by Molly Dox
At least this guy was giving them a chance. It was good money too, and all for a dog. Go figure. After stopping for a snack of double cheeseburgers, they decided it was easier to bring the dog a cheeseburger than go for hotdogs. They ordered an extra and were on their way back to the house. They’d have to sit and wait, but they were determined to snatch the dog this time.
Jimmy and Mike huddled in the brush, just at the edge of the yard. The homeowner was aiming for privacy with the row of trees and bushes, and it worked out perfectly. It was a good place to sit and watch unnoticed.
After what felt like forever, the little white dog was let outside. They heard the dog’s owner talking at the door. They waited to see if she came outside. Just their luck, she turned around and closed the door, leaving the dog to do its business.
Mike quickly removed the burger’s wrapping, tied it to the string, and tossed it toward the dog. “Come here, doggy,” he whispered.
The dog took the bait, sniffing out the food. Mike handed the string to Jimmy. “Pull it in slowly. I’m going to jump the dog and snag her.”
“Okay, got it.” As he took the string, he pulled it closer. The little dog followed the burger.
Mike sprung from the bushes and belly flopped almost on top of the dog. The little dog yelped and ran. As Mike hit the ground with a thud, he reached out and got a hold of one of the dog’s back legs. “Got her,” he said.
The dog turned to nip at the hand that held her and snarled.
“Oh, no you don’t.” He pulled the dog closer, and then scooped her up as she yelped up a storm. “Run!”
Jimmy and Mike took off, just as the dog’s owner opened the back door. She saw them push through the hedges and screamed. Carmella jolted out the door, chasing after them. All she saw was the car they jumped into, but she didn’t get a full tag. Crying over the loss of her dog, she ran back home and called the police. If she knew what direction they’d headed, she could follow them, but they’d be long gone before she could grab her keys, start her car, and get out of the development. Her prize dog, her winning companion, and her very best friend had just been dognapped!
Chapter 5
When Poppy’s phone rang, she was surprised to hear from Carmella again so soon. She was half way between a shriek and a sob. “They got Anastasia, Poppy. They took my dog. Somebody is messing with me; first my car, and now my dog. I called the police to report it, but they’re taking their sweet time getting here. Like it doesn’t matter, she’s just a dog. She’s no ordinary dog! She’s my baby.”
Poppy tried to soothe her friend. “Oh, dear; I just got home. Let me see what’s going on here. If my father can keep watching the counter, I’ll head back as soon as I can. It’s going to be alright. We’ll figure this out.”
“He did it. I know it was him. Peter is behind all of this, I’m certain. I’m going over there and demand that he returns her,” she said, feeling stronger with a plan.
“Wait for the police. You can tell them that you suspect your ex-husband may be involved and hopefully they’ll check it out. Please don’t go over alone. I’ll be there soon.” Poppy sighed on hanging up the phone. “Dad, I need to run out again. I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
Martin smiled and nodded. “Sure thing, besides there’s only one check-in scheduled for today.”
Poppy scanned the book. There was only one name, Mike Donovan with one other adult. That should be easy enough. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
It didn’t take long for her to return, and by the time she arrived Carmella was talking wildly fast, trying to convince herself Anastasia would be fine and home soon. Her panic and anxiety were bubbling at their peak.
“Have the police been here yet?” Poppy asked.
“No, it’s like my needs don’t matter. Don’t they understand that she was kidnapped? I don’t think that they’re taking this seriously! My poor, precious girl is gone.” Her voice cracked and went up an octave.
Poppy placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder. She knew how important Anastasia was to Carmella.“We’ll figure this out. Okay, tell me everything you know, what you saw, and where it happened.”
Carmella went through the details of seeing the men, trying to chase them, and seeing their car. “Two men, the car was some plain sedan, I don’t know what make or model it was, just a regular family car. I wish I got the tag. I was just so flustered, in a panic, and I didn’t pay attention like I should have.”
