by Bill Myers
Was it possible that these paw prints were left by Jake?
Looking around and not seeing any sign of him, I called out his name.
"Jake!"
Almost immediately, I heard a muffled bark.
I called his name again, and again heard a muffled bark.
The bark sounded like it was coming from within the home.
Walking over to a ground floor window, I peered in. A curtain blocked my view.
While squinting through the glass, I heard the very distinctive sound of the hammer being cocked on a revolver.
A woman's voice behind me said, "Hands in the air!"
62
"Now, turn around slowly. No funny stuff."
As I turned around, hands above my head, I saw a woman holding a gun.
About five foot four, maybe ninety pounds, silver hair. Probably in her late sixties.
In her right hand she held a black six shot revolver. Pointed directly at me.
She said, "So tell me why I shouldn't shoot you."
"Ma'am," I replied, "I'm looking for a lost dog. I think he might be in your basement."
I reached for my shirt pocket.
"Sonny, unless you want a new hole in that shirt, put your hands back up over your head."
"Yes, ma'am."
"So, tell me more about this dog you're looking for."
With my hands still over my head, I answered, "It's a big black Labrador. And he's bad about digging holes in the dirt. Maybe he dug the one in your garden over there?"
The lady with the gun looked at the garden then back at me.
"Let's say I might know something about that dog. And maybe he did dig up my garden. Who's going to replant my tomatoes?"
"Ma'am, I'll be happy to fill in that hole and replant your tomatoes. Even if you don't have the dog, I'll be glad to do that."
She nodded, then said. "I'll tell you what. You fill in the hole and plant the tomatoes first. Then we'll talk about the dog. How does that sound?"
"That's fine with me. Just one condition. You quit pointing that gun at me."
"No, can't do that. As soon as I put this gun down, you could jump me. Or run off and not fill in the hole that dog dug."
I smiled, "How about this? I call a friend and she'll pick up some tomato plants from town.
"Then she and I will replant your garden, and then you can release Jake."
The woman shook the gun, "Who's Jake?"
"Jake is the dog. I've got his photo in my shirt pocket."
The woman shifted her gaze toward my pocket, then said, "Okay, here's what I want you to do.
"With your right hand, slowly reach into your shirt pocket and get the photo. Then bring it over here and place it on the picnic table. Then stand back. And no sudden moves."
I did as instructed.
The woman picked up the flier and looked at it carefully.
"Looks like you're telling the truth about the dog. That's one thing in your favor.
"Who's the friend you're going to call about the plants? What's her name?"
"Anna. Anna Parker."
"She your wife? Girlfriend?"
I shook my head, "Neither. Anna's just a good friend."
The woman rubbed her chin with her free hand and said, "Anna Parker? Why does that name sound so familiar?"
Oops. Anna had told me that a lot of people around Vero Beach would recognize her name. And that might include the woman holding a gun on me.
The woman brightened, "I remember now. Anna Parker is the girl who shot that guy last year. Is your Anna related to her?"
"Yes ma'am. My Anna is the one who did that."
She put the gun down, "Why didn't you say so in the first place? That girl is my hero. I want to meet her. Call her. Tell her to come over, right now.
"And be sure to tell her to bring six tomato plants. Three romas and three cherries."
I reached into my pocket and slowly retrieved my phone and called Anna.
"Anna, I've found Jake. He's safe. But he dug up a garden, and we need to replace some tomato plants. Are you still on the mainland?"
"Yes," she replied. "Just getting to the bridge now."
"Good, before you come back, stop and pick up six tomato plants. Three romas, and three cherries.
"Get the biggest, nicest ones you can find. Then come back on the island. I'm at the fifth house down from the treasure museum. Ring the bell at the gate when you get here."
"Walker, is everything okay?"
"Yep, everything is fine. Just find some tomato plants and get over here as quick as you can."
We ended the call.
The lady pointed at my phone, "Was that really Anna Parker? Is she really coming over here?"
"Yes ma'am, that was Anna, and yes, she's coming over here."
The lady smiled brightly, "I've got to go inside and get ready. I can't let her see me like this. She's famous."
Then she said, "I'm going to trust that you won't run off when I go in. You'll stay here, right?"
"Yes ma'am. I'll stay right here."
"You do that." She turned and went inside.
After a few moments I picked up my phone and called Walt.
No answer, so I left a message, "Walt, we found Jake. He's safe. I'll call back later with details."
