by Ryan Horvath
Amanda should be arriving soon.
Good, sweet Amanda.
Dearest sister.
Amanda had told Karen to get some rest a few hours ago when they had spoken over the telephone and Karen had tried. She had lain down on the sofa and covered herself with a blanket. She could not sleep in the bedroom obviously, because it was still considered a closed crime scene. Never mind the fact that Jack’s blood and tissue were still spattered on the bed, floor, and walls. Those thoughts had prevented her from getting any sleep at all.
So she gave up trying to sleep. When Amanda arrived, the two of them would check into a hotel until the investigation was over after which Karen would have the room cleaned and put the house up for sale. Unfortunately, there would be no investigation into Jack’s assassination, though Karen did not know that.
As she looked out the window over the sink with thoughts of bullets and sounds of breaking glass, she wondered and worried about the vision she had had.
How could she have seen Jack’s murder in her mind and not with her eyes? Did her pre-vision cause the slaying? She remembered a slight headache and a vague dizziness just an instant before the vision that she had not registered at the time.
“No,” she said aloud to a kitchen with an audience of none. No, her vision had not caused the killing. The neighbors had also been slain, presumably by the same killer, and Karen had had no vision of their deaths.
As she stood before her kitchen sink, more details of yesterday morning began to emerge from the post-traumatic state of her mind like wisps of seaweed caught in a changing tide.
She could smell the steak and bacon and coffee in the air. She could recall the tune she had been humming to herself while she cooked. She remembered a slight but pleasant ache in her thighs from the morning lovemaking and she remembered hearing a barking dog outside.
Karen froze. Her puffy eyes widened.
The dog.
The barking dog was her neighbors’.
Karen had met the dog once or twice. What was its name? Boze? Braze? Brass?
Just then an image of her now dead neighbors’ Dalmatian came into her mind. It was standing in a grassy meadow on a beautiful sunny day with snowcapped mountains in the backdrop. It stood proud, turned its head to look at her, perked its ears in her direction and winked at her. Karen noticed that the dog had one green eye and one blue. The image of the dog in Karen’s mind started wagging its tail and then barked but what Karen heard wasn’t a bark. What Karen heard was-
“Blaze.”
Yes! That was right! The Dalmatian’s name was “Blaze”. Karen remembered now from when she’d first met the dog. She had thought the name perfectly suited the stereotypical fireman’s dog.
Karen thought again of Blaze’s barking of yesterday morning while she was cooking. She concentrated. It was a distant sound but after a few moments, she was sure that the “barking” was actually someone saying stop! help! gun!
That was impossible of course. There was no way a dog could speak English and no way she would have been able to understand what barking was supposed to mean. Her mind was exhausted and she was just having silly delusions from the stress of the last thirty or so hours.
She sighed and turned away from the window. In addition to being tired, she was hungry and thirsty. Yesterday’s brunch had gone uneaten and Karen had also forgotten to eat lunch and dinner because she was almost constantly being questioned by police. She moved to the refrigerator and took out a container of egg salad and the loaf of bread. She took both items to the center island and took a seat on one of the stools there. Karen took a fork out of one of the drawers and proceeded to make herself a sandwich.
The image of Blaze in the meadow popped into her mind again.
This time, the dog sat down, looked at her, cocked one eyebrow and chuffed as if in frustration. Then it barked again, slightly different than the first image had, about three short barks followed by a grunt and what Karen “heard” was-
“Serious. No crazy. Help!”
As Karen slowly chewed her egg salad sandwich, the current image of Blaze in the meadow was replaced by the image of Blaze from the previous afternoon. Really, the posture of the dog didn’t change, rather the scene around him. It was when Karen was outside in her back yard talking with the officials and she had glanced over to George and Ann’s house once and had seen Blaze sitting at the fence. Karen didn’t know how she knew this but she was certain Blaze had been looking directly at her… not just at her but almost into her. But moments after that, Great Falls Animal Control had come and collared Blaze and taken him away in one of their trucks.
