Jane knocked on Lisbon's door again several hours later. "Ta da!" he said, waving a printed sheaf of paper in front of her face when she opened the door.
"What are you doing back here?" she said. "What is that?"
"A revised copy of your condo association's bylaws," he informed her. "I got everyone in the building to sign it. Yours is the last signature needed."
"My—what?"
"Your building now allows pets," Jane told her.
"But Mrs. McKinley is allergic," Lisbon protested. "To cats and dogs. And I'm certain that Todd Farmingham is allergic to dogs, too."
"Ah, but Todd has always wanted a pet turtle," Jane said, breezing past her and handing off the printed papers to her so he could go check on Lily. Lily lifted her head when he came over to her and greeted him with a friendly lick on the hand.
"Hey, her fever's down!" Jane said, pleased.
Lisbon set the papers down on the table by the door, then came over to join him. She knelt beside him and they shared a smile of relief. "The meds the vet gave us have finally kicked in."
"That's great."
"So you spent the afternoon conning my neighbors?"
"Think of it as community organizing for a good cause most of them were perfectly happy to support."
"What about Mrs. McKinley?"
"Mrs. McKinley has a brother who owns a roofing company."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"She was willing to allow other condo owners to have pets in the building if the condo association agreed to hire her brother when you all replace the roof this summer."
"Those contracts have to go through a competitive bidding process," Lisbon said, getting to her feet. "We can't just hand out thousands of dollars of business to somebody's relative."
Jane stood, too. "She assured me that his workmanship is excellent. He's a tad more expensive than his competitors, but they have a better reputation for quality. So that's what you're going to say when it comes up in the April board meeting, and I'm sure everyone will agree."
"Because what's a little graft among friends?" Lisbon muttered.
"Exactly. Now, you get that signed, and I'll drop it off with the condo association president before I leave."
Lisbon looked at the papers in her hand. "Jane, it was very sweet of you to do all this, but it doesn't solve the underlying problem. I'm not around enough to take care of a dog."
"That's why I arranged for Shayna, Mr. Tolliver, Gina, and Gerard to help you out. Shayna will come by in the middle of the day and take Lily for a walk and take care of her if you're out of town, and the others will back her up if Shayna's not available. And I'll help, too, if you're busy with meetings or something and we're not both out on a case."
She stared at him. "You conned four of my neighbors into promising to take care of a dog I don't even own?"
"Yet," he corrected her. "The doctor gave her all her shots last night, so all you have to do is fill out the form online to register ownership. And I made an appointment with the vet for next week to get her microchipped, so you're all set."
She stared at him. He waited for her to scold him for interfering in her life and conning all her neighbors, but she surprised him. She flung her arms around him and hugged him.
"Thank you," she whispered into his ear. The hair on the back of his neck stood up when her breath caressed the shell of his ear.
"You're very welcome," he managed, and hugged her back.