Chapter 12
“Who’s Blanco Diablo?” Nick asked. Shauna’s eyes remained fixed on Alva who had returned her pointing hand to the handle of the mop.
“Alva?” Shauna quietly queried. “Alva, honey, what are you talking about?”
Alva loosened her hands on the mop and finally looked at Shauna and shook her head from side to side. Shauna raised her eyebrows at Alva, hoping she’d elaborate, but Alva’s desire to further discuss the matter disappeared as quickly as the strange man. Alva turned toward a yellow, wheeled pail, placed the mop inside, and pushed it to a rear door. Shauna watched Alva open the door and quietly slip inside a back room.
“Well, that was informative,” Nick said.
Shauna turned her attention toward Melvin. “What was that all about?” Shauna asked Melvin. “She didn’t even answer me. She looked like she was in a trance.”
“I told you there was something wrong with that dude,” Melvin said. “He definitely spooked Alva.”
“So, does this happen every day, or am I just lucky to be here on you first white devil day?” Nick asked, hoping to lighten the mood.
“No, you just bring out the weird in everything,” Shauna replied.
“Everything?” Nick inquired. “Jeez, I must be making a standout impression on everyone.”
“Sorry, that didn’t come out quite right. I didn’t tell you about Bernie after you left yesterday.”
“Oh, really. Does my future pooch have some issues?”
“Nothing I’d call issues. He just started acting real peculiar after you took off. He kept running up to the front of his kennel and throwing his front paws on the Plexiglas like he was trying to force his way out. He must have done that for about an hour and a half.”
“That is weird,” Nick said.
Melvin added, “As weird as that was, what he did the rest of the evening and into today was weirder. He just sat curled up in a ball in the back corner of the kennel and wouldn’t budge for anything. He wouldn’t eat, drink, or even go outside until about 10:30 this morning. Then he seemed like his usual, happy self.”
Nick met Vincent at the GFD at their usual time, 10am. Looking back, he felt fairly certain that he left the GFD at 10:30. Nick considered the possibility of the two incidents being connected, but then realized Rod Sterling was long since dead and the Twilight Zone only existed in television syndication. He shook his head and grinned at thinking any correlation existed between the two events.
“What is it?” Shauna asked.
“Oh, nothing really. It was just around the time Bernie settled down, I made the decision to get myself over here and adopt the big fur ball. Funny, huh?”
Only Shauna and Melvin were not laughing. They just stared at Nick as though his words proved the existence of a parallel dimension where water flowed from bottom to top, and men and women were all from Uranus. Nick’s smile faded and his eyes darted between the two of them.
“Seriously, dude, that is kind of weird,” Melvin said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, I’d have to agree,” Shauna chimed in. “I’ll chalk it up to coincidence, but it’s still odd.”
“Would it be so odd if it wasn’t for Alva, the voodoo witch doctor janitor?” Nick asked.
“I’ve known her for years,” Melvin said. “She’s a single mom who works her butt off, and she’s never done a strange thing here before today. And besides, she’s Catholic.” Nick detected a certain defensiveness in Melvin’s tone that led him to believe the turtleman was a little sweet on Alva. He decided to apologize and keep friendly with the staff and keep his hopes alive with Shauna.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like a jerk. I’m just trying to put a lighter spin on things. I’m sure Alva’s great, and I can’t wait to get Bernie and put the Blanco Diablo thing behind me. What do you guys say to that?”
“I say let’s go finish the paperwork before Damien strolls in and wants to adopt all of our black cats,” Shauna said.
Nick reached for the door back to the kennel and held it open for Melvin and Shauna. Melvin waved Nick off and said that he had to go back up to the front counter. Nick and Shauna walked to the back office and sat down to complete the final pieces. When everything was signed and ready to go, Nick noticed a flyer stuck to wall behind the desk.
“Hey, you guys provide dog training?” Nick asked, pointing at the flyer behind Shauna’s head.
“Yeah. It’s actually a side job of mine. I run an eight week training class on Saturdays from 8am to 10am. I’m starting a new cycle up tomorrow. I have one spot left, if you’re interested?”
Jackpot, Nick thought. This couldn’t have worked out any better. “Absolutely. That sounds like a great idea,” Nick said.
“Super,” Shauna agreed. “Come a few minutes early tomorrow, and you can fill out the admission form. I’ll waive the fee for you guys. You’re doing me a favor evening out the numbers at the last second. Does that work for you?”
“It couldn’t work any better,” Nick said with a grin. White devil be damned, this is the luckiest day of my life Nick thought to himself. He was partly right.
The Bernie Factor Page 12
