by Patricia Fry
“Go see if someone let him in while we were gone,” Craig suggested.
“Michael would have called me,” Savannah insisted.
“If you were getting a signal,” Craig reminded her.
“That’s right,” Savannah acquiesced, following him into the darkened cabin.
“Rags!” Savannah called more quietly, flipping on a light. She looked around, then picked up a bag of his treats and shook it. “Rags!” She walked to the basement door and shook the bag again.
“What are you doing?” Adam asked from his cot.
“Looking for Rags. Have you seen him tonight? Did he come home while I was gone?”
Adam sat up and rubbed his eyes. “I didn’t know you were gone. Where’d you go?”
“Looking for Rags. So he didn’t come home?”
“I didn’t see him,” he said. “You didn’t find him?”
“No. Not yet. You go back to sleep; I’ll check with your dad.”
“You’re gonna wake him up now?” Adam asked.
“Yes, I guess I am.”
“What time is it?”
Savannah checked her cell phone. “After midnight. Go back to sleep.”
Adam said quietly, “Lexie didn’t come home, either.”
She winced. “That’s not good. She’s not streetwise at all. Your dad must be really worried.”
“Yes. He waited up for her, but I guess she never came back.”
“He waited up?” Savannah said. “He was in bed when I left.”
“I heard him outside calling her,” Adam explained.
“Well, okay. Good night, Adam.” She closed the basement door.
Seconds later, Savannah shook Michael. “Honey, did Rags come home? Have you seen him?”
“Huh?” he mumbled. “What? Oh, you’re home. Did you find Rags?”
“No. You haven’t seen him?”
Just then they heard a commotion in the living room. Savannah rushed in to see
what was going on. “Adam,” she said when she saw him looking out the large window. “What are you doing up?”
“I heard something.” When Cassie stumbled into the room, he said, “Cassie heard it too. What was that?”
“Maybe it’s Rags,” Cassie said, her voice froggy from having been awakened.
Adam started to open the door when Craig said, “Wait!” He dimmed the lights, walked to the window, and peered out. “I don’t see him anywhere. Wait, I hear something. Is that someone shouting?”
“I see a light,” Cassie said, pointing. “There’s a light moving around over there. See it?”
“Yes,” Iris said. “Someone’s out there.”
“Who?” Michael asked, joining the others at the window.
“Hey, that doesn’t look like a flashlight,” Thad noticed. “Good God, that fool’s carrying a lantern.” He faced the others. “Now that’s what we need out here among the trees and the dry needle beds—some idiot with a lantern.”
Just then they heard a man’s voice booming through the trees. “You’re going to get it now, you squatters.” As he drew closer he shouted, “Give me that key or you’ll go up in flames!”
“My God,” Marilyn said, lifting herself up to a sitting position on the couch, her eyes wild with fear. “That’s Charles.”
“Marilyn,” Savannah said, walking to her, “how are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better,” she said. She looked toward the window anxiously. “Is that Charles out there?”
“Charles?” Craig asked.
“My husband.”
“Charles Rankle,” Keith said under his breath as he walked into the living room.
“Do you hear me?” the man yelled. “Give me that key or I’ll torch the place, and don’t think I’m kidding, because I’ve already torched mine.”
Marilyn put her hand up to her mouth. “What? He wouldn’t.”
Thad ran to the back of the house and looked out the window. “Hey guys,” he reported, “I think he’s telling the truth. I see what looks like fire through the trees.” He let out a breath and rubbed his head. “We could be in deep trouble here.”
“Better call the fire department,” Michael said, grabbing a jacket and pulling his cell phone from his pocket.
Savannah grabbed his arm. “You can’t go out there by yourself.”
“Someone’s gotta make a call,” Craig said. He instructed Michael, “Go out the back door and around to the hot spot. You’ll be okay.”
“But how far away is the fire station?” Savannah asked
Thad grimaced. “I’m afraid it isn’t a regular fire station. We have an engine and a volunteer brigade is all.” He thought for a moment, then said, “I have an idea.” He put on his jacket and stepped out the back door.
