Three Dog Day

by Lia Farrell

  “Excellent work, both of you.” Dory smiled at her team. “This endeavor has been a complete success. I can’t wait to see Sheriff Bradley’s face in the morning. And the two of you are going to tell him to reinstate me as an investigator, right?”

  “I will,” Cam said. “This was fun tonight.”

  “I might have to go to the ER.” George was rubbing his scraped hand. “I feel a bit dizzy. Might have hit my head when I pulled the guy down.”

  “George, that dizziness is the sweet sensation of success,” Dory said. “Come back to the break room and I will get you a bandage.” She and Cam exchanged amused glances.

  “It’s not funny,” George said. “I’ve been injured in the line of duty.”

  “Yes, yes. You were the hero.” Dory bit her lip.

  “Well then.” Mollified, he followed Dory back to the break room to have his injury attended to. Then he left, followed shortly by Cam.

  On her way home to the flower pot district, Dory sang the old Dolly Parton favorite—“Workin’ Nine to Five.” She wouldn’t be working nine to five much longer. Investigators had much more flexibility in their jobs. It had been an excellent day.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  January 26th

  Detective Wayne Nichols

  Counselor Enid Lawton’s late night call startled Wayne awake. He had been watching the eleven o’clock local news and had fallen asleep in his chair. The news, such as it was, helped him keep his finger on the pulse of crime in Nashville and what little illegal activity there was in nearby Rosedale. He thought of it as more gossip than news since most of the news stories on TV were scandalously overblown. In fact, Rose County, in spite of the latest rash of serious crimes, was still one of the safest places in the country.

  Before he drifted off, Wayne had been smiling, remembering a staff meeting in December when George Phelps gave his weekly report on crime in the small, bucolic town of Rosedale.

  “Go ahead, George. Let’s hear about the weekly infractions of the good citizens of Rosedale.” The sheriff pursed his lips, ineffectively stifling his amusement.

  George cleared his throat and began, “Mr. Billings left the back door to his barber shop unlocked on Wednesday night. I discovered the unlocked door on my rounds and locked it. I informed Mr. Billings. He apologized.” George looked up. Hearing no rebuke, he continued, “I pulled over Evan Addison again for driving on an expired license, and this time I wrote him a ticket.”

  “Wow, George,” Dory chimed in. “Pretty tense, pulling Evan over. Probably a high speed chase. What is he now, George, ninety or ninety-one?”

  George cast Dory an irritated glance. “And I was on duty in the high school cafeteria on Friday when a food fight broke out. It was the last Friday before Christmas break. I managed to get control of the situation.” Everyone was looking down, lips twitching, but Wayne noticed Rob poking Cam in the ribs. She put her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling.

  George had in fact instituted “Lunch Room Patrol Duty,” by asking the principal of the high school if he could be present during lunch period, because there was so little for him to do in Rosedale. Wayne could just imagine the principal’s amusement. Most of the cafeteria women reduced obstreperous teenagers to silence with a single scorching glare.

  When the phone rang, Wayne glanced at the clock and screen on his phone. It was just after midnight and the call was from Lansing, Michigan.

  “Hello, Ms. Lawton.” Wayne was instantly awake. “Any movement on Jocelyn’s case?”

  “I’m sorry to call so late, Wayne, and with bad news. We struck out again. The judge refused to hear my petition. Once he saw the report from the doctor stating that Jocelyn was in late stage lung cancer, he decided he wouldn’t review the matter. He said there were more pressing cases on his docket.”

  “I see.” It was yet another blow. “Is there anything else you can do?”

  “Well, as I told you when we started, the governor sometimes pardons women in their final days, but I just had a brainstorm. I may have found a loophole.” Wayne could hear the excitement in Enid’s voice. She sounded like a kid. “There’s this thing called Grounds for Relief from a Final Judgment Order or Proceeding. They call it a six-oh-five. It’s just a form you fill out on behalf of the prisoner. If the powers that be agree to the argument written in the six-oh-five, the prisoner’s immediately released. How about that?”

