Chapter 3 - The Photograph That Shouldn't Exist
"Peter Novak was convicted by a jury."
Dante's words came out colder than he intended.
Elise didn't flinch.
"I know. I sat through every day of his trial."
"He was responsible for the Harbor House fire."
"That's what they told you."
Dante looked again at the photograph.
Harbor House had been one of the largest charitable projects funded by the Castellani Foundation.
Its purpose had been simple.
Give struggling families a safe place to live while they rebuilt their lives.
Instead, a fire had destroyed an entire wing.
A caretaker named Daniel Hsu had died helping residents reach safety.
The investigation concluded that Peter Novak had dangerously altered an electrical panel and secured an emergency exit.
Dante had believed the findings.
Now the convicted man's wife stood in his service yard, claiming his own dog could prove the investigation wrong.
"Why did you come to work here?" he asked.
Elise hesitated.
"Because I needed employment."
"Is that the only reason?"
"No."
At least she was telling the truth now.
"I saw a picture of Argo in an old newspaper article about your estate. Peter had described a dog that helped him during the fire. The markings looked the same."
"So you came looking for him."
"I came hoping I was wrong."
Dante glanced at Ivy.
The little girl had begun arranging dry towels around Argo.
She was too young to understand why her mother's voice sounded different.
"Does your daughter know about her father?"
Elise swallowed.
"She knows he loves her. She knows he's somewhere he can't come home from yet."
Before Dante could respond, the veterinarian arrived.
Dr. Mara Sloane was a silver-haired woman who had treated animals across Boston for nearly thirty years.
She took one look at Argo and frowned.
"Who has been handling this dog?"
Bosow, returning from the gate, raised his hand.
"I was washing him."
"With that chain?"
Nobody answered.
Dr. Sloane knelt near Ivy.
"Hello, sweetheart. Would you mind showing me how you helped him?"
Ivy offered the gray cloth.
"He likes it when you don't hurry."
The veterinarian smiled sadly.
"That's good advice."
With Elise assisting and Ivy watching from a safe distance, Dr. Sloane examined Argo.
The dog permitted the inspection only after Elise repeated the soft two-note sound.
Dante noticed.
He also noticed Bosow carefully avoiding Elise's eyes.
The portable X-ray equipment arrived from the veterinarian's vehicle.
Twenty minutes later, Dr. Sloane studied the image on her tablet.
Her expression darkened.
"Mr. Castellani, this injury was not caused by an ordinary fall."
"What caused it?"
"There's a thin, hooked piece of metal embedded in scar tissue near the hip. It appears to have entered through a penetrating wound."
"Can you remove it?"
"Yes, but he'll need a controlled procedure. The surrounding nerves are irritated, and I want proper imaging before surgery."
Dante folded his arms.
"Why didn't the veterinarian who treated him fourteen months ago remove it?"
Dr. Sloane looked surprised.
"Fourteen months?"
"That was when he was injured."
She enlarged the image.
"Whoever originally closed this wound should have documented the retained foreign material. I don't have any record of that treatment."
Bosow cleared his throat.
"It was handled privately."
Dante turned.
"Privately by whom?"
"A veterinary service recommended through the foundation."
"Name."
Bosow couldn't immediately answer.
That frightened Dante more than an outright lie.
Elise stepped closer to the tablet.
Her eyes filled.
"I remember something."
She touched the photograph of Peter.
"After the fire, he told me Argo had been hurt trying to get through a metal door. Peter wrapped the dog's leg with part of his work shirt."
Dante looked at the X-ray again.
"Why didn't he mention that at his trial?"
"He did."
Elise's voice broke.
"The prosecutor said he was inventing a heroic story to distract from what he'd done."
Dr. Sloane lowered the tablet.
"If this object came from a particular door, it might be identifiable."
Dante looked toward Bosow.
"Bring me every security record involving Argo from the week of the Harbor House fire."
Bosow remained motionless.
"Sir, those records are more than a year old."
"Then you'd better hope we kept them."
An hour later, Ivy was warm and dry in the east-wing sitting room.
Argo slept on a thick blanket under Dr. Sloane's supervision.
Dante stood in his study with Elise and a stack of old security records.
The estate's electronic log showed Argo entering his kennel at 6:42 p.m. on the night of the fire.
It showed him remaining there until morning.
The official fire alarm at Harbor House had sounded at 7:31 p.m.
Dante placed the photograph beside the log.
"Peter's coat is covered in ash. The dog is wet. This was taken after the fire started."
Elise nodded.
"At approximately 7:46."
"How do you know?"
"The timestamp on the original picture."
Dante examined the image more closely.
He had been so focused on Peter and Argo that he hadn't studied the background.
A man stood beside a parked black SUV.
He was carrying a leash.
His face was partly turned away, but his distinctive gray security jacket was unmistakable.
Dante slowly looked toward the study door.
"Bosow."
May you like
Then he pointed at the photograph.
"Tell me why my security chief was holding Argo's leash at Harbor House while his records said my dog was locked inside this estate."
