“It’s what I needed to hear. Thanks Mike. Call me. I promise to answer.”
“That’ll be a new experience.”
Laura’s indignant gasp quickly turned into a chuckle of acknowledgement. “Sorry.”
“I’ll call you in a few.” Mike smiled and then put his game face on. His mind moved through the infinite number of possibilities spreading out before him. In one way the new complications brought out his fix it side, where he instinctively believed he could repair life dilemmas like a GMC truck. The problems to be confronted energized the more rational part of his character. He walked back into the room where his friends were looking over real estate properties under consideration by Gail’s Dad as possible business locations.
“Where’s Joanie and Demon… out walking?
“Yeah,” Stan answered. “She wanted to see one of her girlfriend’s softball games at Manor Park. Your Dad told her she could go if Demon went with her. D of course refused to go without a treat. You should have seen the negotiations. Your Mom came in and gave the paranormal pup one look and D pranced right to the door while avoiding eye contact with his true master.”
Mike laughed and nodded. “Yep, that’s D’s survival instinct kickin’ in. Joanie probably didn’t mention this but she doesn’t want any part of ghost-bustin’.”
“She did as a matter of fact. Joanie told us she’ll settle for being the mascot. You were yappin’ at Laura for a long time, Dempsey,” Janis pointed out, grabbing her iPad out of his hand. “She’s been pretty mysterious with Connie and me. Did she dump that terrorist she was dating yet?”
“Janis!” Connie pushed her friend in fake dismay. “How can you be so judgmental? You, of all people.”
Janis laughed. “What? Because I’m black that Moomoo guy is my brother? I don’t think so. That guy gave me the creeps. Remember how he looked at us when we went down to visit? I kept expectin’ him to give me one of those throat slittin’ gestures.”
“He did not! His name’s Mahmoud, not Moomoo. Laura is really into him. Go on, Mike. What did Laura have to say?”
“Some stuff we’ll all have to deal with, Connie.” Mike went through in detail what Laura had told him. Then, he made some suggestions as to how they could all help. Dead silence followed when Mike finished. He grinned. “Yep, that’s pretty much how it hit me too.”
“Fracking Moomoo,” Connie declared. “I knew he was a terrorist! Count me in.”
Connie’s sharp turnaround on Laura’s former boyfriend drew appreciative laughter.
“Never doubt me, girlfriend.” Janis wagged her finger in Connie’s face. “I’m in. It’s up to us to make sure Moomoo’s kid doesn’t ride the terrorist trail. I couldn’t understand what the hell got into that girl.”
“I won’t pretend to understand what we’re signing on for,” Jerry said. “I like Mike’s idea about finding a place with living quarters if we have the money to do it. I’ll help but I ain’t babysitting.”
“Same for me,” Stan said. “We’ll need someone to take calls and be home base coordinator. If Laura stays at the place, she can take calls there, and have them redirected to her cell if she’s out. She has a rough road ahead.”
Gail stood up. “Look, I know your friend’s in trouble, but we haven’t really even gotten started yet. Can I at least talk this over with my Dad first?”
Janis popped up from her seat too. “What are you-”
Mike intervened immediately. “Hey, calm down, Jan. Gail’s right. Her Dad would know whether it will be feasible or not. We need his input. If need be, I’ll get Laura a place to stay on my own. Can you call him now, Gail? I promised Laura I’d give her some kind of feedback. We’ll all be swamped with school, work, and gambling with this business deal. Let’s not jump all over each other over a problem we didn’t create.”
“Mike’s right. Sorry, Gail. I was about to shoot my mouth off without thinking. Hell, you’ve never even met Laura.”
“It’s okay, Jan. I’ll call my Dad right now.” Gail walked into the house with her cell-phone in hand.
“I’m surprised you didn’t recommend Laura get an abortion, Dempsey.” Janis sat down again. “Her own parents think it’s a mistake to have the baby.”
Mike started a moralistic retort but then ended up shrugging his shoulders. “It’s something I believe. I care about Laura. I could tell she didn’t want an abortion. I know her parents think she’s ruining her life but I don’t see it that way. You all know she has a genius IQ, although she may be a little-”
“Stupid about birth control?” Connie finished for him, drawing laughter.
