Spot and Smudge - Book One

by Robert Udulutch

  As she leaned on the door she watched the sleeping boy and sang quietly to herself, “A lassie was milking her father's kye, when a gentleman on horseback he came ridin' by…” She pictured her husband’s handsome, ruddy face under his tam from just a few months ago, and thought, I miss you my love, and you’re missing some truly amazing things down here. She pulled Ben’s door shut and left the room.

  She stopped at the hall coat closet and rummaged around on the top shelf for a few minutes. When she came back into the kitchen the pups were still on the table, and she placed a cardboard box on the floor as she eased into her chair in front of them.

  “Okay, you two conniving whelps, let us find out what you can do with those bloody new hoofs of yours,” she said as she pulled the first item out of the box. On the table in front of Spot she placed a Rubik’s cube. The unsolved cube had a small Boston Red Sox logo in the center square of each side.

  Spot looked at the cube for a moment and then leaned forward and spread his paw open.

  The paw split along the scar and each side rotated outwards at the wrist so it formed opposing pincers. Each pincer was made up of two of his black toe pads. He tapped the pads of his toes together a few times as if he was playing invisible castanets. He closed the paws all the way so both sides of the scar merged again, and opened them again. Mimi noticed Dan had been right, if you didn’t know it was there the scar would be easy to overlook. When the paw was closed back to normal the fur closed up and it almost disappeared.

  Spot then spread and extended his individual toes, and Mimi put on her glasses when she saw the front pad of each toe unfold. Each of his four large round leathery pads had been modified with a flap of sinew and tendon that formed a thick black hinge at the front. Spot flexed his toes and the pads unfolded forward one at a time while each claw rotated up and out of the way. The extended pads formed what appeared to be black fingertips. Spot grasped the Rubik’s cube with these fingertips and brought it up to his nose. He examined it, and as he rotated the cube he sniffed it.

  Mimi noticed his little fingers tapping each square, counting the three by three grid pattern on each side. He leaned his weight equally on his elbows and opened his other split paw. He grabbed the cube with opposing grips, and spun it over and over a few times. His pad fingers started to rotate the individual surfaces.

  She and Smudge watched intently as Spot manipulated the cube, twisting the colored tiles into groups of like colors and spinning the cube faster and faster as he did so. Spot started to wag his tail. He looked up at Mimi and Smudge, and went back to the cube.

  Mimi smiled, fascinated by the black dog getting used to having hands for the first time.

  “I think he’s getting the hang of that,” Mimi said to Smudge.

  She reached in the box and took out a toy that Ben loved to play with a decade ago. It was a stack of colorful wooden rings of ascending sizes. The rings were set on wooden base with a center pole. She placed it in front of Smudge.

  Smudge raised her eyebrows, crossed her paws, and just stared at Mimi.

  “Okay, sorry,” Mimi said, and put the baby toy back into the box. She pulled out a large brain teaser puzzle. The puzzle had three chrome metal rings interlocked with loops of white rope that wound through several large polished wooden ovals. Mimi set it down in front of Smudge, who wagged her tail.

  “Give this a go. Get the rings free from the ropes and wooden bits,” Mimi said to her.

  Puzzles and brain teasers were a common Christmas gift from her brother-in-law Hamish. Papa had loved them, and he insisted Mimi immediately hide the solution from him. If he didn’t solve it within a few days he was known to take it out to the barn to solve it with his hammer. Ben and Aila eventually had mastered this one but everyone else gave up and Mimi had hidden it from Papa before he could ‘solve it’.

  Smudge leaned forward on her elbows just as Spot had. She spread her paws, and grasped the puzzle with both of her split pincers. Her black fingers folded out just like Spot’s and manipulated the rings and the wooden ovals. The chrome rings tinkled as she tipped her head and raised her eyebrows, looking down her nose as she slowly rotated the puzzle. Smudge carefully studied it, licked it once, and then started to play with the rings and rope in earnest.

