by Elle Casey
She looked at the name. “Grant Latimer.”
Jonathan nodded.
She stared at the picture and then up at Jonathan, her eyes narrowing as she took in his features. She poked the picture on the card with her long fake nail. “This isn’t you.”
“No, it isn’t. That’s correct,” said Jonathan, his face flaming. Come up with something … quick! “It’s my dad.”
“Do you have I.D.? Something with your name on it, Mr. Latimer.”
Jonathan shook his head. “No, sorry, I don’t. My wallet was stolen last night from my jacket, at the prom, so I have to wait until Monday to go to the DMV and get a new one.”
She pursed her lips, frowning. “The name sounds familiar. Latimer. Grant Latimer. You from around here?”
“Uhhhh, no. I’m from … out of town. Not far, though. Few miles, really.” He wracked his brain for a town name from one of the many signs he’d passed while driving. “Uhhh, Billingsly? Ever heard of it?”
She smiled. “Oh, yeah! Heck yeah! I went to high school there! Where do you go?”
Jonathan’s eyes nearly fell out of his head. “Guess!” he said, not even thinking before the word flew out of his mouth. His brain was quickly calculating what the odds were that he’d picked the one town in the entire state that this woman had gone to for high school. He didn’t have the exact number yet, but it was high, he knew that much.
She bit her bottom lip, nodding while looking him up and down. “Bentworth.”
“No. Is that where you went?”
“Yeah. What about … Billingsly Central?”
Jonathan smiled nervously. “Yep, that’s it. Billingsly Central. That’s where I go. To high school. That’s the name.”
“So that makes us rivals,” she said, raising her eyebrows in a challenging way.
Jonathan’s mouth fell open but no words could come out.
She waved at him, smiling warmly and setting the card up on her register. “I’m just messin’ with ya, kid. Go ahead and start boxing your stuff up.” She scanned the first item and slid it down the ramp.
Jonathan stepped to the side and concentrated on not having a heart attack or throwing up. That was the closest call he’d had since he’d been on the island, and it was enough to make him want to move to a cabin in the woods and never come back to the real world again.
***
Kevin felt the car stop, and slowly sat up, trying to orient himself. The sounds of doors opening and shutting registered as he rubbed his face and hair. He yawned, wishing he’d gotten about eight more hours of sleep. “Where are we?” he asked, finally opening his eyes and looking around. Candi was the only one in the car with him, and Sarah and Jonathan were walking up to a small one-story building with a chainlink fence around it. He could hear dogs barking.
“We’re getting a dog.”
“A … what?” Kevin wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. He squinted through the dirty windshield. “Hearts and Hands Animal Shelter.” He frowned in confusion, thinking he must have missed something big. “We’re at an animal shelter?”
“Yes. While you were sleeping we took a vote. We’re getting a dog for protection at the cabin. We’re going to teach him to be our security … you know, to warn us when bad guys come and also maybe bite if necessary.”
“Bite?”
“That was Sarah’s idea, not mine. I just wanted one for alerting purposes and to help keep our minds off our situation. I’m afraid we’re going to go stir crazy like that guy in that movie who was snowed in, if we don’t come up with some activities.”
“Like dog obedience training,” said Kevin without emotion. He wasn’t sure yet how he felt about the idea. Several minutes later when he saw movement out of the front windshield and figured out what he was seeing, he started laughing. “Holy crap … is she serious?”
Candi followed his gaze. “Uhhhhh …” She looked at Kevin. “Am I hallucinating?”
Kevin just shook his head. Leave it to his sister to do something like this. The scrappy mutt at the end of her leash was hardly what he’d call guard-dog material. More like ankle biting.
Then Jonathan came into view, and Kevin nodded. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.” A second dog was at the end of Jonathan’s leash - one that looked more like what Kevin had imagined they were here for.
About five feet in front of the car, they switched leashes. Sarah bent down and started rubbing the bigger dog’s chest and head, smiling like a crazy person.
“Now I’m just confused,” said Candi, watching Jonathan walk his dog around a little. Kevin figured he was trying to get it to go to the bathroom or something.
Sarah came over and opened the back door. “Out, Sugar Lump. Make room for Killer.”
Candi got out slowly, keeping her eyes on the white pit bull that sat next to Sarah’s leg, its torn up ears and distended nipples hanging down, victims of a hard life and gravity. “What in the heck are you doing, Sarah?” she asked.
“Loading the newest member of our family in the car … what does it look like I’m doing?”
Kevin spoke up. “It looks like you took the ugliest, sorriest excuse for a dog out of that shelter so we could use it to just scare the assassins away from us.”
“Shush! Her ears may be a little chewed up, but she can still hear you.” Sarah bent down and looked the dog in the face. “Ignore them. They haven’t learned of your inner beauty yet. Nor have they seen your teeth.” She looked at Kevin and Candi. “The guy told us she’s a sweetheart. She was brought to the shelter by the jerk who disowned her because she refused to do anything anymore. The shelter guy told us that meant fight or whatever. She’s depressed from her recent tragedy.”