“Yeah,” Mike acknowledged. “It’s a done deal now. She can still have the baby, get her degree, and go on from there. Will it be rough? Yep, and that’s part of making decisions like this.”
“I don’t think Gail likes the idea of your ex being around, Mike,” Jerry said, looking over his shoulder to make sure Gail wasn’t walking in on them. “You’ll have to give up MMA now that you have a family.”
More laughter. Gail walked back in holding up her cell-phone with a smile.
“My Dad said he’d keep the living quarters in mind for certain. He warmed right up to having someone who could work the phones and coordinate things. It will cut down on the time we’d take to get together in case of an emergency. He says we can also make sure Laura has a rundown of our schedules each week.”
“Thanks, Gail. I appreciate you going along with this and getting your Dad on board with it.”
“Without you and Demon the rest of us have empty air, Dempsey,” Gail replied. “We should know in the next week whether any of this will pan out.”
“I’ll call Laura back and let her know.” Mike left the room while pushing Laura’s contact number. She answered on the first ring. “It’s agreed. You’re our new live-in coordinator if we ever get this new enterprise to work. How soon do you have to leave Florida?”
“That’s great, Mike! I’m working on transferring to Cal State East Bay’s Biotech Department. When that comes through, I can move at any time after I finish this summer semester. How serious are you and Gail?”
Mike’s mouth tightened. “We just met. Look. You worry about all that’s going on in your life, and let me worry about what’s going on in mine.”
“I shouldn’t have asked you that. I’m almost three months pregnant and my hormones are going nuts. It feels like I can’t breathe sometimes when my mind goes into overdrive. I’ll call you every day to see how things are going if that’s okay?”
“Sounds good.”
“Don’t do any more fighting.”
Mike started doing static noises while stuttering out parts of words as if the phone was dying. Laura took the hint.
“Fine! I’ll call you tomorrow. Please tell everyone thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“I will. ‘Bye, Laura.”
Mike rejoined the group on the patio. All but Gail stood up as he walked out.
“We’re going to split, Mike,” Stan spoke for everyone. “Are we still on for the game tomorrow here?”
“Yep. Laura said thanks from the bottom of her heart. I’m certain she’ll make a great addition to our ghost-busting team since none of us have much of a clue what we’re doing either. The Giants game at one is televised. The A’s don’t play until five so we can make it a double header if you want.”
“Yuck. Count me out,” Janis stated. “I’ll be doing something much more exciting tomorrow. I’m going to watch the grass grow on our back lawn.”
“Sorry guys. Besides, Jan and I will be raking Laura over the coals on a conference call when it’s just us girls talkin’. I can’t miss the thrill over at Jan’s place when all those little seedlings begin to sprout either,” Connie added in a fake mournful tone.
Mike chuckled. “No problem. You and Jan are welcome if you change your minds.
After the two couples left, Mike sat down again with Gail who had made no move other than to wave goodbye at the ot
hers from her seat. “You don’t have anywhere to go?”
Gail laughed. “Yeah, that’s it, no place to go. Thanks for sticking up for me when Jan got her signals crossed.”
“You didn’t deserve to get punked for stuff I threw at you out of the blue.”
“You really stepped up. I doubt many other guys would have agreed to help Laura, especially an ex-boyfriend. I bet Laura has some questions about who the hell I am. Who am I by the way, St. Michael.”
“You’re my friend.”
“What if I want to be more?”
Mike grinned as Gail leaned back in her chair in a seductive pose made all the more effective by her black shorts and red sleeveless top riding up. “We’ve covered that ground. It’s your decision whether to go the friends with benefits route, but it may not work out like either of us expect.”
Gail leaped over to straddle Mike. “Meaning what?”
“Yeah, Mike, meaning what?” Dan stood at the doorway to the patio with his arms crossed over his chest and his head cocked inquisitively. His wife peeked around her husband with her hand suppressing a giggle.
Gail pushed off of Mike. “Sorry, Mr. Rawlins. We were just-”
“Too much information.” Dan held up his hand in a stopping gesture. “The same thing happened to me when the wanton tart here jumped me in her parents’ living room.”