  Immediately released. Wayne’s breathing slowed. He felt his shoulders go down and his taut belly relax. Immediately released.

  “What are the grounds?”

  “There are six, but numbers two through five aren’t applicable in this case. The first one is ‘mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.’ I can easily argue that a mistake was made in not offering Jocelyn an attorney. I think this will do it, Wayne, I really do, but there’s also a number six, which reads, ‘any other reason that justifies relief.’ I will add her lung cancer diagnosis to buttress my argument as number six on the form. I’m really optimistic about this.”

  “Ah.” In Wayne’s mind the ceiling of his apartment opened up to the night sky. For a moment, he could see the stars. After seconds of stars filling his mind, he realized Enid was still talking.

  “I’m going to fill out the form tonight and submit it tomorrow. If granted, this will be quick, Wayne. If everything works, my guess is she’ll be released by the middle of February. I’ve only handled one other appeal for the Women’s Clemency Relief Project, but I should have known about this. I was just flailing around looking for some loophole and on a whim, I called my old law school professor. He told me that the federal government passed the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act, which shut down a lot of opportunities for filing appeals for prisoners. In Michigan, felons are only allowed one six-oh-five, but Jocelyn’s never had one, so this just might work.”

  Warmth radiated through Wayne’s body. His heart was racing, drumming in his chest. He was flooded with adrenaline. He revisited all the steps leading to this moment and felt an immense gratitude for Enid Lawton who knew enough to get help when she needed it. His eyes blinked back sudden tears.

  “Wayne, did you hear me?”

  “I sure did, Enid. I sure did,” he managed to say. “Let me know, will you? Call me day or night.”

  “I’ll email you a copy of the form so you can see everyone who has to sign it.”

  “Sleep well, Counselor,” Wayne said. There was a grin on his face that could not be contained. He would probably never be able to bury his little brother or get Aarne posthumously convicted of his murder, but Enid Lawton might just have set Wayne Nichols’ soul free.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  January 27th

  Mae December

  Before going to bed the night before, Mae had gotten a very interesting phone call from her young employee, Ray Fenton. She had asked Ray to help her figure out what Web Johnson planned to do with Jerrod Clifton’s dogs. Apparently young Ray had been asking around. He gave her a name—Travis Pritchett.

  “I can’t say who told me about him. It’s someone at my school.” Ray’s voice was quiet, almost whispering on the phone. “If you go looking for him you better be careful, Miss Mae. I heard he runs a dog fight and makes moonshine. Maybe that’s who Web was selling Mr. Jerrod’s dogs to.”

  “Do you have any idea where this is going on?” Mae asked.

  Ray gave her specific instructions, which she wrote down with care. “Please don’t tell anyone you heard this from me, though,” he said. “Travis Pritchett’s a bad man. I don’t want him coming after me or my mom.”

  She promised to keep his name out of it and to talk to Ben before she did anything else, thanked Ray, and ended the call.

  On the bright, cold morning of January 27th, she performed her round of dog-related chores in a distracted state. After her second cup of coffee, she tried Ben on his cell, but he didn’t answer. She called the office and reached Dory.

  “Sheriff’s office, Investigator
Dory Clarkson speaking.”

  “Dory, he reinstated you? That’s great, congratulations!”

  “He did. How are you today, Mae? Arm feeling better?”

  “It’s okay,” Mae replied. “Just itchy under this cast, but I’m getting my energy back. Listen, I was trying to reach Ben on his cell. Did he leave already?”

  There was a slight pause. “It’s okay,” Mae said. “I know about Anthony. His girlfriend came to my house to try and get the puppies for an experiment he was doing. And I went to the vet school with Ben and Rob, so you don’t have to be discreet with me.”

  Dory confirmed that Ben, Wayne, and Detective Fuller were on their way to Benton. “Cell service is terrible out that way. If it’s an emergency I can try them on the police radio. Do you want me to call them on the radio?”

