Underwater: An Avery Barks Dog Mystery (Avery Barks Cozy Dog Mysteries Book 4)

by Mary Hiker

  “Maybe they’ll change their mind when they discover there’s an inheritance.”

  Emma looked at me. “Thanks for talking this through with me, Avery. It’s helped me remember things I had forgotten.”

  I laughed. “I’m happy to talk over anything with you if fried chicken is involved. You’re welcome. We better call Deputy Don and fill him in on the latest.”

  Chapter 8

  My body sunk deep into my soft couch and was at peak relaxation. I had already finished the Sunday paper and dozed off for an afternoon nap when I felt Chevy’s cold nose nudge my arm.

  I half-heartedly patted him on the head, my eyes still closed. “Not right now Chevy, I promise I’ll play ball later.”

  He whined and moved away from the couch, making clicking noises across the kitchen floor with his claws as he paced back and forth. When he jumped on the kitchen door with a loud bang, it got my attention.

  He must really need to go to the bathroom, I thought and forced myself to get up. I trotted out to the kitchen and swung open the back door so he could relieve himself.

  Instead, he stood stiffly on the doorstep and barked frantically. I stuck my head out the door and quickly realized why. I could smell something burning and grey smoke billowed from Miss Emma’s kitchen window.

  Panic consumed every part of me as I ran toward her house and saw her standing inside her bedroom, pounding on the glass. She tried to open the window from the inside to no avail. My heart felt like it was about to burst as I quickly searched for a ladder, suddenly realizing I didn’t own one. I didn’t know if Emma did.

  Chevy had run out front to my driveway and his panicked barks in the distance gave me an idea. Pulling the truck keys from my pocket, I bolted to my pick-up and jumped in the driver’s seat; Chevy piled in beside me. I cranked the engine, threw it in reverse and stepped on the gas, running over Miss Emma’s flower beds and tearing up her lawn in the process.

  I skidded to a stop when I reached Miss Emma’s bedroom window and raced around to the rear of the truck, letting the tailgate down. I rolled onto the tailgate and bent down to pull out a shovel from underneath my camper top.

  Standing on the tailgate put me close to the height of the window and I raised the shovel, ready to strike. Miss Emma backed away from the window and covered her face as I took one hefty swing, connected the side of the shovel blade to her window and broke the glass.

  I slid the backside of the shovel across the bottom of the window frame to knock off any fragments of glass sticking up from the window sill.

  “Give me your bedspread,” I shouted.

  Miss Emma was wide-eyed and she looked frozen in place.

  “Come on!” I screamed.

  She nodded and pulled the spread off her bed and pushed it out the window as wisps of smoke entered through the cracks around her bedroom door. I rolled up the comforter and quickly covered the window sill to keep us from getting cut on jagged glass. Miss Emma flung herself toward me and I grabbed ahold, helping her balance as she stepped through the broken window onto my tailgate.

  She coughed and gasped as she made it down to the grass and watched as I moved my truck away from the window.

  “Tabitha!” she cried out.

  “Darn it,” I said and ran to the front porch of her house. Smoke floated above my head as I opened the front door slowly, knelt down and peered under the layer of the grey cloud inside.

  Visibility inside the house improved as the smoke took the path of least resistance and poured outside through the front doorway. I crouched down and called for Tabitha. Nothing.

  The drapes at two different areas of the living room were on fire. The couch was too. I pulled my t-shirt up over my nose and tried to find the cat, but the choking smoke was too overwhelming.

  I felt a tug on the back of my shirt and turned to see a volunteer firefighter in full turnout gear. “Avery, get back. We’ll look for the cat.”

  I retreated to Miss Emma’s yard as more volunteer firefighters arrived in their personal vehicles and the sound of sirens announced the arrival of a couple fire trucks to the scene.

  Two firefighters leapt from the fire engine and pulled the fire hose from the top of the truck. They left a trail of hose unfurling behind them as they raced to the front door. The engineer jumped over to the fire engine’s side panel controls and released pressurized water that filled the flat hoses until they became solid and full of water.

