Paws For Death

by Susan Union

  Randi gathered Shane’s leash and pocketed some dog biscuits, passing a few of them to her mother on her way out the door. “Come on, Mom. We’ll look for Jojo together. We’ll start on the path to the creek. The brush is pretty thick on both sides. If Jojo went that way she’d use the trail.”

  “But Luke said we should split up.”

  “Never mind. It’s too dark and you don’t know the terrain.”

  “I have a flashlight.”

  No way was she sending her mother off by herself in her half-hysterical state. “Rattlesnakes live in the brush.”

  “They’re asleep.”

  “Yeah, until you step on one.”

  Her mother’s lips formed a tight line. Shane trotted out in front as the three of them made their way down the skinny trail leading away from the bungalow. Each time the coyotes sang out, her mother sucked in a breath. “That means they’ve made a kill. I read it somewhere.”

  “Jojo’s tough. Too smart to be caught by coyotes.” A bald-faced lie. Coyotes were as common as rich people in Rancho del Zorro, and nothing was more clever than a pack of the wild beasts when it came to hunting. Randi had seen what they’d done to cats. A small dog wouldn’t fare much better.

  “We had such a promising future together. I’ll never find another dog like her. What am I going to do?”

  Thorns scraped Randi’s arms and her face. “You’re going to hold yourself together, that’s what you’re going to do.” The scratches stung. She put her hand to her forehead. It came away with sticky blood and, tapping her fingers together, it made her think. “Mom, is Jojo spayed?”

  “I haven’t had a chance.” Her mother’s footsteps crunched the leaves. “You don’t think?”

  “I don’t know what to think. We heard a lot of crazy stuff at Dainsworth’s tonight.”

  “If someone swiped my Jojo to sell her at auction and confine her to life in a cage, they’re gonna wish they were never born by the time I get through with ’em.”

  If Jojo had been stolen for use as a breeding bitch, however unlikely, her mother would never find her. They had a far better chance of locating her out here.

  A few minutes later they reached the dry creek bed bordering Luke’s property. Eight feet across and large enough to run three feet deep when the water was flowing. Randi was at an impasse. She put her hand in her pocket and fingered the tuft of Jojo’s silky hair.

  Like mother, like dog. Jojo had vanished.

  The three of them rendezvoused at Randi’s carport. The wind was picking up and Luke had put on a long-sleeved flannel over his T-shirt.

  Shane’s ears went up and he cocked his head.

  Her mother said, “Something’s buzzing.”

  “Sounds like a phone.” Luke patted his pocket. “Not mine. I left it with Dusty. Told him to call all the animal shelters from here to Orange County.”

  “Oh!” Her mother jumped like she’d just touched a strand of hotwire. “It’s mine.” She gave it a glance. “It’s a text. I don’t recognize the number.”

  Luke took a step closer. “What’s it say?”

  Squinting, her mother held the phone at arm’s length. “Lifeguard stand north of dog beach. Come alone. No lights, no people.” She looked up, panic-stricken. “Or the dog dies.”

  Randi clicked Shane’s leash to his collar.

  Luke took out his keys. “What’re we waiting for? Let’s go.”

  ****

  Luke parked his truck along Pacific Coast Highway, pulling in behind a motorhome. On the other side of a thin curtain, in what appeared to be a bedroom, a television flickered. Luke shut off the engine, and the roar of the surf drowned out the TV It was the closest they could get to the beach but was still at least two hundred yards across the sand to the shore.

  Randi got out, followed by Shane. Dog beach was one of his favorite places and there was no telling him they weren’t here for fun. She shortened his leash so he wouldn’t get too excited and pull her down the steep embankment that fell away from the road.

  Parked three car lengths in front of the motorhome was a Dodge truck with a camper shell on the back. Just like Gina’s. The one Andrew supposedly sold to fund Gina’s half-assed memorial service. Could it be hers?

  “Whoa,” she said to Shane out of habit. This whole thing smelled of a set-up, and like idiots, they’d come running. Whoever planned this knew Lee Ann Sterling well enough to know she would willingly risk her life to save that of her little dog.

