by Bill Bernico
“Oh, cash,” Shussler said. “I can’t leave any paper trail that Margaret could use against me, especially under these circumstances.” He opened his wallet and withdrew four fifty dollar bills and handed them to me. “I hope you won’t keep any record of this transaction either, Mr. Cooper.”
“What transaction?” I said and smiled wryly. I shook his hand and led Daisy back to the van. She nestled in between the two front seats and lay quietly all the way back to the office. I found my space in the parking lot and before I left the van I leaned over to pet Daisy. “Good girl,” I said in a soothing voice. Daisy licked my hand.
When I got back to the office, Bud was still out. I settled onto the leather sofa against the south wall and left enough room beside me for Daisy. “Daisy, up,” I said, and patted the seat next to me. She put her front paws on the sofa and then stretched one of her hind legs up to pull herself up. She settled down next to me and laid her head on my lap. I found it very soothing to sit there stroking her head. And with Bud gone, I had a pair of receptive ears willing to listen to me talk.
Bud called from his car to let me know that he wouldn’t be coming back to the office before I left for the day. I told him I’d see him here in the morning and finished the last of my paperwork before locking the office and driving home. For some reason Daisy didn’t want to lay on the floor and chose instead to sit on the passenger seat next to me. She took in the sights from her window all the way home, shifting in her seat from time to time.
I parked my van in the driveway and walked around to the passenger side door to let Daisy jump down out of the van. I took her leash and led her up the walk to my front door. I stopped before entering, turned to the dog and said, “Daisy, stay,” and released her leash. Once inside I found Gloria standing at the kitchen sink cleaning three baby bottles. I walked up behind her and kissed her neck.
“Where’s Matt?” I said. “I brought Daisy home to meet him.”
Gloria turned from the sink and wrapped her arms around my neck. “He’s in his room,” she said and kissed me on the end of my nose. “He’s going to be excited when he sees the dog.”
I walked over to Matt’s bedroom and knocked on the door before entering. I opened the door and found my little boy sitting in a corner, playing with a handful of plastic cowboys and Indians. He looked up when he heard the door open and smiled at me. He jumped up and ran to my open arms. I picked him up and held him tight.
“Hey, buddy,” I said. “How are you doing?”
“I’m playing cowboys,” Matt said. “See?” He held up a small plastic Palomino horse with a detailed saddle attached to its back.
“Does your horse have a name?” I said.
“Goldie,” Matt said. “His name is Goldie and he’s Butch’s horse.”
“Butch?” I said. “Who is Butch?”
Matt squirmed out of my grasp and settled back onto the bedroom floor. He turned and retrieved one of his plastic cowboys and brought it back to me. “This is Butch,” he said, holding the cowboy up to me.
I took the plastic figure from him and placed it on the toy horse’s back. “It’s a perfect fit,” I said. I handed the horse and rider back to Matt and said, “Why don’t you put Butch and Goldie back for now? I have something I want to show you.”
“What is it?” Matt said, excitedly.
“It’s a surprise,” I said. “Go put your toys back and then I’ll show you.”
Matt laid the plastic figures next to the others and hurried back to my side. I took his hand and led him back to the kitchen. Matt looked around, trying to see whatever it was I had for him. “Where is it?” he said.
“It’s out on the porch,” I said. “Are you ready?”
Matt jumped up and down, his eyes getting wider by the second. I opened the door and took Matt’s hand, leading him out onto the front porch. As soon as he saw Daisy, she barked, startling Matt, whose face instantly turned from delight to terror. He hurried around behind me, grabbing my pants leg in his little fists.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” I said. “This is Daisy. She won’t hurt you.”
Matt started to cry and I picked him up and held him in my arms. I made a half turn so Matt could see Daisy, who was looking up at both of us, her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth. Her large teeth glistened under the porch light, making Matt bury his head in my shoulder and cry even harder. I took him back inside and set him down again.
“What’s going on out there?” Gloria said, turning to her son. “Are you all right, Matt?” Matt rushed to her arms and hung on tight.