  The team of firefighters made entry and quickly extinguished the flames while another team searched for Miss Emma’s beloved grey cat. The teams worked in controlled chaos until the area was safe.

  The fire scene Commander walked up to Miss Emma and spoke softly. “Your house was searched twice ma’am, but Tabitha’s nowhere to be found.”

  He was a big bear of a man, with a cuddly demeanor that reminded me of a teddy bear. I instantly felt comfortable and safe in his presence, and secretly wished he had been the firefighter asking about me.

  Miss Emma was shaking and tried to hold back her tears, “Hopefully, Tabitha’s still out gallivanting through the neighborhood.”

  She wiped her brow and the tears broke free, as I gave her a big hug. Miss Emma said, “Tabitha usually doesn’t come back home until after dinner time.”

  “We’ll put Chevy’s dog bed and a soft towel in a crate out on my porch with a can of tuna, and another one in your garage,” I offered. “They’ve always been friends so I’m sure she’ll come find it tonight without a problem.”

  “Thanks Avery, you’re a doll.”

  “I’ll leave a window in my house open for her to come inside if she wants, too. I doubt she’ll go to your place with all the smoke inside.”

  The cuddly Commander asked Miss Emma, “Do you know what happened?”

  “I took an afternoon nap and woke up to my smoke alarm,” Miss Emma replied.

  I brushed the smoky hair from my eyes and said, “When I looked in the front door, I saw small fires in several different spots.”

  “Was your door unlocked while you slept?” the Commander asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Miss Emma said as she wiped away her tears.

  “Okay, ma’am, do you have a place to stay for now? The good news is there aren’t any real structure issues, but you have a lot of smoke damage.”

  “I’ll call my granddaughter and work something out,” she said.

  “She can stay with me until then,” I offered and put my arm around her shoulders.

  The Commander stepped away and huddled with a Sheriff’s Deputy. I was close enough to overhear the first part of their conversation.

  “I suspect yesterday’s car fire was arson, and now this. We may have a fire bug on the loose.”

  Chapter 9

  The firefighters rolled up their hose, repacked it on top of the fire truck and made their way back to the firehouse. The Fire Commander napped in his red four-wheel-drive SUV waiting for the Fire Marshall to arrive and work on the fire investigation.

  I knelt on my front porch and spooned a can of tuna into a bowl. Chevy supervised by poking his wet nose as close to the food as possible. Miss Emma hung some sparkling trinkets from the porch rocking chair to entice Tabitha to wander over to my place.

  My hair was gritty and my eyes still stung from the smoke that surrounded Miss Emma’s house during the fire. I looked forward to a shower and a new pair of contacts once we got everything ready for Tabitha’s return. My throat felt a bit scratchy and I wondered how long it would take to get the smell of smoke out of my nose.

  Chevy suddenly raised his golden head and looked past my shoulder toward the back of Miss Emma’s property. I turned to scan Miss Emma’s yard for any sign of her cat, and instead noticed a skinny dark-haired teenager smoking a cigarette and stepping into her garage.

  I jumped up and bolted across the yard, following the youngster. Three steps inside the building brought me face-to-face with the same kid I saw leaving Gus’ house the day before.

  “What’re
you doing here?” I demanded.

  “What’s it to you?” He snapped and bowed his chest, trying to stand taller.

  “I hear you like to start fires…Cody,” I said and held my ground.

  “That’s not your business,” he growled and moved the hair from his eyes with a trembling hand, revealing a tattoo about the size of a quarter on the inside of his forearm.

  It was a familiar design, an orange and black diamond shape with flames.

  “Nice tattoo,” I said and gave him my best death stare. “I saw the same design on Chief Gus’ porch. Were you getting ready to torch his place too?”

  “Chief Gus was my friend,” he said stiffly and dropped his arm. “We’ve been working on his classic car.”

  The young man’s body tensed as if he was ready to run.

  “I didn’t see …” I stopped short as Miss Emma walked in the building, out of breath from running across the yard.