“Wait,” Craig demanded. “I don’t think you should…” but Thad was gone.
Thad knew that he would be pretty well camouflaged in his dark gray jacket and hood. He took advantage of his ability to blend in and he watched Charles Rankle as the man staggered along the pathway toward the cabin, waving the lantern back and forth menacingly. Thad walked slowly toward the man, undetected until he stepped on a dry twig.
“Who’s there?” Charles demanded. When he saw Thad’s silhouette in the glow of the lantern, he shouted, “Trying to sneak up on me, huh? It ain’t gonna happen. I’m gonna get what’s mine and that’s all there is to it.” He held the lantern at arm’s length. “Back off or I’ll drop it right here.”
Thad stood his ground, not knowing what else to do, when all of a sudden something dropped from an overhanging tree branch onto Charles Rankle’s back. He let go of the lantern. It hit the ground and broke open, lighting a fire in a carpet of pine needles. He jumped to his feet and started to run, when, from out of nowhere, a larger animal dug its teeth into the man’s leg.
“Dear lord,” Thad muttered. He quickly removed his jacket and tried to smother the flames.
Just then Michael appeared from the shadows and began stomping on the fire.
When Keith saw what was happening, he blasted from the cabin and scrambled around looking for a hose or a water spigot. At the same time, Savannah called out, “Fire! Holly, Mom, fire!” She ran into the kitchen with a large bucket. Once she’d filled it, she handed it to Gladys, who passed it along to Holly. Keith quickly grabbed it and gave it to Michael, who poured the water on the flames, and sent the bucket back to the kitchen with Adam. Meanwhile, Iris and Cassie searched for more large containers to fill.
“This wind isn’t helping matters,” Thad screamed as they scrambled to stop the fire before it threatened the cabin and the forest.
“Adam, come get Rags and Lexie!” Michael shouted, handing an empty container to Craig who returned it to the kitchen.
“What?” Adam said.
“They’re out here. Come get them—lock them in the basement!”
Adam complied, then he and Cassie joined the bucket brigade. Just as they put out the last flame, a pickup truck carrying a water barrel in the back drove into the driveway. Three men jumped out of the truck and began spraying water over the embers until there were no more.
“Thank you so much,” Michael said several minutes later, shaking hands with each of the volunteer firemen.
“You’re welcome. It’s just a good thing we were nearby, although we weren’t able to save much of the other place down the road. There’s a crew still on it and they’ll be there for the remainder of the night, I imagine. Is someone here hurt?” he asked. “I’m a paramedic. I heard last night that someone was hurt. I might as well take a look at the patient while I’m here.” “Yes, I’m hurt,” Charles Rankle groaned.
The paramedic shined his light in the direction of the voice and saw the man leaning up against a tree trunk, writhing in pain.
“I’m hurt,” he said. His voice shrill, he shouted, “A mountain lion jumped me from that tree over there, then a coyote bit the hell out of my leg! I prob
ably have rabies!” he screamed.
“He’s okay,” Keith said. “It was a little pussycat that leaped onto his head and a sweet pooch that nibbled on him a little. Come with me,” he said to the firemen. “There’s a woman inside with a serious injury.”
“Do you think we’ll need the ambulance? I can call it back up here,” the paramedic said.
“Why don’t you take a look,” Keith suggested. “I think she can ride down to the hospital in a car.”
****
“Well, that was quite a night,” Keith said once everyone had left.
“Yes,” Savannah said, “I’m just glad the police took that awful man away. Was he drunk?”
“Yes,” Craig said, “as a skunk, although I sincerely doubt a skunk is stupid enough to drink himself into that condition.”
“I think Marilyn is finished with that drip of a husband,” Holly said. “She told me she’s staying just long enough to clean out their house, then she’s moving closer to her family.”
“If she has a house left,” Gladys said.
“I guess they were able to save a few things,” Holly said. “I heard her ask one of the firemen about it and they said the house is a total loss, but she should be able to salvage some of the things in her studio, which was only singed.”
