3 Heads & a Tail

by Vickie Johnstone

  “Well, when I finish studying in a few months – I'm studying English Literature – I'm going to do another year, but in America, studying American Lit. I can't wait, but I'm going to miss some things,” she said, squeezing Ben's hand.

  “Does Mimi's owner know she has a boyfriend?” Josie asked, nodding at Glen.

  Ayla laughed. “No, no, she doesn't, but I'm thinking that maybe I should tell her.”

  Ben sighed. “Do you think she'll be happy about it?”

  “Is she a pedigree dog?” asked Kay. “Glen's just a mutt, isn't he?”

  The dog looked up and whined. Josie frowned. He couldn't possibly know what Kay had said, could he? Crazy notion!

  “Actually, he is pedigree. His dad is a Crufts Champion!” said Ben proudly.

  “Really? That's so cool,” said Josie. “Hey, Glen, you're a posh dude.”

  Glen wagged his tail and she gave him a fuss.

  “Ah, that reminds me,” said Ayla, turning to Ben. “I forgot to tell you, but Mrs Hill is trying to breed Mimi with another dog. Only one dog has visited the house so far and he was no good. She wants a pedigree dog, you see, but I guess it's only a matter of time before...”

  “Puppies!” said Kay.

  Mimi whined and hid behind Glen. He nuzzled her. Josie noticed and tilted her head, watching them. No one else appeared to have noticed their behaviour.

  “What can we do?” asked Ben, looking at Glen. If it was him, he'd be devastated if his girlfriend was in this situation! He wondered what dogs thought about this sort of thing.

  “They're only dogs,” sighed Kay. “What's the problem? She's in heat. It's natural.”

  “Why not tell Mrs Hill about Glen's background?” Josie suggested. “Maybe she'll be happy for him to... you know.”

  Glen woofed and wagged his tail. Josie cast him an odd look.

  “That's a good idea,” said Ben.

  “I'll talk to her, and see if she'll agree to meet you,” said Ayla. “I'm sorry, but I really have to go now. Mrs Hill loves her dog so much that she panics if I'm five minutes late.”

  They all said their farewells, including the dogs, and Mimi and Ayla left.

  Ben sighed and drank the rest of his tea. “Don't worry, boy, I'll sort it out,” he said, giving Glen a bear hug.

  Glen

  I hope Ben's right and he can sort it out. The only other plan I have is to convince Mimi to run away with me. It would be hard, but I'm sure we could make it on our own. Maybe Ben would let us hide out here? We could dye Mimi's fur black so she wouldn't be recognised, and we could just stay low until her owner got over it and bought a new dog. Then Mimi would be in the clear and we could go to the park again. Easy.

  I want her to have my puppies, not some stranger's, and I know she doesn't want any yet. She thinks she's too young for family life. Me, well, I kind of like the idea of little paws running around! “Voof!” If Ben sorts it out, we can take the easy way, with no doggie hiding or fur dying!

  But what's all this with David? There was a weird atmosphere. What did Kay say? “Something delicate.” She really wanted Josie to tell Ben something. What can it be? I'm sure David was warning them not to say, whatever it is. What is it? What's he planning? I wish Ben would see what a bad friend he is. If only I could tell him all the secrets, including the BIG one about the landlady.

  In a way, I should be thanking Mr Tight Pants. Thanks to him, I met Mimi. I wonder if we would have met otherwise. Fate is a strange creature. A strange, four-legged one!

  Chapter 27

  “Hi,” said Ben, giving Ayla a peck on the cheek. How's my favourite dog walker?”

  “I'm fine,” she replied coolly, turning her head away.

  Ben frowned, confused. In contrast, Glen and Mimi greeted one another enthusiastically with a lot of tail wagging, drooling tongues and huffing.

  “I wonder how their tails don't fall off!” said Ayla, pointing at Glen's, which was moving at a ferocious speed.

  Ben nodded. Glen's tail had picked up speed lately – must be the effect of Mimi. He wondered how fast Ayla would make his tail wag if he had one. Then he smirked as the concept swiftly headed into 18-rating territory in his mind. Well, they do say that men think about sex every five minutes. Or was it five seconds? Couldn't be five seconds – when would they think about sport, cars, music, beer, food, work and stuff? All that during the other four? Impossible.