  “Hi Cody, how are you honey?” she said sweetly, looking from him to me and back again.

  His body relaxed, but he kept an eye on me.

  “I’m good, Miss Emma,” he said and shot me a dirty look. “I came over to cut your grass like you wanted.”

  My hackles were still raised. “And you didn’t notice the fire or the smoke? You didn’t think to ask what was wrong or if Miss Emma was okay?

  The boy just stood there before finally saying, “You didn’t even give me a chance.”

  “Listen son, there’s a group of guys over there who want some answers about a man’s death and some recent arson fires,” I said and nodded in the direction of Miss Emma’s house. “I’m sure they’d love to get their hands on you.”

  Miss Emma’s hand flew to her chest and Cody’s face lost its color.

  “I didn’t do anything,” he said, his face turning red. He turned toward Miss Emma. “You know I’d never do anything to hurt you or Chief Gus.”

  “I believe him,” Miss Emma said and gave him a hug.

  Cody looked up from their friendly embrace and gave me a smug look.

  I took a deep breath and decided to trust Miss Emma’s instincts, at least temporarily.

  “Listen kid, if you don’t want me to hand you over to the authorities right now, you better tell me what that tattoo is all about,” I said.

  Miss Emma scrunched her eyes, “What tattoo?”

  Sighing heavily, Cody held out is arm and turned it to show her his forearm. Miss Emma bent over to take a look.

  “Believe me, you don’t want to know,” Cody said and shook his head.

  I crossed my arms. “Believe me, I do.”

  Cody squinted at me, then looked through the open garage door. His entire body seemed to sag with defeat. “No, you don’t. Trust me.” His face nearly crumbled with tears as he fought to hold back. I felt a moment of sympathy for this man-child.

  “Why don’t you try us?” I said. “It seems you’re in way over your head and could use a little help.”

  The boy swiped at his eyes with his arm and said, “Nobody can help me.”

  “Let us try.”

  He looked at me for a long moment and I watched hope, fear and indecision trade places on his face. Finally, he took a long breath. “It’s better that I show you instead of tell you. Come with me.”

  Miss Emma took my hand and gave me an ‘everything will be okay’ look as we followed the teen down the drive to the street. Chevy decided to join us and bounded across the lawn from the front porch of my cabin, a few small pieces of tuna hanging from the fur around his mouth.

  “Thanks for backing me up, Tuna Breath,” I said and scratched him on the head.

  Miss Emma chuckled, “I bet there’s not a bit of tuna left in that bowl.”

  Cody, the man-child, opened the door to his mini muscle car and adjusted the front seat to fall forward. He let out another deep breath and stretched out his arm toward the back seat.

  “Get in, ladies.”

  I turned to give Miss Emma a ‘no-way’ hand signal, but she was already bent over and half-way into the car.

  She has a lot of flexibility for her age, I thought.

  My first instinct was to refuse to get in the car but I didn’t want Miss Emma left alone. One thing was for sure, there was no way I was getting in the back seat.

  I pointed to Cody. “I’m riding shotgun and my dog’s coming along for the ride.”

  Chevy joyfully jumped in the back seat with Miss Emma and started licking the car windows. The teenager pulled the seat into its proper position and I sat in the front, keeping my hand on my cell phone – just in case.

  “Chevy’s washing your windows, Cody,” Miss Emma said.

  She’s a whole lot more comfortable riding around with this hooligan than I am, I thought as the teen brushed the hair from his eyes and jumped into the driver’s seat.

  “Just remember, this wasn’t my idea,” Cody said and cranked the engine.

  The sound of drums burst through the speakers behind my head and the engine roared.

  “Turn it down before we all go deaf!” I shouted over the music while Miss Emma smiled.

  “Wow, you ladies smell like smoke,” Cody said and cracked the back window a few inches so Chevy could stick his nose out into the fresh air. He reached around to the back seat and patted my dog, getting his hand nuzzled in return.

  Miss Emma leaned forward and softly touched my shoulder, “See, he’s not so bad after all.”

  I hesitantly nodded in agreement.

