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Spencer was making a good recovery. The headaches he’d been suffering were almost gone and the wounds on the back of his head and his temple were healing well. Although he still felt tired occasionally, his energy was returning. Katrina could tell he was starting to feel restless at his enforced inactivity.
“I want to go and lay some flowers at the place where she died.” She was determined to honor her sister’s memory.
“Are you sure you feel ready to go back there?” he asked.
“I thought maybe we could take the dogs for a walk in the park. That way it will be more natural and less formal,” she said. “That’s if you feel able to walk that far?”
He nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
It was early afternoon when they reached the park; there were a number of families enjoying eating in the shade of the larger trees.
“Will Dobby be okay around all this food?” Spencer asked.
“Dobby will be a model of good canine behavior,” Katrina assured him. “Suzie and I have given him plenty of additional training and he can resist food even if it’s right under his nose.”
As if to demonstrate his newfound ability to ignore temptation, Dobby trotted past the picnickers with his stubby snout in the air.
“Good boy.” Katrina rewarded him with a treat.
They followed a turn in the track, coming across a group engaged in a yoga session in a clearing. They were in the middle of doing the downward-f
acing dog pose. Holly, normally the most well-behaved canine of the group, clearly thought this activity looked like great fun. Charging over to the group, she jumped on top of the people who were holding their positions, causing several of them to topple to one side. Although most of them were amused by her antics, the instructor angrily shooed her away.
“I guess Holly also needs some additional training?” Spencer’s shoulders shook with laughter as they hurried away.
“Why can’t they be more like Boris?” Katrina asked.
“Don’t forget that he’s had intensive training,” Spencer reminded her. “His skills are honed with personalized daily sessions, and... What is that smell?”
“I think that smell could be Boris.” Katrina’s eyes danced with amusement. “I have a feeling he may have missed the personalized session about not rolling in fertilizer.”
Chuckling at the bizarre twist that meant Dobby was now their best-behaved dog, they continued deeper into the trees until they reached the dip in the ground and the large willow tree. There were signs that the earth had been recently disturbed, and Spencer held Katrina’s hand as she stared at the place where her sister had been buried by the man who’d killed her.
“Tell me about Eliza,” Spencer said. “You’ve told me some things about her personality, but you must have other memories.”
Katrina thought for a minute or two. “Oh, she was the nosiest person you ever met. There was no such thing as privacy with Eliza around. Everywhere I went, she was right there behind me, snooping around in my business. That was how she found out I couldn’t dance.”
“You can’t dance?”
“I can now.” She smiled reminiscently. “Instead of making fun of me, Eliza showed me some moves. It really helped improve my self-esteem.”
“It sounds like you had a good time together.” His voice was gentle.
“Sometimes we did. Other times the sibling rivalry kicked in. No one could get to me like her, but no one could get to her like me. And, in a way, the fact that she could drive me to distraction meant that she knew me better than anyone. We understood each other, and although she had her problems, we were there for each other.” She bowed her head, letting the tears fall. “I never grudged looking out for her, and I always wanted her to know that I’d be at her side in a second if she needed me.”
“I think you just rehearsed your speech for her funeral.” Spencer slid an arm around her shoulders.
She stepped forward, placing the bunch of flowers she’d brought with her on the mound of earth. “I’m so proud of you, Eliza.”
Turning her face into Spencer’s chest, she began to sob. His arms tightened around her and they remained locked together for a long time. Eventually, Katrina drew a tissue out of her pocket and dried her eyes.
“I’m ready to go.”
“Are you sure? We can stay as long as you like,” Spencer said.
“No. I know I can come back anytime. When the time comes, I’ll arrange to have her buried in the cemetery next to my mom and grandparents.” She looked around for the dogs. “Maybe we should avoid the yoga group and the fertilizer on the way back?”
He grinned. “And expecting Dobby to behave around the picnickers on two occasions is just tempting fate.”