“I wouldn’t expect a rock house to burn,” Iris said. “Isn’t that a rock house?”
“Yeah,” Keith said, “but evidently the guy was serious about burning it down. He torched it from the inside. That’s what one of the firefighters told me.”
Savannah leaned back in her chair. “My gosh, that was a close call. If it weren’t for you, Craig, I don’t know where we’d be tonight.”
“And your cat!” he exclaimed. “Your cat is the hero.” He shook his head. “What a guy—great timing.” He looked around. “Where is he, by the way?”
“Oh,” Adam said, “I put him and Lexie in the basement so they wouldn’t get into any more trouble.”
“Trouble?” Thad questioned.
“Well yes,” Michael said. “That cat’s middle name is trouble and it appears that he’s teaching my old dog some new naughty tricks.”
“Well, they’re both heroes in my book,” Thad said. He grinned when he saw Rags walk into the room with Adam. “Hi there, buddy.” Rags rubbed against Thad’s leg, inviting petting, and the young man began scratching him around the neck. “Yes, you’re a hero. You took that guy down before he could do any damage.” He petted Lexie when she approached. “And you finished the job. Good girl.” He looked at the others inquisitively. “Hey, what key was he talking about, anyway? Rankle was ranting about a key, wasn’t he?”
Savannah nodded. “Evidently his wife got one of those keys and he hid it, even from her, in a lamp. She inadvertently put the lamp out with a free sign on it and Iris picked it up. Rags found the key and I hid it away. That guy was evidently going door to door looking for the lamp, and he found it here. I gave it back to him, but without the key. Heck, I didn’t know what the deal was with the keys, and I thought it could be Iris’s. When he came back here demanding we give him the key and then he ransacked the place, I knew I wasn’t going to give it back to him. We just flat told him we had no idea what he was talking about. We played as dumb as he is.”
She glanced at Iris, who sat across from her on the opposite sofa. “Iris has agreed that we should give it to Marilyn. That’s the right thing to do. I’ll do that as soon as I know that jerk of a husband is not coming back to hound her.”
Thad grinned widely. “I like the way you roll, Savannah.” He stood up. “I’d better be going.” He addressed everyone, “Thank you for an…interesting night.”
Gladys yawned. “What time is it?”
“Three fifteen,” Keith said. “I think I’ll go back to bed.”
Gladys stood up. “Me too.” She faced Thad. “Thanks again for the delicious meal.”
“Yeah, you cooked my fish really good,” Adam said.
“Mine too,” Cassie agreed.
“How could you kids tell what the fish tasted like?” he asked. “You smothered it an inch deep in the tartar sauce.”
Everyone laughed.
“Thad, where will you spend the rest of the night?” Michael asked.
“Yeah,” Keith said, “why don’t you just bunk here? We have an extra cot down in the basement with the kids.”
When he hesitated, Holly grinned impishly. “We’ll let you cook our breakfast.”
“Gee thanks,” Thad said. “Actually, that’s a pretty nice invitation. Yeah, I’ll stay and I’ll cook breakfast.”
“Cool,” Adam said. “Come on, I’ll show you where the cot is and the sleepy bag.”
Savannah hugged Lexie, who had joined her on the sofa, then stood up and addressed Iris. “Do you and Craig want to take the sofas? I’ll get extra blankets.” She put her hand up to her mouth. “Well, that’s gracious of me, isn’t it? I offer you the couches in your own place. Would you rather have our bed?” she asked.
Michael chuckled. “Yeah, Teddy should be waking up soon. Diapers are in the closet.”
Craig put up his hands. “Never mind; the sofa’s fine. Thanks anyway.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Iris asked her husband. “You love Teddy.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t do diapers,” he grumped.
Savannah picked up Rags and carried him off to their room. “Night all. Enjoy the rest of your sleep. We have a full day ahead tomorrow.”
Michael slumped a little. “That’s right. It’s the big reveal at the church. You know, I might just go fishing.”
