Bubba's Ghost

by Marja McGraw

  Bingo! “Yes. How do you know about him?”

  “I found him sleeping on the school grounds the other night. I made him I.D. himself before I kicked him out. Can’t let that kinda guy hang around where kids are, even if he was here before the kids came to school.”

  My heart fluttered. “You know who he is?” I pulled a notepad out of my backpack.

  “Yeah. Name’s John Frendd.” He spelled the name for me. “I had no idea he’d been bothering that young woman across the street or I woulda called the cops. I been watchin’ for him, but he hasn’t been back since. Course, I was watching the school grounds, not her house. I got grandkids, ya know, and I’d be pretty damned upset if anyone bothered them.”

  “And what’s your name, sir?”

  “I’m Andy Payne.”

  “Well, Mr. Payne, if it’s okay, I’m going to leave my car parked over here for the night and stay at the house across the street.”

  “Call me Andy,” he said amiably. “You takin’ that horse with you?” He grinned, showing a beautiful smile and a good nature.

  “That’s Bubba.” The dog looked up when he heard his name. He glanced from me to Andy and grinned, obviously realizing that the man wasn’t a threat. He didn’t move though. This stranger wasn’t coming near me, even if the dog did realize he was a good guy. “And, yes, he is going with me.”

  “Don’t think you’ll have a lot to worry about with him along. He seems friendly, but he’s not going to let anyone get past him.” Andy reached down and let Bubba sniff his hand. The tail wagged, but the rest of the body stayed still.

  “I’ll keep my eyes open on my rounds tonight. I leave around eleven though, so after that you’re on your own. Gotta tell ya, watch out for that bum. He’s not right in the head. All that booze, ya know. Kills the brain cells.”

  “Thanks, Andy. We’ll be careful.”

  “Before eleven, you holler out the front door if you need help. I can run right over there.”

  “Thanks, again.” I smiled at this man, knowing he’d do whatever he could to help.

  “Oh. One last thing. Have you noticed a cop driving around and watching this area?”

  “You mean Paley? He’s a good guy, but I haven’t seen much of him, other than occasional stops at that lady’s house. I knew something was going on, but didn’t know what it was.”

  “You haven’t noticed him patrolling the neighborhood lately? I mean more than normal?” I was trying to pin this guy down. I had the feeling he probably didn’t miss much around the area of the school.

  “Nah. He stops in from time to time to make sure things are okay over here, but no, he hasn’t been around a lot.”

  “He stops in? Did you tell him about the bum sleeping here?”

  Andy appeared thoughtful. “I did mention it, now that you ask. I even told him the guy’s name, but he didn’t seem interested, so I sort of forgot about it.”

  “Thanks, Andy. I appreciate the information you’ve given me. I’ll get my things out of the car and head across the street now.”

  “Want me to escort you over there?”

  “Oh, no, thank you. I’m going to try to sneak around and go in the back way so the bum doesn’t see me.”

  “Tell ya what. Give me a second to lock up the storeroom, and I’ll drive you around to the back street. It’s wide open between the two houses. You can come straight through the back and not worry about bein’ seen.”

  “That’s great. I’ve got to make a call on the cell phone first, so take your time.”

  “Be back in a minute,” he said, walking toward the school buildings.

  I put a leash on Bubba, for all the good it would do. I didn’t want him running off while we traipsed through Chrissy’s back yard. I also didn’t want him stopping at every tree to christen it.

  I hung on to Bubba and sat down in the front seat of the car, fishing my cell phone out of the backpack. I had the number I needed set in speed dial, so I pushed the button.

  “Stanley? Are you okay?” His voice sounded odd when he answered the phone.

  “Just a second.” I could hear him set the phone down, but he was back quickly. “Sorry, I had food in my mouth. Had to get a drink. Is everything okay at Chrissy’s?”

  “Everything is fine. Actually, I was wondering if you’d run over to my house and do some quick research. That is, unless you’ve gotten your computer fixed by now?”