  Mimi watched them for several minutes, hypnotized by the speed at which the pups learned to use their strange new hands. She noticed they approached each of their puzzles differently. Spot was more dexterous, planning his moves carefully and being very economical in his movements. Smudge tended to pull and tug and try random combinations rapidly. It took Mimi a few minutes to realize her moves weren’t random at all. Smudge was remembering and then duplicating a complex series of attempts, altering the pattern slightly and trying again if she didn’t feel it moved the puzzle closer to solution.

  Finally Mimi said, “I need a wee dram.”

  She rose from the table and grabbed a beer from the fridge. As she turned to get a bottle opener she heard a tinkling sound as two of the metal rings bounced off the kitchen table and rolled across the floor. Mimi turned to see Smudge holding the puzzle in one split paw and the last metal ring in the other. The two wooden ovals were lying on the table in front of her. Smudge wagged, put the puzzle down, and held the chrome ring up to look through it at her brother.

  Spot wagged back at her, and motioned something to his sister with his head.

  Smudge flexed her shoulder and the muscles in her front leg bulged. The thick chrome metal ring in her paw bent in half. She put it down quietly on the table and looked sheepishly at her brother.

  Spot wagged again and then held out his paw to Mimi. She crossed the kitchen and took the Rubik’s cube from him. The squares on each side of the cube were the same color.

  Mimi looked at the clock on the microwave. She hadn’t noticed when they started but her guess was it had taken the pups less than ten minutes to solve both puzzles.

  As Mimi was examining the completed cube both of the dogs’ ears pricked up. They stood up on the table and strained forward, concentrating on the kitchen window box.

  They jumped down from the table and ran to the back door. Smudge went up on her hind legs and opened one of her paws, grabbed the door knob, twisted, and opened the door.

  Mimi stood with her beer and the completed Rubik’s cube, staring at Smudge as she dropped back down to all fours and followed Spot through the screen door and out into the dark driveway.

  It took Mimi a moment to process what she’d just seen, and another few seconds to break her stare and step to the back door. She turned on the outside light, and the new lights above the pen.

  In the middle of the turn-around Spot and Smudge were standing in a circle of dogs. Mimi recognized the huge black German shepherd Max from the clinic, but she was more shocked to see the other dogs. She couldn’t wrap her head around why coyotes would be standing next to her two black pups, and seeming to be carrying on an animated conversation with them.

  The largest coyote appeared to be the leader. It only had one ear. It was head butting Spot and doing some kind of dance while the others watched.

  Mimi took a quick look behind the door at Papa’s shotgun before she decided to walk outside without it.

  All of the dogs stopped and looked at her.

  Smudge quickly gestured with her snout and came over to stand next to Mimi. She wagged her tail and the dogs returned their focus to Spot and One Ear.

  Mimi had only ever seen fleeting glances of live coyotes, usually just before they darted away from a shotgun blast. Up close in the harsh spotlights they were an impressive lot. They had sharp eyes and muscular bodies. She immediately had a new appreciation for them, but wasn’t quite willing to trust them as fully as it appeared her pups did. The one with all the scars kept looking at her and it sent a shudder up Mimi’s spine.

  Spot yapped and moved quickly between Max and One Ear. He finished giving them instructions, and licked them both on the snout. Max barked a quick chopped bark and three
of the smaller coyotes fell in line behind him as he tore off down the trail towards the Hogan’s house.

  Mimi watched the huge black dog disappear into the woods with the smaller coyotes. She turned back to the one-eared coyote and Spot, who continued to converse urgently.

  She said quietly to Smudge, “What are you lot going on about, little girl?”

  Smudge looked back and forth from Mimi to her brother several times. Mimi could tell from their furrowed brows and stomping feet her little pups were clearly agitated, and she felt her own nerves rising. There was clearly something going on but she couldn’t decipher any of their movements.

  Smudge gently put her paw down on Mimi’s shoe for a moment and then darted to the screen door, pulled it open, and went into the house. She came out carrying the plush chicken toy Ronnie had given her. Smudge dropped it on the ground and nodded towards the clinic.

