After Jenn left, Jesse drank four scotch and sodas before bed. In the morning, at 7:15, sitting in his office, he felt a little shaky, and a little guilty. He tried coffee, but the coffee didn't help either one. At ten past nine a woman who introduced herself as Miriam Lowell showed up wearing a lavender warm-up suit and white sneakers. She was also wearing big gold hoop earrings, and rings on four fingers, and a gold necklace with some sort of big medallion on it.

"I believe you have my dog," she said.

The dog was very pleased. He had jumped up and put his forepaws against the owner's stomach and was lapping her face. Miriam Lowell squinched up her face and took it for a little while. Then she put his collar on him and hooked his leash. The dog capered a little bit. "His name is Baron," she said.

"We've been calling him Deputy," Jesse said.

"Deputy?"

"Like in Deputy Dawg?" Jesse said.

The woman appeared to see no logic in that.

"He was here all the time?" she said.

"Since yesterday," Jesse said. "Last night he stayed with me."

"At your home?"

"Yes."

"I would think," she said, "that the police department would have made a more successful attempt to bring him to his rightful home."

"He was roaming around on the pike with no license," Jesse said. "We asked him where he lived, and he refused to answer."

"Well," the woman said. "There's no need to be snippy."

"Maybe a little snippy," Jesse said.

He bent over and the dog licked his face. Jesse patted him. The woman hesitated for a moment, then turned and marched out with her dog.

"No trouble at all," Jesse said in the empty room. "Glad we could help."

Then he smiled to himself and picked up Deputy's water dish and emptied it in the sink. The coffee tasted bitter. He dumped that in the sink too, and mixed up some Alka-Seltzer and drank it. At least Jenn didn't know he'd gotten drunk. With her he'd been able to stop without finishing the third beer. He always liked leaving a drink unfinished. It made him feel that he had no drinking problem.