Dog Tags

CHAPTER 34

LAURIE, MARCUS, MILO, AND I GET IN MY CAR AND HEAD FOR THE CRIME SCENE. We make quite the little family. We don’t bring Tara on the outing, because Juliet Corsinita says she would be a distraction for Milo, and we don’t bring a picnic lunch, because this is a business trip.

Juliet meets us in the parking lot of the Skybar, but she instructs us to stay in the car. All she wants to come out is Milo, along with the article of Erskine’s clothing that Pete has provided us. I was relieved to discover it was a shirt rather than underwear.

I understand she wants to have as few distractions as possible while she works, but her conditions are not acceptable. Marcus has to be nearby, in case another attempt is made to kidnap Milo. And Laurie and I want to be in position to see what is going on.

We work out an arrangement where Marcus is nearby, but remaining as unobtrusive as Marcus can remain, which is pretty low on the unobtrusive scale. Laurie and I will park down the street in our car, with the motor running. If Milo takes off, we want to be able to follow him.

Just in case he runs and manages to lose us, Laurie has attached a small GPS device to his collar, which we can follow from a monitor in the car.

I think we’re set up as well as we can be.

Unfortunately, our high-tech operation is delayed by the fact that we can’t find an acceptable parking space, and it’s impossible to double-park on this street. James Bond never seemed to have these problems.

Fortunately a young couple walks up the street and gets in their car, so we wait behind them to pull in when they pull out. Then we experience a phenomenon that is becoming more and more common, and which drives me crazy. It takes them a full five minutes to pull out.

I have no idea what people do in this situation. Are they running through a checklist, like an airplane pilot? “Seat belts… check. Key in the ignition… check. Radio tuned to FM… check.” They’re probably driving to Teaneck, but they act like they’re flying to Tel Aviv.

Finally they pull out, and we pull in behind them. Things are really cooking now.

Juliet had told me to keep Erskine’s shirt in an airtight plastic bag, so that Milo would not smell it in advance. When Laurie and I leave, I give her the bag, but she doesn’t open it.

Once Laurie, Marcus, and I are in our respective positions, I see Juliet get out of the car with Milo, leading him on a leash. I’ve gone over the mechanics of the night of the murder with her, so she knows the various landmarks.

Juliet takes Milo to the tree where he sat that night, waiting for Billy to signal him that he should make his move on Erskine. I can’t hear what she is saying to him, but she makes a motion for him to sit, and he does so willingly. He seems to respond to her well, and is allowing her to control him. I would think that’s a good sign.

With Milo sitting there out in the open, I see Marcus nearby, looking around warily. If there is any suspicious occurrence, be it from a pedestrian or a car coming down the street, I know Marcus will intervene and end the demonstration.

Juliet walks over to the front of the building, where Erskine stood that night, and Milo watches her. She just stands there for five minutes, and then walks slowly to the spot down the street where the murder took place. Milo does not take his eyes off her as she walks.

Once she reaches the murder spot, she waits another few minutes, and then takes the shirt out of the bag. She motions to Milo and calls out something I can’t hear. Milo jumps up from his spot and races toward Juliet, and for a moment I’m afraid he’s going to attack her. But she seems unconcerned, holding the shirt in front of her and not backing away at all.

Milo leaps in the air and grabs the shirt, and Laurie and I get ready, hoping that Milo will now do what we want, which is take the shirt to the same place he took the envelope. With the shirt in his mouth, he comes to a graceful landing and then…

Nothing.

Milo just sits where he landed, holding the shirt in his mouth in triumph, offering it to Juliet and not moving a muscle. I see her talking to him, but all he does is look up at her, the shirt in his mouth not concealing the smile on his face.

She pets him, complimenting him on a job well done, which I assume is a simultaneous admission of defeat. His tail is wagging a mile a minute at the praise.

Laurie, Marcus, and I walk over to them, and Juliet says, “It’s not happening. He doesn’t completely trust me.”

I nod. “Billy said it would be a trust issue.”

“You’d have a better chance than me,” she says. “Because he’s living with you. I could teach you the technique, but it will take a while.”

“Might as well try it,” I say, and then turn to Milo. “You trust me, right, big guy?”

Milo just sits there, not committing one way or the other.

“Talk to Tara; she’ll vouch for me. But if she tells you about the time I ran out of biscuits, it wasn’t my fault.”