Katra. 'As good as gold.'

'Just don't say anything to Liam. I don't want him worrying about it,' said Shepherd. He went out of the back door into the garden, stood on the lawn and looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He went over to the hedge and slowly walked around the perimeter of the garden, keeping his eyes on the ground. He spent a good ten minutes scouring the hedgerow and the lawn, but found nothing. Then he went to the side of the house where they kept the wheelie-bin and the hosepipe that he used to water the lawn during the summer months. He looked around but couldn't see anything unusual.

'What are you looking for, Dan?' asked Katra, behind him.

Shepherd jumped. 'You could creep up on the devil.' He laughed. 'I was just checking to see if someone had tossed the poisoned meat into the garden.' He pushed the coiled hosepipe with his foot. 'But there's nothing.'

'Maybe Lady ate it all,' said Katra.

'Maybe,' said Shepherd. He grabbed the wheelie-bin and pushed it to the side. Katra gasped when she saw the hot-dog sausage lying on the ground. Shepherd bent down and picked it up.

'Be careful, if it's poisoned,' said Katra.

'It's only dangerous if you ingest it,' said Shepherd. Katra frowned and Shepherd realised she didn't understand the word. 'Eat,' he said. 'It's only poisonous if you eat it. But I'll wash my hands, don't worry.' He looked at the sausage in his palm. It seemed normal. He sniffed it, but it smelt exactly as he expected a hot-dog sausage to smell. He gripped it between both hands and twisted. It ruptured and Shepherd saw white granules inside. He cursed under his breath, then opened the top of the wheelie-bin and dropped it in.

'Is it poisoned?' asked Katra.

'I think so,' said Shepherd, closing the lid.

'What are you going to do? Are you going to tell the police?'

'No,' said Shepherd. 'I'll take care of it.' They went back inside. Shepherd shouted for Liam to come downstairs but there was no reply. He went up to Liam's bedroom and knocked on the door. There was no answer. 'Liam, come on, I want to talk to you.'

The door opened. 'Hi, Dad,' said Liam.

'Football today, right?'

'I guess.'

'Are you going to be okay?'

'I'm sad about Lady.'

'I'm sad about Lady too,' said Shepherd. 'I know it's maybe too soon to be thinking about another dog but the vet says she has some puppies that need homes and we could go and see them if you want.'

Liam nodded. 'Maybe,' he said. 'Are they beagles?'

'No, she said they're mongrels but they need good homes. Why don't you think about it?'

'Okay, I will,' said Liam.

'And there's something else you have to think about,' said Shepherd.

'What?'

'The vet wanted to know what to do with Lady. Whether you wanted to bury her or, you know...'

'Like a funeral?'

'We could have a funeral, if you wanted. We could bury her in the garden. Or there are pet graveyards. What do you think?'

'I dunno,' said Liam. He rubbed his face. 'I miss her so much.'

'I know you do, and I'm sorry.'

'She was such a sweet dog. She never hurt anybody, Dad. She didn't deserve to die like that.'

'I know.'

'She wanted me to help her but I couldn't. I couldn't do anything.'

'You took her to the vet, and that was helping. So she knew that you loved her and that you wanted to help.'

Liam wiped his eyes. 'Did the vet say what it was?' He sniffed.

'She probably ate something that she shouldn't have,' said Shepherd. 'Try not to think about it. Just remember what a great dog she was and what a great time you had with her.'

Liam nodded. 'Okay.'

'Good lad. And get yourself ready for football. Let's see you get some goals today.' Then he hugged him. 'I know it's hard, Liam. I know you miss her. You just have to get through it, and every day it'll hurt a bit less.'

'Like with Mum, you mean?' he said. He was standing with his arms limp at his sides.

Shepherd put his hands on Liam's shoulders and looked into his tear-filled eyes. 'Oh, Liam, it's nothing like your mum.'

'Because I still miss Mum, every day, and that's not getting any better.'

'I know. That's not what I meant. Of course we'll never stop missing your mum, and we'll never stop thinking about her.'

'I do miss her.' A tear rolled down his cheek.

'I miss her too.'

'And I don't ever want another mum.'

'Your mum will always be your mum, Liam. No one's ever going to take her place.'

'And I don't want to get another dog. If we get another dog it's like we've forgotten all about Lady. Like she never existed.'

'It's not about replacing Lady. It's about giving a home to a dog that needs one, that's all. But if you don't want to, that's all right. You don't have to decide now.'

Liam nodded solemnly. 'Okay,' he said.

'Good boy,' said Shepherd, and hugged him again. This time Liam hugged him back. 'You make sure you're ready for the game, okay?'

'You're going to watch, right?'

'Of course Katra, too. But I've got to go out for a while first.'

Shepherd parked his BMW close to the police station and walked along the pavement to the entrance. The sun was shining and it was a warm day, but he was wearing a dark suit, shirt and tie. He walked into Reception and smiled at the female sergeant behind the counter. 'I'm here to see DS James Hollis or DC Graham Cooper,' said Shepherd. 'They're expecting me.'

The two detectives kept Shepherd waiting for thirty minutes. It was Hollis who opened the door to speak to him. He was wearing the same sports jacket with leather patches on the elbows that he'd had on the first time Shepherd had seen him. 'Mr Shepherd, as I said on the phone, DC Cooper and I aren't actually on duty today. We're just in to catch up on some paperwork.'

'Yeah, and I'm sure you're claiming overtime,' said Shepherd. 'I need to talk to you. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d has just killed my dog.'

'What?'

'Talovic. He threw hot-dog sausages laced with rat poison into my garden.'

'When was this, Mr Shepherd?'

'Yesterday. Look, I need to sit down and talk through something with you,' he said. He looked over his shoulder. There were three teenagers sitting on the plastic chairs by the window, and an old married couple holding hands. 'Can we have some privacy?'

'Come on through,' said Hollis, holding the door open for him. He showed Shepherd along to one of the interview rooms. 'If you wait there, Mr Shepherd, I'll get DC Cooper.'

Shepherd waited for a further ten minutes before Hollis returned with his colleague. The two detectives sat down opposite him. Cooper flicked through his notebook and clicked his ballpoint pen before speaking. 'You're here about Mr Talovic?' he said.

'He poisoned my dog yesterday,' said Shepherd.

Cooper wrote in his notebook. 'And why did he do that, do you think?'

'Because I reported the video on my son's phone,' he said. 'Prior to killing my dog he phoned me twice to threaten me, and he threw a brick through my window.'

'A brick?' said Cooper.

'A house brick.'

'And when was this?'

'Wednesday last week,' said Shepherd. 'And he punctured the tyre of my CRV.'

'And did you report these incidents?' asked Cooper.

'That's what I'm doing now,' said Shepherd.

'Why did you leave it so long, Mr Shepherd? It sounds as if it's been going on for some time.'

'It has,' said Shepherd. 'He threatened me shortly after I came to see you with Liam. He's made intimidating phone calls, he tried to a.s.sault me, he's killed my dog, punctured the tyre of my car and thrown a brick through my window. I want him arrested and charged.'

'When did the a.s.sault take place?' asked Cooper.

'Last Sat.u.r.day. I went around to his house and he tried to hit me, then spat at me.'

'And, again, you didn't report it at the time?'

'I'm reporting it now,' said Shepherd.

'Why did you go around to his house?'

'Because he'd thrown a brick through my window.'