by Mary Mantle
I got up and stomped into the kitchen and said, "You never support me. I need more information before I talk to her. If I could get pictures or video of her caught in the action, then that would be huge."
"Doesn't sound like a good idea to me."
"I'm going out there after dinner. It doesn't matter if you come or not."
"Fine. I'll go."
An hour later, we piled into my white Honda Accord and drove up to Cedar Cove Heights. The sky turned burnt orange as the sun set, and the bay was dotted with sport boats. We made a left turn on Heights Avenue. The road gradually went uphill, and the houses got progressively larger as we went up.
All of the houses at the top of the hill had values north of one million dollars. They had large properties, and outsiders stuck out like a sore thumb, which made finding a spot to park challenging.
The car was half on the shoulder and half on the grass. My window was down, and I could smell freshly cut grass.
"I got an idea. I'll put the flashers on and act like we're trying to fix the car," Tanner said.
It was an excellent idea; if the same person didn't drive by too many times, we'd be okay.
"Do you think this is alright? What house is it?" Tanner asked.
"This might work. Her house is over there," I said as I pointed.
"I'm not sure you will learn anything, but I'll play along. I'm going to get out and pretend to look at the car."
Tanner got out of the car.
I used a pair of binoculars to get a line of sight and realized a major misstep on my part; I didn't know what kind of car Mr. Thompson drove. I needed to get closer. I needed to get on the property.
Patience has never been my strong suit. I got out of the car and said, "I need to get closer. You were right. I'll never learn anything out here."
Tanner grabbed my arm with enough force to say he didn't want me to go, but not strong enough to make me stay.
He said, "Tatiana. Stop, now you are talking about trespassing."
"It's not trespassing if you don't get caught," I said with a wink.
Before Tanner had a chance to say anything, I walked to the property line and hoped that they didn't have security.
The road had rhododendron bushes lining it, and I walked past them to an 8-foot tall brick wall. I looked around for something to stand on and didn't see anything. It would take all my athletic ability to get over the wall. I jumped as high as I could and grabbed the top of the wall. After holding for a few seconds, I let go and dropped back to the ground. It wouldn't be easy pulling myself up, but I could dig my feet into the cracks between the bricks to gain a footing.
I took a deep breath and jumped with all my might — this time, I held onto the top of the wall for dear life. My feet flailed around until my right foot got a hold of a brick that was sticking out a few centimeters. From there, I was able to use my legs and pull myself up. Soon my arms were completely on top of the brick wall, which was about a half meter wide. At that point, I had momentum on my side and pulled myself to the top. I was out of breath; my heart was beating as sweat rolled down my face.
Exhausted, I decided to lie down on top of the wall for a moment. It also gave me a chance to make sure there were no dogs over there. If you said I hated dogs, you'd be accurate. In the village where I grew up in Russia, people didn't have pets, or I should say it was rare. Many people had dogs outside to protect their homes and cats to keep mice away, but most of the time, the animals lived outside. None of my friends or family that had dogs or cats let the animals live inside. You can imagine that dogs that live outside and survive cold winters in Russia aren't the most friendly animals. When I was seven, a dog bit me and pinned me to the ground. I cried for two days because of that. With that said, I do love our tabby cat Barsik.
When Hannah and I visited the house a few days earlier, I didn't hear or see any dogs, but it is a vast property, and they could have been somewhere else.
Once I caught my breath and felt comfortable that there were no dogs nearby, I climbed down, which was much more comfortable than going up.
Everything went fine for about 100 yards. Then a strong smell hit my nostrils and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up—dog poop. One of the worst smells imaginable, and I stepped in it. It also meant that I might have a couple of barking, mean dogs chasing me in mere minutes.
I saw an oak tree that had a few branches low enough I could use to climb into it. I tried to rub all the dog poop off my shoes in the grass before I got in the tree, but I wasn't successful, and the smell still filled my nostrils. It took effort as I climbed up into the old oak tree, but I made it. Then in the distance, I heard a bark, maybe two.
Now that I was safely in the tree, I pulled out the binoculars and scanned the house to see if I could look through any windows. I could see into the front room, but the lights were off.
However, the lights flickered on. I could see Mr. Thompson and Kitty walking into the room. I had laser focus as I watched them. What were they up to, and did they kill Gary?
The barks grew louder; my heart began to race. I wasn't sure what to do. If the dogs pinned me in the tree, I assumed I would never get out, and if Kitty and Mr. Thompson found me, that'd ruin my plan.
The dogs got closer and closer. Soon, at the base of the oak tree were two Doberman pinschers snapping their jaws, making lots of noise. I was frightened and couldn't even move.
I kept looking through the binoculars, and it appeared that Mr. Thompson and Kitty were engaged in their conversation, and it didn't seem like anyone cared that the dogs were barking.
I imagine it wasn't the first time the dogs barked; they probably bark at squirrels or birds on occasion.
I had my phone with me, and I texted Tanner, please help – stuck in a tree because of two dogs
All I had to do was wait a few minutes.
