New York, Actually (From Manhattan with Love 4)

He glanced out of the window and imagined Molly and Valentine enjoying the park. Maybe he should ask his sisters if they needed him to walk Brutus occasionally. Not that he was particularly attached to the dog, but they were busy. Overstretched. It would be a way of helping.

According to Fliss, two families had come to see the dog. The first had said that he was a lot bigger than they’d thought and decided they didn’t want a German shepherd, which Daniel found unfathomable given that they knew the dog’s breed before they’d visited. The second had been worried Brutus would be a risk to their two very boisterous children.

Daniel was outraged that anyone would imply Brutus was aggressive. He’d never met a better-natured animal.

Not that he was an expert on dogs, but he’d indulged in some pretty rough play with Brutus when no one was looking and both had emerged without a bruise or a scratch. And he had the funniest face Daniel had ever seen. He’d never thought a dog could look guilty until he’d met Brutus.

If the family hadn’t immediately fallen for him, then in his opinion Brutus had had a narrow escape.

The sun rose, people started arriving at the office and by eight o’clock the phones started ringing and Marsha appeared with coffee. “Have you been here all night?”

“Feels that way.” The aroma of coffee wove itself into his brain. He reached for it, allowing himself to savor the smell before taking a mouthful. The caffeine delivered a much-needed electric shock to his system. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“That bad?”

“People keep trying to sell me malpractice insurance. I hope they don’t know something I don’t. You’re hovering. Something wrong?”

“Elisa Sutton is on her way up and this time she has the children with her. She turned up at reception, very upset.”

“If she’s upset, we should refer her to a therapist. My expertise ends at legal advice. And I’m more expensive than a therapist.”

“She trusts you. She knows you’re not one of those lawyers who would take advantage and let a client run up a huge bill because they’re always on the phone moaning.”

“My job is to come up with a winning divorce strategy. That’s it.”

“Judging from how upset she is, that might be what she’s about to ask you to do.”

Hearing bawling coming from outside his office, Daniel stood up. “Do we know what has happened?”

“No, but I’m willing to bet Henry hasn’t delivered on his promises.”

“Now, isn’t that a surprise.” Daniel walked out of his office into Marsha’s. Elisa was jiggling the toddler and Kristy was crying so hard she was almost choking.

Daniel made a rapid assessment and decided to start with the older child.

“Hey, Kristy.” He dropped into a crouch in front of the little girl. “What’s wrong?”

Kristy sucked in a juddering breath. “Lost—R-Rosie.”

“We bought a new doll from the toy shop on Broadway and she dropped it somewhere.” Elisa shifted the howling baby onto the other shoulder as she explained. She looked exhausted. “My fault. I was rushing. She probably dropped it on the sidewalk. I don’t know. We’ll look again when we leave here.”

Seeing Kristy’s face crumple again, Daniel intervened swiftly. “What does Rosie look like?”

“B-black hair,” Kristy hiccupped. “R-red skirt. Why?”

“Because if we’re looking for a missing person, we need a name and description. That’s how it works.” Remembering the time Harriet had lost her favorite doll only to discover their father had tossed it in the trash, Daniel stood up, reached for the phone and hit the button for reception. “This is Daniel Knight. Contact security and tell them we have a missing person. Black hair. Red dress. Name of Rosie. She’s a doll… Yes, that’s right, you heard me correctly. Have them send someone to take a look outside th

e building… Yes, it’s a priority.” He put the phone down and turned back in time to see Marsha hide a smile. “Kristy, I have my best team dealing with it. We’re sending out a search party.”

Kristy stopped sobbing and stared at him, wide-eyed with wonder.

Elisa’s eyes filled. “That’s kind of you. I’m sorry to show up like this without calling you, but—”

“Let’s take this into my office.” Realizing that if he didn’t deal with this quickly there would be more crying, he held out his hand to Kristy. “I have something to show you.” Daniel led her toward a cupboard at the far end of Marsha’s office. “Marsha keeps a secret box in here. But she only shows it to very special people.”

Kristy studied the cupboard. “What’s in the secret box?”

“I don’t know. I’m not special enough, so she won’t show me. You’ll have to ask Marsha.”