  They sauntered towards the lake. Mimi and Glen were off their leads, and padded along freely.

  Ayla stopped. “There's something I have to talk to you about.”

  Ben frowned at her serious tone. “What's up?”

  “I showed Glen's papers to Mrs Hill, and explained his history and stuff, and the weirdest thing happened,” said Ayla.

  “What?”

  “She said that she had already seen Glen. Someone brought him to the house and she'd had high hopes, but then Glen had a massive fit and went crazy. They had to ask his owner to leave. So, what I want to know is, have you got something to tell me? Did you send me on a wild goose chase?”

  She stopped walking and looked straight at Ben. He was speechless.

  Ben scratched his head and glanced at Glen. “No, I don't even know who this Mrs Hill is. She must be confusing him with someone else. Sorry, I mean, another dog.”

  Ayla sighed, looking annoyed. “That's not possible, Ben. She saw the papers. Her daughter met with you and you agreed on a price. Then you brought the dog to the house and he caused a scene, apparently. And for some reason, you're not telling me the truth. Why is that?”

  “I'm not lying,” insisted Ben, taking her arm. “I'm really not. I've never met Mrs Hill or her daughter. I've never been to her house. I never heard of her until I met you, and Glen met Mimi, honestly.”

  “I want to believe you, Ben, but it doesn't make sense,” said Ayla, standing with her hands on her hips.

  “Let's just sit down here for a minute,” he suggested.

  They sat down on the grass, with Glen and Mimi next to them. Glen had his paws over his head, which normally meant he was distressed about something. That was all Ben needed right now – something wrong with the dog too.

  Ayla was looking towards the lake, pondering. She twisted one of her plaits in her hand, avoiding eye contact.

  “I have an idea,” said Ben quietly. “Do you have Mrs Hill's number? I'll ring her.”

  “It's Ms,” said Ayla, fumbling for her mobile. “She's divorced. She loves Mimi to death, I can tell you that. She really wants the best for her.”

  “And that's Glen,” smiled Ben, tapping the number into his own phone.

  He dialled. “Ms Hill? Hi, my name is Ben. I'm sitting here with Ayla, who walks your dog, Mimi. Yes. Yes. Yes, she told me that, Ms Hill, but... but... Ms Hill, no I'm not trying to mess you around... no, I'm not winding you up... sorry, but no, I'm not that kind of person... oh...”

  He put his mobile back into his pocket. “She hung up on me.”

  “I'm not surprised,” said Ayla.

  “That's it,” said Ben, standing up. “I'm not having you and Mrs, erm, Ms Hill thinking I'm some kind of crazy liar. Let's go to her house!”

  “What?!”

  “Why not?” asked Ben. “Let's go and clear this up. When she sees me and Glen, she'll realise she's made a mistake!”

  “You're serious?” asked Ayla, standing up and brushing off some grass. She stared at him. “Oh, you are totally serious!”

  “Of course, it's the only way to prove I'm telling the truth.”

  Ayla resigned herself to the idea. “It's within walking distance,” she said, clipping on Mimi's lead.

  Chapter 28

  They trotted along the pavement in silence. Ben's mood had sunk and confusion reigned in his mind. He hated not being able to work something out – everything had a solution in theory. He was determined to clear his name and show that this was a case of mistaken identity, for Glen's sake.

  After half an hour they came to a huge
house with a front garden full of fragrant rose bushes. Two lines of tall trees leaned inwards all the way up the front pathway. To Ben's surprise, Glen followed Mimi straight up to the door. The two dogs sat waiting until he rang the doorbell. Ayla twisted one of her plaits, uncomfortably.

  The door yawned open and a tall woman, wearing a long skirt and a shirt, appeared. She had short brown hair and serious eyes.

  “Hello, Ayla,” she said, “you're a little bit early and Mimi... oh!” She stepped backwards as she spotted a familiar-looking male Labrador. She didn't say anything to Ben, which came as a surprise to Ayla. It looked as if she didn't recognise him at all, but she definitely knew Glen.

