During supper, Mary and Bill had their normal conversation about their day and what they planned to do tomorrow. The only difference was that they included Sam into the conversation.
Mary asked, “Sam how was your day at school? You have been back at school for a week and you haven't told us any details. “Yes” and “no” don’t make for much of a conversation.”
Sam looked up from her plate and said, “I don’t hate school as much and my homeroom teacher is okay. My American History teacher hates me, but my Science teacher likes me.”
Grumpy asked, “Why do you think that your History teacher hates you?”
“Because she is an idiot liberal and wants to take away all of our guns.”
“Did you tell her that she is an idiot?”
“No, but I dared to disagree with her about guns in our society. No one speaks up in class and they are afraid of her. Bill, can you teach me more about guns? I want to learn more about gun safety and how to shoot them.”
“Why do you suddenly want to know more about guns?”
“Mary and I had a discussion about them and you always have that big gun under your vest. I want to feel safe. There are too many people like Jack out there.”
“If you do well in school and don’t get in any trouble, I will begin your education about gun safety.”
After supper, Sam went to her room, completed her homework and showed it to Mary. She was allowed to watch some TV before bedtime at 9:00 p.m. She argued for the first several days about the early bedtime, but gave up after getting nowhere with the argument.
After she went up to bed, Grumpy asked Mary, “Will we ever get to where she does what’s best for her without so much arguing and smarting off about everything that she doesn’t like?”
“Both of our kids were just like her. The only difference is that we are allowing her to give her side of the issue instead of telling her to shut up and do what we say. You are doing a great job of explaining why we want her to do something instead of browbeating her into submission.”
“Was I that bad with Ann? I loved her so much and she was my favorite.”
“Bill, both of us were raised in strict households where kids were told to shut up and do as they were told. Kids these days are more educated and need to know why they have to do what we say. “Do as I say” doesn’t mean a thing to them.”
“So they can do anything they want and don’t have to do what I tell them to do?”
“No, they still have to behave, but explaining why they need to do something helps them understand how things work and their responsibilities in life.”
“I get that and will keep allowing her to ask questions and challenge, but I won’t put up with the smart mouth. We need to discuss punishment. I want to do this better than I did with Ann.”
They went to bed and both had trouble sleeping.
Sammy was growling and barking in Sam’s room, which woke Grumpy and Mary up. Grumpy looked at the clock while he put his pants on and grabbed his gun; it was one thirty in the morning. He ran over to Sam’s room as fast as he could and found the door locked. He heard Sammy growling like a wolf. He backed up and rammed his shoulder into the door. The door broke free and Grumpy fell through the door just as a dark shadow went out the window. He went to the bed, found Sam bound and gagged.
He removed the gag and Sam yelled, “Save Sammy! He went out the window with the bastard.”
Grumpy asked, “Are you okay? What happened?"
She replied, “A guy tried to tie me up when Sammy started attacking him. He shoved a rag in my mouth and used duct tape to tie me up. Go save Sammy, please!”
Grumpy looked out the window and saw a figure getting up from the ground and running away from the house. He took aim about 10 feet to the left of the guy and fired a shot just as the person entered the tree line. The person kept on running and disappeared. He knew shooting the guy in the back would look bad.
Grumpy ran down the stairs, turned the outdoor lights on and ran out the front door. At first he didn’t find anything and was about to go back in when he heard a whimper from the bushes under Sam’s window.
Grumpy went to the bushes and found Sammy on the ground behind the bushes. He picked Sammy up and gently took him in the house. It was apparent that Sammy was injured and needed medical help. He told Sam and Mary to get dressed and go with him to take Sammy to the vet.
Mary called the vet and woke him up. He said that he would meet them at the Animal Hospital in fifteen minutes. Mary then called the sheriff and told him of the attempted kidnapping. Mary gave the details and told the sheriff that they had no idea who broke into their house.
Sam said, “It was Mom’s boyfriend, Jack Collins.”
Mary passed that on to the sheriff.
Grumpy asked, “Did you see his face?”
Sam replied, “No, but he said “Hold still little darling,” while he held his hand over my mouth. Jack said that little darling stuff several times before.”
Grumpy replied, “Make sure that you tell the sheriff. That’s probably not enough to convict the thug, but may be enough to get a search warrant.”
Sammy was still whimpering while being held in Sam’s arms. He was obviously in a lot of pain, which broke Grumpy’s heart. Sammy had almost given his life to save Sam. They drove on to the Animal Hospital and rushed Sammy in to see the vet.
The vet took Sammy back to the examining room and disappeared for about an hour. Sam was sitting between Mary and Grumpy and was crying.
She said, “He must be hurt real bad with all of that blood on his face.”
“Sam, thanks!”
Grumpy ran back through the door to the examining room. He told the vet, “Don’t wash Sammy’s face. The blood is from the kidnapper!”
The vet had not cleaned Sammy up yet and was in the middle of x-raying him.
The vet replied, “I will swab his muzzle and save samples for the police.”
Grumpy thanked him and went back to the waiting room.