“I guess he’s not a dog person,” I said. “It never occurred to me that he wouldn’t like Daisy.”
“I was the same way when I was his age,” Gloria said. “I was terrified by the neighbor’s dog. I didn’t get over my fear until I was in high school and even then I kept my distance.”
“Well, now what do we do?” I said. “I know Daisy’s harmless and you know she’s harmless. How do we convince Matt of that?”
“We don’t,” Gloria said. “You’ll have to find another home for her.”
I sighed. “I can’t give her back,” I said. “Adam’s wife and kids are allergic to dogs. The department can’t keep her. She’s past retirement age and I know that if I leave her at the Humane Society they won’t be able to place her in a home at that age. They’ll end up putting her down and I just can’t let that happen.”
“Well,” Gloria said, “She can’t stay here, so it looks like it’s up to you to do something with her.”
I thought about it for a moment. “I’ll keep her at the office,” I said. “She came in handy today on an important case. I’m sure I can put her to good use working with me and Bud.”
“What about tonight?” Gloria said. “She can’t stay out on the porch all night.”
I twirled my van keys on my finger and headed for the door. “I’ll take her back to the office tonight,” I said. “But first I have to make a stop at the pet store and get her a couple of food and water dishes and maybe a pad to sleep on. Hey, look at it this way. No one will ever break into our office again, like they did when they cleaned us out, remember?”
“I remember,” Gloria said. “They took everything, including the wall calendar. Great. If you think you can handle her at the office, more power to you. I’ll see you when you get back.”
Before I left I stepped up beside Gloria and stroked Matt’s head. “I’m sorry, buddy,” I said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll take the dog away, so stop crying now and I’ll see you later.”
On my way back to the office I stopped and picked up a bag of dog food, formulated especially for older dogs, or so the label said. I also got two heavy duty bowls for her food and water. In one of the aisles I found a large tufted pad under a sign that described it as the perfect bed for a large dog. I brought my purchases with me to the office as I led Daisy down the hall. Once inside, I looked the room over, trying to decide the best place for Daisy to call her own. I chose the little alcove near the wash basin. The dog bed fit almost perfectly in that space. I left the two bowls under the sink after I’d filled each one with food and water.
Before I left I squatted down to pet Daisy’s head. “Sorry, girl,” I said. “But this will have to be your new home. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I stood up and started to walk toward the door when I heard Daisy’s toenails clicking on the linoleum behind me. I stopped and bent over. “Sorry, Daisy,” I said. “You can’t come with me.” I led her back to her bed and said, “Daisy, down.” She curled up on the bed pad. “Daisy, stay,” I told her and walked back to the office door again. I looked back one more time to see that Daisy was still lying there near the sink. I turned off the office light and made a mental note to get one of those plug-in night lights for the office before I came back tomorrow.
The new arrangement was working out better than I thought it might. I was three weeks into my arrangement with Daisy and although I had to alter m
y morning routine to include her morning walk, I couldn’t have been happier to have Daisy’s company. Bud, on the other hand, could take or leave her. He mostly left her. They got along all right, but he really didn’t put in any extra effort to get close to the dog.
Summer was winding down and kids were starting to go back to school. Matt had started the second grade and was adjusting well to his new routine. Gloria was still enjoying her time at home, watching Olivia put on weight and grow a little more each day. Me, I actually looked forward to coming in each day to be greeted by my loving dog.
It was bright and early Monday morning when I came into work to find Bud already at his desk. I looked in the alcove but didn’t see Daisy on her pad. Before I could say anything, Bud caught my attention and pointed down at the floor on the other side of his desk. I walked around to that side and saw Daisy lying at Bud’s feet. I looked back at Bud and he just shrugged.
“Beat’s me,” he said. “I guess she just got tired of lying over there by herself. This morning she just got up and plopped herself down right where she is now. She looked up at me with those sorrowful eyes and I just let her stay where she was.”