The dog dropped its mouth open just in that moment to pant and maybe even smile. Kevin could have sworn he saw the edges of her mouth lift up. And damn, she did have some big friggin teeth.
“Does she have puppies?” asked Candi, looking warily at the dog’s chest.
“Apparently, she did a few weeks back, but not anymore. The former owner killed them, right in front of her.”
Candi gasped. “What?!”
Kevin felt both angry and sick at the idea.
“Yeah. The shelter guy told us. He’s like, the executioner or something, and he knows all the dirt that goes on in there. He said he doesn’t judge, so people who come in just tell him the craziest stuff.”
Candi looked at Kevin, but he didn’t know what to say to her. Jonathan’s arrival and the small terrier leaping into the front seat cut off his train of thought.
“Come on, you guys, we have to go before the staff gets back.” Jonathan sat down started the car by touching the exposed wires immediately.
Sarah snapped her fingers towards the back seat. “Come on, Killer. Up you go … into the car.”
The dog jumped up, sitting down in the center of the back seat like she was ready to be buckled in. She turned her head once in Kevin’s direction and licked his cheek. He froze, wondering how close he’d just come to having his face bitten off.
“I’m afraid to sit by her,” said Candi.
“I told you she’s a sweetheart, but whatever. Sit in the front with Luke Skywalker if you prefer.”
Candi said nothing, she just stepped around the open door and got into the front seat. Her hands floated up in the air, hovering over the little dog who had jumped into her lap, his tail wagging like mad.
Jonathan shifted the car into reverse. “Get in, Sarah. I don’t want to get caught with these dogs.”
Sarah got in and shut the door, buckling the pit bull up before taking care of herself.
“Did you steal these dogs?!” asked Candi, sounding slightly hysterical.
“Of course we didn’t steal them,” said Jonathan. “They were pardoned.”
“Yeah. We rescued them from the gas chamber,” said Sarah, scrubbing the pit bull’s chest enthusiastically. “Poor baby was scheduled to bite the big one today.”
“Actually, I think we
rescued them from lethal injection, but it’s the same result.” The tires spun in the dirt and gravel as Jonathan took off out of the lot.
“Why the hurry, dude?” asked Kevin, still confused about what had just happened.
“The staff wasn’t in, but they’ll be back soon. The manager had just left. The guy who’s in charge of euthanizing the dogs and cats that don’t get adopted in time was the only one there.”
Sarah continued the explanation when Jonathan became too distracted with the driving. “He told us they always leave when he has to do his job, but they pretend it’s for other reasons, like they have to run an errand or go see the dentist. This time the manager said she had to go to the doctor. On a Sunday.”
Jonathan picked up the rest. “So anyway, he was going to tell us to come back when the manager was in, but Sarah saw him leading Killer there on a leash and she started goo-gooing all over her, so the guy asked us if we wanted her for free, no questions asked. He said the manager would never know, and he’d just mark down that he euthanized and cremated her.”
“I wasn’t goo-gooing … was I, Killer? Was I, baby? Was I, mommy of the puppies who had to go to heaven? No, I was not … no I was not. I never goo-goo.” The whole time she was talking in a squeaky high voice and rubbing the dog’s head and neck. Its butt never stopped moving along with its wagging tail.
“You mean he was actually going to kill these two dogs?” asked Candi, her voice all weepy.
“Yes, he was. But he didn’t because we came just in time. It was meant to be,” said Sarah. “We got two for the price of none! A total steal!”
“The chances of us walking up and looking for an anonymous adoption just as he was coming out with the dogs to … do the deed … all while the manager was gone, are pretty strongly in favor of this being somehow designed. If I were a believer in destiny, I’d be swayed. As a man of science, I’m at least intrigued in the odds,” said Jonathan, maneuvering the car through light traffic towards the highway. “This whole situation of us running from the FBI and avoiding trouble along the way is just one big odds calculation.”
“Is there any chance we can change this one’s name?” asked Kevin, rubbing the pit bull’s leg gently, his heart going out to her despite her ugliness. “Killer just doesn’t seem right.” He couldn’t avoid looking at the recent evidence of her having given birth. “She seems too … motherly to be a killer.”
“I agree,” said Sarah. “The contest for naming the doggie woggie loggie is now on.” She reached over and hugged the battered pit bull who sat stoically through most of it, leaning down to lick Sarah’s head only once.
Kevin noticed the white beast had scars all over her body. He tried to keep his mind from wondering what and who had caused her all this pain. If they weren’t so focused on staying under the radar and unseen, he might be tempted to find out the guy’s address.
“What about this doggy?” asked Candi, sounding much more cheerful now. It may have had something to do with the goofy look the dog kept giving her, trying to look up at her backwards and tipping over with his efforts.
“They didn’t know his name when they brought him in, so he got called Luke Skywalker.”
“Ugh. Luke Skywalker,” said Kevin, deciding he couldn’t have come up with a dumber name if he tried.
“Two naming contests, then,” said Candi, ruffling the terrier’s fur, which was already pretty messed up. “I’ll start. How about … Rowdy?”
