This story is in memory of our smart, little stray.
Sweat rolled down Noira's spine the minute she left the courthouse. Too damned hot, but she was tired of eating lunch at the work cafeteria. She'd eaten there everyday the last two weeks to avoid the heat, and it was only June. After the car accident, though, she couldn't move fast. The heat got to her, so she plopped her cane next to her and sagged on a park bench in some shade.
A light tan chihuahua rushed up to her and sat directly in front of her.. Where had he come from? It wasn't safe for a little guy like him to be wandering alone downtown. He started making odd doggie noises, staring at her intently, trying to tell her something.
She had to chuckle. "You've picked the wrong person. I'm not an animal lover. Go find someone else who's into pet talk."
The chihuahua cocked its head to the side, as if he could understand her. Then it gently took her left hand in its mouth and tried to make her follow him.
"Are you like Lassie? Is this an emergency?" But she picked up her cane and stood. "Okay, but whatever you need had better be close. It's too hot to go far."
The dog let go of her, and curly tail wagging, started off, glancing behind to make sure she was coming. She followed for two blocks, then stopped. "Look, I like you and all, but I'm feeling sticky and hungry. We're in front of a deli with air conditioning. You're losing me."
He bent down, his little bottom in the air, and he barked in panic. Then he ran down a block and a half and crossed the street to some bushes near the underpass. She about had heart failure when he raced across Calhoun with a line of traffic. Brakes squealed. Cars swerved. But he ran to some bushes, looked back at her, and barked like crazy.
"That's where it is?" She started toward him. If she found a chewed-up, cracked Frisbee, she was going to be ticked. Instead, she found a hand sticking out of the hedge, then a dress, then a body.
She called 911. A low cement wall separated the parking area from the beginning of Freimann Park, so she sat on it, and the little dog came to sit next to her. She bent to pet him. "This must have been your owner. You're a true man's best friend to try to help someone find her."
He nuzzled against her ankle, and she realized she admired the little guy. Why he picked her to help, she didn't know, but she was glad she could.
A few minutes later, her old friend, Detective Hunter, parked at the curb and got out to view the scene. "A Marsala Hammond's work place called to report her missing. Works at the Court House like you. You know her?" She was lying face down. He showed her a picture on his cell phone.
Noira shook her head. "I think I've seen her on the second floor. That's all."
"She never misses a day without calling in, and all of a sudden, she was gone two days and no one had heard from her." He reached for her purse "Her I.D.'s here, but no money. She lives in an apartment close by. Must have decided to take her dog for a walk before work and someone killed her."
Noira eyed the chihuahua. "He's stayed with her for two days? How did he make it with no food or water?"
More cop cars lined the street, and Hunter went to meet them. Techs got busy.
"Do you need me?" Noira asked. "The heat's killing me, and I'm hungry. I'm heading across the street to get something to eat."
Hunter waved her away. "I know where to find you."
The street was empty, so she started across it. The little dog stayed by her side. When they reached the outdoor seating, she found a table in the shade and ordered a Reuben and water. Then she called her office to let them know she'd be late. Judge Hershel noticed her I.D. and picked up.
"You braved outside today?"
"Yeah, and a dog led me to a dead body."
"Really? How interesting! You'll have to tell me all about it when you get back." One of the reasons Noira loved working for her. They had a similar take on life.
The dog went to a big bowl near the front door and drank from it. One question answered. Her food came, and she dropped scraps of meat on the cement. He wolfed it down. So, he'd had water but no food. When she finished eating and paid her bill, she waited on a few cars before crossing the street again. Hunter and his team were still at it, but the body was gone.
"You're not going to believe this, but Marsala was gripping a carton of eggs. Three were missing."
Noira frowned. "Why would she bring eggs to work?"
"Maybe her floor was doing a carry-in? Donating to a bake sale?"
"Then they kept it quiet. No one else knew about it." She turned to leave. "I brought the little guy back to you. Are people fighting over who gets to keep him?"
Hunter's lips pulled down. "Nobody wants him. I'm going to call the pound to pick him up."
"What?" Noira glanced at the dog by her ankle. "He's a hero. You can't send him to the pound."
"The lady there said they'd keep him for three days before...you know. They have too many chihuahuas right now."
"No!" Noira shook with emotion. This was just wrong.
Hunter looked at her. "I'd let you take him home."
Stunned, Noira hesitated. "Me? With a dog? Speed and I have never wanted a pet."
Hunter shrugged. "I just thought I'd give you the option. You seem pretty attached to him."
If she walked away, her little hero would have three days. That's all. She couldn't do that to him. "I'll take him home, and we'll find someone who'll love him."