Then I called Anna again.
"Anna, couldn't talk earlier. But here's the deal. Jake's safe. The woman who has him wants us to replant the tomatoes Jake dug up in her garden. That's why we need the plants. How long before you get here?"
"I'm paying for the plants right now. I should be there in about fifteen minutes."
"Good. I'll be waiting for you."
63
I was waiting outside the house. Alone. And thinking about the hole Jake had dug.
The last time he had dug a hole, we found treasure in it. Gold and silver. And Walt said this was Jake's secret talent. Finding treasure.
Was that why Jake dug up the garden? Had he found treasure again?
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the sliding glass door behind me.
The woman no longer held a gun. She had changed clothes, combed her hair. Applied some makeup. She looked nice.
Looking at me, she said. "So, you didn't leave."
"No ma'am, I'm still here.'
She held out her hand, "Please don't call me ma'am. My name is Frances Ford. Just call me Frances."
I shook her hand gently, "I'm Walker. Glad to meet you, Frances. And I'm real sorry about what Jake did. We'll clean it up."
"So is Jake your dog?"
"No ma'am, I mean Frances.
"Jake belongs to Walt, a man we met on the beach a few days ago. He's had Jake since he was a pup, and he's worried sick that he might lose him."
Frances nodded and said, "I once had a dog that looked a whole lot like Jake. He was my best friend and companion for years. Eventually old age got to him."
I nodded.
She continued, "Jake looks so much like the one I had. I wonder if they might be related?"
"Might be," I replied. "Walt said that someone abandoned Jake as a pup on his property about six years ago. He lives a few miles up the road from here, so who knows, the two dogs might be related."
Frances nodded, then said, "Tell me what you know about this Walt. Is he single?"
I nodded, "Yes, ma'am, Walt is single. He told us his wife passed several years back, and it's just been him and Jake ever since.
"He's about your age, and he seems like a decent sort of guy. I imagine he'll be thrilled and thankful that you rescued his Jake."
Frances smiled, "I'd like to meet this Walt."
I nodded, "I think I can arrange that."
I pulled out my phone and called him. This time he answered. I told him Jake was safe, and I gave him directions to Frances Ford's home. Asked him to come over as soon as he could.
Ten minutes later, the driveway bell announced Anna's arrival at the gate. Frances brightened and asked me, "How do I
look?"
"You look great."
Frances pressed the gate unlock button and Anna drove in. I walked around the house and met her as she was getting out of the Cruiser.
She pointed to the rear, "Tomato plants are in the back."
I walked around, opened the hatch, and grabbed the flat which contained six very healthy tomato plants.
"Follow me," I said to Anna, "there's someone I want you to meet."
When we came around the corner, Frances was waiting for us.
"Anna, this is Frances Ford."
"Frances, this is Anna Parker."
Anna looked at me and frowned, reminding me she wasn't comfortable letting people know her last name.
Frances said, "Anna, I'm so excited to meet you. You're my hero."
Anna blushed, "I'm pretty sure I'm not a hero."
Frances continued, "Oh, but you are. So many women look up to you. You did exactly what should of been done."
Then she said, "Come up here and let's talk. We can watch while Walker plants the tomatoes."
Anna stepped up onto the deck with Frances, then nodded toward me, "Walker, you need to go back to the car and get the digging tools.
"And bring the metal detector."
"Why's he need a metal detector?" asked Frances.
Anna smiled, "There might be water or power lines under the garden. He can use the detector to make sure he doesn't accidentally dig them up."
I knew this wasn't the real reason Anna wanted me to get the detector. She too wanted to see what led Jake to the hole he had dug.
64
Frances Ford and Anna stood on the wooden deck above me as I began the work in the garden.
The hole that Jake had dug was about three feet wide and two feet deep. Dirt from the hole was piled on just one side, indicating Jake had dug with his front paws, kicking the dirt up behind him.
Before I filled the hole back in, I was determined to use my detector to see if Jake had sensed something in the ground where he'd dug.
Swinging the detector in the bottom of the hole, it immediately produced a low volume beep, indicating a metal object below.
Using the sand scoop, I dug down six inches and dumped the dirt outside the hole. I checked the newly removed dirt with the detector. Nothing.
This meant the object was still in the hole. To confirm this, I put the detector back in, and again got a tone. This time much stronger.