Mary asked Sam, “How did you get Sammy? Was he a present?” She was trying to take Sam’s mind off his injuries.
Sam answered, “I was walking home from school one day, he ran up to me and we started playing. I took him home and hid him in the basement. I gave him part of my supper and we have been friends ever since. He is my only friend and I love him. I hope that he is okay.”
Grumpy heard Sam’s reply and said to her, “Do you mind if I pray to God to make Sammy better? I know that you don’t believe in God, but maybe Sammy does.”
She replied, “No, go ahead, I guess it couldn’t hurt.”
Mary and Grumpy put their hands together and closed their eyes. “Dear Lord, please help make this faithful companion and protector of this girl recover quickly and be of good health. Amen.”
Sam asked, “Does God even care about dogs?”
Grumpy replied, “God loves all of his creations. Dogs have a special place in God's heart. Spell dog backwards.”
She thought for a moment, punched Grumpy on the arm and said, “You just made that up!”
The vet finally brought Sammy into the waiting room and handed him to Sam.
He told them, “Sammy will be okay, just bring him back in to see me in a couple of days. Give him one of these pills twice a day for the pain and don’t let him run or play for a few days while the ribs heal.”
The vet pulled Grumpy off to the side and said, “Sammy will be okay. He has some broken ribs and bruises, but otherwise he will be okay. I also gathered more than enough blood samples to get a good DNA test for the police. He had a lot of blood on him. He must have torn the guy up so he is a marked man and may need a doctor.”
Grumpy thanked the vet and tried to pay him, but he waved him off saying, “I can’t charge to treat another hero. This town now has two heroes.”
They walked out the door to the vet’s office just as the sheriff and his deputy walked up.
The sheriff asked, “Is everyone alright? What
happened?”
Grumpy said, “Let’s go to our house and get a cup of coffee and tell our stories. We don’t have an id on the guy, but you need to alert hospitals and doctors about a guy with dog bites. See the vet for DNA samples. We’ll fill you in at the house.”
They arrived at the house around five o’clock in the morning and Mary put on a pot of coffee. The sheriff arrived and joined them at the kitchen table. He started questioning Sam immediately.
He asked, “Did you see the guy who tried to take you?"
Sam replied, “No, but it was Mom’s boyfriend. The guy used the same name for me as Jack has in the past when he was trying to molest me.”
Grumpy asked, “Did he molest you?”
Sam started crying, grabbed Sammy and ran up the stairs to her room.
Mary followed her to her room and held her while she cried herself to sleep.
The Sheriff took the rest of their statements and said he would get the DNA off to the lab and get the DA involved. He said that he would arrest Jack as soon as they could find him.
The Sheriff said, “Please take Sam and get her checked out by a doctor and you might want the school counselor to recommend a psychologist to check out her mental state. Too bad that shot didn’t solve this problem. Now we have to find this piece of crap and try to put him behind bars.”
Mary said, “There is no telling what this poor child has gone through. I will not lose another child. Bill, we have to get her the best care available.”
***
Jack shot up with heroin to kill the pain from those damned dog bites. He poured hydrogen peroxide, then alcohol on the wounds and covered them with torn strips from the bed sheets. The little rat had bitten his leg, arm and neck. That damned dog had scared him and hurt him so much that he was running even before he heard the door forced open.
“That damn dog has to die and I’ll kill that old couple too just for fun. That guy shot at me and he will pay for it,” Jack said in anger.
Jack had been very cautious executing his passion over the years. The young girls had been taken far from his hometown, but never left. There were no ties to him. The cabin was miles from a main road and was at the back part of the hundred acres, so there was no reason for strangers to get close to his sanctuary.
He drove back to the cabin and chained the new girl to his bed for the night.
✼ ✼ ✼
✼
Chapter 13
Mary slept with Sam until 11:00 a.m. then made breakfast for lunch. Mary called Grumpy in from the garage and gave him an update on Sam.
“She had nightmares and tossed and turned all night. She just fell into a sound sleep a couple of hours ago.”
“Doesn’t that mean that you were up all night? How are you doing?”
“I’m a little sleepy, but remember, I’m a young lady. It’s you old farts that need your beauty sleep.”
Grumpy grabbed her, kissed her and held her tight for a few minutes.
He then pinched her and said, “I’ll teach you about old.”
Sam slept until late afternoon and joined Mary in the kitchen. Sammy never left her side and she carried him downstairs to the kitchen.
“Mary, can I have a cup of coffee? I need something to wake me up.”
“Yes, dear, you may have a cup of coffee. How are you doing this morning?
“I’ve never been so afraid in my life. I thought that Jack was going to kill me the whole time he was tying me up and taping my mouth. I have always been afraid of him. That’s why I ran away from home and ended up wrecking that truck. He was always trying to be too friendly with me when Mom was not around. He would call me his little darling and try to bribe me with money to let him touch me. I would get away from him and hide with Sammy in the woods. I could tell he was getting mad at me for hiding from him and knew that I had to get away.”