  Her mother grabbed her arm and Luke’s arm for support and the three of them slid down the slope. The on-shore winds, stinging with sea spray, blasted them as they trudged through the sand to the waterline. To the left, the estuary that ran behind the fairgrounds flowed under a bridge, and beyond that a row of lights from oceanfront homes twinkled in the distance.

  On the right, a steep-walled promontory rose to the sky. Impossible to get to the other side at high tide unless you swam out to avoid getting slammed against the rocks or climbed a path over the top.

  Her mother stepped on a pile of kelp, popping it beneath her shoes. “The text said to go to the lifeguard stand alone. I’m not afraid of the cowardly bastard who’s doing this, and I appreciate the ride, Luke, but I don’t want anything to happen to Jojo because of you and Randi. No offense.”

  “Mom, you realize the cowardly bastard who sent the text is luring you into a trap. We can’t just send you marching—” She couldn’t finish the “to your death” part.

  Luke held up his hand. “Hold on. I have a plan. The tide is low enough right now so Lee Ann, you can walk to the north side around the cliff. You’ll appear to be alone. Meanwhile, Randi and I will take the path to the top. We should be able to see you in case you need help.”

  Randi shook her head. “What if the tide comes up or she gets knocked over by an errant wave? She can’t swim.”

  Her mother glared. “Look who’s talking.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not the one who wants to go charging blindly into a situation I know nothing about.”

  Luke shouldered his way between them. “Did I hear you right? You don’t know how to swim? You neither, Randi? Are you serious?”

  “Minnow class at the YMCA was as far as I got.”

  Her mother lifted her chin. “You gave up.”

  “I did not. You made me quit. You said you didn’t have time to drive me anymore, and since you didn’t know how to swim, you didn’t think it was important.”

  Her mother put a hand on Luke’s arm. “I never liked getting my face wet. It wasn’t an ego thing, I wore contacts.”

  Luke frowned and looked out over the water. The waves crested, moving closer. “You’re going to have to be careful. Even for those who can swim, the point break is dangerous.”

  Her mother wrung her hands. “Why are we standing here gabbing? It’s dark out here and Dylan told me Jojo’s afraid of the dark. Let’s go.”

  “What if this guy has a gun?”

  Luke reached into his pocket and took out something long and thin. There was the click of a button and a whoosh as it doubled in size. “I’m very proficient with this thing.”

  Randi’s eyes widened. “Switchblades are illegal in California. Where’d you get that?”

  “Mexico.”

  “Impressive.” She rubbed her arms. “But not much use against a gun, no matter how proficient you are.”

  She waited for her mother to agree, but she’d already disappeared into the dark.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  From the top of the ridge the wind blew damp and cold and hard. The waves shook the bluff each time they crashed against it. When Randi shuffled to the edge, hoping to spot her mother on the beach, her stomach roiled with the same intensity as the ocean down below. Luke lay on his belly, inches from the drop-off, switchblade and baseball cap at his side. Randi hung back, knees quaking, holding Shane tight. Her fear of heights was more physical than mental. She could convince her mind she wasn’t going to plummet to her death, but if her legs
didn’t hold her up, it might become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

  She retreated to the relative safety of the sagebrush. “Anything happening?”

  “Not yet.” Luke shifted on his elbows. “Your mother should’ve rounded the point by now.”

  “What about the lifeguard stand? Can you see it?”

  “Yep. The doors are closed.”

  “Could she be inside?”

  “It’s possible.” Luke twisted around. “Oh…that reminds me. Manuel came to me earlier. Said he remembered something that might be important.”

  “What was it?”

  “Before we went on our ride, even before you got there to tack up, he was cleaning the back paddocks when he saw someone go into the barn. He thought he was the new shoer so he let him be. When Manuel finished the corrals, the guy was gone. Manuel was surprised. Realized the man hadn’t been the shoer after all. Sometimes he gets so into that music of his he doesn’t pay much attention to anything else.”

  “Did he get a look at him?”

  “Not a good one.”

  “Big? Tall? Fat? Thin? Dreads?”

