HAUNTED: The Chase Ryder Series Book 2

by Ho, Jo

  Like he had fired a starter’s pistol, Pixie flew towards Bandit, snapping her jaws at his face. Bandit spun so that her jaws narrowly missed him, chewing only on air. He twisted his body, throwing it at her using the full weight of himself to knock her off balance. She fell down, but sprung back onto her paws almost immediately. Circling him, Pixie tried to find a vulnerable spot.

  Sensing her tactic, Bandit spun around but he was slower than the smaller dog. Pixie sank her teeth into his rump causing pain to explode in his body. Howling with rage, and driven only by the animal instinct to survive, Bandit bit her on the only place he could reach — her neck. Pixie screamed, as Bandit held on to her neck. She let go of his rump, unable to focus on her own attack now that she was hurting.

  Through the commotion, Bandit suddenly heard Chase’s voice. She had arrived in the doorway, eyes wide with horror at the sight before her. Bandit was thrilled! Now Pixie would learn that she couldn’t attack him without consequence. Chase ran into the room but instead of dragging Pixie away as he expected, she pulled him off the other dog!

  “Bandit, NO! What are you doing?” she yelled at him.

  Bandit was so shocked his jaws loosened around Pixie and he backed away. No one had ever yelled at him before, especially not Chase. As soon as she had appeared, Pixie stopped fighting and now she curled into a ball and whimpered pathetically. Bandit was stunned by the change in her. A minute ago she had been willing to tear him to pieces, but in one breath she had changed into this cowering, pitiful pup. Bandit wished he had his iPad so he could explain, but he had left it outside in the living room. He moved to Chase now, but she waved him away angrily.

  “No, boy! Bad dog! I can’t believe you would fight Pixie! She’s so much smaller than you. You should know better!”

  Bandit whined, desperate to explain himself, but Chase was furious with him. “No! I don’t want to hear it. Get out! I don’t want you in here!”

  Bandit was heartbroken. But they were best friends, how could she tell him to go? Couldn’t she see that Pixie was pretending? Even now, as Chase fussed over the other dog, Bandit could see Pixie throwing evil looks his way when Chase wasn’t watching. Bandit was terrified of leaving Chase alone with her. What if Pixie hurt Chase while Bandit wasn’t here? He barked, trying to warn Chase of this, but she misunderstood his intention.

  “Are you arguing with me? Get out, Bandit, I mean it! You are not sleeping here tonight!”

  With that, Chase slammed the door on Bandit’s face. The last thing he saw was Chase comforting Pixie in her arms, like she usually fussed him.

  Desperately unhappy, Bandit whined at the closed door, hoping Chase would open it again. She must have heard him, however, as she shouted through it. “Go away, Bandit! I mean it! You don’t fight other dogs, especially ones smaller than you!”

  Full of despair Bandit turned around and slunk away to spend his first night without Chase.

  Unfortunately it would not be his last.

  49

  Bandit

  It had been a terrible night.

  Doing as Chase had commanded, Bandit had stayed in the living room while she and Pixie slept in the bedroom. After the fight, Pixie hadn’t wanted to leave Chase’s side, so being kind, she had decided to let her stay in their room.

  It was every dog’s worst nightmare.

  Since the day Bandit had met Chase, they had spent every single night together, so it had taken him a very long time before he could fall asleep without her. And even then, he kept waking up throughout the night, concerned about her well-being until eventually he had given up and gone outside her room. There, outside the closed door, he had lain on the ground with his nose in the gap between the floor and the door. By doing this, he was able to smell Chase and reassure himself of her safety. He tried to ignore Pixie’s scent every time it wafted into his nose. Knowing that the other dog was so close to Chase filled Bandit with anxiety. He knew the others thought he was just jealous, but that wasn't it at all. Bandit knew Pixie was dangerous, and he was determined to prove it to the others until then, however, he would keep a watchful eye on her. He had to protect his family.

