Mango Lucky

by Bill Myers

  I didn't.

  Thirty minutes later, Walt pulled in behind Anna's Land Cruiser.

  We were standing outside Anna's trailer, and she spoke first, "Glad you were able to make it. Hope you like salmon."

  He nodded, "Salmon sounds great." Then he walked up to Anna's trailer, and ran his hand over the exterior.

  "Is this fiberglass?"

  Anna said, "Yes it is. Isn't it cute?"

  "That it is," said Walt. "It's a nice looking rig. But is there room for both of you inside?"

  Anna laughed, "Walker has his own motorhome over there. It's just me in the trailer."

  Walt seemed embarrassed, "My mistake. I just assumed you two were together."

  "No problem," said Anna. "Walker tells me he's already got a girlfriend, so I didn't stand a chance."

  They both looked at me, expecting a reply.

  I had nothing to say, so I just shrugged.

  Anna sat down at the picnic table, and we joined her. Looking at Walt, she said, "Tell us about Jake."

  He said, "Okay, but stop me if I get long winded. I tend to do that sometimes.

  "My wife had just died from cancer, and I was living alone. Three days after her funeral, I walked out to my mailbox, and on the way back, I heard a puppy crying.

  "My place is overgrown, a few acres, just down the road from here. People sometimes dump their pets there.

  "Anyway, I go to look, and I see this little black puppy huddled under palmetto bushes. He looked pretty sad. Hungry and dehydrated.

  "I coaxed him out, brought him up to the house, and nursed him back to health.

  "He's been with me ever since."

  Anna smiled, "Sounds like you saved his life."

  "Yeah, well, maybe I did. But he saved my life too. I was wasting away, just waiting to die. But after finding Jake, I had someone to take care of.

  "He'd make me take him for walks two or three times a day, and the more we walked, the better I felt.

  "We soon expanded our walks onto the beach, and that's when I discovered Jake's hidden talent.

  "We were walking south of the treasure museum, and Jake started digging a hole in the sand.

  "I figured he was chasing a hermit crab or something, so I didn't take any notice.

  "But as I walked away, Jake stayed on top of his hole. Even when I called him, he wouldn't come. He just sat by that hole, with his paws hanging over the edge.

  "I eventually walked back to get him, and that's when I discovered what was in the hole.

  "Turned out to be a small gold cross. Old. Probably from the treasure fleet that sunk out there.

  "I thought it was a fluke. But two months later, he did it again. That time it was a gold coin.

  "Then a few months later, he found something else. And by then, I realized his special talent was finding old things buried in the sand.

  "Over the years we've found lots of things. Some valuable, some not.

  "I've given most of the items to the treasure museum."

  Walt shook his head, "I sure miss that dog. I know he's out there somewhere."

  I nodded, "We'll find him tomorrow. I'm sure of it."

  A small bell rang from within Anna's trailer. She rose and said, "Dinner's ready. You two sit out here and I'll get it. Walker, open some wine and pour us a glass."

  58

  Dinner was excellent. Anna had prepared another great meal, and Walt and I both complimented her on her ability.

  After our meal, Walt thanked us for our hospitality, and said he needed to get back home so he could get a good night's sleep before resuming the search for Jake.

  We agreed to stay in touch and alert him should we find Jake. He went to his car and brought back a stack of fliers with Jake's photo. Then he drove away.

  After he left, Anna and I finished off the bottle of wine and talked about the stories Walt had told about Jake's ability to find treasure.

  "So," I asked, "do you think it's possible that someone else knows about Jake's ability? Maybe they took him?"

  Anna shook her head, "I hope not. If they've taken him off this island, we may never find him."

  We were silent for a few moments. Then Anna changed the subject, "I'm sleeping over here tonight. I want to test out the bed in this camper."

  I nodded, "You really got a great deal on this thing. I guess you were at the right place at the right time."

  Anna smiled, then said, "Walker, has anyone ever told you that you might be a good luck charm?"

  I laughed.

  Anna continued, "I'm not kidding. Ever since I met you, my luck has changed. Good things have been happening. I found gold. Two days in a row.

  "And then I got paid twenty five thousand dollars for the gold. And then I found this amazing deal on this camper.

  "I'm thinking you're my lucky charm."

  I'd heard it before. First from Sarah. Then from the fisherman on the pier. And now from Anna.

  Hopefully my luck would rub off on Walt. And we'd find Jake the wonder dog tomorrow.

  In the background I could hear Bob. He was starting to meow loudly. He either wanted dinner or just wanted to be reassured that someone still loved him.