  “All I know is that he was wearing a hat.”

  “You think he was the one who messed with my saddle pad?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Barbra’s the only person who knew which horse I was going to ride.”

  Luke scowled. “The important thing is that you weren’t hurt.” He returned his attention to what was happening down on the beach. A minute or two passed in silence, then he shook his head. “I don’t like this, not one bit.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “Your mother never made it round the point of the rocks to the lifeguard stand.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “Ninety more seconds, then I’m going down there.” Luke started to scramble up, then stopped. “Wait—I see someone.”

  “Where?”

  “At the edge of the water. South of the cliff. Near where we parted ways.”

  “Is it my mother? Does she have Jojo?” Randi dragged herself toward the edge. Pebbles came loose, pinging off the cliff on their tumbling descent. She clung to a batch of sea grass and tried to stop the earth from spinning.

  “Careful.”

  “I’m not moving. Trusting you to be my eyes. What’s happening now?”

  “Can’t tell yet. I’d need my flashlight to say for sure but I can’t turn it on. I don’t want to give our position away.”

  “Please, look harder, Luke. We need to know who we’re dealing with.”

  “Okay…hold on. Might be—yep, it’s him. Way out in the surf.”

  “Him who?”

  “Steve Copeland. I can tell by the dreads. Your mother’s running toward him.”

  “Toward him? You mean into the water?”

  “Yep. Copeland’s got Jojo’s hind legs; your mother just grabbed the front. They’re fighting over her. Damn, they’re going to tear that poor dog in half.”

  The papillon’s cries carried up the bluff. Shane barked. Randi grabbed his muzzle to make him be quiet, but he twisted away and kept on barking.

  Luke shuffled forward. “Hold on. Your mother let go, but Copeland’s swimming away. He’s got Jojo.”

  “Swimming? What the hell for?”

  “Beats me. He disappeared. Uh oh. There goes your mother.”

  “How deep?” Ice trickled through Randi’s veins. “Can you tell?”

  “She just got clobbered by a wave.” Luke grabbed his things and scrambled up. “Come on.” He pulled Randi to her feet, heading for the path they’d just climbed up. She slipped on the conveyor belt of gravel beneath her boots and the rock crumbled away with every jolting step, but she didn’t stop, didn’t slow down. Shane bounded over the bushes, ripping the leash from her hand. She kept her eyes glued to Luke.

  When they hit the sand, the roar of the ocean was deafening. Randi imagined her mother trying to save Jojo, only to slip exhausted beneath the surface, water filling her lungs till she couldn’t fight anymore, clinging to her dog as they sank like stones to the bottom of the sea.

  They said drowning was quiet, not like in the movies. Randi didn’t want to find out. Luke ran toward the ocean and Shane leapt after him, leash snaking along the beach. After what seemed like forever, Luke’s flashlight flared and lit up the water. Too late. Waves slapped at Randi’s knees, soaking her boots and pants, and the chill of it took her breath away. The water rolled in. “Mom!”

  Luke cupped his hands. “Lee Ann!”

  Randi scanned the never-ending blackness. Finally, twenty yards out, she saw something moving. “Luke! Two o’clock!”

  He swung the light. One of her mother’s arms appeared like a ghost flag waving between the swells.

  Luke tore his shirt off and ran to the water, kicking his feet free of his boots then his jeans. He dashed into the surf wearing only his T-shirt and underwear, waves breaking over his head as he dove in.

  Randi snatched the flashlight from the sand, along with the end of Shane’s leash. He pulled like a fresh-caught marlin, barking and straining and jerking her off her feet, yanking her closer to the pounding surf. Something protruded beyond the wave break. A second later it was gone. Eyes straining, she searched the empty blackness. Again, it popped up. Somebody’s head? Before she could tell for sure, the sea took it back. Her brain ached with the effort of trying to make something out of nothing, and her arms shook from the cold and the effort of holding her dog in check.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a form emerged. Making his way on shore, Luke cradled her mother, her arms wrapped around his neck. Randi said a prayer as she fingered the Pegasus charm at the base of her throat. Bringing up the rear of the waterlogged party, Steve Copeland limped after them, dragging a leg, dreadlocks twisted round his neck like angry sea serpents. He cried out in pain with each step. No sign of Jojo.

