And that made him smile.

“The wine, the music…the food? If I didn’t know better, I swear you were trying to get laid.”

Carter slapped a hand to his chest. “I’m crushed.”

Eliza sipped her wine. “Yeah, right. Sure! What’s up?”

He pulled out a chair and encouraged her to sit. “You were at Sam’s, right?”

“A huh.”

“Did Karen take the job?”

“She did. Oh, that’s it.” Understanding filled her features. She sat the glass down, reached over the table, and took his hand. “You worried about me quitting my job.”

“I know you didn’t want to.”

“Dang, Carter…that’s downright sweet of you. Where have you hidden all this charm?”

“In the closet…” with your chewed up shoes. He glanced down at her feet and noticed her sensible heals. “Let me roll out some of that charm and help you relax.” He reached down and slid them off her feet. He shot Zod a look before taking them to the mudroom in the back of the house and placing them on a top shelf.

Eliza wore a playful smile when he returned. “You put them up, right?”

“Always.”

They talked a little about her day as Carter divided the meal onto their plates. Eliza drizzled dressing onto the salads and within minutes, they were both eating.

“I need to learn how to make this,” she said between bites.

“You know what would make it better?”

“Can it get any better?”

“Mushrooms.” Carter filled his mouth and savored the garlic white sauce and a chunk of grilled chicken.

“Now that sounds perfect. Not a lot of mushrooms, just a few. Maybe I should ask the chef to add them.”

“Chefs can be more temperamental than a basketball player after a foul is called. Next time we order out, we can add them ourselves.”

Eliza pointed at him with her fork. “Now you’re thinking.”

“So how are you…really?” There wasn’t a hint of sadness in her face, but he needed to ask.

“I’m okay. I thought it would be harder than it was.”

Either she was an Oscar worthy actress, or she really wasn’t upset. If it wasn’t for the constant flow of letters arriving daily, Carter thought she would have a bigger issue.

He wanted to point out that she didn’t have to worry about money, that he would take care of her. Somehow she probably wouldn’t see that the way he did.

“Excuse me,” Russell interrupted their conversation with an uncharacteristic visit to the kitchen. “I’m sorry to bother you.”

The man glanced at Zod and walked into the room. “We know you want to be alerted to anything out of the ordinary we catch on the monitors.”

Eliza stopped chewing her food and slowly placed her fork on her plate.

“What was it?”

“Probably nothing. Shortly after we left this afternoon, Zod bolted out his door barking. The cameras didn’t pick up anything. Could have been an animal, or anything. The offsite surveillance team didn’t warrant a drive by, but I thought it better to tell you.”

Eliza’s smile fell. So much for their quiet dinner.

“Pete and I searched the yard. There’s no evidence of anything out of place.”

“How long did Zod bark?” Eliza asked.

“Not long. The motion detectors caught him searching the bushes in the side yard before he moved on. He barked a couple more times and then returned to the house.”

Carter thanked the man and Russell walked away.

“Trained police dogs don’t bark at neighborhood cats,” Eliza told him when they were alone.

That didn’t sound good.

She moved food around her plate a couple times and gave up. “I need to see the video.”

He shoved his chair back and followed her up the stairs.

They invaded the small security room where Russell took watch. Pete followed behind them.

Russell moved the control on the computer. They all watched Zod sense something and run out the dog door. The leather flap on the small opening had a magnetic key lock attached to Zod’s collar. Only he could open the thing, or a criminal would have to pry the collar off the deadly dog’s neck to gain access. That wasn’t likely.

Even though Carter expected it, Zod’s obsessive barking on the screen brought a wave of panic over him.

“The stationary camera catches him here, and then the sensory camera turns on and catches him here.” Russell pointed out each camera angle.

Zod scurried into the bushes and the barking stopped. When he emerged, he held something in his teeth.

“What’s that?”

Russell sent them a wry smile. “One of Mrs. Billing’s shoes I’m afraid.”

Carter peered closer. Sure enough, the shoe he’d tossed in the trash sat happily between Zod’s teeth.

“Most dogs bury bones,” Eliza murmured.

“Maybe he thought someone found his hiding place.”

Eliza shook her head and turned for the door. “I knew he wouldn’t have run after a cat. Unless the cat found a hidden shoe, then maybe. Damn dog.”

Carter patted Russell’s back and walked with Eliza back to the kitchen.

Zod met them at the door and cocked his head to the side before giving a happy bark.

“Bad dog.”

Zod’s eyebrows shot up, and he looked between the two of them. Damn dog looked like he wanted a Scooby snack or some damn thing.

****

Harry didn’t make it in jail because he was a stupid man. In fact, his intelligence paved his way to the big house with other peoples’ money. There was one thing that Harry wasn’t. Violent. He’d taken a few hits when he first arrived at the state penitentiary but that had been years ago and the pain long forgotten.

At Blake’s request he’d quietly ripped up every newspaper clipping, every picture, and flushed them down the toilet. He kept only one. A snapshot of his life when it was whole. His wife and daughters sat beside him on a yacht he once owned, they smiled for the camera, and he stood there wearing a pompous smile.

Everyone in the jail became a suspect. Who had Blake warned him about? It wasn’t until Harry was told he had a phone call that he knew the name of the man. The caller didn’t identify himself and his voice wasn’t familiar. Betting man that he was, Harry would lay money that the voice had been disguised. His words, however, were clear as ever.

“Ricardo Sanchez,” the caller said. Followed quickly by, “Solitary.”