by Noelle Hart
“Now you're against me too?” When she placed a hand on his arm he sloughed it off. “I came here for your help, but obviously you women band together. Thanks for nothing, Mom.”
Before she could stop him he'd already run out the front door and was in his car, backing out the driveway.
She never noticed that her small garden shears had been pilfered from her basket.
Olivia watched him go. Then reached for another drink.
*
With Dino on his heels, Max ran through the diner and straight into the kitchen where Lyle was mixing his special pancake batter. He'd been promised the best breakfast of his life and he meant to collect.
Opening time was still hours away but Kim was already busy prepping for the lunch crowd.
“Hey kid,” Kim greeted him, wiped his hands quickly on a towel, then executed the intricate hand, fist and finger shake they'd perfected over time. “Hope you're hungry, 'cuz the boss over there is cooking you up a storm.”
Lyle expertly ladled batter onto the grill and eyeballed Max's huge grin. “What's so funny, sport?”
“You guys look like girls with those hair nets.”
“Watch it, or I'll make you wear one too.”
“What about Dino? He should wear a net over his whole body!” Max's peels of laughter at the strange image that brought to mind had them all howling.
Jolene walked into the scene pulling her hair net on and the men and boy broke out again.
“I won't ask,” said Jolene. “Hey Max, how ya doing?”
“I'm cool.”
“Then all is well in the world. Man oh man, that smells good.” She walked over to the batter bowl and sniffed. “What you got in here?”
“My secret ingredients, woman! Hey, get your finger out of there. Kim, it's time to teach Jolene how to label and recycle our frozen goods.”
Kim mock saluted him. “I'm on it, boss.” The two disappeared into the walk in freezer.
Max dragged a step stool over to the grill, climbed on and observed Lyle's methodology.
Lyle looked sideways at Max's intent concentration. “This isn't rocket science you know. You wanna give it a try?”
“Sure.”
Lyle handed him the ladle and held the bowl for him. “No squeeze bottles today,” he told Max. “I prefer the old fashioned way. Just fill the ladle three quarters full and pull it out gently. Wipe the bottom on the edge of the bowl so it won't drip. Good. Slowly, hey, I said slowly, pour the batter onto the grill letting it form its own circle. We could use these metal forms I have here and they'd be perfect, but it's more fun this way.”
The lesson had been basic and Max had performed it perfectly.
“See this one? The bubbles on its surface mean it's time to flip. Here,” he handed him a spatula, “you try it.”
Unbeknownst to them, Jolene observed from the freezer doorway. A warmth infused her as she watched her gentle giant teach the boy this simple lesson with so much patience, so much love. She'd made no mistake when she'd picked him out to be the father of her children. Now she just had to convince him of it.
Kim appeared and yanked her back inside.
At the grill Lyle and Max worked in tandem, ladling and flipping enough pancakes for an army.
“Uncle Lyle,” said Max, “are you and Jolene getting married?”
Lyle sputtered. “What brought that on?”
“I saw you making goo-goo eyes at her. She really likes you. I can tell.” This last bit with every ounce of solemness he could muster.
“Oh? How so?”
“She looks at you like my Mom looks at her new boyfriend, and they're getting married. I mean, that's what happens when people are like, in love, right?”
Amused, Lyle gazed down into the boy's trusting eyes. “People in love don't always get married, sport. Sometimes they just hang out together and that's enough for them.”
Max expertly laid another pancake onto the grill, the repetitive action becoming automatic. “Then why get married at all? Why not just hang, like you said?”
“Marriage is a promise to always be there for the other person. Sometimes to form a family. Other times people like your Dad and your Mom decide they don't wanna live together, so they go their own ways and share the responsibility of raising their kid. Still other times one parent or the other takes on the whole load because the other parent isn't around.”
Confusion reigned in Max's eyes. “It sounds complicated.”
“It can be. Or it can be an adventure.”
“You mean, like, having sex?”
Lyle jolted. “That's a conversation for your Dad. Where is he anyway?”
“Upstairs in the office. So, you're saying that people get married for different reasons?”
He wasn't going to let it go. “Everyone is different, so no two experiences are the same. Most people get married and hope for the best. Does that make sense?”
“I guess. It's like when you try out for a team. You don't know how it's gonna turn out but you gotta try or you'll never know.”
And in that moment Lyle had a revelation.
Damn. The kid had made it crystal clear.
All his high and mighty theories about how his own attempt at marriage would be doomed by his ancestors shot down by a simple analogy uttered by an inquiring mind.
Double damn.
He ruffled Max's hair. “I think we're done with these. Go and find your Dad and tell him breakfast is ready.”
*
“It was Miguel Flores,” Will told Lyle. “The bump on his head wasn't serious, but he'll be off on worker's comp until his wrist heals. Thank God we're insured. But hell on wheels! I swear I'm ready to form a lynch mob and go after Hammond myself.”
They were in the office where Will had spent most of the day catching up on paperwork and phone calls. The work hadn't eased his mind one iota.
“Good thing his wrist was his only injury. Could'a been a whole lot worse.”
“Yeah. Like Lillian McFarley.”