  “Buckle-up,” Cody yelled as he revved the engine and spun his tires in the grass on the side of the road.

  “You better drive like you have two adults and a dog in the car.” I warned, gripping my fingers onto the dashboard in front of me.

  Cody turned and looked at me. “Just kidding,” he said as his brown hair flopped in his eyes.

  I turned to the back seat toward Miss Emma, “How can this kid even see where he’s going?”

  “It’s the latest fashion for the boys,” she smiled and softly tapped my shoulder. “They follow how the famous singers style their hair, you know. It helps make them popular with the girls.”

  I chuckled and buckled my seatbelt, as I remembered the peer pressure that surrounded my teenaged years.

  Cody pulled the car onto the road, the four of us bound for a secret destination.

  Chapter 10

  We’d been driving for over an hour when I noticed we had just crossed the state line. I had been trying to get the kid to talk, but he kept saying, “I’ll tell you everything when we get there.”

  I wondered if Cody had taken us on a wild goose chase just for laughs and was ready to ask if this was all a joke, when the car slowed and turned down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.

  Cody turned his music off and wiped the palms of his hands on his pants. “Everyone needs to keep real quiet, I mean it,” he said.

  Miss Emma and I exchanged concerned glances.

  He drove at a slow speed for about a quarter mile down the dirt road, parked the car among some trees on the top of a ridgeline and slid down into his seat. I looked over at the cowering teen and saw his heart pounding through his black t-shirt.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Shhhh,” he said and held his finger up toward his mouth and listened intently.

  After a couple minutes, he sat back up. “I thought we were being followed.”

  “What?” I asked.

  Cody slowly opened the driver’s door and spoke softly, “Get out of the car and follow me.”

  We ambled out of the small car and stretched out legs while Chevy trotted among the brush investigating new smells. Cody tiptoed to the edge of the ridge, staying hidden in the tree line. He raised his arm and pointed down a hill to a small warehouse across the field. The same design that graced Cody’s arm was painted on top of the building’s metal roof.

  “There you go,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck. “But don’t try to go down there.”

 
“What is it, honey?” Miss Emma asked.

  “It’s a gambling ring,” Cody said and hung his head. “If they find out I told you, they’ll hurt me.”

  “We won’t say anything,” she said and made a gesture like she was zipping her lip.

  “Why would you hang out with a crowd like that?” I asked as I peered through the brush.

  “You think I want to? I’m being forced into it,” he said and ducked behind a tree. “A friend at school brought me to bet on some games one night and I lost all the money I had, five hundred dollars.”

  I shook my head. “I hope you learned your lesson.”

  “It’s a whole lot worse,” he shuddered. “They claimed I lost two thousand dollars and demanded the money. I didn’t owe it and I didn’t have it, so they forced me to the back room of the place and branded my arm.”

  “The tattoo is a brand, you mean like a cow?” I asked.

  “Yea, it shows they own me.”

  “Those creeps!” Miss Emma said and shook her fist toward the building.

  “I have one month to pay them back,” Cody said and lowered his eyes. “Or else…”

  “Or else what?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, but my friend’s car got burned when he couldn’t pay.”

  I remembered the car fire from the day before.

  “They’re forcing me to do things I don’t want to do, and it feels like I’m drowning.” Cody said as he held his stomach and looked away. “Hey, where’s your dog going?”

  I looked around and saw Chevy’s golden fur flying in the wind as he bounded down the hill toward the building.

  “Oh, great!” I muttered, and ran from the safety of the tree line, down the hill after him.

  Cody called behind me, “You’re on your own.”

  Chevy bolted across the field and disappeared through an open gate in a chain link fence at the back of the warehouse. When I finally caught up and neared the building, I realized what he was after, the smell of steaks on a grill hung in the air.

  I stopped and tried to catch my breath, “Chevy.”

  Two large men with dark clothes and sunglasses came out of nowhere and stepped in front of me as a muscular man closed the gate behind Chevy, then returned to his grill. Chevy followed behind the man, mesmerized by the smell of juicy steak.