He thought he was stopping for a stray dog in the snow-until he saw what she was hiding beneath her body

than a pencil smudge. She rubbed it gently with a damp swab. It did not come off. Her mouth flattened.

“What is it?”

“Temporary marking ink. Cheap stuff.” She checked the next puppy, then Finn, then the fourth. Each one had a similar faded mark hidden inside the ear. “People who sell backyard litters sometimes mark them before they’re old enough to tell continue reading …