  “What's this crazy dog doing here on my doorstep?” she demanded. “Why is he with Mimi, Ayla?”

  The girl dropped her plait. “Ms Hill... I...”

  “I'm sorry,” said Ben, stepped forward. “My name is Ben and I tried to call you on the phone earlier.”

  “You're the man who rang saying that Glen was his dog – the dog that came here and caused such mischief. He frightened my Mimi, so why is he here with... who are you, exactly?”

  Ms Hill bent down and pulled Mimi into the house by her collar. The dog obeyed, with her tail between her legs. Glen looked up at Ben. Help, he seemed to be saying.

  Ben took a deep breath. “I'm really confused, Ms Hill. You see, I had no idea that Glen has been here before, but I can see you recognise him and he recognised the house. The thing is, I asked Ayla to speak to you about Glen in regard to Mimi, and she then told me your story about my dog. As far as I know, he has never been here. I know this sounds strange, but I'm telling the truth. He's a good dog.”

  Ms Hill raised an eyebrow and looked doubtfully at Glen, who was staring up at her with his big dopey eyes.

  “Really he is! He and Mimi have become good friends. He's very intelligent and not like other dogs. He thinks differently, and he's not crazy at all.”

  As if on cue, Glen stuck out his paw. Ms Hill laughed. “So your dog has been hanging around with my Mimi?”

  “Yes, he has,” said Ben, brightening. “Is it possible to have a chat about it? They're inseparable...”

  “I don't think so! Where is your accomplice who brought the dog here last time? I guess you were hoping to get even more money out of me? Do I look gullible to you?”

  “No! I don't know what you are talking about. What money? What accomplice?” asked Ben, at a loss for answers.

  Ayla glanced at him with sympathy.

  “Your accomplice! I was going to pay him a thousand pounds for his dog to breed with my Mimi. He said his dog was well bred. This man came to the house with your dog – that dog there!” she added, pointed angrily. Glen whined and put his paws over his head.

  “You have to believe me – I don't know anything about it. I would never put my dog out to stud!” said Ben. “I've had him since he was a pup.”

  “Whatever, Mr... whatever.” She began to close the door.

  Ben huffed. “Please, I know you don't believe me, but could you please tell me what this man looked like? Someone must have snatched my dog – there's no other explanation.”

  “Perhaps you're as mad as your dog...”

  “He's not mad...”

  “Prove it!”

  “Actually I can...”

  “I'm not interested!” said Ms Hill. “I can tell you that the man who was here – and you should know – was over six feet tall and in his early thirties. He had dark hair and was good looking...”

  Ben sighed. “That could be anyone.”

  “Ayla, I'll see you at the regular time tomorrow, but without your friend,” said Ms Hill, closing the door.

  Ayla nodded.

  “Oh, and he also had a really annoying habit of flicking his hair every second and he wore extremely tight jeans... I don't know how he got into them,” added Ms Hill.

  The door slammed shut with a loud bang.

  Glen whined, and Ben patted him on the head. “It's okay, boy. We'll let her sleep on it.”

  “I believe you,” smiled Ayla, twisting one of her plaits, “if that helps any.”

  “It does,” said Ben. “It really does.” He stopped and gave her a hug. “It was worth it to show you that I wasn't lying to you.”

  They walked back to the pavement, hand in hand, followed by Glen, who traipsed along behind them, his tail drooping. Now and then he looked back at the house.

  “Are you alright?” asked Ayla.

  Ben shrugged. “Nah, not really, but I just have to think of a solution, that's all,” replied Ben.

  They turned a few corners, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Something flickered in the back of Ben's mind. An annoying thought struggled to come to life, like a word on the tip of your tongue that you can't quite recall. The little hamster wheel kept on spinning. An annoying habit of flicking his hair...

  Chapter 29

  In silence they walked up the steps of the house and inside. Ben unclipped Glen's lead and hung it up. In the kitchen, Josie was sitting with a mug of coffee, flicking through a magazine. Her long, red hair dangled across her face, shimmering in the summer sun that broke through the window.

  “Hey,” said Ben.

  “Hi, you two,” said Josie, looking up. She flicked her hair out of her eyes and smiled, closing the magazine.