  Mimi nodded and ran inside to grab her keys off the hook behind the door. When she turned Smudge was standing in the doorway, blocking her path. She was looking up at Mimi.

  She shook her head.

  Mimi bent, put her hand under Smudge’s chin, and said, “Okay, go. I’ll call the police and Dan.” She straightened up and added, “Keep Ronnie safe if you can, but if there’s real trouble don’t go and get yourselves offed.” She grabbed the phone and followed Smudge back into the driveway.

  Spot had been yipping some final instructions to One Ear. He nodded to his sister and they darted off with Weasel One following close behind. They flew around the pen and sped up as they crossed the clearing and headed for the north path that led to the clinic.

  “And remember you’re not fully healed yet!” Mimi shouted after them.

  She looked down and flinched, clutching the phone to her chest. She had forgotten about the three remaining coyotes. They were standing in a line, staring up at her.

  One Ear yapped at the other two. The lead female and the sentry female circled once and split up. They took up secluded positions, one at the head of the driveway and the other next to the barn.

  Mimi and One Ear watched as the two coyote guards settled into the dark. When they stopped moving they almost disappeared in the mottled moonlight filtering through the trees.

  Once One Ear was satisfied with the defensive perimeter of her pack mates she moved to the back porch. The hunter locked eyes with Mimi for a moment.

  It was clear to Mimi this formidable killer was somehow following orders from her smart pups. Given the insane events of the evening she wasn’t the least bit surprised, but she did wonder why Spot and Smudge had arranged for these guards. She assumed they had sent Max and the other coyotes to Aila’s for the same reason. As disturbing as all of this was, she had to admit these wild dogs did indeed make her feel pretty safe.

  “Thank you,” Mimi said to the tough looking coyote.

  As she started to dial the phone the one-eared dog stepped backwards, slowly retreating from the circle of light around the back door. The shadow moved up her back and over her head until her snout disappeared into the darkness. Mimi knew dogs didn’t naturally walk backwards. She’d seen her pup’s do it, and watching this odd creature mimicking them made her wonder if the coyote was doing it purely for effect. If so it was working, it raised gooseflesh on Mimi’s skin.

  Mr. Watt had poked his head out from the pen shed. He had watched the wild and domesticated dogs, and he saw Mimi withdraw into the house. He looked at the coyotes hiding in the shadows, huffed, and went back into the shed.

  Chapter 67

  In the cloudless moonlight the back of the clinic looked quiet, except it was too dark. Every night they had been there, including the night of their surgery, the large floodlight above the back door had been on. There had also been the soft glow from a night light in one of Dalaja’s upstairs apartment windows. Both of them were out.

  As Spot moved through the brush towards the back door he saw a small cardboard box tipped on its side on the back sidewalk. There were a dozen cans of soda around it and a few were scattered down the walkway.

  Smudge took up a position on the side of the clearing and Weasel One circled around to the front of the clinic, staying in the trees and well away from the building. He came back and indicated there was one car in the lot.

  Spot was picking up a faint whiff of smoke, the same sweet smoke he’d smelled at Doug’s house. He went to the back door and confirmed Doug and the fat man had been there recently. Their smell, as well as hints of that bad smell from the kennel, were all over the box and the soda cans but they were no longer nearby as far as he could tell. There were other smells that worried Spot a great deal. He listened at the back door for a moment, called in Smudge to follow him, and had Weasel One stand guard where the coyote could see both the road and the back of the clinic.

  Spot reached up and tried the door, it was unlocked and swung open when he pushed on it. There was no alarm, not even a chime. The wave of smell that hit them caused Smudge to nervously tap her chin on Spot’s back.

  Yes, I smell it too, her brother said.

  The dogs crept into the dark back room and froze.