  At exactly seven ‘o’clock Chase woke up. Bandit knew because she woke at this time every day. Chase had taught him the meaning of time so Bandit understood that this was no coincidence. He heard her rustling in her bed and petting Pixie. He whined and scratched at the door, unhappy that he wasn't in there with her. She must have heard him as she got off the bed and padded barefoot to the door. Suddenly the door opened and Chase was standing there. Unable to quell the surge of joy Bandit felt at seeing her, he launched himself at her, bathing her face with his tongue.

  "Ew," she exclaimed. “What do I say about licking my face?"

  Bandit jumped down, tail wagging from side to side with such ferocity that it almost threw him off balance. He followed her into the room, happy that he was allowed back in only to find Pixie still sitting on Chase’s bed. Bandit stopped dead. As the other dog started shaking with fright again, Bandit sniffed and scanned the room to make sure everything was as it should be. Other than Pixie’s strange smell, everything seemed the same until his eyes fell on his bed, which lay beside Chase’s. There, torn into a million pieces, was Bandit’s beloved Frumpy Rabbit. Pixie had mauled him to death.

  Bandit was horrified.

  He ran to the basket, to his rabbit, lifted his snout to the ceiling and howled in despair. Startled by his reaction, Chase ran over to see what was wrong. When she saw what was left of the rabbit, she bent down and threw her arms around Bandit, hugging him close.

  "I'm so sorry. She must have done that while I was sleeping."

  Footsteps thundered down the hallway as Gideon ran inside clutching a baseball bat. "What is it, what's wrong?" he demanded.

  Chase pointed to the rabbit as Bandit’s howl receded into a whimper.

  "Damn, Pixie did that?"

  Bandit barked once, strong and accusingly.

  "Don't worry boy, we’ll get you another."

  However, Bandit knew no other toy would ever be the same again.

  50

  Chase

  I felt so bad about Bandit’s rabbit.

  It was the first toy I'd gotten him and it was his favorite. He’s slept with that thing every night since I've known him so I can't believe Pixie did that. She must have destroyed it while I was fast asleep because I didn't hear a thing. I can't believe I woke to find her sleeping at the end of my bed looking angelic when she had completely killed Bandit’s rabbit. It made me feel even worse about asking him to sleep outside but I had never seen Bandit fight a dog before. Maybe I was too hard on him — I never even gave him a chance to explain, just took Pixie’s side because she wasn’t as smart or as big as him.

  I grabbed my bag, shoving Bandit’s iPad inside (he obviously couldn’t wear it when we went out, but I always kept it on me, in case he wanted to speak) and went to retrieve my phone but I was annoyed to find it wasn’t plugged into the charger. I had definitely plugged it in last night when I had set my alarm clock, but the cable wasn’t in the phone now, having fallen behind the bedside table. Looking at the battery icon I could see that I only had a little charge left, but I didn’t want to wait to head into town. I wanted to replace Bandit’s toy so he could quit walking around like a lost puppy.

  I was glad it was just the two of us as we headed out on our daily shopping trip. I had a lot to make up for and I was determined to do it, starting right now. What with Sully being preoccupied, Gideon spending so much time with Pixie, and Sam who seemed permanently angry lately, it made me realize just how much I needed my buddy. I couldn’t take him for granted again.

  We were approaching the grocery store when Bandit snapped to attention, sniffing the air with interest. He shot a look over his shoulder at me, chuffed, then moved a few feet away.

  “What is it, boy?”

  Of course, he couldn’t answer me out here so I just followed him as he obviously wanted me to. He led me
to a battered old car parked by the side of the road. I frowned, wondering what he was up to when something moved inside the car. It was a person. They were huddled into a ball and fast asleep. It took a few moments before I recognized the untidy brown hair.

  “Mom, what’re you doing here?” I asked, tapping on the window.

  The figure inside woke with a start, blinking confused eyes at me. “Chase…” She seemed momentarily disoriented, looking around her until she finally remembered what she was doing. “Sleeping, obviously.”

  “But, you can’t just do that. There are laws about this kind of thing!”