Poppy headed to the backyard to see if she could spot anything. They found the burger tied to a string, but didn’t want to touch it in case there were prints. She bent over, analyzing the imprint of the crushed grass. “He looks pretty big, wide even. There’s a large area where he was. What’s this?” She pointed out the section she was looking at.
A small pack of green foiled gum, Freshen Up, blended into the grass. It was a brand she hadn’t seen in a long time. Did they even still make it? She didn’t remember seeing it at the store recently. Would he have to find it online at one of those retro candy places? “Can you please get me a plastic bag, Carmella, and a soft cloth of some sort? Ooh, tongs would be better. I’m going to pick this up for evidence. Hopefully, the police will be here soon.”
After carefully placing the gum into a plastic bag with kitchen tongs, Poppy looked for any other clues, heading to the tree line. There was nothing on the ground, nothing she could spot, but wait… there was something in one of the bushes. She’d rustled through the trees, poked around the shrubs, and there it was, the hamburger wrapper shoved in the brush. “Harrington’s,” she said. “I guess we’ll be paying them a visit to see if they have footage of their customers coming and going.”
“Do you think Harrington’s Fast Food Fry would have cameras?” Carmella perked up, feeling hopeful and grateful Poppy had taken the time to look for clues. She was having trouble focusing, and was anxious to tell the police what happened.
When a squad car finally pulled up, the officer looked less than thrilled to be called out to a dognapping case. He had more important things to do it seemed, in his mind. His swagger and sigh, made it more than clear.
Carmella spilled the information as quickly from her lips as possible. “…and I think my ex-husband is behind it. We should go to his house. He only lives a few blocks over.”
“So let me get this straight,” the officer started. “A small, white dog, a Shih-Tzu, named Anastasia-”
Carmella cut in. “A prize winning show dog.”
“Right, a show dog, white, small, was stolen from the yard. Two men were running away, you chased them, saw a sedan, no tag, and called us. Can you describe the men?”
“One was taller, wider, bigger, I don’t know, maybe just about six feet tall. The other was slender and smaller by a few inches. There’s not much to tell. Oh, Poppy, show him what you found,” she said, rambling faster than she’d meant to.
“Officer, I found a hamburger wrapper, the waxed paper kind from Harrington’s. They probably got it there today. Maybe they’ll have footage of who had been there recently.” She lifted up the bag with the gum. “I also found this, which is unusual. This isn’t a gum you can’t buy off the store shelf anymore, I don’t think.”
“Hey, Freshen Up, I remember that. You bit into the little square, and a little splash of juice…” he trailed off, reminiscing.
Growing restless, Carmella cleared her throat to draw the attention back to Anastasia. “Ahem, my dog?”
“Right, you said your husband, or, umm, ex-husband lives around here? Do you have his address? I’ll go see if there’s anything suspicious going on, or if the dog is over there.”
“I want to go with you,” she said boldly.
“Oh no, not happening. I’m not interested in dealing with a domestic. Exes rarely do well in the same place,” he said with a groan. “I’ll report back. Best I can offer.”
She frowned. “Can Poppy at least go?”
“This is police work, not soccer mom stuff. You
ladies wait here,” he said, patronizing them.
Poppy rolled her eyes upward. This guy was a piece of work. “Sure, right,” she said, pacifying him. Thankfully, her Reggie thought more of her.
The women waited for his return, gossiping about his tone and lack of interest. When he returned, there was no news. “Woman answered the door, hadn’t heard or seen anything, and there was no dog around, that I could see.”
Carmella sighed. “Thank you. What will you do now?”
“You could put posters up about your missing dog, but there’s not a lot to go on. You’ll have to hope she turns up and someone saw something.”
“That’s it?” She was horrified.
The officer shrugged. “It’s not like a kid went missing; big difference in the law books.”
“Maybe not to you,” she spit out with venom. “Anastasia is like a child to me.”