“See,” I said, “She likes you, and you know what? I think you secretly like her, too.”
“Don’t go getting all sloppy on me, Elliott,” Bud said. “She’s just a dog.”
“Speaking of dog,” I said, “I have an important appointment today and I’ll be gone for most of the morning.”
Bud waved one hand in the air. “Knock yourself out,” he said. “Unless a call comes in, I’ll be here when you get back.”
“That’s just it,” I said. “I have a small problem that I’d like you to help me with.”
“Sure,” Bud said. “What can I do for you, Elliott?”
“Well,” I said, “It’s more for Daisy than for me. You see, she has an appointment with the vet this morning and I was going to take her. I was hoping…”
“You were hoping that I’d take her, isn’t that right?” Bud said.
“Would you?” I said. “It would help me out a lot, Bud. I’d owe you one. What do you say?”
Bud looked at Daisy and then at me before he sighed. “Oh, all right,” he said. “I’ll take her.”
“I have one more favor to ask,” I said.
“No,” Bud said. “I’m not walking behind her with a plastic bag over my hand. That’s where I draw the line. Can you imagine if aliens were monitoring human behavior from their space ships? What conclusion do you think they’d come to if they saw the obviously dominant of the two species carried the poop of the one on the leash? They’d wonder which one was in charge, and that’s what people will wonder if they see me walking around with a bag of poop. No, I won’t do it.”
Interesting observation,” I said, “And it sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into it, but no, that’s not what I was going to ask.”
“Then what?” Bud said.
“I’m meeting with an important client and I don’t want to do that with my surveillance van,” I said. “I was wondering if I could borrow your car. You can take Daisy to the vet in my van.”
Bud dug his keys out of his pants pocket and tossed them at me. “Sure,” he said. “At least I’m not picking up…”
“I get it,” I said. “You don’t like dog crap. Thanks for the car.” I tossed him my keys and headed out of the office. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t forget the vet at ten-thirty.” I gave him a business card that I’d picked up last time I was at the vet’s office.
Bud picked up his morning paper again and continued with the article he’d started before Elliott had left for his meeting. He took a couple of inquiry calls, jotted down messages and left them on Elliott’s desk. It was a few minutes past ten when he plucked Daisy’s leash off the coat rack and clipped it onto her collar.
“Let’s go, Daisy,” Bud said, leading the dog out of the office and toward the elevator. He unlocked the side door to the van and slid it open. Daisy leapt up into the cargo area and settled down behind the passenger seat on the carpet. Bud slid behind the wheel and drove out of the lot and headed east on Hollywood Boulevard. He turned south at Wilton place and kept going to the next stop light. The light turned red as he approached the intersection and Bud eased the van to a stop.
Before the light could change back to green again, the passenger side door opened and a scruffy-looking young man jumped in and sat in the passenger seat.
“Hey,” Bud said, “What do you think you’re…”
“Shut up and drive,” the man said, pointing a Colt automatic at Bud.
Bud held his hand up, palm facing the carjacker. “Easy there,” Bud said. “I’ll take you wherever you need to go. Just power that thing before it goes off and somebody gets hurt.”
“I’m not going to tell you again, Pops,” the man said. “Just shut your trap and drive. I’ll tell you where to go.” He kept his gun trained on Bud.
Before the man could say another word, Daisy got to her feet, quickly assessed the situation and clamped her teeth down on the man’s wrist. She held on tight, even after the man had dropped his gun on the floor. Bud screeched to a stop and retrieved the gun, pointing it at the carjacker. “Good job, Daisy,” Bud said. “Hold him.”
Bud pulled out his cell phone and called Lieutenant Anderson at the twelfth precinct to tell him what he had. Anderson promised to send a squad car to his location immediately. Bud looked at the carjacker and almost broke out laughing.
“What the hell’s so funny?” the man said.
“You,” Bud told him. “Of all the vehicles you could have jacked, you picked this one, you dumb ass. You picked a vehicle with a retired cop and a police dog in it. Did your momma have any kids that lived?”