The display screen on the detector indicated an object not much larger than a nickle, about four inches below the bottom of the hole.
Placing the detector aside, I got down on my knees and started removing dirt one handful at a time.
On the third try, I felt something solid.
I retrieved the object, then turned to Anna and Frances and said, "Look what I found. A ring."
I stood, walked over to the deck, and handed the ring to Anna, then went back to the hole to see if there was anything else in it.
This time, swinging the detector resulted in no tones. I repeated the swing several times, with the same results. Nothing there.
Leaving the hole, I swung the detector through the entire garden plot, being careful not to disturb the remaining plants.
No tones. The ring was the only target to be found.
From behind me, I heard crying.
I turned to see Frances Ford softly sobbing. Anna was comforting the older woman, an arm around her shoulders.
Anna looked at me and held a finger to her mouth, the universal sign to keep quiet. Honoring her request, I said nothing as I walked closer.
Frances Ford was holding the ring in her hand and smiling through her tears.
Anna explained, "It's her Grandmother's wedding ring. Frances had worn that ring for almost fifty years. Then one day she noticed it was gone. She searched for it for months without any luck. She thought it was gone forever.
"And today, you found it."
Frances beckoned me toward her and said, "I owe you an apology. I should have never held that gun on you. Instead I should be giving you a reward. You found my ring."
I smiled, "I didn't find your ring. Jake did. He's special that way.
"Speaking of Jake, can we let him out now? I think he's earned his freedom."
Frances pointed to the basement door. "It's unlocked, just open the door and he'll come out."
I did, and Jake bounded out. He ran directly to Frances and stopped in front of her and sat.
Then he ran to the hole in the garden, inspected it, and then returned to sit in front of Frances.
I smiled, "He looks healthy. And he seems to like you Frances."
She nodded, "I've been taking good care of him. Feeding him, giving him water. I even read him a story last night when he started crying."
The bell on the gate announced the arrival of Walt. Jake seemed to know who it was. He stood, wagging his tail, waiting in anticipation.
Frances pressed the button that opened the gate, and I walked around to meet Walt and tell him the story.
"Jake was rescued by this very nice lady. She and you have a lot in common, and you should take a few minutes to talk with her before you leave with Jake."
I led Walt around to the deck where Anna and Frances were seated. Jake jumped up and ran to him, tail swinging wildly.
Walt bent down and hugged Jake, and it was obvious they had missed each other immensely.
After Jake settled down, Walt went over and spoke with Frances. She invited him to sit for a moment, and then went inside to get iced tea for all of us.
After taking a sip of tea, I resumed my task of planting the new tomato plants while Anna, Frances, and Walt watched and gave me advice.
A half hour later, the plants were in the ground and watered to everyone's satisfaction. Frances and Walt were still talking about their lives and loves and they seemed to be hitting it off quite well.
Anna stood and walked over to me.
"Walker, you've done it again. Good things happen to people around you. You are like a lucky charm or something."
I shook my head, "No, it wasn't me this time. It was Jake."
Anna smiled, "That might be true, but it was you who found Jake. It was you who found the ring. And it was you who put Walt and Francis together.
"Their meeting like this might be the luckiest thing that ever happened to both of them."
Anna walked over to Frances and said that if she was satisfied with my planting job, we needed to get going.
Frances offered to pay us a reward for finding her ring. And Walt said we earned the reward he was offering for the return of Jake.
Without hesitation, Anna said, "We don't want a reward. Keep it. Or donate it to the local animal shelters. They need it more than we do."
Frances then whispered something in Anna's ear. They both laughed, then looked at me.
Anna shook her head, blushed and walked over to me. "Time to go."
We waved to Frances and Walt as we got into the Cruiser and drove away.
65
As we headed south on A1A, Anna turned and handed me a small card.
"What's this?"
"It's from Frances. It's her business card.
"While you were planting the tomatoes, she and I had a long talk. Apparently, she is very well off.
"Her family owns several luxury hotels in south Florida, and she is the major share holder in the company.
"She said if you ever needed a place to stay, or a a job, or anything else, call her."
I took the card and looked at it. Printed neatly in the center was 'Frances Ford.'
At the bottom right corner was her phone number, and underneath that, her email address.
"Nice of her to make the offer. I'll keep the card. Never know when it might come it handy.
"So what else did you and Frances Ford talk about? And what was that she whispered to you when you were leaving? When you both looked at me and giggled."