“Yeah, sorry,” was all he could muster.
Chapter 6
A blue sedan pulled up and parked in front of the office. Martin was sitting on a chair, just outside. “Hey there,” he greeted. “Welcome to Paradise Cove and Mini Golf.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I have a reservation.”
“You must be Mike Donovan,” Martin said, then stood to shake the man’s hand. “Come on inside, and we’ll get you checked in.”
A small, white dog barked and looked out the window of the sedan.
Martin turned around. “You got a dog? There’s an extra $50 cleaning fee for pets.”
Mike groaned. “Oh, yeah, sorry, I forgot to mention that.”
Martin spoke as he filled out a small card and then placed a paper before the big man to sign. “Sign where the ‘x’ is and just jot your car’s make and model information on the bottom line.”
The man was squirrely, looking around. He quickly filled in the information.
“It says here, there’s another adult. We just need the name of the other person staying in the unit,” Martin said.
Mike Donovan glanced over the counter. “You sell gum here? His name is Jimmy Long. We’ll only be around a few days. We’re visiting a friend in the area.”
Martin handed Mike the key and pointed to the area with gum and mints. “We don’t have much, what are you looking for?”
“Freshen Up, but it’s hard to find. I’ll take the bubble gum you’ve got there. It will have to do for now.” He tossed a dollar on the counter to pay for the gum, shoved it in his shirt pocket, and then headed back to his car. Martin had given him a small map with directions to their unit.
When Poppy arrived home later, she asked if everything went smoothly. “It was craziness over there. I hope things were calm here.”
“Yeah, no problems at all. Seems like a nice enough guy. Oh, and he has a pet, so I put a charge on the account for the cleaning fee.”
“Sure, thanks,” she said, heading to the fridge. “I have no idea what I feel like making for dinner.”
“It’s already handled. Panda is bringing crab legs. See if Reggie can pick up some corn and shrimp on the way home. Panda says he wants to talk to us, says he has some news.” Martin shrugged. “What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know, Dad. I guess we’ll find out tonight.” She hoped it was good news, and not bad news.
“Hey, know what I heard today. Our new guy asked if we had Freshen Up gum. I haven’t heard of that in ages. Remember that gum?” He laughed thinking back.
Poppy’s ears perked up. “Did you say Freshen Up?”
“Yeah, hey, remember the long, twisty Marathon bars? I don’t think you can get those anymore either. And milk in a glass bottle, those were the days…oh, and do Root Beer barrels still exist?”
Poppy jolted to the counter, scanning the information on the card. “I need to check something. I’ll be right back.” She didn’t want to say anything else.
“Sure thing, and don’t forget to call Reggie. See if he can get that stuff on the way home,” Martin called out behind her.
Poppy waved as she ran out the door. She headed straight to the unit that was set aside for one Mike Donovan. She noted the basic blue family sedan parked in front of it. She drew a deep breath, turned on her best southern charm and knocked at the door to the camper.
A big man popped his head out. He wasn’t expecting company. “Yeah?”
“Hi there, I’m Poppy Pepper, one of the owners of the resort. My father mentioned you brought a family pet with you. Do you need anything? We don’t have a fenced in dog park, but the trails around the resort are nice for walking. Please just remember to use a leash. Welcome to the resort.” She smiled the best she was able.
“Yeah, thanks, we’re good. We’ll be out of here in a day or two, we’re just passing through,” he said. He didn’t look like he was ready for a conversation and wanted this talk to be over.
“Oh, what area are you visiting from?” Keep them talking. The dog started barking from inside. “Oh, can I see your dog, I just adore dogs. We have a stray cat we call Chopper that’s kind of adopted us, but I do love dogs.”
The man groaned, not wanting to be bothered. He picked up the little white dog, not wanting to make her suspicious. A white dog is a white dog. They all looked alike.
“Oh, she’s adorable. What’s her name? Is it a boy or girl? I’m thinking a girl with that adorable bow holding her hair up over her eyes.” She cooed appropriately.