  Anna looked at me, "Sounds like Bob needs some attention. And it's getting late. Time for you to go take care of him."

  She continued, "I've already gotten my things out of your motorhome, so I'm pretty much set for the evening. I'll bang on your door in the morning when I'm ready to search for Jake."

  As I stood up to go, Anna pulled me toward her and gave me a long kiss. Then she tapped me on the chest and said, "Go home. Sleep well."

  And I did.

  59

  Back in my motorhome, Bob met me at the door. He was in a talkative mood. Telling me something important.

  I followed him as he led me back to the bathroom. His food bowl was almost empty. He didn't like that one bit.

  I rubbed his head and poured some of his favorite dry food. He walked over, sniffed it, and apparently satisfied, trotted away.

  My laptop was still out from earlier in the day. I connected to the internet and checked my email. No messages from Sarah.

  I checked the Vero Beach Craigslist to see if anyone had posted a message about finding a lost dog. There were two recent posts, but neither dog matched Jake's description.

  I remembered what Anna had told me earlier. About her being attacked. I did a Google search on her name, and quickly found hundreds of links to the story.

  It was just as Anna had said. The assailant had been killed, and Anna was hailed as a hero.

  The video of her attack was available as well. I chose not to view it. Anna had already told me the story, and I wasn't interested in invading her privacy.

  I now fully understood why Anna carried the gun she had shown me the first night she slept on my couch.

  I hoped she would never need to use the gun again. Once in a lifetime is more than enough.

  I powered down the computer and returned it to it's hiding spot in my bedroom. While in there I raised the mattress platform and checked to make sure my treasure finds were still there.

  They were. I added the rapier to the collection, then lowered the bed platform, and locked it.

  That night I had a strange dream.

  In the dream, I was working for a large company and had been called in to do a presentation before the board of directors.

  During my presentation, I showed evidence that one of the directors had embezzled millions of dollars from the company.

  The directors listened intently and then after my presentation, one of them spoke up.

  He said, "I think we can all see what the problem is. It's you. You're fired."

  In my dream, I was upset that I had lost my job. I'd soon be homeless, with no way to support myself.

  When I woke from the dream I was still worried about finding a job. About finding a place to live.

  Then I remembered I didn't have a job to lose. Hadn't had one for several months. And
because I had a bit of money in the bank, I didn't need to look for a job any time soon.

  But I was technically homeless. I didn't have a permanent address. My home had been my motorhome parked in the boatyard next to Sarah's office. And there was a good chance that I'd soon be asked to leave.

  As I lay in bed thinking about this dream, I decided I needed to do something about getting a permanent base.

  I couldn't realistically expect to live in Sarah's backyard forever.

  The simple solution would be to buy a small home. Something with enough room to park the motorhome. Maybe even room enough for two or three motorhomes in case friends visited.

  That's what I'd do. As soon as I got back to Englewood, I'd start looking for a place of my own.

  This decision gave me peace and allowed me to soon drift back to sleep. A sleep with no more unpleasant dreams.

  60

  It was Thursday, my sixth day camping at the Sebastian Inlet State Park on the Treasure Coast of Florida.

  And today, rather than search for treasure, I'd be searching for Jake, the wonder dog.

  He had been missing for two long days, and his guardian, Walt, was fearing the worst. Either Jake had been stolen or he had been mortally wounded by a careless driver.

  I was optimistic. My feeling was that Jake had gotten himself trapped somewhere and couldn't get out, and he was waiting for someone to rescue him.

  I was hoping that either Walt, Anna or I would find Jake today.

  Knowing that the early morning low tide would make it easier for me to cover the part of the beach I couldn't get to yesterday, I got up at daybreak, ate breakfast and prepared for the hunt.

  Anna had spent the night in her new camping trailer, and I had yet to hear from her this morning.

  Since I was anxious to start our search for Jake, I locked up my motorhome and walked next door to Anna's campsite.

  I could see from the light in her windows that she was up, so I knocked on her door.

  From inside I heard, "Give me a minute, I'll be right there."

  A moment later, Anna opened the door just slightly. She was wearing boxer shorts, white with red stripes, and a sleeveless t-shirt. No bra.

  She had a toothbrush in one hand. "You're a little early. But since you're here, come on in."

  "No thanks," I said, "I think I'll just wait out here."

  "Okay, have it your way. I'll be out in a minute."

  True to her word, a few minutes later she was ready. This time, fully dressed. a map in one hand, and a yellow highlighter in the other.