  “Oh, no. Don’t do that.” Mae thought for a moment. “Remember how Ben asked for my help on the puppy mill case?”

  “Um hum,” Dory murmured.

  “Well, he also asked me to look into what Web Johnston might have been doing with all those dogs, since we know he wasn’t selling them to the vet school, at least not at the time Jerrod said to close down the puppy mill.”

  “Right.” Dory sounded more alert now. “You found something, didn’t you?”

  “I did, but I can’t tell you who told me. I got a lead on a guy who may be running a dog-fighting ring. And making moonshine … but that’s beside the point, at least as far as I’m concerned. I have a name and directions to the place. It’s way out in the southwest corner of the county.” Mae stopped talking before she said too much.

  “You aren’t thinking about going out there by yourself, are you? Somebody like that probably has some kind of security, especially for a moonshine still. The ATF could be after them at any time. If it’s a big operation, they’ve got guns. Promise me you won’t go alone.”

  Mae sighed. “I was thinking about going to have a look around. I’m not very threatening, you know. And I couldn’t care less about someone making ’shine. But dog fighting ….” She swallowed and took a deep breath. “It’s disgusting. Do you know that they’d use a sweet little puppy like True as bait to get the fighters riled up?”

  “That’s horrible,” Dory said. “But if I let you go there by yourself and something happens to you, your mother will never forgive me.”

  “I know. She and Daddy are so protective. Mama’s still mad at me for agreeing to host Tammy’s wedding with a broken wrist.” Mae gave a little laugh. “She saw my interview with Carrie Adams and that’s how she found out. But Ben did ask me to look into this. He can’t be mad if I do.”

  “Not at you, maybe. But believe me, he wouldn’t want you doing this alone, and he’ll be plenty mad at me if I let you. Do you want to go with George or Cam?”

  Mae was surprised by the question. “Not you? Now that you’re back to being an investigator, can’t you go with me?”

  “Honey, one of the deputies needs to go with you. They’re armed and I’m not.” Dory lowered her voice. “Just between you and me, Cam would be my first choice. George might shoot you by accident.”

  “All right.” Mae capitulated. “Let me talk to her.”

  Deputy Cam Gomez agreed to come to Mae’s house and then follow her out to Travis Pritchett’s. She had also, after consulting with Dory, reluctantly agreed that Mae could go to the door alone. “I’ll give you ten minutes in there. If you’re not back out by then I’m coming in. We don’t want to spook anyone with the patrol car or my uniform, but Dory’s right. Anybody with a still probably has guns around.” She looked Mae over with a smile. “At least they won’t think you’re law enforcement. And the cast makes you look harmless. You could get in and out without a problem.”

  The two young women decided that Cam would park the patrol car at the small convenience store near Travis Pritchett’s place, get in the back seat of Mae’s Explorer and stay out of sight when Mae went to the door.

  “What reason will you give for being there?” Cam asked from the back seat. When Mae looked in her rearview mirror, a little frown disturbed the smoothness of Cam’s forehead.

  “I think I’ll just say I’m lost and my cellphone died. Maybe ask for directions or to use their phone.”

  Cam smiled in the mirror. “That works. And speaking of your cellphone, let me have it for a second. I’ll call my phone from yours and we can put yours on speaker. Put yours in your coat pocket and I’ll be able to hear what’s going on when you’re inside.”

  Mae glanced at Cam in the mirror once more. “Good idea. Hang on a minute and I’ll pull over and get it out of my purse. I’ve gotten pretty good at one-handed driving, but hands-free is another story.”

  She pulled onto the side of the narrow, twisting lane and pulled the phone out of her purse. Mae handed it to Cam and gave her the code to unlock it. Cam quickly punched in the code and called her own phone, looking down in concentration. Mae watched her accept the call and put Mae’s phone on speaker.

  “There.” She handed the phone to Mae, who carefully placed it in the front pocket of her red winter coat. Cam nodded her dark head in approval. “It’s like you’re wearing a wire.”

