“Just ‘cause you don’t use big words, don’t mean you’re stupid,” Cate said to the empty condo, adding the last couple of pages to her stack and securing it all with a giant rubber band.

The manuscript needed to go from Julie’s scrawl to neatly typed pages, and probably there was a standard format writers used, Cate thought. And probably she could get the information online.

She made herself a peanut butter sandwich and leaned against the counter while she ate. She looked down at the floor. No Beast water bowl. She’d given it to Kellen, along with Beast’s food and toys and vitamins and toothbrush and treats. The condo felt sterile without Beast. No snuffling, slobbering noises. No warm dog body pressing against her leg. Hard to believe Beast was delivered just three days ago. It felt like he’d always been part of her life. And what about Kellen? That relationship was four days old, and already Kellen had moved into her bed and her heart. How had that happened?

The doorbell rang and Cate had a moment of panic. On the one hand she wanted it to be Marty so she could get some answers. On the other hand she was dreading the charade.

She had both hands’ fingers crossed on the way to the door. “Don’t let it be Marty,” she chanted. “Don’t let it be Marty!”

She looked out the peephole and grimaced. There was good news and bad news. The good news was that Marty wasn’t standing in the hall. The bad news was that Kitty Bergman was out there, backed up by two large men in dark suits.

Cate opened the door a crack. “Yes?” she said to Kitty.

“What’s with the fancy lock?” Kitty wanted to know. “Do you think you have something to protect? Something to hide?”

Without waiting for an answer, Kitty pushed past Cate into the condo with the two men on her heels.

“If you’re looking for Marty,” Cate said, “he isn’t here.”

“I know he isn’t here,” Kitty said. “I just talked to him and he asked me to come get his dog.”

Cate’s heart gave a painful contraction. “Beast isn’t here.”

“Well, where is he?”

“He’s visiting with a friend.”

“Yeah, I almost believe that,” Kitty said. She flicked her eyes to the two men. “Search for the dog. And bring his food and dog bowls.”

“Why didn’t Marty come to get his dog?” Cate asked.

“Marty’s busy.”

The two men returned to the living room.

“The dog isn’t here,” the one guy said. “And we couldn’t find any dog things. No food or bowls or anything.”

“Maybe you’re not as dumb as you look,” Kitty said to Cate.

“I didn’t know I looked dumb,” Cate said.

“Where’s the dog?”

“I told you he’s at a friend’s house.”

Kitty looked like she might lunge forward at any moment and grab Cate by the neck and start squeezing. “Does your friend have a name?”

“Yes,” Cate said.

“Would you like to tell me your friend’s name?”

“No,” Cate said. “I don’t feel comfortable with this. If Marty wants his dog he’s going to have to show up in person.”

“Are you suggesting you don’t trust me with Marty’s dog?” Kitty Bergman asked, eyes narrowed.

“I just don’t understand why Marty isn’t here. If he’s in town, why didn’t he come home?”

“I told you. He’s busy. Now be a good girl and get the dog. I’m sure he’s somewhere in the building. With the realtor? With Miss Party Trolley?”

“He’s not with either of them.”

“I’m losing patience,” Kitty said. “I’m going to count to five. If I’m not satisfied with the information I’ve received from you by the time I get to five, I’m going to walk out of this condo and leave you with my two friends. They can be very persuasive.”

“I don’t get it,” Cate said. “Why is Beast so important? Marty’s never even seen him.”

“Yes,” Kitty said. “But Marty’s already emotionally attached. And as his friend I feel obligated to get him his dog.”

One of the men wrapped his hand around Cate’s arm. “Wait in the hall,” he said to Kitty. “We’ll take care of this.”

Kitty Bergman opened the condo front door to go into the hall, and Julie and Patrick Pugg tumbled in.

“Thank you,” Julie said. “We was out there wonderin’ how we were gonna get through the lock. Cate told me how to do it, but I forgot.”

Pugg looked to Julie. “Pugg is in hero mode now. Pugg needs to be Pugg. Pugg would like a temporary amnesty on nuts rearrangement.”

“Amnesty granted,” Julie said.

“Unhand her,” Pugg said to the guy holding Cate’s arm.

The guy smiled. “Who’s gonna make me?”

“Pugg will make you. Pugg is no one to be trifled with,” Pugg said.

“Haw!” the guy said. “That’s a good one.”

“This is silly,” Cate said. “Let’s not get all carried away.”

“Oh for God’s sake,” Kitty said. “Can we please get on with this?” She pointed to goon number two. “You! Get rid of the fat bumpkin and the bridge troll.”