The intensity of Blaze’s stare in her direction seemed odd yet somehow comforting. The dog had to have been a good sixty or seventy yards away from her but, even now in recollection, she felt something safe and warming in Blaze’s eyes.
The image of Blaze in the meadow came back. He was still sitting but his tail was swishing back and forth madly. His mouth was open, his tongue flopped out and he appeared to be laughing. The Blaze image barked but Karen heard-
“Nice Lady. Help! Nice Lady.”
Karen finished her sandwich and made another one. She returned the remaining egg salad and bread to the refrigerator and then took the phone book out of the cabinet over it. She returned to the table and her second sandwich and began leafing through the phonebook while she chewed.
When she found what she was looking for, she jotted an address down on one of the paper notepads she and Jack kept on the center island for grocery lists, notes to each other, or whatever.
She gathered up her purse, car keys, and remaining half of her second sandwich, and, along with the address, she exited the kitchen into the garage where she and Jack’s cars were parked. She got into her Honda Accord, opened the garage door with the opener button that was clipped to the visor and started the engine. The car was equipped with a GPS navigation system and when its “use your common sense” advisory was done, she punched in the address she had gotten from the phone book.
The car located the lot in seconds and laid out a turn by turn course for Karen to follow. She was in luck. Her destination was only just on the edge of city limits; about a ten minute drive from her house. She backed the car out of the garage and closed the door.
She drove without turning on the radio.
In nine and a half minutes, Karen had arrived at her destination: the Great Falls Animal Control facility. She parked in one of the slots marked “VISITOR”, exited her car and entered the facility through the main doors. She approached the front desk where a portly and balding man of about forty sat.
When he noticed her, he gave her a warm smile and said, “Ma’am, you look like you just lost your best friend. Are you alright?”
Karen realized she had left the house without putting on any makeup or doing anything with her hair. Her eyes were still puffy from a day’s worth of crying and her hair was still tousled from her pitiful attempts to get comfortable enough to sleep on the sofa. Her clothes were also wrinkled and rumpled in places. She hadn’t even brushed her teeth. Karen figured her appearance to Gary, which is what the employee’s nametag said, must be dreadful. And then she replayed what he had said to her and realized he was right. And before she said anything, she started to cry.
“Oh, ma’am, I’m sorry,” Gary, the animal control employee said, reaching out to touch Karen’s hand on the counter. “I wish there was something I could do to help. These things just happen sometimes. The Lord works in mysterious ways. He takes the ones we love and He takes us from the ones who love us. But He also brings new ones for us to love. Are you here to get a new dog or cat?”
Karen sobbed for a few seconds more but then calmed. There was a box of tissues on the counter to her left. She took one and dabbed her swollen eyes and wiped her nose. When she was better composed she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to break down like that.” Karen choked. “My name is Karen Thomas. My husband…”
“Yeah, oh m
y God! Your husband is Jack Thomas. The congressman.” Gary said. Hearing the sound of Jack’s name nearly caused Karen to break down again but she held her composure. “Geez, Mrs. Thomas...,” Gary continued, “… I heard about… what happened on the police scanner this morning. I’m really really sorry.”
Karen struggled to remain strong. “Thank you,” she said, relieved that she didn’t have to make the connection between her relatively famous husband and her relatively un-famous self to this man. “I’m still a little shook up about it,” she lied, as she was still a lot shook up about it, in fact.
“Mrs. Thomas, what brings you here?” Gary asked.
“My neighbors are George and Ann Lewis… or at least they were my neighbors until yesterday. They were also killed yesterday. The police believe by the same person who killed my husband,” Karen said.
Gary’s face frowned with sympathy as he listened to Karen speak.
“George and Ann were good innocent people. But I’m here because they had a dog,” Karen spoke.
“Okay,” Gary said.
