the vehicle pulled up. it was white, with “animal services “ in blue letters on its side. a short round woman and a a short thin man, both wearing what looked like a uniform of white shirt and navy pants, got out.
they looked at the dog. is that your dog? the woman asked.
no, joe said again, and i never saw it before.
then you must be a pretty public spirited citizen, the woman said.
i guess, joe answered.
the man was bending down and looking at the dog. he took a phone out of his pocket and took some pictures of the dog with it. then he put the phone away and took out some gloves and put them on.
the woman took a phone out of her pocket. she pushed a button on it. what’s your name, she asked joe.
joe. joe biddle.
got any i d?
of course. joe took his wallet out and opened it to his i d and handed the wallet to the woman. she glanced at it, photoed it , and gave it back to him.
live around here, joe?
not right around here.
what’s not right around here?
about three miles away.
three miles? the woman looked around. i don’t see your car.
i didn’t drive. i was just going for a walk.
from three miles away? you must be a real walking man.
i try to get my exercise.
i guess, the woman said.
the man who had been looking at the dog stood up. he looked across the road at the gray house with red trim.
joe noticed that the man in the gray overcoat had disappeared. it occurred to joe that he had said he had seen “the whole thing”. including the dog getting killed?
joe decided not to mention the man in the overcoat, unless he was asked about him.
instead he said, i asked at that house if it was their dog, but they said it wasn’t.
thank you, the woman said, but i think we will ask ourselves anyway.
joe noticed for the first time that both animal rescue people were wearing name tags.
the man’s said “toots” and the woman’s said “mudlark”. joe thought those were funny names, but there were a lot of people in the world, and some of them had funny names.
the man started across the road in the direction of the gray house.
the woman watched him cross, then turned back to joe, holding her phone toward him, obviously in order to record whatever they said.
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