  An annoying habit of flicking his hair...

  “Has something bad happened? You two look stressed.”

  “You could say that,” said Ben.

  “We visited Ms Hill's house – Mimi's owner – to talk about Glen,” explained Ayla.

  “Oh? How did it go?”

  “I really need a coffee,” he said, sitting down heavily.

  “I'll make it,” said Josie, jumping up. “You two sit down and tell me what happened.” As she got up, she brushed her hair back again.

  An annoying habit of flicking his hair...

  Ben rubbed his forehead. “I am so confused, Josie. You won't believe it, but Ms Hill said Glen had been to the house before. He had, too, because she recognised him. She didn't believe a word I said.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “She thinks I'm playing a game. She said some guy arranged for Glen to mate with her dog. She was going to pay him a lot of money, but she threw them out when the dog went crazy.”

  “Glen went crazy? How?” asked Josie. “He's not crazy at all – unless you count stepping around dog pooh in the park!”

  “I know,” said Ben. “She thinks I arranged all this with this guy – my accomplice, whoever he is. I told her that someone must have snatched my dog. And his dog papers because she knew about his breeding.”

  Ayla's head pinged back and forth, watching the conversation unfold like a tennis match, except it made less sense.

  “That would involve forward planning,” she said. “Someone would have to plan that, arrange to meet Ms Hill, or ring her, take Glen and then bring him back.”

  “But that's not possible,” said Josie, passing out the mugs of coffee. “Calm down and think about it clearly, Ben. He's always here or with one of us.”

  “I don't get it,” he mumbled.

  Glen whined as someone entered the room.

  “Yo!” said David. “How is everyone? Wow, you all look like you've seen a ghost or something!”

  Everyone looked up blankly, holding their mugs in front of them.

  “You look like the three wise monkeys – hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil – but I'm not sure which is which!” laughed David, flicking his hair out of his eyes. “I'm heading out for the night, so catch you tomorrow!” he added, and was gone. The front door slammed in his wake.

  Ben continued to stare into the empty space where he had stood. “He flicked his hair...”

  “It's really annoying, isn't it,” said Josie. “He's always...”

  “It's him!” yelled Ben, jumping up from his chair.

  “You can't possibly think he...” asked Josie.

  �
��She said he was good-looking, early thirties, over six foot and had dark hair, which he kept flicking all the time! She even said he wore tight jeans! He could have gone into my room and got the papers easily! And he could just take Glen for a walk and it wouldn't look suspicious!”

  “Voof!” said Glen, jumping around. “Voof!”

  Ben sprinted out of the kitchen, threw open the front door and leapt down the steps two at a time. He looked up and down the street, but David was nowhere to be seen. “Damn him!” How could he?

  “Ben, calm down. Sit down,” said Ayla, when Ben returned. “He's gone, so you can't do anything right now. Just sit down. Drink your coffee.”

  “I know it was him.”

  “You need proof before you accuse him,” said Josie. “You can't just...”

  “Watch me,” said Ben. “The description fits. I thought he was a mate, but he's changed. He's not who he used to be. I don't know who he is now... and my dog, that's the last straw!”

  “Well,” said Josie. “There's something else you should know as well.”

  “What?”

  “It's juicy! You've gotta be sitting down when I tell you this,” said Josie.

  Ben reluctantly sat down next to Ayla, who put her arm around his shoulders.

  “There's no easy way of saying this so I'll just get to the point. David isn't teaching the landlady guitar every Sunday. They're having sex!”

  Ben shook his head. “What?”

  “Sex!” repeated Josie. “They're having sex. In his room.”

  “No!”

  “Yes! It's true. Me and Kay walked in on them, and they weren't playing guitar!”

  Ayla started giggling. “I'm sorry, but he's a right one, this David!”

  “But, she's ...”

  “Sixty?” asked Josie. “It's not so old. We decided we wouldn't mind having a toyboy at sixty!”

  “That's not the point,” said Ben, irritated. “She's the landlady? I thought he was teaching her guitar. And she's married! She has children... and grandchildren. I don't believe it.”

  “She was also handcuffed and blindfolded, and he was dressed up as a cowboy with a Stetson, guns and everything!”