  “It’s in pieces until the repairman comes. I’ve called and – ”

  “Sorry to interrupt, Stan, but I’m in kind of a hurry. I’ve got a name for the guy who’s been bothering Chrissy.”

  “Zippy! Let me find a pencil and paper.” He set the receiver down again and disappeared for another few seconds.

  “I’m back. Now, what’s the man’s name?”

  “It’s John Frendd. F-r-e-n-d-d. I don’t have a middle initial, but I was thinking about something. I wonder if he might be from this area. I mean, why would he be here harassing Chrissy instead of being someplace like L.A.? Covina is a nice, quiet little town, not an area that attracts the homeless or Skid Row bums.”

  “Good point. How soon do you need this?”

  “As soon as possible. You can call me on the cell phone if you find anything.”

  “You know I’d prefer to do this at the office, right?” Poor Stanley.

  “I know, but you don’t have a key to the office. You do have a key to my house though. Don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen.” I’d given Stanley keys to both my house and the office when he started doing work for me, but he’d misplaced the office key, and I hadn’t made him a new one yet.

  “Uh huh.” He was worried about the crying baby, and I still wasn’t going to tell him I’d heard it, too. I needed any information he could dig up on Frendd, and I didn’t have access to a computer at the moment. He did, via my house.

  “It’ll be okay, Stanley.” I crossed my fingers and hoped I was right.

  “It’s Stan. Remember? You’ve called me Stanley twice. I’ll telephone you as soon as I have anything. But Sandi, you owe me.”

  “Yes, Stan, I owe you. Sorry about the name thing.”

  I pushed the off button on the cell phone at about the same time Andy returned.

  “You ready to go?” he asked.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  We loaded Bubba in the back of Andy’s truck, along with my overnight bag, and left the school parking lot. I had a funny feeling like you get when you think you’re being watched. After looking all around, I discovered that Bubba was keeping an eye on us through the rear window. My woofing guardian angel was keeping his eye on Andy, who saw the dog in his rearview mirror.

  “That’s quite an animal you have there. Had him long?”

  “Actually, we’ve only been a team for a few days. Not even quite a week.”

  “Huh. He seems so attached to you. Thought you’d probably had him since he was a pup.”

  “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?”

  Andy drove around the block and dropped Bubba and me off in front of another old house. I wondered if this was one of the original Covina neighborhoods.

  “Now, I know the guy that lives here, and he works nights, so you won’t have to worry about going through his yard. Just be sure to stay to the right side of the yard. Ol’ Sam has junk all over his back yard, and it’s pretty dark tonight – no moon. You wouldn’t wanna trip over anything.”

  “Thanks, Andy. I can’t tell you what a help you’ve been.”

  “No problem, little lady. Anything you need, just holler.” He turned his head skyward. “The wind’s coming up, and look at those clouds. We might be in for a storm by morning. Well, take care.”

  “Thanks again.”

  I held onto Bubba’s leash and we quietly trod through Ol’ Sam’s yard. I pulled out the flashlight I’d brought and held it with the light showing through my spread fingers. Less noticeable that way.

  Bubba seemed to sense that I was trying to be qu
iet, and he followed suit. It was difficult to see him in the dark, but I felt pretty confident that he was passing all the trees with a feeling of longing.

  It had rained about a week ago, and the leaves under the trees were still soggy, their wet scent wafting up to my nose. It worked in our favor because there was no crunching noise as we walked. Unfortunately, I tripped over a few exposed roots, or something. I wasn’t quite sure what the humps in the ground were. Everything was covered with leaves.

  When we reached the edge of the grouping of fruit trees and the beginning of Chrissy’s back yard, the part where Tammi could play, I stopped and took a good look around. It appeared to be clear, and we moved ahead. Chrissy had laundry on the line that provided cover for us, and there was a large walnut tree in the middle of the grassy part of the yard.

  Bubba finally decided to make a pit stop, so I let him take advantage of the walnut tree since he’d been so good about remaining quiet. I was beginning to wonder how much water a dog could hold when he finally stopped and looked at me to see what would happen next.