“Dan!” Jenny slapped her husband’s shoulder.
“I only came to tell you two that everyone else has gone home. We’re going to watch a movie. There will be popcorn if you two would like to join us.”
“That sounds like a good idea, Dad. Right, Gail?”
“Awkward! Sure, I’d like that. What’s the movie?”
“Psycho Dad,” Dan answered.
* * *
Mike opened the door to Stan and Jerry with Demon at his side wearing a black San Francisco Giants cap, orange Giants shirt, and black, Brian Wilson beard. It took a full five minutes before either teen could do anything other than howl with laughter. Each time either one of them regained some control, Demon would tilt his bearded head with comedic expertise. Finally, Stan and Jerry covered their eyes and slipped inside, fleeing for the living room where Dan Rawlins sat filming the encounter.
“Be…best ever, D,” Stan acknowledged, still looking away from the cavorting canine pacing in front of the Rawlins’ guests.
“Jan and Connie blew it not coming today,” Jerry added. He took a picture of Demon with his camera and sent it to Janis.
Gail came in from the kitchen carrying a tray of veggies and dip. Jenny followed her with chips and salsa. “When Mike opened the door I laughed so hard I nearly passed out.”
“All right, Gail! You like baseball, huh? Down for the doubleheader?”
“I love baseball, Stan, and yep, I’m here for the duration. I didn’t know we’d have Brian Wilson impersonations to go along with the entertainment though.”
“He loved getting his costume on today,” Mike said. “I think he’s angling for a beer.”
“Arf!” Demon agreed with a nod of his bearded head which set everyone off again. The human contingent had given up trying to process Demon’s abilities.
Chapter 9
Demon’s Neighborhood
An hour and a half into a nail biter with the San Francisco Giants leading the hated Los Angeles Dodgers two to one a loud knock on the Rawlins’ door drew only a cursory glance up from the living room baseball fans. Although Mike began to get up Jenny signaled him to sit back down. She hurried over to their front entrance and pulled open the door. The woman at the door clutched Jenny’s hand with both hers.
“Jenny! Thank God you’re home. Are Mike and Demon home?”
Jenny pulled the distraught woman inside. She recognized the woman as her neighbor from down the street. Kathy Americh and her husband Phil had been living on Mersey Avenue nearly as long as the Rawlins. Their daughter Stacey attended Corvallis elementary school near them. Kathy’s tear streaked face and disheveled blonde hair enhanced the death grip she had on Jenny’s arm. “Kathy… what’s wrong?”
“Stacey’s missing and Phil’s at an IT conference in Las Vegas. I let her stay overnight at a friend’s house near Manor Park. When she didn’t call for a ride home this morning I called her friend Emily. She’s only ten. Oh God… Emily said Stacey left her house at ten this morning. I… I can’t understand it. She should have called me. I-”
“Calm down, Kath. Did you call the police?”
“Of course! They’re patrolling the route and knocking on doors. They’ve even issued an Amber alert… but… Jenny… the first hours are crucial. Could… could Mike and Demon help?”
Jenny disengaged her arm from Kathy’s frantic grip, holding on to her friend’s hands for a moment before gesturing for Kathy to follow her. “We’ll all help. I have a whole search team in my living room.”
One glance up at Jenny’s face and the haggard Kathy startled everyone watching television to their feet. The perceptive Demon leaped to Jenny’s side with a gruff acknowledgement something was wrong.
Jenny kept it brief. “Stacey’s missing. She was staying at a friend’s house near Manor Park and hasn’t been seen since 10 AM. The police are on it, including an Amber alert. Kathy came to ask for our help. I told her we’re all in.”
Jenny’s statement elicited an immediate positive chorus.
“Can you take us to Stacey’s friend’s house and do you have anything Stacey has held recently?” Mike asked. “We’ll see if Demon can pick up her scent from where she was last seen.”
“I…I have her softball glove in the car.”
“That’ll do,” Mike replied. “We’ll all fan out if Demon doesn’t pick up on anything right away. If he does sense something let’s stick together until we’re in an area where splitting up can do the most good.”
