Chapter 24

"Okay, wait, I missedwhat you started to say about what happened after the police arrested Nick and Johnny," Ani said.

She was trailing behind Hugo as he carried a large plastic platter laden with an assortment of lunch meats and cheeses. He set it on the beachside picnic table and sat down across from Noah and Maggie. He'd invited them for a picnic lunch to celebrate the fact that Noah was no longer a suspect in the disappearance of Valentina. Noah could hardly believe it had only been forty-eight hours since they'd been held at gunpoint in that seedy motel room, afraid for their lives.

Next to the platter, Ani set down the condiment containers and loaf of sliced French bread that she'd been carrying. Then she plopped onto the bench next to Boon, who instantly rested his chin on her lap while she stroked the soft fur of his head. "I'm going to figure out where I know you from, you adorable pup," she said, then waved her hand airily at the group. "Okay, you may continue!"

Everyone began building their sandwiches, while Hugo picked up where he'd left off. "So, after everyone was taken to the station, the FBI was called in."

"Because of all the mafia stuff?" Ani said, spreading a layer of mayonnaise on one slice of bread.

Hugo smiled at her. "Yeah, because of all the mafia stuff."

"So, where are Nick and Johnny now?" Maggie asked, squeezing mustard on top of the meat of her sandwich.

"Nick ‘the Knife' Verilla and Johnny LaRocca are being held for kidnapping, assault and battery, and attempted murder for starters," Hugo replied. "But it won't be long before they'll be dealing with a lot more charges than that."

"Why?" Ani asked.

"Because the FBI was able to convince Valentina to testify against her father and the Detroit Partnership."

"They can probably thank Eric for that. Getting her to agree was a hard sell after what happened with her mother," Noah said, after swallowing a bite.

"What do you mean?" Ani asked, looking around the table. "What happened to Valentina's mom?"

Hugo looked at his daughter. Noah could see that he was considering how much to tell her. "Valentina's mom tried to escape from the Partnership with Valentina when she was a young girl," Hugo said. "She was going to do exactly what Valentina plans to do, testify against them. But Valentina's father, the head of the Detroit mafia, found them and brought them back. Her mother disappeared shortly afterward, and Valentina firmly believes she was killed on her father's orders for what she tried to do."

"Oh my gosh!" Ani said, her hand freezing mid-pet on top of Boon's head. "That's...awful!"

"It is," Maggie agreed, pouring herself a cup of iced tea from the pitcher on the table. "After experiencing that, it's completely understandable that she would be afraid to try the same thing."

"But she is," Hugo said, and popped a potato chip into his mouth. "She's a brave woman. One of the FBI agents told me that over the past decade, criminal prosecutions of the Detroit Partnership have had little impact on their overall activity. But now, Valentina's testimony is going to decimate the organization. Based on her evidence, they're putting together seven prosecutions involving thirty-one individuals and multiple deaths."

"Whoa!" Noah said, pausing before taking another bite.

Hugo gave a nod and began ticking off on his fingers. "They're going to be indicted by federal authorities on charges including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, labor racketeering, mail fraud, taking bribes, obstruction of justice, violating the IRS code, and more. With Valentina's evidence, they anticipate they'll have an airtight case against the organization. Her father and many key players are going to be put away for good."

"But after what you just said about her mom, isn't there a risk that just like her mom, Valentina won't be safe either?" Ani asked.

"That's what she originally thought." Maggie nodded. "That's why she planned to simply fake her own death and toss Noah to the wolves." Maggie looked at Noah and clasped his hand that was resting on the table beside her. He gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"There were some specific issues that occurred with regard to Valentina's mom," Hugo said. "The FBI agents were able to explain everything to Valentina, to help her understand what went wrong with her mom, and to make certain she could avoid making the same mistakes."

"Like what?" Noah asked, taking a small cluster of grapes from the bowl on the table and tossing one into his mouth.

"Well, for one thing, even though her mother wasn't supposed to stay in touch with anyone in the family, she made the fatal error of trusting one sister-in-law and maintaining communication with her. She thought the woman was a true friend. But it was easy enough for Valentina's father to eventually track them down because of that connection.