  There were several small dogs and cats dead on the floor of the treatment area. Some had their throats cut and some had been disemboweled. The blood had run together to form one large black pool that stretched from the cages almost to the operating table. There was equipment tipped over and medical supplies strewn about. The supply cabinets had been rifled through and most of their contents were on the floor. There were empty cardboard boxes on the operating table.

  Spot could feel his sister’s reaction and he told the shaken Smudge to stay by the door as he walked around the puddle of blood. He crossed to the small desk in the middle of the room.

  Based on the trails and sprays of blood he could see that the animals had been cut by the desk and then tossed over to where they lay by the cages. He saw the pharmaceutical cabinet lock had been broken into and all of the items inside were gone. There was another trail of blood coming from under the desk. He lowered and sniffed it.

  It wasn’t animal blood.

  Spot walked around the cabinet and froze when he looked up at the small desk.

  Chapter 68

  Doug killed the van lights as he pulled into the darkened side lot of the clinic. Liko’s Caddy SUV pulled in right behind him.

  Weasel One had just enough time to bark a quick warning before he dodged away from their headlights. The hunter spun to a stop behind a bush near the sidewalk where he could see the back door. He was conflicted, and nervously shifted his weight back and forth. He watched the two men get out of the smoking boxes and he could immediately smell the blood on them and sense their aggression. He wanted to run but he didn’t want to see these humans getting anywhere near his Alphas who were still inside the building. He didn’t want them to get trapped. He thought about attacking but his cunning Alphas knew what they were doing. They were used to being around humans and had been very clear with Weasel One about not putting himself in any danger.

  Smudge had heard the wild dog’s bark, and the vehicles crunching in the driveway, and she signaled to her brother, We gotta go!

  Spot jumped over the desk and ran through the clinic, telling Smudge to bolt. His sister turned and shot from the back door, sliding to a stop behind the first bush large enough to hide her.

  “How’s your balls?” Liko asked as Doug limped in front of him, struggling with the heavy gas can.

  “Fuck you,” Doug said over his shoulder. Turning his head had sent a fresh spike of pain up from his screaming testicles.

  Spot got to the back door but stopped at the threshold. He watched Doug and Liko coming up the back sidewalk. Doug was mumbling something and limping as he booted the box out of his way. Spot could smell the gas in the cans they were carrying and he saw the bulge of the big man’s gun. He knew there was too much clearing in the back of the clinic and too much moonlight to make it to the bushes unseen. If they started shooting he could hit his s
ister or the weasel brother.

  Smudge waved for him to just go for it but Spot shook his head. He nodded some quick instructions to his anxious sister before slipping back into the dark of the clinic and nudging the door closed.

  Doug kicked the bottom of the door, and as it swung open he said, “…and you’re going to pick up those fucking cans. We gotta make this look right.” As he stepped through the doorway he added under his breath, “You dumb, fat fuck.”

  He turned on the back room lights with his elbow and skirted the pool of blood as he limped over to the small metal desk. He set down the gas can and took off his gloves. As he shoved them into his coat pocket. He had stopped worrying about his hands, and thought they looked a little better. They had stopped throbbing but now his forearms and elbows were swollen and had started to turn black. At least they were hidden by his sleeves. They also weren’t talking to him.

  He picked up a gore-smeared scalpel and sat down on the edge of the desk, facing Ronnie.

  “Hey bitch,” he said as he traced the blood caked line of a gaping wound that stretched from just under her right ear to the opposite collar bone, “Not so fucking feisty now, are you?” He moved the scalpel tip down past her exposed and bloody chest, cutting off the last button of her open blouse.

  “Come on man,” Liko said, turning away with a grimace, “And make sure you wipe that thing off before we go.” He looked at the cardboard boxes and added, “Is there anything else down here or upstairs that we should fucking take?”

  “No, we got anything worth a shit,” Doug said.

  As he turned back to Ronnie her dead foggy eyes had turned to watch him. Her purple tongue flicked out and licked her bloody lips seductively as she winked at him. Doug closed his eyes tightly and opened them, and Ronnie’s face had returned to its frozen mask of horror.