“We’ll have to make sure we stay out of the PD’s way,” Dan said. “We’ll take Kathy with us. You follow us with everyone else, Mike.”
Kathy opened her trunk and retrieved Stacey’s softball glove. She handed it to Mike before getting into Dan’s Equinox. Demon jumped into the front seat of Mike’s Lumina when Mike opened it. He took Stacey’s softball glove in his mouth from Mike as Gail, Stan, and Jerry scrambled into the Lumina’s backseat. Demon set the glove down on the seat, sniffing it while nudging the glove around. Mike waited for his Dad to back the Equinox out and then followed him in the Lumina toward Washington Manor Park three blocks away.
“Do you have Stacey’s scent, D?” Mike glanced over at Demon.
“Arf!”
“Anyone else getting the feeling we’re in the Twilight Zone?”
“At least we’re not huntin’ ghosts, Gail,” Stan pointed out. “I hope this is just a case of Stacey wandering over to another friend’s house.”
“The way we’ve been rollin’ lately, I doubt we’ll catch a break like that,” Jerry said. “Like Mike’s Dad said, we’ll have to stay out of the cops’ way. You can bet with an Amber alert they have squad cars combing the entire area.”
Dan turned left in front of Washington Manor Park and then turned right at the first street bordering the left side of the park. Three houses down from the corner Dan parked the Equinox in a spot at the curb where Mike could park behind him. A harried looking brunette of medium height in black shorts and white sleeveless top ran out to meet them. She embraced Kathy tearfully.
“I’m so sorry! When Emily told me Stacey had left already when you called I couldn’t believe it! I-”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Di.” Kathy pulled free, gesturing at the group. “This is Jenny Rawlins and her husband Dan. That’s her son Mike and his friends. You’ve already heard about Demon I’m sure. They’re all here to help.”
The woman wiped her eyes and nodded, looking skeptically at Demon. “I’m Diane Colhane. I thought all the stuff about ghosts and a dog on Alcatraz was some kind of a hoax. I don’t see what-”
“Please, Mrs. Colhane,” Mike interrupted,
“let Demon sniff around and we’ll get started. We need a starting point. If Demon can pick up Stacey’s scent maybe we can find out at least which direction she went.”
“I’m sorry. Sure… go ahead.”
As if on cue, Demon trotted toward the Colhane’s front porch and began sniffing around the door. Moments later he trotted toward the end of the street where it intersected with Manor Park, his head moving side to side, following the scent. Demon held up when he reached the cutoff between Crosby Street and Manor Park, waiting for his human entourage. They caught up quickly. Demon entered the park with caution.
The park, hosting two softball areas complete with backstops, a swimming pool, and two separate playgrounds, also provided large picnic areas. Small crowds of parents watched the two girls’ softball games going on while bikers and strolling park visitors walked the paved paths crisscrossing the park. A number of dogs on leash and loose catching balls and Frisbees either heeded their owners’ commands or busily checked each other out.
* * *
At first Mike worried Demon would be targeted right away by other dogs. It had concerned him in the past Demon might maim someone’s pet, and Animal Control would be called or the people would sue the Rawlins. Watching now as the loose dogs shied away from Demon to the point they refused to retrieve toys until he passed, Mike added yet another page to Demon’s lore in his mind.
Demon no longer sniffed the ground. He padded toward the playground at the back of Manor Park where the blockhouse restroom was situated. Eight teenagers stationed near the restroom on the swings and slides stopped their banter as Demon approached, his hackles starting to rise. Mike heard the terrifying rumble of death Demon emitted when his dog decided all was not well in Pleasantville.
Stan moved up next to Mike’s right, while Jerry and Gail moved to his left. “This is XIV turf Mikey, and these boys and girls in the red bandannas are part of it.”
Demon had slowed his approach to a hunched attack form, forelegs bent and rear legs ready to launch. Mike nodded at Stan as Dan, Jenny, and Kathy joined them from behind. “Demon doesn’t make mistakes. They know something.” Mike turned momentarily to Kathy, whispering over his shoulder. “Call the cops, Mrs. Americh. We’re going to need help.”
Demon (The Mike Rawlins Series Book 1) Page 12