“A Dalmatian. One green eye and one blue. Its name is Blaze. It would have been brought in sometime yesterday afternoon,” Karen told him.
“I’m not sure what you are getting at, Mrs. Thomas,” Gary said.
“I want to take Blaze home with me,” Karen said.
“Oh… geez… I’m really sorry about what happened to your husband and neighbors… b-but…,” Gary stammered. “W-we’re really not allowed to do that.”
“Why not?” Karen said as her heart sank a little bit.
“In cases where the animal’s owner dies, we’re only allowed to release the animal to the deceased’s family.” Gary replied.
“But I know Blaze!” Karen said sternly.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Thomas. That’s the way we gotta do things. Some of these dogs, especially in an area as high end as Great Falls, are purebreds and people pay a lot of money for ‘em and in some cases, they make a lot of money with ‘em too if they use ‘em for breeding. Once money gets involved, then the decision gets left to the family. It’s a crappy system but we gotta stick with it. I don’t always agree with it… I’ve seen some nice pooches get taken outta here by some not so nice people.”
“Look,” Karen pleaded. “Blaze and I both lost so much yesterday. Can’t you open your heart to me please…, Gary? He’d be much happier out of a cage and I’d feel so much safer with him by my side.” Karen suddenly realized that she now knew Blaze was a male dog.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Thomas. Look, the family has got fourteen days after we notify them to contact us and make arrangements to pick up the animal or… otherwise,” Gary explained. “If he just came in last night, the notice will go out tomorrow to whomever the police can give us as a next of kin. Come back in two weeks and if ol’ Blaze is still unclaimed, I’ll let you take him.”
“Two weeks…,” Karen said softly. It seemed like an awfully long time.
“I wish there was something I could do, Mrs. Thomas but it’d mean my job if I got caught.” Gary appeared genuinely sorry.
“I… I understand,” Karen lied. She did not understand how this man before her was keeping her from Blaze. She also didn’t know why it mattered to her so much but with each passing moment, she felt more and more connected and drawn to Blaze.
For now, she would leave and go home and wait for Amanda. Tomorrow, the two of them would come back and try this again. Hopefully a different staff person would be working. Amanda was a hell of a negotiator as well. They could cook up a better plan together and then get Blaze tomorrow.
“Thanks anyway,” Karen said and turned to leave.
“Again, I’m sorry for your loss, Mrs. Thomas,” Gary said sincerely.
When Karen reached the door the image of Blaze in the meadow came into her mind again. He was seated, ears pricked forward with what could only be described as a smile on his mouth. He cocked his head and winked his green eye.
Karen stopped and turned.
“Excuse me, Gary?” she said.
“Yes, Mrs. Thomas?” he replied looking up again at her from his paperwork.
“Could I at least see Blaze today… at least… just to say ‘Hello’?”
Gary pondered this for a moment and then said, “Well… I guess I don’t see any harm in that. Why not?”
Karen’s heart skipped a beat. The Blaze in the meadow happily wagged his tail.
Gary consulted his paperwork to see where Blaze was being held. He found Blaze within two minutes. Gary led Karen through the set of double doors that was located behind the desk he had been seated at. It led into a long corridor with nearly a dozen single doors lined up on each side, each door about fifteen feet apart. The corridor was lit by high intensity florescent bulbs and the floor was painted black concrete.
“This is the boarding and medical area,” Gary described. “One side for cats and the other side for dogs. The two rooms at the other end of the corridor are for the “other” category but we don’t see much of that in Great Falls. The first two rooms on either side are for medical purposes, grooming purposes and terminations; the rest of the doors lead to the boarding kennels where the animals are kept.”
“Terminations?” Karen asked apprehensively. “Does that happen often?”
“Unfortunately, more than it should, yes,” Gary replied. “Here at Great Falls, we try to work cooperatively with shelters and foster homes in the area but our budget unfortunately doesn’t let us take care of ‘em all.” Gary’s voice lowered and filled with what sounded like regret. “I wish I could take all the unclaimed ones home with me but I can’t afford it either. Eh!! Money! What a shitty system it is. When will people learn that life means more than money? Probably never!”