  “There are?” she replied, genuinely perplexed.

  I didn’t answer, too busy wondering why she didn’t stay in a motel. There was a Motel 6 only a few blocks away, she could hardly have missed it. And then the answer came to me. “You don’t have any money, do you?”

  She didn't immediately reply, but a red flush appeared on her cheeks. She looked caught out, embarrassed. "It's not like it’s cheap coming all the way here. Besides, it's free to sleep in the car."

  I don't know why the thought of her sleeping in her car affected me like it did, but I suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for her and it made me real mad. I didn't care about her so I sure didn't care where she was sleeping. I cycled quickly through my anger until I came to another emotion — concern.

  “I hope you’re not here to ask us for money because that’s not going to happen,” I warned, suddenly tense.

  She blinked at me, her eyes growing hard. "I told you why I’m here already! I don’t need your money!" This, she snapped as I had obviously hit upon a sore subject. I didn’t reply. We stared at each other in silence, both of us weighing the other one up. Finally, she sat up, pulling a cardigan around her. "Where are you going?” she asked pleasantly as if we did this sort of thing all the time.

  I gave her a look. "That's none of your business,” I said sharply. If I were back home, this kind of response would have gotten me a slap, as it was she just looked at me evenly.

  "You're right. I only asked to make conversation.”

  Her reasonable tone made me feel like a heel. What was going on around here? How was I the one feeling bad? Deciding I didn't have anything more to say to her this morning I got back on my bike.

  "You shouldn't park there like that, it's illegal in this state," I said before taking off with Bandit. I didn't give her another look as the two of us continued through town until we got to the pet store. Once inside I let Bandit choose whatever he wanted. Though we searched the entire store, there wasn't a replacement for his rabbit — they only had a small selection of stock. In the end, Bandit picked a panda. He had told me before that he liked how round and happy they looked, like a ball made out of fluff. I went to the checkout, paid, and put panda in my basket. I was deliberating over whether I should stop for some flowers, maybe surprise the others with fresh pastries when I heard a shout. Turning, I saw my mom jump out of her car. She was yelling at a guy, running fast into the distance. "Someone help me! He just stole my bag!”

  Stunned, I didn't immediately react, but Bandit started barking as he bolted after the thief. Concerned for him, I went after him on my bike. No way was I going to let Bandit deal with this guy alone.

  Bandit swerved around the corner as I pedaled after him. He was going so fast I had to force myself to keep up. My legs were already screaming with pain but I kept up the momentum and shot after him, navigating past the back alleys that we now found ourselves in. He ran left then right, following smells or sounds that my human nose and ears could not make out.

  Finally, I caught sight of the thief in front of us. He was a skinny guy with mousy- colored hair and an awkward manner about him. He ran up to a waiting vehicle — a black Prius — and jumped into the car. I couldn't make out the driver except to see that he had hair that he wore in a ponytail. As Bandit and I neared them, the driver gunned the engine and the car took off leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

  There was no way I would be able to catch up to that car now. I stopped, summoning Bandit to my side. "Bandit! Heel!"

  He came back to me after tossing a longing look over his shoulder at the fast retreating car. His body language seemed to say that he thought he could catch them, but I knew it was fruitless and I didn't want him to exhaust himself; he was already panting heavily. We returned to the main street to find my mom waiting for us.

  She hurried over, concern etched over her face. "Why did you do that? You shouldn't have chased him! What if he was dangerous?"

  I was surprised to see how worried she seemed to be. It was almost as if she were truly afraid that I had almost caught that guy.

  "I can handle myself and so can Bandit," I said more harshly than I intended. I don't know what it was but I couldn't seem to be my usual cheerful self around her.

  "I know, you scared me is all."

  I looked into her car, into her home-away-from-home and saw how sparse it was. Other than a few empty cartons of food, there was just a blanket and a hairbrush. "What was in the bag?" I asked.

