Boston accent. "If you want him back, you're going to do something for me."
There was a short pause. In her mind's eye Ariana saw Dr. Meloni standing in the center of his outdated kitchen, listening for Rambo. She could just hear his heart skipping a scared beat. Her grin widened.
"Who is this?" he said.
"Do you really think I'm going to tell you that?"
Another pause. He was still listening. Hoping. "You don't have my dog."
But she could hear his footsteps as he crossed the room to check the yard.
Ariana giddily bit her lip. "Are you sure about that?"
She saw the outside light flick on and slid down in her seat, even though she was sure that Meloni wouldn't be able to see her car from his yard. The total darkness of these sparsely populated country roads was coming in handy.
"Rambo! Rambo, come here, boy!"
The anguished shouts carried through the quiet night. Ariana bit down harder.
A door slammed. Dr. Meloni fought his frantic breath. "What do you want?" he growled.
Ariana took a deep breath. Savored the moment. "I want you to have Kaitlynn Nottingham released from prison within the next three hours."
Meloni laughed derisively. "I can't do that. I don't have the authority."
249
"Oh, you'll figure out a way," Ariana said.
"You want me to break her out?" Dr. Meloni blurted. "You're nuts. I'll lose my job. I'll be arrested."
"That's up to you. If you are stupid enough to get caught, then yes, you might," Ariana said. "But you're not stupid, are you?"
Another long pause. Ariana listened to his breathing. The sounds of him no longer disgusted her. In fact, she found him suddenly amusing.
"I can't do it," he said. "I won't."
"I think you will," Ariana said.
She leaned around the backseat and snapped a picture of Rambo with her phone. The dog was snoozing with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, looking practically dead. It took two seconds to send the image to Dr. Meloni's cell phone.
"What the f--"
"He's not dead yet, but he's close," Ariana said slowly, deliberately. "Believe me when I tell you I have no qualms about ending his life. As dogs go, this one's kind of annoying. And think about this: If I subdued your Doberman this easily, just think what I can do to you."
"Okay," Dr. Meloni gasped. "Okay. I'll do whatever you want."
"Three hours," Ariana said. Then she disconnected the call before she cracked up laughing right in the man's ear. A laugh he would undoubtedly recognize.
Giggling to herself, Ariana watched as Dr. Meloni peeled out of his driveway in his Jaguar. She waited a few minutes, watching as they ticked away on the dashboard clock. Then she got out and roused a very sleepy Rambo. He teetered on his way back to the gate, but
250
made it there in one piece. Ariana walked him over to his doghouse in the center of the yard and made sure he was curled up on his bed all comfy. Then she patted him on the head.
"Thanks again, buddy," she whispered. "You've been more help than you will ever know."
Then she raced out of the yard and locked the gate behind her.