`` not so very near death , i 'm thinking , '' she said with a teasing smile . i wondered if that was for their protection as well . he stood absolutely still , his eyes moving from the dogs with ridiculous looking bows around their necks , all of whom were sniffing him as if he were their dessert and wagging their tails so hard the back half of their bodies might fall off . she was perched on a linoleum floor in the center of a kitchen . put someone in to run it . 