  "My purse, some make-up. All my cards." She raked her hand through her hair, the only outward sign of her turmoil. I sighed inwardly. I wanted to leave, but I knew it was the wrong thing to do. Despite everything that had happened between us, I couldn't just leave her stranded with no money. Of all people, I knew how that felt.

  "I guess you'd better come with me to Sam," I said reluctantly.

  "Sam? Sully's girlfriend? Why?" she asked.

  "You don't know? I thought we’d told you. Sam's a sheriff."

  For a brief second, I thought she looked alarmed before her expression quickly changed to one of surprise. "No, none of you mentioned that. She doesn't look anything like one."

  "Sheriffs only look like sheriffs when they’re wearing the uniform and when you turned up yesterday, it was her day off." Seeing the strange expression on her face again, I wondered what was up with her. "Why, you have a problem with sheriffs?"

  She shook her head quickly. "I've never much believed in the law is all."

  I thought about the times the neighbors had called the cops on her and Tubs after another one of their epic drunken fights. The cops had never liked either of them, and had made it obvious how little they thought of them both so it made sense why she wasn't particularly keen on them back. "Well, Sam is different. She will be able to help you."

  But Mom shook her head. “I don’t wanna drag her into this. I’ve already barged into her private life, how about we leave the professional one alone?”

  I frowned in consternation, putting my hands on either side of my hips. “So you’re just going to let that guy get away with stealing your purse?”

  “Of course not. I’ll report him, just not to your substitute mom. I don’t wanna ask for her help.”

  “So this is a pride thing?” I asked, shaking my head in disbelief.

  “Look, can we not do this? I’ve been awake less than five minutes. Most of my money’s gone and I don’t know what I’m going to do about that. How about you give me a break?” she said this a little desperately causing me to feel suddenly ashamed. I fell silent, kicking at a stone on the street. Bandit looked at her, then me, waiting patiently for me to decide our next course of action. Looking over her shoulder at Denny’s Diner, I came up with an idea begrudgingly.

  “Denny’s has a phone you can use to report the robbery. We can grab some drinks there too… I have enough to cover us for those,” I offered.

  She smiled at me gratefully. “Sounds like a plan.”

  I crossed over the street to Denny’s and chained up my bike outside. Zeb had laughed before, when he saw me do this once. Crime wasn’t rife in Montpelier he’d said. Apparently the last time an incident had occurred was several years ago, and that had involved some out-of-towners, but I’d rather be cautious and not sorry even if it meant incurring ridicule, especially after what had just happened to my mom.

  I looped the lock around a lamppost and
the three of us headed inside.

  51

  Chase

  Denny’s was a simple place without any airs or graces. The only decoration they utilized were the cheerful checked curtains hanging on the front window, but other than that the place was, as Sully liked to call it, utilitarian. For my own personal taste, I had always liked how honest they seemed in here — it was the same with the food. Nothing fancy, just good simple comfort food. I lead Mom and Bandit to my favorite corner booth where Bandit jumped up onto the seat next to me. Like the grocery store, they were used to seeing us together, and no one minded his presence.

  Although it was breakfast time, neither one of us wanted to eat much so I ordered two Coke floats. Our waitress, a slim woman in her 30s who had served me many times before, set the drinks down in front of us with a smile. "Let me know if there's anything else I can get you." She patted Bandit then left, leaving us to our business.

  Mom stood up. “Guess I should make that call.”

  I pointed across the room. “The payphone is over there. I’d let you use mine, but it’s almost out of charge.”

  She nodded and disappeared to use the phone. I took a sip of my drink letting the sweet liquid slide down my throat. Bandit nosed forward, sniffing hopefully at my glass, but I shook my head. “Sorry bud, but this isn’t for you. Sully would have a fit if you had this much sugar.”

  He looked at me in disappointment but backed away from the glass. I stared outside blankly, draining my soda until Mom returned moments later.

  “That was quick,” I said.

  She slid back into her seat. “Wasn’t much I could tell them. They said they’d get back if they had any news.”

  I frowned at her. “That’s it? What’re you supposed to do in the meantime?”