"Valentina understands how crucial it is to avoid contact with anyone from her former life. She and Eric will be entered into the witness protection program where they'll be given new identities and moved to a new location to start their lives over. Valentina is committed to doing this. She feels that she's truly honoring her mother's memory by not only breaking free from that life, but also making certain that her father and the Partnership pay for their crimes."

"Wow," Ani said with a shake of her head. "She's really sacrificing a lot to do the right thing. I can't imagine losing all of my friends—people I love—in one single instant like that."

"It would be incredibly difficult," Noah agreed.

"I'm just so glad this whole thing is over," Maggie sighed, snuggling up against Noah's shoulder. He savored the feel of her soft body against his.

"Okay," Hugo said, brushing the crumbs from his fingers. "Who's ready for a game of two-on-two beach volleyball? Me and Ani against the two of you."

"Is that really going to be fair, old man?" Noah laughed as they all rose from the table and began cleaning up. "Our incredible athleticism against an old man and a kid?"

"You must not have experienced my dad's mad volleyball skills yet," Ani said, tossing a balled-up napkin at Noah's head. "Otherwise, you'd never be talking smack like that to us. You'd be afraid. Very afraid."

"Ha!" Noah said with a smirk, snatching the napkin out of the air. "Oooh, look at those reflexes."

"Oh yeah," Ani taunted, pressing the lid onto the bowl of grapes. "Try and catch this one." And she threw the bowl at him.

"Ani, no!" Hugo cried as the container flew through the air.

Noah made a dive for the bowl and caught it, but then tripped over a nearby grill, jamming his toe. "Ow, ow, ow!" he howled, hopping around for a few seconds before landing hard on the ground.

Boon was by his side in an instant, licking his face. Then in his now familiar style, he clambered onto Noah's prone body and tried to lay down on him.

"Boon, get off me!" Noah cried, pushing at the dog's massive body.

"Finally," Maggie laughed. "It's your turn!"

"Oh my gosh!" Ani cried.

Everyone looked at her. But she was staring at Noah and pointing at the dog with her mouth hanging open.

"What?" Noah said, still struggling to get out from underneath Boon.

"I just remembered where I've seen Boon before!" she said.

***

Noah parked and turnedoff the engine. They were on Main Street in the center of downtown Whispering Pines, only steps from where they'd been assaulted by Nick and Johnny in the alleyway beside the trash can where Valentina had tossed out her cell phone.

"I still can't believe I didn't recognize this place when we were here before," Noah said.

"Well, as we now know, too much alprazolam can do that to you," Maggie said from the passenger seat. Then she sighed deeply. "I'm glad Ani remembered meeting Boon here when she and her friends volunteered a few weeks ago. But I sure wish we didn't have to do this."

As if sensing that they were talking about him, Boon poked his nose in between the two front seats. He was panting softly and his ears were flopped over in that uniquely adorable way of his.

"It'll be all right, boy," Noah said, scratching the top of his furry head. "But we sure are gonna miss you."

Maggie buried her face in the ruff of his neck and Boon whined softly, giving her a lick. "Let's get it over with," she said with a sigh.

Noah attached the original blue leash to Boon's collar and they all climbed out of the vehicle.

Together, they walked toward the door of the Mitten Mutts Dog Rescue. Maggie opened it and Boon pulled them through, straining at his leash.

As they approached the counter, a massive Great Dane suddenly peered over the top of it.

"Well, hello there," Maggie said with a grin. "Are you the official greeter?"

The dog tilted his head as if in inquiry at the sound of her voice.

Just then, a young man came around the corner from a room behind the counter. "Oh hey! Sorry about that. Down, Mack!" he said.

And the dog obediently sat down, but continued to gaze at them.

"Can I help you?" he asked. Noah guessed him to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. His sandy brown hair was long, flopped low over his forehead, and he kept flipping his head to one side to get it out of his eyes.

"Yes," Noah said. "I believe he belongs here." He lifted his leash hand above the counter and the boy stepped forward to peer over the top of it. Then his eyes grew wide.

"Boon-doggle? No way! Where've you been, buddy?" The young man came out from behind the counter, and Boon's tail instantly started wagging.

The boy squatted down beside Boon who began nuzzling and licking his face.

"Easy, boy. Easy." He chuckled, standing back up.