  She put the map on the picnic table and said, "The part I've highlighted in yellow is what we covered yesterday.

  "I'm thinking today you should continue down the beach and try to check out those houses that have fenced yards."

  I nodded.

  "While you are doing that, I'll go into town and check the Humane Society and the two other animal shelters.

  "Someone may have picked up Jake and dropped him off. I want to be sure we don't miss him.

  "After I check those places, I'll come back on the island and meet up with you."

  I nodded, "Sounds like a plan. Be sure to keep your cellphone nearby in case I find something."

  "Will do. I'll call Walt and let him know what we're doing."

  Anna looked at her watch.

  "It's almost seven now, so we need to get going."

  We climbed into Anna's Land Cruiser and headed out. Going south on A1A, we kept a sharp lookout for any sign of Jake.

  We didn't find him and were relieved we didn't see any animal carcasses on the side of the road.

  About a mile beyond the McLarty Treasure Museum, Anna slowed, then pulled over to the shoulder and stopped.

  "Here's where I picked you up last night. Good luck."

  I opened the door, grabbed a bottle of water, stuffed one of the fliers with Jake's photo into my pocket and got out.

  61

  This time of year, most of the houses on the beach are occupied by either snowbirds or seasonal renters.

  Many of these people would be wary of strangers who hopped over their privacy fences or climbed their locked security gates. That meant I needed to go to each home, ring the bell at the gate, and hope someone would respond.

  I'd then explain what I was doing, and ask if they had seen or heard of a dog that looked like Jake.

  On homes where no one answered, I'd have to figure out a way to search the property without getting shot.

  At the first home, the owners answered after I pressed the entry gate buzzer. I explained what I was doing, and they said they hadn't seen or heard a stray dog. But they would call me if one came around.

  I got the same story at the next three homes. No one had seen a stray dog.

  At the fifth house, there was no answer when I rang the bell at the gate. The property was surrounded by an eight foot concrete wall, and I wasn't able to see inside.

  The driveway leading to the gate didn't show any signs of recent traffic, so my guess was no one was home.

  Not wanting to leave the place unchecked, I walked the full length of the street side wall until it ended at a heavily overgrown vacant lot.

  I could see that the vacant lot rose up onto a dune, and from up there I would be able to look down into the yard of the walled property.

  I made my way through the vegetation on the vacant lot, and as I expected, from the high point I could look down onto the property beside it.

  There were no signs of life. No car, nor any lights on inside the large house. It looked vacant.

  I couldn't see all the way around the house though. The far side of the yard was blocked by the house itself.

  Surveying the property, I could see that like most beach homes in this area, it had a deck overlooking the ocean, with steps leading down to the beach.

  If I got down on the beach, and then climbed the steps, I could hop the fence around the deck and gain access to the yard.

  That was my plan.

  As I was approaching the steps from the beach, my phone chimed. It was Anna.

  "Walker. I've checked all three shelters, and no Jake. I left fliers at each one, and asked them to call if anyone brings him in.

  "I've got one more place to check, then I'm coming back to the island. How's it going with you? Find anything?"

  "Nothing so far. I've checked four places and I'm about to check the next one now. No one has seen a stray dog."

  Anna sighed. "We'll find him. Call me if anything comes up." She ended the call.

  I put the phone back in my pocket and headed toward the steps leading up to the vacant home.

  From the beach, the house still looked empty. No lights. No open windows.

  I climbed the steps up to the deck, and stopped. So far, so good.

  From the top of the steps, I turned toward the beach to see if anyone might be watching me.

  The view out over the Atlantic ocean was spectacular. The water was deep blue, with an occasional white top. Sea birds roamed the beach, pecking at the crustaceans that rolled in with each wave.

  With a view like this, it was easy to see why so many people fell in love with this side of Florida.

  Fortunately, there was no one on the beach this time of the day. That was good. No witnesses to see what I was going to do next.

  I hopped over the wooden fence that surrounded the deck, and quickly made my way into the yard of the home.

  Since I'd already checked the south side from the adjacent lot, my plan was to walk around the north side. If I didn't find Jake there, I'd leave the way I came in.

  A stone walkway led to the base of the home. From there, the walkway went both north and south.

  Following the walkway north, I came to the edge of the home, and at that point I noticed a well tended vegetable garden.

  This was my first indication that someone was either living here, or visiting regularly to tend the garden.

  As I got closer to the garden, I could see a la
rge hole dug out of the center. Muddy paw prints led away toward one of the doors under the house.