“We’re naming the small one first?” asked Jonathan, driving the car onto a main road, staying in the right lane. “Okay … how about Spock? He has really pointy ears.”
“I choose Sprocket,” said Sarah. “It’s cuter.”
“Sprocket’s cool,” said Kevin, getting into the game. “What about James?”
Candi laughed. “Why James?”
Kevin shrugged. “I have absolutely no idea. He just looks like a James to me.”
Candi leaned down and looked the dog in the eye. “Do you like Sprocket or James better?”
He barked twice and then panted eagerly.
“I think that means he likes James better,” said Kevin, warming to the little guy already. He obviously had good taste.
“Sprocket?” said Candi
The dog barked.
“James?” asked Kevin.
The dog barked again.
“Which do you like better?” Candi asked, giggling a little.
He barked twice.
“James it is,” said Kevin, smiling. The contest was over as far as he was concerned. “Now what about big momma here?”
“I like Xena. She’s like a warrior princess,” said Sarah, draping her arm over the dog’s back.
“I like that too,” said Jonathan. “I was thinking Phoenix, but Xena is better.”
“Phoenix is a boy’s name,” said Candi, twisting around to look at the dog. “I like Xena. That suits her.”
Kevin shrugged. “I’ve already picked one name. Wouldn’t be fair for me to pick both.” He liked Xena for her name too. This dog was definitely a warrior, but someone had taken the fight out of her … maybe the asshole who’d killed her babies. He watched his sister clinging to her, and thought maybe there was some kind of mother-bond between them that was tugging Sarah’s heartstrings so thoroughly. Whatever the cause, he was happy to see her so content. He had a feeling they were going to need something to inspire them through the coming weeks or months. He reached up and patted the dog’s head, smiling at the reward he got - a hot, soggy dog lick on his forearm.
James the terrier moved to balance himself on the center console, stretching his head out towards Xena. Kevin tensed up, wondering if James was going to be missing a head in about half a second. Before he could do anything to stop it, Xena leaned forward.
Kevin’s mouth dropped open in confused but happy surprise as he watched Xena licking James’ face from one side to the other. James’ lids dropped to half-mast as he obviously enjoyed the bath he was getting.
“That’s just … gross,” said Candi, watching the affection between the animals.
“Awww, she misses her babies,” said Sarah, her eyes suspiciously shiny. “James can be her baby now.”
“That’s good,” said Kevin, relieved there wasn’t going to be a dog fight in the back seat that James would most definitely lose. “Maybe this means she’s not going to eat him.”
“The shelter guy said that she was never a fighter. She was a bait dog,” said Jonathan.
“What’s a bait dog?” asked Candi.
“The dog they use to get the other dogs to act vicious … to give them something to practice on before they fight for real.”
Candi turned around, facing out the windshield, saying nothing. Kevin could tell by her silence that she was either crying or very close to it. He reached under the dog’s head and squeezed Candi’s shoulder. “Let’s just forget the past and think about the future, okay? She has a new name and new owners and a new life.”
“And a new big bag of food in the trunk,” said Jonathan, getting into the spirit. “And the guy gave me a free booklet on training the dogs, too.” He leaned forward and pulled it out of his back pocket, handing it over his shoulder to Kevin.
Kevin opened it and scanned the contents. “Looks good. We can start on this as soon as we get to our place.”
“Speaking of which, we need to go online somewhere and find a place to rent,” said Jonathan. “The libraries are closed today, so where else can we go online? Internet cafes are kind of hard to find nowadays.”
“Copy shop,” said Sarah. “They let you use them for an hourly charge and some of them are open twenty-four hours.”
Jonathan swerved over into the far left lane and took a hard turn across the oncoming lanes into a parking lot.
“What the hell, Jon?” asked Kevin, glad the dog hadn’t decided to eat his face off for bumping into her and sending her into Sarah.
“Phone booth! We had such a hard time finding one before, I thought
I should stop at the first one we saw this time.”
Candi got out as soon as the car stopped and came back less than a minute later. “No phone book.”
“Dinosaurs, man,” said Kevin. “Phone books are extinct in those things. We’re going to have to go into a business and ask for one. And I’m starving, so maybe we can kill two birds with one stone.”
Jonathan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Where should we go? Somewhere we can do take-out.”
“Sub shop,” said Kevin without thinking twice. “Twelve inches, triple meat, extra cheese. Make my order a double.”
Candi shook her head. “I don’t know how you can eat that much. You should be twice your size.”
“Muscle burns calories. I’ve got lots of muscle.” He flexed, and Xena turned to watch. “See that, Xena? Man muscle. People fear me.”
She licked his mouth.
He grimaced and sputtered, trying to get the dog saliva off his lips.
Sarah laughed. “That’s what she thinks about your bragging. Good girl, Xena, good girl.” She rubbed the dog’s head behind her ears, earning herself a lick too.
“Bam. Retribution. Well done, Xena.” Kevin ducked in time to save himself from another French kiss.