He was actually wrong. A few people would know. A few people, Karen Thomas included, would know soon enough.
They had reached the door to the dog kennel room where Blaze was being held. Gary unlocked the main door and opened it. As they entered, Karen saw eight dogs in residence in this room. Some of the dogs were making some noises or playing with something. Karen noted three mutts, a boxer, a German shepherd, a miniature poodle, a greyhound, and then finally Blaze.
And Blaze had noticed Karen as well. He was excitedly pawing at the door to his cage, making whimpering noises, shaking his rear and wagging his long, short haired, spotted tail around in a whip-like fashion. Not only did he appear to Karen to be smiling he also appeared to be overjoyed at her arrival.
Karen stepped to Blaze’s kennel which was the last one on the left. The kennels were stacked two high so she and Blaze were nearly at even eye level.
“Hi, Blaze,” she said softly to him.
Blaze stilled the excited quivers in his body, everything except his endlessly wagging tail, cocked his head to Karen, and stared longingly at her with his blue and green eyes.
“How are you?” Karen asked Blaze.
Blaze gazed around at his surroundings and whimpered in the back of his throat.
“I know, boy. I’m sorry. I’m going to get you out of here just as soon as I can,” Karen assured him.
Blaze’s ears relaxed. A look of sadness came to his eyes and Karen was certain he looked as if he was going to cry.
Karen looked at Gary who was standing off to her right watching this exchange between woman and beast.
“He sure seems to like you,” Gary said.
“Gary, are you sure you won’t let me take him now? He looks so sad,” Karen asked again.
“Please, Mrs. Thomas. I mustn’t,” Gary responded.
“Okay.” Karen turned rejected away from Gary and spoke to Blaze. “Don’t worry, Blaze. Amanda is coming and she and I are going to figure out a way to get you out of here.” Karen put her hand to the front of the kennel cage which Blaze earnestly licked.
“Have a good night, Blaze. I’m sorry about George and Ann,” she said quietly.
Karen and Gary turned to leave. Karen’s heart was heavy. Gary had said
two weeks had to pass before she could get Blaze out.
But neither Gary, nor Karen for that matter, knew that there would be no one alive in Great Falls in two weeks to get anyone out of anywhere.
As they reached the kennel room door, Blaze began to howl. It was unlike any howl Karen had ever heard an animal make. And immediately, at its inception, all the other dogs in the kennel room went silent. Karen had little doubt that all the dogs within earshot of Blaze’s howl had gone silent.
Blaze howled at the top of his voice as if he were a lone wolf howling at the moon. He was able to hold his howl for an incredibly long time but each time he ran out of breath, he inhaled and started to howl again.
Karen looked at Gary who looked back at her, then toward the howling Dalmatian, back to her and then down at the floor before returning to the dog.
“Let’s just go, Mrs. Thomas,” Gary said though he nearly shouted it to be heard over Blaze’s howl.
Blaze sounded as if he were full of mourning. Gary closed the kennel room door once they were through it but Blaze could still be heard at nearly the same volume. Karen and Gary proceeded back down the black floored corridor, probably black was the best color to hide any staining, and toward to double doors and lobby beyond.
Blaze continued to howl. Consistent. Monotonous. Loud.
They entered the lobby. Karen was almost in tears again as she listened to Blaze wailing. When they were by the desk, she turned to Gary and said, “You know he’s not going to stop doing that.”
“He will,” Gary replied.
“No he won’t. He wants to come with me,” Karen spoke firmly.
“He will stop,” Gary reiterated.
Blaze continued to howl.
“You have to give him to me. Right now,” Karen insisted.
“Mrs. Thomas…,” Gary began.
“Listen to me. If he continues to howl like that, he going to break a blood vessel or have a stroke or something.” She stared at Gary.