Every second, every minute that went by seemed like a lifetime. It felt like Tanner wouldn't come, but my knight in shining armor didn't disappoint. I looked over, and Tanner was coming over the fence. The dogs turned their attention away from me and started running toward Tanner.
My worry shifted from me to Tanner as he ran away from them. He ran toward a pond, leading the dogs away from me.
I wondered if he had food or something he could use to divert the attention of the dogs. He was a fast runner, but the dogs were faster. They were gaining on him.
I had to run for it. My heart leaped out of my chest as I landed on the ground; I ran toward the fence and caught a glance of Tanner as he threw something, but I couldn't tell what it was, and at that moment, I didn't care.
My legs took the longest strides possible, and I felt like an Olympic sprinter. I came to the wall, and once again, had to scale it. I thought that could be a good exercise program for people. Scale a wall. I jumped up and grabbed the top of the wall. My feet found a brick to get a hold of as I pulled my self up. My arms felt like jello, and I wasn't sure I could do it, but I kept pulling and managed to get to the top.
Tanner was running as fast as humanly possible toward me and shouted, "Start the car."
The snapping jaws of the dogs were behind him.
I shimmied down the fence and ran to the car. My mind pictured the dogs chewing Tanner to pieces. I started to cry as I got in the car and started the engine.
I sat in the car, my legs bouncing up and down. Every few seconds, I checked to see if Tanner was coming. It felt like hours, but it was probably only a minute, but sure enough, Tanner barreled over the fence and ran toward me. I could see one of his pant legs had been torn or chewed.
He jumped into the passenger seat, and we sped off. His face was a mix of terror, anger, and relief.
I asked, "Are you alright?"
"I think one of the dogs bit me."
He lifted up his torn pant leg, and there was blood. He wiped away some blood, and it didn't look deep.
"I'm sorry I got us into this mess, but thank you for saving me back there."
&nbs
p; "You need to stop this. You might be dealing with someone that is a killer. It's dangerous, and you are trying to do something you aren't trained for."
He was right, and there wasn't much I could say, but I couldn't keep my stupid mouth shut.
"I talked with Faith, and the police aren't investigating it, so someone has to."
"Maybe you should let the cops do their job. Chances are it was an accident. Promise me that you will stop this craziness."
After I took a deep breath, I said, "I will try my best."
The rest of the drive home was in silence.
Once we got home, I had Tanner sit down at the kitchen table. I went into the bathroom and got the first aid kid.
I pulled a chair up next to Tanner and rested his bad leg on my lap. I used an alcohol pad to rub off the blood. Luck was on our side because the cut wasn't deep and didn't need a doctor's attention. I put Neosporin on a gauze and put that on the wound. After that, I wrapped an ace bandage so the gauze pad would stay.
"You are good to go," I said.
"Thanks, doctor."
I put the first aid kit away as Tanner went to change into clean clothes.
The rest of the night was full of silence. Tanner was mad, and I couldn't get my mind off what was going on and who was responsible. I knew in my gut that Gary Hollister didn't die in an accident. My best guess was that Mr. Thompson and Kitty were behind it. It had to be them.
Everything pointed to them, but I didn't have any evidence to suggest that they were really behind it.
We finished dinner and went to bed. Tanner read a Stephen King novel, and I read a book on how to be a better teacher, called the Noisy Classroom. However, I kept reading the same sentence over and over. Tanner didn't want me to keep investigating, but I wasn't sure I could stop.
I sent Hannah a text saying hello but didn't hear back, which was good because I didn't want her to worry any more than she already was. Assuming her anxiety flared up, I guessed she was resting.
I needed a plan. How could I use my piano business and my job as a substitute teacher to help me be in the right place at the right time to find answers? I grabbed my phone and looked at a news article about Gary Hollister. It said he had a mom that lived in the Pacific View Retirement Home. That could be perfect. On the weekend I could play the piano. I'd never played at that retirement house and decided to call the activity director the next morning.
10
Crash
Tanner and I started talking again during breakfast, which was nice. He is my rock, and I didn't want to be having tension there. After he left for work, I called the activity director at Pacific View, but it was too early.
I had to put my face on and get ready to head to school. I was at Cedar Cove High School that day. It was a Social Studies class for Mr. Boyd. High School was my preference because the students were more mature and they weren't as noisy. The Noisy Classroom had lots of good advice, but sometimes things are easy to understand but hard to implement. Good in theory, tough in practice.
I pulled into the school, which was painted blue like most of the other schools. It was the school colors. I parked in a guest visitor spot in front of the two-story school, which was built in the 1920s.
When I parked, I thought I put my car into park, but it was still in drive. Beyond the sidewalk was an area with bark, a few trees, and a huge rock.
I spaced off, and the car kept driving forward. Somehow I drove the car into the huge rock. A glance around revealed several witnesses. My face was red with embarrassment. I backed up and parked the car. That section of the sidewalk usually has many pedestrians, and I was lucky that I didn't hit anyone.