"Good luck."
As she walked back to the office, she looked down at the dog. "I don't know what your name was, but you're a chihuahua, so I'm going to call you Chewy."
His tail wagged as he followed her up the courthouse steps.
"What's this?" The security guard pointed to the sign on the door. "No pets allowed."
She told him Chewy's sad story, and he glanced at his friend by the metal detector. "I heard a funny noise at the back door. I think we should check on it." His friend grinned as they turned their backs on Noira. "Don't be here when we get back," the guard told her.
Noira and Chewy hurried to the elevator. Stairs were too much bother after her accident. When they walked in Noira's office, Judge Hershel heard and came out of her chambers. She stared at Chewy. "This had better be good."
Noira retold her story, and the judge raised an eyebrow, studying the dog. "They'd have really put him down after what he did?"
"Three days," Noira said.
"He'll have to stay under your desk until you take him home."
Without a sound, Chewy went under the big desk, laid down with his head on his paws, and went to sleep.
"Smart dog." The judge went back to her chambers, and Noira got busy trying to catch up with the paperwork scattered everywhere. Hunter stopped in for a minute.
"We got lucky. Found a surveillance camera on a street light that should give us a good view of Marsala. Might see exactly what happened."
He left, and she stayed at work an extra ten minutes until everything was organized and most people had already left the building. Then she used the elevator again and walked Chewy to her car. The closer she got to her apartment, the more nervous she felt.
When she pulled into her parking space, she turned to Chewy. "We're going to face our toughest critic yet. Speed isn't go to be happy to see you. You have to be on your best behavior."
They got out of the car and walked to her front door. She and Speed lived in a community of one-story apartments, all the same. Two bedrooms, two baths, a long living room with a tiny galley kitchen at the end. Patio doors led to a backyard patio and grill area. Speed loved to invite his co-workers for barbecues a few times a year, so loved the outdoor space.
She braced her shoulders and opened the door.
"You're late," Speed called from the kitchen and came to greet her with a glass of wine. He stopped and frowned when he saw Chewy.
She took the glass and inhaled a large swallow for fortification. "Let me explain. It's just until we can find him a home."
His hands went to his hips. "And why are we doing that?"
Noira explained. When she finished, he blew out a frustrated breath. "Okay, he can have a sleepover with us. I have tomorrow off. I'll start calling people. Someone will want him."
Relieved, Noira followed him to the living room."You've picked up all the empty cartons. It looks nice in here."
"We needed to make room for the new." Speed opened the microwave and pulled out cartons of Chinese take-out. He carried them to the coffee table. "Let's change into our pajamas before we eat."
They went to the bedroom and Noira pulled a hanger out of the closet for her blouse. Before she could drape it to keep it wrinkle-free, though, Chewy scrunched himself low on the floor and started whimpering. His entire body trembled. She frowned at him. "What's the matter?"
Speed pulled on his pajama bottoms and came to see. "He's afraid."
"Of my blouse?"
"No, of the hanger." Speed laid it on the ground and bent to pet and reassure the dog. "See? We won't hit you with it. Someone did that, didn't they?" His voice turned hard. "I can't believe you were faithful to an owner who abused you."
It took a little more convincing before Chewy realized they weren't going to hurt him, but he finally went to stand by Speed's ankle, his doggie smile returning. Speed tugged a T-shirt over his head, and Noira put on her favorite pajama bottoms with a T-shirt top, and they went to eat. Speed grabbed an extra paper plate and spooned some Mongolian Beef on it for Chewy.
Noira smiled. "You like him, too."
"He's all right." Speed reached down to pet him.
After supper, they each got a second drink and went to sit at the patio table. Speed carried Chewy outside with them and walked from one cement patio to the next.
"See these?" he told the dog. "These are private property. You aren't allowed on them." He pointed to a large grassy area in the center. "We all share this space. You can run and play here, but that's as far as you can go. Understand?"
The tail wagged, and Speed put Chewy down.
"You can't expect him to understand that," Noira said.
"Watch and see. He's smart."
Chewy ran around and around in circles near the perimeter of the grass. Finally he flopped down in the center and rolled from side to side until he stopped and closed his eyes.
Speed gave a smug smile. "Well?"
"Okay, he's smart." She stretched her legs. It was still a little warm, but not hot. They stayed outside until they finished their drinks, then they headed indoors.
"Chewy! Time to chill," Speed called, and the dog raced to them.
Speed got comfortable in his recliner and grabbed the remote. Noira took the couch, Chewy jumping to nestle against her. At ten, they headed to bed, snuggling under the covers. Chewy stalked around it, whimpering.