“Not me,” Iris said. “I want a front-row seat for the action.”
Chapter 7
“What time’s the big shindig in town?” Michael asked later that morning after breakfast.
“Twelve thirty,” Savannah said.
“I hope it’s not one of those boring churchy meetings with a lot of kneeling and standing and singing,” Craig complained. “You people don’t want to hear me sing. The only thing that cracks worse than my voice is my joints when I try to kneel.” He addressed Michael. “Hey, maybe we should go fishing.”
“But we know people who have those keys,” Holly reminded him. “That’ll make it interesting.”
“And a couple of people who lost or gave away their keys,” Savannah lamented. “By the way, I texted Marilyn” She grinned. “I told her I want to come down and see how she’s doing. Of course, I’ll have her key with me.”
“She’s home?” Iris asked. “At that burned-out house? I thought her house burned down last night.”
“Only part of it. Yeah, she said she’s packing up the things that were salvaged. She’ll be there for another few hours.”
“How far away is she?” Holly asked.
“About a half mile. Want to take the kids out for a walk?” Savannah suggested. “I’d like to see her place and the look on her face when we give her the key.”
“Sure, let’s do.” Holly called, “Lily, Beth-Beth, want to go for a walk?”
“Us too?” Adam asked when he and Cassie came in from collecting pinecones.
“Sure, if you want to.”
“Where are you going?” Adam asked.
“To take something to the lady who lives down the road a ways.”
“Oh, no thanks,” Adam said. “I’ll stay here, I guess.” He asked, “Wait, are you going to walk past the house that burned last night?”
“We’re going to that house,” Savannah said, grinning.
“Yeah, I’ll go!” Adam said enthusiastically.
“Me too,” Cassie said.
Michael smiled at the children. “I think I’ll stay here. Why don’t you leave Teddy? That stroller’s kind of hard to manage over that rough road.”
“Okay, then I’ll take Rags and Lexie,” Savannah offered.
“Good idea,” he said. “Let’s try to keep them active so they don’t run off again when
we leave this afternoon.”
Savannah looked at him. “Rags didn’t run away. He was taken.”
He rolled his eyes. “After he unbuckled his harness.”
She ignored him. “I’m just glad that creep let him go and that he found his way back here.”
“Do you think Lexie helped with that?” Keith asked.
“Helped lead Rags home?” Michael asked, gazing at Lexie. “I wonder. Or maybe Rags led Lexie astray.”
“How would he do that?” Savannah insisted. “He was with the Lancaster guy at that abandoned lodge. Do you think Lexie found Rags and set him free?”
“I guess we’ll never know,” Craig said. He chuckled. “Better tell your agent, Rob, about this. That might make another good story for your line of books.”
Iris giggled. When the others looked at her, she said, “I’m just wondering how Rags likes being billed as a naughty cat.” She reached out and ruffled his fur as he walked past. “Are you the bad boy of kitty-cats, Rags?”
“Naughty?” Holly questioned. “He may have saved our lives and the cabin last night.”
“He started a fire,” Adam said. “That was rad when we put it out with buckets of water like that. I saw a movie once where they made a long line of people passing buckets to put out a fire at the old saloon.” He frowned. “It burned down, anyway.”
“Yeah, we used buckets, dishpans, stew pots…” Holly said.
“Boots, coffee cups, and…” Michael started.
“Uh-uh, Uncle Michael,” Cassie said.
“So who’s going for a walk with us?” Savannah asked, strapping on Rags’s harness.
“Didn’t you say he broke that harness?” Michael asked.
“Yes. I think I’ve fixed it with a safety pin.” She nudged Craig as he read the newspaper he’d brought with him.
He jumped. “Huh?”
“Want to go for a walk?” she asked. “…get a little exercise?”
“Now you know better than that. Me go for a walk just for the sake of walking?” Craig said. “I think I’ll just chill. Too much excitement last night.” Craig dropped the newspaper across his lap and grinned at Iris. “So you don’t care for police work, huh?”