“Excuse me,” Julie said. “Are you referrin’ to me? Because I am not fat. I’m ample. And I’m not goin’ anywhere. You’re the one who needs to be goin’. I think you’ve worn out your welcome here.”

Kitty had taken a wide stance in her Louboutin slingbacks, and had a white-knuckle grip on her classic Chanel shoulder purse. “I told you to get rid of them,” she snapped to goon number two. “Are you deaf? Are you an idiot? What are you waiting for?”

Goon number two reached for Julie, and Pugg jumped up and punched him in the nose. Since Pugg was a foot shorter than goon number two it wasn’t much of a punch.

Goon number two looked down at Pugg. “What the heck do you think you’re doing?”

“Pugg is protecting his women,” Pugg said.

“I don’t think so,” the goon said. “I think you and bumpkin’s gonna get removed, so we can have it nice and peaceful while we slap the redhead around.”

“Pugg will be forced to punch you in the nose again unless you leave the premises this instant,” Pugg said.

The goon blew out a sigh, like Pugg was being a trial. “Ms. Bergman,” goon number two said, “would you please open the door for me?”

Kitty opened the door, and goon number two grabbed Pugg by the seat of his pants and threw him out the door, into the hall.

“Ow,” Pugg said. “Pugg got a wedgie.”

“I hope you aren’t plannin’ on doing that to me,” Julie said to goon number two, “because that would be real rude.”

“Guess I’m just a rude kind of guy,” goon number two said, moving toward Julie.

Julie pulled a semiautomatic 9mm out of her shoulder bag and aimed it at goon number two’s privates.

“Holy cow,” Cate said. “Where’d you get a gun?”

“Where I come from everybody’s got a gun.” Julie looked at Cate. “Honey, don’t you have a gun?”

“No.”

“Well darn, that’s part of your problem here. What do you think you got a peephole for? It’s to see whether you need to answer the door with your gun in your hand.”

“You won’t use that gun,” goon number two said.

“I can pick off a river rat at fifty paces,” Julie said. “I wouldn’t have any problem shootin’ you in the wiener, however small and insignificant it might be. And you should be happy it’s not my Aunt Tess standing here. Loogie Bayard got drunk and broke into Aunt Tess’s house one night, and tried to have his way with her, and Aunt Tess took the meat mallet to him. He was a terrible mess. She even cracked his glass eye. Not that it was worth much. Loogie got it at the VA hospital, and it was always wanderin’ around lookin’ in the wrong direction.”

Everyone stood for a moment digesting that information.

“You haven’t heard the end of this,” Kitty said to Cate. “I want that dog.” And Kitty turned on her heel and swished out of the condo with the two men close behind. Pugg, who was standing outside, edged his way back in.

Cate closed and locked the door after them and gave a small hysterical giggle. “Yikes.”

“And double yikes,” Julie said. “What was that about?”

“The dog,” Cate said. “Kitty said Marty asked her to get the dog.”

“That’s a lot of baloney,” Julie said. “That woman never did a favor for nobody. She wouldn’t come fetchin’ a dog for Marty. You told me they weren’t even getting’ along.” Julie looked around. “Where is the big guy? Where’s Beast?”

“I sent him home with Kellen.”

“Lucky thing I was lookin’ out the window when Kitty and the goon squad trooped into the building,” Julie said. “I thought they looked like they were up to no good, so I sent Pugg to see where they were goin’. When he found out they were in with you, we came right away.”

Pugg adjusted his underwear. “Pugg hopes you don’t mind,” Pugg said to Cate, “but Pugg has transferred his affections to Julie. Julie came across.”

“He’d be a keeper in my hometown,” Julie said by way of explanation.

“Yes, but this is Boston!” Cate said.

“He has some good points,” Julie said. “He’s a real hard worker, if you know what I mean. And it’s hard to tell for sure what’s under all that fur, but I bet he’d clean up okay if you gave him a whole-body wax.”

The doorbell rang again and everyone went raised eyebrows. The lock clicked, and Kellen pushed the door open.

“I needed a break, so I thought I’d stop in and say hello,” Kellen said.

“Pugg needs to get back to work now that his job as hero is done,” Pugg said.

“I’ll walk you out,” Julie said. “And don’t you worry I’m gonna make sure nobody gives you a wedgie but me from now on.”

“I have a feeling I missed something,” Kellen said when Julie and Pugg had left.

“Kitty Bergman was here with two henchmen. She wanted Beast. She said Marty sent her.”

“Kitty Bergman doing errands for Marty?”

“Yeah, that’s what Julie said. Doesn’t compute. Anyway, things were starting to get ugly until Julie arrived and threatened to shoot off everyone’s privates.”

Kellen grinned. “Julie had a gun?”