  I waited a moment, trying to listen for unusual noises, but the wind was blowing harder and all I could hear was the heavy rustle of leaves on the many nearby trees. I didn’t even hear traffic out on the busy street.

  Isn’t this about the time something weird happens in movies? Before I could take that thought any further, something hit me on top of my head!

  Chapter Twenty-three

  “Ouch!” I jumped. Bubba pulled on his leash. That same something bounced off my foot and rolled away.

  “No, Bubba. Stay.” I turned the flashlight toward the ground. A walnut. What incredible timing. The wind must have shaken the nut right out of the tree. I picked it up and chuckled to myself.

  “Only a walnut, pal.” I let him sniff it and he seemed satisfied, loosening his pull on the leash.

  “Sandi? Is that you?” Chrissy was at the back door, talking as softly as she could to be heard over the wind, and sounding hopeful.

  “Yes.” Taking one last look around, I pulled on the dog’s leash and headed for the back door, rubbing my head. I figured that thing must have fallen from one of the top limbs of the tree because it hit so hard.

  “Are you okay? I thought I heard you moan.” Chrissy quickly ushered us in through the back door.

  “I was klunked on the head by a walnut, but I’m fine.”

  Chrissy giggled. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, but it’s happened to me. And I’m nervous. Nervous laughter, you know?”

  Chrissy was a smart woman. She’d left the lights off in the kitchen and back porch, not wanting me to be spotted. We left the back and moved into the kitchen.

  “Where’s Tammi?” I asked.

  “I don’t let her watch a lot of TV, but tonight I decided it would be a good idea to put on a movie for her. She’s been waiting for you and your dog to show up, and she was pretty excited.” She glanced at Bubba, who was grinning at her. “Is that your dog? Wow! Tammi could ride him like a pony. You did say he’s friendly, right?”

  “He’s about as friendly as they come. Let’s see how he and Tammi do together. Why don’t you call her out here?” Bubba sat down, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

  I wanted to get Tammi and the dog settled so Chrissy and I could take care of business. The kitchen window of the old house was pretty high in relation to the ground outside because of the way the foundation had been put in to accommodate the basement. I knew the bum would have to stand on something to peek through it. In contrast, the living room and dining room windows would be easy to look through because of the large front porch. The kitchen was the best place to introduce dog and child.

  “Tammi, come here, honey,” Chrissie called.

  “What, Mommy?” Tammi’s eyes lit up when she stepped into the kitchen and saw Bubba.

  “Tammi, this is Bubba. If you take your time and you’re gentle with him, I think he’ll become your best friend.” Not knowing what to expect, I hung onto his leash. Was I doing the right thing?

  Tammi slowly walked toward Bubba, her expression one of total awe. She stood and watched him for a moment. Before I could stop her, she ran the rest of the way and threw her arms around him, hugging him fiercely.

  “Tammi!” Chrissy was worried about the big dog, and took a step forward, meaning to protect her child.

  I held my breath, ready to pull on the leash. Bubba was very still, but he didn’t tense up. And then his tail twitched. I continued to hold my breath because a wagging tail didn’t always mean joy. I’d had some experience with dogs while on other cases. He looked down at Tammi’s smiling little face and grinned at her. And I knew they were going to be fine.

  “Mommy, look. He’s smilin’ at me. Do you see that?” Tammi was delighted. Bubba has one of those smiles that exposes all of his teeth, like some people I know.

  “That’s a smile?” Chrissy asked weakly. “I wasn’t sure. I thought so, but I wasn’t sure. I’ve never seen a dog do that before. Tammi looks so small next to him.”

  I chuckled. “I’m beginning to think ol’ Bubba might be a person in a dog’s body. He’s so smart. And he seems to feel emotions. It’s weird. I’m sorry he scared you.” I was babbling, wishing I hadn’t taken a chance with the dog. I hadn’t been around him for long, and what if he hadn’t reacted to Tammi the way he did? I mentally kicked myself, but then immediately forgave myself because my gut feeling about Bubba had been correct. He was a big ol’ Teddy Bear. And Tammi had known it after studying him for about two seconds.