The boy's gaze shifted between Maggie and Noah, but settled on Noah who was still holding Boon's leash. "Sorry, it's just that he's been missing for days. I somehow lost him when I stopped in here late Friday night to check on one of our newest arrivals. My parents were super ticked off at me. They own this place. My mom's working in the back with the dogs right now. I'm Bryan by the way," he added, extending his hand to each of them. "So, where'd you find Boon?"

Maggie and Noah exchanged a look. Then Noah gave Bryan a sheepish grin. "I'm not certain, but it's possible that I may have stolen him."

Bryan frowned in confusion. "What?"

Noah briefly explained his temporary amnesia situation without going into too much detail. "I know that I was outside this shelter sometime Friday night. And somehow, I met Boon then."

Bryan rubbed a hand along his jaw. "Well, that lines up with when he went missing. I was on duty Friday night. We'd just gotten in a particularly anxious rescue, a puppy. So, I stopped by to check on him. I let Boon and a couple of the other big dogs out to do their business in the fenced-in yard out back. When I was ready to leave, I went to get them all, but Boon was missing. I freaked out!"

"I'm sorry," Noah said.

"No worries, bro," Bryan said. "At least he's back now, safe and sound."

"So, I take it Boon is a rescued dog then?" Maggie said, as she slowly ran her hand over Boon's soft head. The dog lifted his chin and closed his eyes in appreciation.

"Yeah, yeah," Bryan said. "We got him in a few weeks ago."

"What's his story?" Noah said. "He seems like a smart, well-behaved dog. How did he end up here?"

"It was kind of a strange fluke," Bryan said. "He was originally being trained as an emotional support dog for people dealing with severe anxiety."

"You can get a trained service dog for that?" Maggie asked.

"Oh sure," Bryan said. "If the dog's owner starts showing signs of an impending anxiety attack, the dog can be trained to get medicine or bring the owner a telephone to call for help. They're also trained to do stuff like cuddle up next to them or start doling out kisses. It often helps stop the attack and allows the owner to relax and feel safe."

Maggie exchanged a look with Noah and burst out laughing. "Well, that explains a lot!"

Noah looked back at Bryan. "You said Boon was originally being trained to be a service dog?"

"Yeah," Bryan looked down at Boon. "Unfortunately, he was the victim of a perfect storm of bad luck."

"What do you mean?" Noah asked.

"Well, more than half of service dog candidates don't complete their training. And Boon fell into that category. He was overly sensitive to humans under stress, causing him to overreact. And he also would get aggressive with certain people that he didn't take a liking to, for seemingly random reasons."

"Maybe they just weren't nice people," Noah murmured, thinking of Nick and Johnny.

Bryan shrugged. "I dunno. Anyway, after he flunked out of the program, he was sent to a service dog organization with an adoption program for failed service dogs. He got adopted pretty quick. But he was only in his new home for a few months when the owner died unexpectedly. Boon was brought here, and we were making arrangements to send him back to the original adoption organization. There's a big demand for failed service dogs because of all the training they receive."

Maggie had been absently running her hand along Boon's silky coat, but she stopped and looked up at the young man. "So, Bryan, does Boon have to go back to the service dog organization for adoption?"

The young man frowned. "Huh?"

Maggie locked eyes with Noah and he knew what she was thinking. Because he was thinking the same thing.

"What we mean is, what if we'd like to adopt Boon?"

"Ohhh," Bryan said with another toss of his hair. "Lemme ask my mom."

An hour later Noah and Maggie walked out of Mitten Mutts with a handful of paperwork making them the official owners of one floppy-eared German Shepherd mix named Boon.

"Is it weird that we have a baby even before our first real date?" Maggie said, making Noah laugh.

"Not any weirder than how the past few days have gone," he replied, opening the back car door so Boon could hop in. Then he reached for the handle of the passenger side door for Maggie, but before he opened it, he turned to her and said, "Speaking of our first real date..."

"Yes?" She was smiling up at him and he couldn't resist. Heedless of the passersby, he bent his head and kissed her. Her lips answered his, soft and yielding.

His head was still spinning when he finally drew back to whisper in her ear. "My apologies for such short notice, but are you free for dinner tonight, Ms. Milena?"

"I think I can squeeze you in," she whispered back, and rising up on tiptoe, she kissed him once more.