TEDDY AND BARKLEY walked out the main gate. With a plane burning on the runway, no one noticed them.
Dino was waiting in his car. He helped Teddy load Barkley into the crate he’d just purchased, and they took off.
“The prefect’s going to be pissed,” Dino said.
“Not as pissed as he would have been if he’d stopped the plane. He’d have caught the Syrians with no dog.”
“I know it, and you know it, but he doesn’t know it, and that’s why he’s going to be pissed.”
“Well,” Teddy said, “it’s a good thing we’re leaving Paris.”
“You didn’t tell me we’d be leaving ahead of the posse.”
“It’s not as bad as all that, Dino. He’s still got a case against Rene Darjon, which I’m sure matters more to him than all the Syrians in the world put together. They may not have the dog, but they’re squeezing his scientist, who’s bound to roll over on him. And there’s sure to be a paper trail linking Rene Darjon to the virus.”
“‘There’s sure to be’?” Dino said.
“Count on it.”
Dino pulled up in front of the apartment. Teddy got the dog out of the crate, walked him upstairs, and knocked on the apartment door.
The handler opened it.
“Hi,” Teddy said. “I just took Barkley out for a walk. Here he is. He seems fine.”
The handler stared at him. “What the hell!”
“And I’ve got good news. You can go home.”
The handler was looking back and forth from Barkley to Rocky. “But . . . But . . .”
“Oh, and you’re taking two dogs home. If there’s an extra charge, it’s all right, just put it on the bill. We got another crate. It’s out in the car. I hope the dogs get along. I’m sure they will. They’re both pretty easygoing.”
The handler was dumbfounded.
“So, I’ll take you to the airport this afternoon. You could go now, but it’s a little busy out there. And it’s the absolute wrong time to show up with a dog.”
Teddy smiled. “Enjoy your stay in Paris?”