  “Let’s go play in the living room.” Tammi looked at each one of us in turn. “I mean all of us. Come on.”

  “Chrissy, I want to stay out of sight. I don’t want the bum to know I’m here if he comes around.”

  “I know. I pulled the shades so he can’t see in. I’ve been keeping them down at night since he started coming around, so he won’t think anything is unusual.”

  We hurried after Tammi and Bubba and sat down on the couch.

  Chrissy reached to turn off the television. “We don’t need this thing blaring at us.”

  “Leave it on, but turn the sound low. If the bum comes up to the door and hears us talking, he’ll think it’s the television.”

  Tammi was talking childese to the dog, and he loved it. She reached up and scratched his head, and he immediately dropped down and rolled onto his back.

  “He wants you to scratch his belly.” She looked at me briefly before scratching every square inch of his chest and stomach.

  With her five-year-old attention span, that didn’t last long. “Come see my bedroom.” She turned and ran to her room, with Bubba only a few steps behind her.

  “Okay, Chrissy, let’s get down to business. Do you think he’ll show up tonight?”

  “I can almost guarantee it.”

  “What makes you think he’ll be here?”

  “He left me a present. I found it on the porch when I got home tonight.” She looked nervous and her hand shook slightly.

  “What was it this time?”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chrissy reached toward the coffee table and picked up a box. “Look for yourself.”

  I took it out of her hand and peered inside the little box, lifting out a child’s small bracelet. Definitely not a good sign.

  “He’s never left anything that might have to do with Tammi before. Now he’s scaring me more than ever. I’m thinking maybe I’ll quit my job and we’ll move to Los Angeles with Grandma Dolly.”

  “I can understand that. I’d probably feel the same way. Maybe you should start thinking about moving. In the meantime, at least you’ve got me and Bubba here for tonight. Tomorrow you can decide what you want to do. I hate to see this guy win though.”

  “Me, too. But he threatened my child and I won’t tolerate that. Someone had better take care of him, and I mean soon!” Her anger was turning into rage as she spoke. “Somebody’s got to get rid of that guy. And that cop hasn’t hel
ped us at all. I don’t know what else to do.” Her face was turning red, and she was blinking rapidly to hold back tears. I had a feeling they were tears of anger, and that was something I could relate to and deal with.

  “I called Ted, at work, and told him about the latest gift. He was pretty upset. He is a good guy, Sandi, but he’s never had to deal with any kind of adversity before, and he can’t understand why this bum is harassing us. He doesn’t know what to do. He was going to come right over, but I told him you were on your way. Believe me, he is worried.” Who was she trying to convince – me or herself?

  “I found out who the bum is. His name is John Frendd. And I have someone doing a background check on him.” I thought maybe putting a name to him might help. It seemed like it might make some of the boogey man persona disappear.

  “John Friend?” Chrissy chuckled bitterly. “Odd that he should have a last name like that.”

  I knew she’d misunderstood about the name. “It’s F-r-e-n-d-d. And I agree, it’s kind of a paradox for him to have that particular name. But Stanley, the guy who’s doing the computer check for me, will be calling as soon as he has any information. Maybe we can begin to figure this whole thing out.”

  “I sure hope so. I know this is an old house.” She stopped talking and turned the television off, listening to the sounds of the wind. “The window frames are so old that they’ve shrunk. Can you hear the wind whistling through the crevices?”

  “Yes.” The sound made me feel like I was in an old movie. Cliché or not, I loved movies and books that started with On a dark and stormy night…

  “Believe it or not, I love that sound. Unfortunately, I have trouble keeping the house warm enough when it’s cold, but this old place makes me feel at home. It has character. I’m trying to work out a deal with the owner to buy it from him some day. But not if I can’t get rid of this jerk.” She’d quickly gone from loving the house to hating the bum. He was ruining everything for her, robbing her of her joy. I’d seen it happen before. She paused and pulled herself together. “It does need a lot of work though. The house, I mean.”