  Mae pulled back onto the road and drove through a grove of cedar trees and down a hill. She glanced at the directions taped to her console. “You better lie down,” she said. “We’re almost there. And since you can hear me, can you wait longer than ten minutes?”

  Cam disappeared from the rearview mirror. “Okay, how about this? You say ‘It’s snowing again’ if you need my help.”

  The man who answered the door had to weigh 300 pounds. He wore a blue and gray flannel shirt, overalls, and a greasy Braves ball cap on his stringy dark hair. When Mae looked in his pale, almost colorless eyes, she felt a twinge of fear.

  “What’dya want?” The man spoke around a wad of chewing tobacco inside his lower lip. He gave Mae a slow, unsmiling inspection from her boots up to her face.

  “I’m lost. And my cellphone died. Do you have a phone I could use?”

  The huge man continued to stand so the bulk of his body blocked any view of the room. “I figured you was lost,” he said, and spat into a plastic cup he held in his meaty hand. “Travis,” he called over his shoulder. “Got a pretty lil’ gal here. Don’t nobody know where she is.” He gave Mae a mean grin, showing a brown and crooked set of teeth.

  “Let her in, Parnell.” Mae heard another male voice from behind the oversized man. “It’s cold out there.”

  Parnell stepped aside and Mae squeezed past him, trying not to breathe through her nose. Apparently Parnell was not a frequent taker of showers. It was a little too warm inside the house, and dimly lit. There was a woodstove in the corner and the window blinds were all down except for one.

  “Need a drink?” Parnell indicated a half-empty bottle of Bud on the stained side table.

  “Uh, no thanks,” Mae said, taking in the squalor of dirty plates and empty cans and bottles. Now that she was there, she wasn’t sure how to buy time.

  “We don’t get many visitors out here, do we, Parnell?”

  The huge man laughed, wheezing and shaking his belly. “Not in the daytime we don’t. Should I let ’er use the phone?”

  Parnell was standing between her and the door. Travis, a smaller version of Parnell, shook his head. “I am lost.” Mae gave him a pleading look. “Please, can I just use your phone?”

  He put the footrest of the recliner down and got to his feet. “No. Phone lines are still down.”

  “Are there any gas stations in the area? If you could just direct me there—”

  “Not much in this area, and that’s a fact. Where did you say you were on the way to?”

  “Rosedale.”

  “From where? Maybe you need to get one of them there GPS things.”

  Mae looked past him out the window into the backyard and saw dogs in stacked up cages around the muddy, trampled ground. She saw Cam dart around the side of a dilapidated shed.

&nb
sp; “You really lost, or just nosy?” Travis walked over to stand right in front of Mae, who froze. He stared into Mae’s eyes. “What are you really up to?”

  She swallowed, willing herself not to show fear. “I’m just trying to get to Rosedale,” she said loudly. “I got turned around on these winding roads and then I noticed that it’s snowing again.”

  “Doesn’t look like it’s snowing to me,” the man said. She turned away to avoid his foul breath.

  Mae heard a loud knock at the door.

  “Open up, police!”

  “Grab her,” Travis said to Parnell in a low, urgent voice. “Take her in the other room.”

  More banging on the door was followed by a raised male voice. “Open the door right now, Pritchett, or we’re breaking it down.”

  She heard Travis saying, “Hang on, I’m coming,” before Parnell grabbed her hair and pulled her into a small bedroom. He closed and locked the door and swiveled his huge bulk to look at her.

  “My friends are out there,” Mae told him. “You better let me go.”

  The hulking man looked her up and down. “You better keep quiet or you and me’re gonna have a little fun before your friends can save you.” He reached toward her as she backed away, fighting down a surge of nausea.

  “You sure are pretty.” He trapped her against the wall and put his mouth next to her ear. Mae wriggled, frantically trying to escape his grasp. “That’s good,” Parnell’s voice roughened. “You’re lively too.”