“Princess, lady, her name is Princess. Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m exhausted. I was just about to take a nap.” He made it clear he didn’t want to be disturbed.
“Oh, right, so sorry. Enjoy your stay,” she said pumping up the charm. She gave him a sweet smile and then turned away. There was no doubt about it; she recognized that dog the instant the man held her up. She’d put a call in to the police department to report it right away. No need to call Carmella first, otherwise, she’d rush over and cause a scene. Better to secure the dog before getting her involved.
When the police officers showed up, she filled them in on the details, what unit he was in, that she knew the dog in question, and that the owner had filed the report earlier in the day. It was some weird coincidence that they were staying there, but if it got Anastasia back to Carmella, she was thrilled it happened that way.
She headed down the lane, just a few moments after the two police cars. She wanted to give them time before she got there. It didn’t take long. The officers had cuffed the men, scooped up the dog, and put her in one of the cars. The men were seated in the other.
“Larceny at best; dogs don’t fall under kidnapping charges. Grand theft in the third degree, since the law goes by value,” the offer said to Poppy as she walked up. “Not a huge fine, but with prior convictions, these guys won’t get off as easily.”
“The thing is,” Poppy started. “I think they were working for someone. Would I be able to talk to them?”
“Not standard procedure,” the officer stated. He winked. “Of course, I’m going to check out the camper to see if there’s anything else I need to collect as evidence. If you happened to talk to them through the partially rolled down window of the car, there’s not much I can do about that.”
“Right,” she said, catching on. She went over to the car, took a deep breath and said, “I know you’re working for someone else. If you tell me who hired you, we might be able to lessen the charges against you both.”
“I’m no rat,” Jimmy “Bag-of-Bagels” spit out. “Go pound sand.”
Klondike Mike growled at Jimmy. “This was all you. One small job you said, and we’d be ready for the big time again. We’d get our reputation back, you said. Instead, we’re going to end up back in the slammer.” He turned his attention back to Poppy. “Watch your back, lady. You don’t know who you’re messing with.”
“Is that a threat?” She raised her voice. Turning around, “Excuse me, officer…”
“Not a threat, knock it off.”
Poppy grilled him again. “Who are you working fo
r?”
“I don’t know; some guy hired us off of an online classified site. We’ve got reputations. They know how to find us. We were getting paid through a PO Box at a local office. We can’t get paid if we don’t hand over the dog.”
“When were you going to do that?” Poppy quizzed hoping to get more details.
Mike glared at her. “Lady, why should I tell you?”
“Because I can help you,” she said, daring him to find out if it was true. She bluffed as well as anyone.
“Lady, I’m beyond help. I’m not talking. A squealer doesn’t get more work, and I’m not ready to change my profession.” He clamped up, refusing to say another word.
If she could figure out what post office, who was renting the box out, and where and when he was supposed to drop off the dog… She sighed. That would be next to impossible.
Not long after the officers left, she called Carmella to let her know Anastasia was on the way home. Only, nobody answered. She left a message, hoping she was home when the police showed up with her dog. Poppy decided to head over, in case she wasn’t around, she could take temporary ownership until her friend arrived.
Once again, stopping in the office, she checked in on her father. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you. I’ll fill you in later, but the guys that checked in were the ones that stole Carmella’s dog. Now, we just need to find out who was behind it. Who was paying them to do the deed? I’m sorry to do this to you again, but could you watch over the counter?”
“Are you going out again?” he asked. “We should hire someone again, only not as a temp.”
“I wish we could afford it. Anyway, yeah, I’m heading over to Carmella’s. She’s not answering her phone and the police are on the way to her house. I want to be there in case she’s not.” Poppy explained.
“Sure, sure, just pick up some cocktail sauce on the way home,” he said, double checking the fridge. “We’re out of cocktail sauce.”
Chapter 7