“Sam, this is very important. Did he do more than touch you?”
She started crying and started to get up when Mary hugged her and held her close.
Mary said, “Child, you will never have to worry about that man bothering you again. Bill and I will make sure that he goes to jail and you never see him again.”
“Sammy and Bill saved my life last night, but Bill can’t be around all of the time.”
“Bill cares for you and would gladly do what it takes to keep you safe. That dog of yours loves you and is very protective of you. He almost gave his life for you last night.”
“Mary, can we fix him a steak tonight?”
“That’s a good idea. We will fix steaks for both of our heroes.”
“I guess that I need to think of something nice to do for Bill.”
Mary thought for a minute and said, “Start helping him work on that old truck of his. He would like that and who knows you might need to know how to work on one yourself one day.”
“Are you sure that he wants me in his garage? He doesn’t seem to want anyone around when he is working in the garage."
“He will love to have you with him if you really want to learn about the old trucks and how to work on cars and trucks. Johnny always worked with him, but Ann was a girly girl and didn’t want to get dirty. Ann was his favorite, but Johnny never knew that. Now go out there and thank him for helping Sammy save you. It will make him feel good.”
Sam walked out to the garage with Sammy in her arms. The overhead door was open and she just walked in and saw Grumpy bent over the fender of the old wrecked truck removing belts and wires. He was getting ready to pull the engine. She didn’t make a sound as she looked around the garage. There were the three old Ford trucks and the mystery car under the car cover back in the corner. The garage had shelves along both sides covering the walls and had a corner filled with a riding mower, garden tiller, push mower and assorted garden equipment. She inspected every corner of the garage and took in the smells of grease, antifreeze and hand cleaner. She liked what she saw and wanted to learn all that she could.
She looked down at Sammy and said, “I can put up with the old man to learn all about this mechanic stuff.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t hear you. What did you say?”
She was startled and replied, “Bill I want to learn how to work on cars and trucks. Would you show me how?”
“Sam, I’ll make you a deal. If you will do a couple of things for Mary and me, I’ll not only teach you how to work on cars, I’ll help you build your own car.”
“But I don’t have any money for the car or parts.”
“Don’t worry about that because we will give you chores to earn the money. We just want you to go to get good grades in school, do your chores and cut out the smart mouth stuff. You are always welcome to question things, but you have to obey us just as if we were your real parents. Deal?”
“Deal, but it might take a few weeks to get my mouth under control. I don’t mean to be a smart ass, it just happens.”
“I can live with that. Now go get me a 7/16 open- end wrench.”
“What is that?”
“Good question. Just watch this afternoon and tonight after supper I will start teaching you about mechanics' tools.”
“You promised her a car? Grumpy what were you thinking? That doesn’t sound like you at all. I am proud of you. This could help jump start her improving her behavior."
“That’s what I thought; a bribe couldn’t hurt. I think that she is just a frightened little girl who acts tough to bluff her way through life. She needs a firm, but fair hand to guide her and she will do well."
“Get cleaned up for supper and we need to talk later tonight about that bastard Jack and what he has done to her. She opened up a little and what she said scares me.”
***
Sam set the table, helped Mary bring the food to the table and sat down.
Before Grumpy could say grace she asked, “Why do y’all say grace before every meal? If God exists, he would already know that you are thankful or just going through the motions, so why does he have to hear the words?
”
Grumpy turned red in the face, got mad and then counted to ten in his head.
“Sam that is a tough one to answer. I must say that the question took me off guard and made me think. The best answer is that yes, God already knows what we think and feel, but we as Christians must demonstrate our faith and belief in God and set a good example for all others.”
“So, if I weren’t here there would be no grace?”
“You are a very wise young lady.”
“We should have never stopped saying grace or praying to God every day, but my faith was shaken by the deaths of our two children. I was wrong when I thought God abandoned us. People want to think that God protects them from all harm. It doesn’t work that way. God doesn’t step in every time someone gets in trouble and prevents all bad things from happening.”
“If God can’t stop all bad things, why believe in God? Why didn’t God stop Jack from breaking in and trying to hurt us?”
Grumpy thought for a minute and said, “Another great question. I am the worst person to answer that question since I almost lost faith in God during our tremendous losses. Mary, can you help?”
“Faith is something you have or don’t have. Some people begin having faith as children and never lose it. Some people don’t have faith in God until they are on their deathbed. The important thing is to put your trust in God and be kind to all people. Christians believe that our true home is with God in Heaven after we die and shouldn’t worry so much about our lives on Earth. God does watch over you and helps you in many ways, but don’t count on him to save you every time something bad happens.”
Sam thought for a few minutes and said, “Do you think your pastor could give me an answer that I understand? I am scared of Jack and that he might hurt you two trying to get to me.”
“We care for you and it’s our job to protect you. Don’t you worry about Jack; Bill and Sammy will protect you.”
“I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I have an old man and a tiny dog to protect me from a crazy man. God sure works in mysterious ways.”
Grumpy, Sam and Sammy: A Murder Mystery and Thriller Page 7