I got out to look at the damage on the front bumper. Officer West, the school police officer, walked over. I thought, great, the one time I space off and get into an accident, a cop is there.
He came over and asked, "Have you been drinking?"
"No."
"Were you on your phone?"
"No."
I was moments from bursting into tears. A few other teachers and students happened to see the crash. The first class was a prep period, so I didn't need to rush into the school when the bell rang. The officer wrote something on a form.
I asked, "Am I going to get in trouble?"
"No, it is just an incident report. I have to fill them out. Just be more careful."
"Okay."
He left, and I sat in the car. I wasn't sure if I ruined the car or not. My eyes watered, and then a stream of tears ran down. Maybe it was the stress of teaching, the accident, or the investigation, but I let loose. I called Tanner and told him what happened.
In less than fifteen minutes, Tanner showed up in his white Toyota truck. He hugged me, and it felt so good.
"Everything will be alright," he said.
Tanner laid down on the ground and looked up at the underneath section of the bumper. He felt around.
He looked at the front right bumper and said, "I think the car is fine. It is just cosmetic damage, not that bad."
I said, "So everything looks, alright?"
He nodded.
We hugged again. I said, "Thank you. Love you."
"Everything will be alright, Tatiana. Love you."
We hugged a little more, and he left. I felt better.
11
Visit Luda
My poor car, I tried to put the wreck behind me. I went to the classroom. The teacher was a huge Star Wars fan, so the room had lots of posters and some of the toys. A few of the cute little robots that they have in the movies so that people have another item to buy.
With a few extra minutes before class, I called the Pacific View Retirement Home, and my call was transferred to the activities director.
A woman answered, "This is Mary. How can I help you?"
"Hi Mary, my name is Tatiana, and I play the piano. I play at different retirement houses and a few restaurants in town. Do you have any slots open, or is that something that you are looking for? The first time I come, I can play for free. A trial run."
"That sounds fantastic. I hear you have an accent. Where are you from?"
"I live in Cedar Cove now, but originally I'm from Russia."
"Oh, the folks here will love that."
"I have some time open this Saturday."
"Let me check our calendar." I heard her moving papers around. "Looks like we could do 1 pm on Saturday."
"That works perfectly. See you Saturday. Thank you."
I hung up. My plan was coming together. On the weekend, I would be able to see if Sally Hollister had any useful information.
Social Studies wasn't my favorite subject, but I looked over the teacher's plans, and most of the classes that day would be watching a video on the Civil War and the reconstruction process. I found that I learned a lot about the United States, and it made taking the citizenship test much easier.
The bell rang, and pimple-faced teens filtered into the classroom. They had a sense of relief; there was a substitute. They knew there would be no real lesson that day.
The classes went by quickly, and after school, I left notes for the teacher. Since it was a movie day, I didn't have too many students act up, and I didn't have to send anyone to the office.
I went out to my car and saw the damage on the front right bumper and felt a twinge of embarrassment. The part that scared me the most was that I felt out of control. How could I drive over the curb, onto the sidewalk, and into the rock? I realized if it would have been at the beach and no one was around, it would have been easier to swallow, but since it was around other people and a well-traveled sidewalk, it filled me with fear. I almost called Tanner and had him pick me up.
But, my friend Luda, a fellow Russian in town, lived only a few blocks from the high school. I decided to drive to her house and have some tea. It would give me a few minutes to gather my confidence before I drove down to have Jose take a look.
Luda had a lovely house that was in town, but down a quiet street with a view
of the forest. To the south of her home was a ravine loaded with tall Pine trees. It was a two-story yellow house. I parked and walked up.
I knocked on the door. It took a few minutes for her to come to the door. It was nice visiting her because all of our conversations were in Russian. She answered the door, and it looked like she just got up. Luda went through a divorce that involved a few kids, and it wasn't easy on her, but financially she came out okay. Emotionally, not so much. He left her, and the lawyer made things very difficult. Now she finds her self in a unique legal battle. Usually, parents are fighting over who gets custody of the children, but Luda and her ex are fighting over who has to take them.
Luda answered the door and said, "Hi, how are you?"
"Good, just finished school."
She noticed the damage to the car and asked, "Is that new?"
"What?"
She pointed at the car. "The dent."
My face went red with embarrassment, and I said, "Yes."
We went inside to the kitchen, and I explained everything from wrecking the car to Gary Hollister.
"How long were you neighbors with Gary and Kitty?" I asked.
"Two years. You are crazy for trying to solve it."
"I know."
Luda boiled a teapot on the stove. There is the stereotype in Russia that when you go to people's houses, everyone is drinking vodka. Don't get me wrong, lots of people drink vodka, but not everyone. However, if you go to a friend's house, they have tea and food. That is almost 100% universal in Russia and the former Soviet countries like Kazakhstan, where Luda grew up.
"Did they seem happy?" I asked.
"As happy as anyone else."
"Was Mr. Thompson close to the family?"
"I think so, but like most neighbors, people have their own lives and up in that area, the properties are so big, you don't see who comes and goes very often."