“We don't know if Hammond had anything to do with that,” reminded Will.
Lyle grunted. “You're getting deeper into the fray with Kylie. That means you're taking on her problem. Just want to let you know, I'm on your team in every which way.”
“You'll join my lynch mob?”
They both laughed a little too heartily.
“Kylie's the first one to admit that she made a mistake with this guy,” said Will, “but she's doing the right thing by shouldering the responsibility of the child. In my books that's stellar.”
“Definitely the right...”
Footfalls thumped up the stairs and Max, carrying Dino, rushed into the room. “He's hurt!” he cried, holding a whimpering Dino close. “He burned his paw on the grill. It's my fault. I didn't move the stool back like you told me Uncle Lyle.” Fat tears formed at the edges of Max's eyes and he blinked them back furiously.
Will folded both Max and Dino in his arms. “It's okay. Shi... I mean, stuff happens. Let's call Gina.”
“Good thing her clinic is right here in the Village,” said Lyle. “I'll call her right now.”
“Okay. Then get back in the kitchen and make sure Kim doesn't burn the place down. Max and I will take Dino over.”
* * * *
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
When Gina Kirby had spotted the building for sale she'd scooped it up off the market instantly. In keeping with city regulations it was a mere three stories high which suited her needs perfectly. Redefining spaces, she'd turned the small and outdated apartments on the first floor into her pet clinic reception, examining room and holding room with large, airy cages for overnight patients. The remaining two floors she'd converted into a lovely apartment for herself.
Normally closed on Sundays, when Lyle's call came in she turned on the lights in the examining room as Will carried Dino in and placed him on the metal table, Max anxiously glued to his side.
“What's wrong, little guy?” she cooed at Dino, who
trustingly looked into her eyes and held up his paw.
“He touched a hot stove top,” Will informed her.
Gina donned her glasses. Gently she examined the pads of Dino's paw through her magnifying glass. “It's not bad. Poor little tyke.” She smoothed back the fur on his face. “I'll give him a shot against infection and another for pain, put some salve and a bandage on it. It will heal quickly.
Dino was a trooper but Max had to look away when she inserted the needles one by one under the dog's skin. But when she gently applied the salve and bandaged his paw, Max was fascinated.
“I'm gonna be a marine bi... bi...”
“Biologist,” Will came to his aid.
“Yeah, that. I like sea animals, you know, dolphins and whales and seals. This is really cool, you being a vet and all. I'll bet you've helped a lot of animals!”
Gina appreciated his enthusiasm. “For me there's nothing better.”
Max wrinkled his brow. “How long does it take to learn how? Have you ever been bitten? Do you know how to fix snakes when they're hurt too?”
“Whoa! Hold on there, kiddo,” said Will.
Gina laughed, delighted. “It's okay. I'm used to getting grilled by my younger pet owners. Unlike this little guy.”
Both Will and Max groaned at the pun.
“Since Dino's a special patient I should keep him overnight to keep him off his feet and give his paw a fighting chance. You can come back for him in the morning, okay?”
“Will do. Thanks, Gina.”
*
Drew was on the prowl.
The need was at war again with his conscience, which was losing the battle fast. It sizzled and flared, demanding gratification.
He gave himself over to it.
Sunday night. The Village was winding down, restaurants closing for the night, including the Village Diner.
He knew that Kylie was tucked into her apartment and Jolene had just been dropped off by that over-sized cook who had taken it upon himself to be her personal chauffeur.
No matter. He had something else in mind.
Drew's thoughts had pulsed and ulcerated as he'd obsessed about Kylie and the baby she carried. She'd flat out dumped him, claiming he was violent. He'd show her violent. He'd rock her world with it. Take out each and every thing that mattered to her.
The McFarley woman had been a trial run, a highly satisfying catalyst. A spring-board to bigger, bolder enterprises. Now that it had been released, the need had become insisting, urgent, slithering in his mind like a centipede. Tonight's mission was just an appetizer for what would come later.
He teetered on the fine line that defined his actions as revenge against Kylie and the sheer pleasure of killing. Was she just an excuse to unleash something that had been there all along? Maybe. Didn't matter. In his mind's eye he saw her belly grow large, her instincts forming a maternal bond. Ripping the newborn kid from her protective arms would be the ultimate infliction of pain. He imagined her horrified reaction as the prospect of it imbedded itself in his psyche. He'd take the kid for himself, raise it right.
Keeping watch, he'd seen the dude with the kid take that stupid dog Kylie adored so much to the vet. Conveniently they'd left the mutt at the clinic overnight.
It was well past midnight when he pulled his convertible into a side street five blocks from the clinic. He casually strolled the residential streets that ran parallel to the main drag of the Village until he neared the clinic. From there he moved up half a block and entered an alley that ran directly behind the building.
The rear door was sturdily locked. A window made up of small panes lay to the right. Using a rock, he broke one of the panes and reached in, opened the latch, braced himself for an alarm.
Nothing.
His breathing quickened, his heart rate rose. Anticipation bolted through his nervous system, zinged merrily through his veins. He pushed his way through the open window and landed softly inside.