Daisy held her grip on the man’s wrist until the black and white cruiser pulled up ahead of the van. Bud recognized the cop when he got out of his car and walked back toward the van. It was Adam Thurgood, Daisy’s former partner. Thurgood walked over to the driver’s window, peered in and broke out in a wide grin when he recognized Daisy.
“Daisy, let go,” Thurgood said. The dog released her grip on the man’s bloody wrist. Thurgood hurried around to the other side of the van and pulled the door open. He grabbed the carjacker by his collar and yanked him out onto the curb. Once he had the cuffs on him, Thurgood turned his attention back to the van. He reached in and patted Daisy on her head. “How are you doing, Daisy?” he said and then turned to Bud.
“I take it you two know each other,” Bud said.
“Do we know each other?” Thurgood said. “Daisy was my partner until they retired her last month. What are you doing with her?”
“Actually,” Bud said, “She’s Elliott’s dog.”
“Elliott Cooper?” Thurgood said.
“That’s right,” Bud said. “He got Daisy from you, didn’t he?”
Thurgood nodded. “That he did,” he told Bud. “How’s she working out with Elliott?”
“He was going to take him home and give him to his son, Matt,” Bud said, “But for some reason, his son was afraid of the dog and she’s been with us at the office ever since.”
“Even better,” Thurgood said. “At least she gets out every now and then on the job, doesn’t she?”
“Elliott’s had her with him on a couple of occasions,” Bud explained.
“What about you?” Thurgood said. “Don’t you take her with you, too?”
“I haven’t until today,” Bud said, “But you can bet I’ll take her with me a lot more from now on.”
“Good girl, Daisy,” Thurgood said, stroking the dog’s head again.
“Hey,” the carjacker yelled. “Are you two wash women just about done gossiping? I have to get to a hospital. That damned dog nearly took my hand off.”
“Shut up,” Thurgood told the man. “If Daisy wanted to take your hand off, they’d be fitting you with a hook right now. That was Daisy showing a little restraint, so be thankful she held back.”
“I’ll talk to you later, Adam,” Bud said to the cop. I have to get Daisy to her vet appointment.”
“Nothing serious, is it?” Thurgood said.
“Nope,” Bud assured him. “Just a checkup and to clip her nails.”
“Well,” Thurgood said, “You be sure and say hi to Elliott for me and thank him for giving Daisy a second chance at life.”
“I will,” Bud said. “When I’m finished at the vets I’ll stop down at the precinct and give you a statement. Gotta run.” Bud drove away and was able to make the vet appointment with two minutes to spare. By the time he finished with the appointment and made it back to the office, I was behind my desk entering information into my computer.
“How’d it go at the vet?” I said, looking up from his computer screen.
“Fine,” Bud said, trying to minimalize that part and get on to the good story that he had to tell.
When Bud finished telling the story, I looked down at my dog with pride. “Good girl,” I said, holding the dog’s chin up so I could look into her eyes.
“I almost forgot,” Bud said, digging something out of his jacket pocket and handing it to Daisy. It was a large rawhide bone. Daisy gently took it from Bud’s hand and carried it back to her bed where she proceeded to curl up with it. She immediately chewed the knotted end to a frayed mess.
“What happened to your indifferent attitude toward Daisy?” I said.
“You know, Elliott,” Bud said. “I really didn’t get it before. I didn’t know what you saw in dogs. Well, let me tell you something. I get it now, believe me. Daisy can ride with me anytime.”
“So she’s one of us now?” I said.
“Full partner,” Bud said, reaching down to per Daisy’s head.
That night on my way home from work I stopped at the pet shop again and picked out another pet for Matt. When I got home with the small cage I held it out in front of him and asked if he knew what it was.
“Looks like a rat,” Matt said. “But where’s his tail?”
“Close,” I said. “It’s a Guinea Pig and they have short, stubby tails. “Would you like to have him for a pet?”
