Saturday morning was dreary, with damp winds, low, scudding clouds,
lights on in the stores. I couldn't get a better line on the Cooper
girl until the administration office at the high school opened on
Monday. The few leads had faded away into nothing. I wondered what I
would do with the day.
After buying some blades and some tooth paste, I drove around for
a while and finally faced the fact that I was trying to think of a
good excuse to see Ruth Stamm. I went without an excuse. She was in
the reception office at the animal hospital. She gave me a quick,
warm smile as I walked in. A woman sat holding a small shivering dog,
waiting her turn. There was a boy with a Siamese cat on a leash. The
cat, dainty and arrogant, purposefully ignored the shivering dog.