Furtive now, he extracted a pen light and shone it around the room. The odor of animal feces clung to the air and two pairs of eyes gleamed at him from inside separate cages lining the wall.
An ominous growl emitted from one of the cages. A ripple of panic seeped through.
Should have brought a stun gun.
Not that he had one.
Upstairs, Gina Kirby snapped awake. On her baby sound monitor, one of her overnight guests was barking, at first just a single bark, now a constant yammer. Was Dino in pain, or was it the boxer with the leg injury? Judging by the timber of the barks she determined it was the smaller of the two dogs.
The bark became frantic.
She got up and pulled on her robe, headed downstairs.
“Alright, alright, I'm coming,” she yelled over the barking as she entered the holding room. Flipping on the overhead light she caught a flash of silver arcing through the air before a horrific pain shot through her mid section. Doubling over she gripped her flank, blood oozing through her fingers. Looking up, she saw a man standing a few feet away with an expression of absolute, mad glee on his face.
A single fleeting thought played across her mind. I knew I should have installed bars over those windows. Then it was gone as the man took a step forward with his eyes wild and his arm raised.
He couldn't have asked for a better gift! Imagine that, the vet herself lived right here on the premises. He'd missed that little detail but now it was working for him as his mind fell into an abyss. Without mercy the garden shears became an instrument for the need, slashing, stabbing, slicing. One final, vicious poke and the shears were stuck, imbedded in bone.
He panted, waiting for his breathing to slow, for his heart to stop hammering. He'd been blinded, his eyes rolling back in ecstasy with each thrust of the shears. Reveling in elation, he hugged his body and rocked to and fro.
The war raged. A part of his mind screamed with shock, another rejoiced with profound pleasure. The buzzing in his brain subsided and his ears now registered what had been going on all along. Loud barks emitted from the two cages along the wall. He moved to the terrier and opened the door. The small dog cringed inside, eyes wide with terror. He reached in. Quick as a viper it bit him!
Sirens sounded in the distance. Someone must have heard the commotion and called the police. There was no time to deal with the fur ball.
He'd had the forethought to wear a disposable rain coat and discarded it in a garbage bin in the alley along with the plastic shoe covers he'd put on. Not the gloves though. Those he'd burn. He'd watched enough true crime on TV to know that prints could be obtained from the insides of the fingertips, never mind that the dog had bitten clear through one of them.
Pleased with himself, Drew disappeared into the night while a cruiser pulled up in front of the clinic, another in the alley.
Dino's cage was open and the intruder had gone. Tentatively he poked his head out through the opening and detected the metallic odor of blood. Hopping onto the floor he limped to the figure lying there and howled in mourning.
At the sound of banging on the door, then a loud smash of wood and glass as the police broke in, Dino dashed through their legs and out into the alley, running as fast as his feet would take him despite his bandaged paw.
*
Like a large percentage of the working class, Kim took a while to get his mind in gear in the mornings. But at least he had the pleasure of knowing he was going to a job he loved and not to a daily grind.
First one there, he let himself in through the front, then locked the door and went to the back room to don his sous chef outfit.
He heard scratching and whimpering coming from the back door that faced the alley.
Quickly he opened the heavy-duty burglar bar and swung the door open. Dino lay on his side panting, his bandaged paw soaked with blood.
“What the hell?” Kim reached down, bundled the little guy into his arms and took him inside. All four of Dino's paws were coated with blood. Fear sliced through him as he searched for wounds and then ease
d off when he found none.
Weird.
Kim heard Lyle and Jolene come in. “Hey Kim, how's it hanging?” said Lyle. “Your braid, that is.” He snickered at his own little joke, then spotted Dino and rushed over.
“He was out back. Isn't he supposed to be at the vet's place?”
Lyle frowned as he too examined Dino all over. Pulling the blood soaked bandage off of Dino's paw, “Was there glass in the alley?”
“None that I saw. He must have escaped. Maybe stepped in something.”
Lyle scooped Dino into his arms. “I'm gonna call Gina.”
He headed up to the office where he cradled a trembling Dino while making the call. When he came back into the kitchen he was pasty white. Both Kim and Jolene stared as he sank to the floor, his knees buckling.
“Gina. She's dead. Someone broke in and...” The rest got stuck in his throat.
Jolene's heart sank as she knelt and put her arms around him. “Oh baby. Let it out.”
Tears streamed down Lyle's face. “She was a heroine, a savior. She taught Dino tricks.” Each disjointed statement came out on a sob.
Will walked in. The sight of three of the best people in his world sobbing had his own eyes tearing, although for the life of him he didn't know what for.
He swiped at his eyes and looked at Kim.
“What are we crying about?” Will asked softly.
Kim filled him in.
*
Detective Ethan Crane hadn't put it together yet but when Lyle Morris called for Gina to ask about his dog, a light came on in his head. He found himself once again at the Village Diner looking for answers.
His audience consisted of Will, Lyle, Kim and Jolene.
“We're looking for a correlation,” he told the group, “something to tie the two attacks together. So far the only thing that seems evident is that both victims were known to all of you.”