  A jingling noise came from behind her, up the beach in the direction of the road. She spun around; nothing there. Luke set her mother down safe from the rising tide, then straightened, staggered and sank to his knees, coughing up seawater.

  Copeland fell also, face-first onto the sand. Randi thought he might be dead until he curled himself into a ball like a roly-poly.

  “My ankle,” he moaned. “It’s broken!”

  There was a flash of bone, white beneath his hand. A gruesome wound, yet the only thing making Randi sick was that Jojo had not come out of the water. More concerned with Luke and her mother than Copeland, Randi ran to Luke’s side. She touched his shoulder. “You okay?”

  Dripping wet, he staggered to his feet, teeth chattering, shivering in his underwear.

  “You need to warm up.” She wanted to wrap herself around him. Instead, she stood there feeling helpless.

  Luke rubbed his arms. “Water’s damn cold. Your mother’s too weak to walk. Get her phone. See if you can reach nine-one-one.”

  Her mother sobbed as Randi wrapped her arms around her shoulders, bringing on a coughing fit. She found the phone deep in the pocket of her mother’s drenched windbreaker. The cell slipped between her fingers and one look confirmed the obvious. “Wet and dead.”

  Her mother trembled. “Where’s Jojo?”

  “You’re freezing, Mom. Soon as I get you warmed up, I’ll get her for you.” She had no choice but to lie. Guilt clawed at her conscious, but if her mother found out Jojo was still out there, she’d fling herself back in the water and tomorrow morning there’d be two bodies washed up on shore instead of one.

  She caught Luke’s eye and nodded toward the ocean, questioning Jojo’s fate without words. Luke frowned and shook his head.

  Her belly took the punch, but there was nothing to be done. She reeled Shane close until she could feel his ribcage heaving next to her leg. She couldn’t let herself think about the loss of Jojo, not yet. Not with her mother facing hypothermia.

  Luke found his jeans, shook them off and hopped on the sand as he struggled to get his wet legs into dry pan
ts. “We have to get your mother off the beach and into someplace warm.” He grabbed his flannel shirt. “Put this on her. She needs it more than I do.”

  Randi guided her mother’s trembling arms through the sleeves. Seawater dribbled from her bottom lip. She looked at Randi with a blank stare, groaned, then vomited onto the sand.

  “Luke, her pulse is weak and she’s shaking uncontrollably. Tide’s coming up.”

  White foam confirmed the waves’ steady march. Randi took her mother by the arm. “Come on. We’ve gotta go.”

  Her mother ripped her elbow away with surprising strength. “I’m not leaving without my dog.” Her jaws clattered together like those of a wind-up plastic toy.

  Luke patted his pockets. “Yes, you are. I’m heading for my truck. I’ll carry you if I need to.” He repeated the patting process, quicker this time. “Soon as I find my keys. They were in my pocket. I’m sure of it.” He shot Copeland a look, but the accusation on his face mellowed when he realized there was no way in hell Copeland could have swiped his keys in his condition.

  “I heard something jingling when you guys were coming out of the water. Sounded like keys but Shane and I were the only ones on the beach.”

  Luke shrugged. “Finding keys in the sand would be hard enough in the daylight. Near impossible right now, and we’re running out of time. Once hypothermia sets in there’s no way to overcome it other than heat. That motorhome should have blankets and if they won’t drive us to the hospital, I’ll have them call an ambulance. You stay here with Copeland. He can’t make it that far on one leg, and as tempting as it is, we shouldn’t leave him here alone.”

  She nodded, swallowing her fear. “Yes, go. I’ll be fine. I can handle Copeland.”

  “I’ll come back for you.” Luke slid the switchblade into her pocket. “Keep this in case he gets out of hand.”

  A strangled cry came from the water. In the few seconds Luke and Randi had been strategizing, her mother had lurched herself back into the ocean.