"I'll lock him in the office," Noira said. "It's on the other side of the apartment. Maybe we won't hear him."
"I have a better idea." An easy chair with a footstool sat in the far corner of the room. Speed got up, pushed the footstool to the end of the bed, and got back under his covers.
Chewy jumped on the stool, then the bed, and curled behind Speed's knees.
Noira propped herself on an elbow. "That can't be comfortable."
"He's fine." Speed reached a hand back to pet him, then they all went to sleep.
*
Noira had to push herself out of bed when the alarm rang. She stumbled to the bathroom, and Speed and Chewy went to the kitchen. By the time she was dressed and ready for work, Speed had a cup of coffee waiting for her and a donut. The breakfast of champions. She wolfed them down and was ready to walk out the door when Speed said, "Oh, no, you don't."
"What?"
"Have you looked in the mirror? Your hair looks like the Bride of Frankenstein."
"But I sprayed it and gave it a quick brush."
"Try again."
Her long, unruly chestnut hair did what it wanted, but the next time she walked into the living room, he nodded approval, and she left. On her drive to the courthouse, she thought about Chewy. Speed had the day off. He'd be calling people to find the dog a home. Would he be there when she got back?
At her office, she found a new stack of papers in the middle of her desk. A new case. She was trying to get everything arranged for it when Detective Hunter popped into the office.
"You're gonna wanna see this." He raised his voice, "You might enjoy it, too, Judge."
She came out of her office, and they jammed together to watch the footage on his phone. The security camera had a perfect view of Marsala.
"I 've already interviewed the woman she harassed," Hunter told them. "Used her license number to track her down. I'll talk you through the video."
Marsala dropped Chewy's leash and stepped on it so that he couldn't go anywhere. Then she opened her carton of eggs and threw one at a shiny, blue SUV. It broke with a splat, its contents dripping down the side of the car. She hurled a second egg at the car's rear panel, laughing when it hit.
A woman stormed across the street to confront her.
"What do you think you're doing?" Hunter read from his notes.
Marsala bit her bottom lip. "I thought you'd be at your desk by now."
"I ran in the diner to get a croissant egg sandwich. Why are you throwing eggs at my car?"
"Because I don't like you."
The woman stared. "I've never done anything to you."
"You're a workaholic, get too much done, then Tabitha expects more from the rest of us."
The woman pulled out her cellphone.
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to take pictures of you and what you've done, and it had better never happen again. Leave me alone. Then I'm calling in sick today to go to a car wash and get the eggs off my paint before it does any damage. Stay away from me from now" She stalked to her car and drove away.
The judge frowned. "She left. So, who killed Marsala?"
"Keep watching." Hunter pointed to his screen.
Marsala picked up Chewy's leash and turned to take a shortcut across Freimann Square to the courthouse. The cement wall was shorter here and hidden by weeds and bushes. She hit it with the toe of her shoe, tried to keep her balance, but fell. She hit her head hard on the edge of the wall, then went limp. Chewy licked her, trying to wake her up, with no luck. She was dead.
"It was an accident?" Noira shook her head.
Hunter turned off his phone and returned it to his pocket. "No one else was there."
It was sort of fitting, Noira decided, in a macabre kind of way.
Hunter left, and Noira got busy. She didn't think about Chewy again until it was time to go home. The apartment was going to feel a little empty without him. But when she walked through the front door, Speed and Chewy were waiting for her with a glass of wine.
She took a sip, then looked at the dog. "Did you find someone who wanted him?"
"Yup, and they'd be perfect for him if the wife signs on. We're waiting for her approval."
They walked into the living room, and she sat down. "Who is it?" She knew a lot of Speed's friends.
"Us. He's grown on me, but if you don't want a pet, I'll find someone else."
A gush of relief rushed through her. "I want him, but I wasn't sure how you felt."
Speed reached for his beer and patted the spot beside him on the chair. Chewy jumped up. He scratched him behind his ears. "Welcome to the family, buddy."
"What about when we both work?" Will that be a problem?" What did a dog do for eight hours when its owners were gone?
"He's going with me. I already got approval. He has to stay in the front of the EMS, but Ditto says he'll be our mascot, like firemen have dachshunds."
Speed's EMS partner loved kids and pets. Chewy would have it made. "You can't leave him in a hot ambulance when you take patients inside the hospital."
"Got that taken care of, too. The valets all said he could stay with them outside."
"I guess that's that then." This time, Noira raised her glass in a toast before finishing her wine. Chewy was officially theirs.
No comments:
Post a Comment