“Ruby. Nina doesn’t use drugs. They must be picking up something else.”
“Empty your pockets, Ms. Bennett.”
“Fine, but only if you two empty yours.”
I pulled out a lip-gloss, my ID, and a mint and tossed them onto the desk, leaving my pockets pulled out.
Ruby had on a dress with no pockets, but she tossed down the clipboard and pen and pulled a phone out of her bra and set that down.
We both turned to Harlon. I rested my hand on my hip, and Ruby crossed her arms over her chest.
“Fine,” he said and took off his jacket, pulling stuff out of his pockets. An expensive pen, his wallet, which he opened and showed us. A pocket knife, his gun holster, the paper football, and a baggie of orange hair. “That’s Mittens’ hair.”
“If none of us have anything, then why is the dog alerting?” Ruby asked.
“Probably alerted on the cat hair. Another predator?”
I didn’t know a thing about training dogs, but while they discussed it, I picked up my things to put them back into my pockets and accidentally knocked everyone else’s stuff off the desk.
I dropped to my knees and started picking up the items, including Mittens’ orange and white mixed hair. When I grabbed the paper football, a tab pulled free, and the football opened. A little plastic baggie sat inside.
I tugged on Harlon’s pants leg and pointed to the white substance in the smallest bag I’d ever seen. “I’m no expert, but is that something that might have set the dog off?”
