“What is it, Geri?” Felix had come after me.
“She just looked so much like Tammy,” I said between big messy sobs. Felix led me over to a picnic table set up on the lawn of a nearby building, and it all spilled out: the weirdness of the Dogawandans, the strange encounter with Crystal Star, the finding of Tammy’s body, the unexpected meeting with my sister, my guilt about causing her arrest, and the upsetting conversation with Mark. Felix sat beside me, murmured sympathetically at every twist and turn of my story, and went to fetch some napkins so I could wipe my teary face.
Finally I remembered that I was interrupting Felix at work.
“Don’t you have to be in there?” I asked.
“No,” he said with a grimace. “We lost the dogs.”
“I am not lost,” said Pepe, who had jumped up into my lap.
“You lost the dogs? As in they’re running loose somewhere?”
“No, the animal shelter took them away. You know, those wolf-hybrids are considered dangerous and any sign of neglect is taken quite seriously. Apparently they broke through a fence and were roaming the neighborhood. Could have killed a small child easily. You just never know what a wolf-hybrid is going to do.”
“Or a small dog,” I said with a shiver, hugging Pepe tight. “What do you mean what a wolf-hybrid is going to do?”
“When you mate a wolf with a dog, you get an animal that’s fifty percent wolf and fifty percent dog. Most people think it’s the wolf that’s dangerous. But actually it’s the dog. Wolves tend to be timid around people and will run away when they feel threatened, but dogs are more likely to be aggressive, to people and other dogs. Combine that with the powerful jaws of a wolf and you’ve got trouble. A wolf-hybrid is sort of like a gun. You don’t know when it’s going to go off. Maybe never. Maybe tomorrow.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“We’ve got to find someone else who has hybrids, and that’s going to be hard. Because they have such a bad reputation, many owners of hybrids conceal the dog’s true background. They’ll claim it’s a husky or shepherd mix.”
“I know where you can find two wolf-hybrids,” I said.
“Really?”
“Yes! Pepe discovered them in the woods at the Dogawanda compound. They were in a big pen behind an electrified fence.”
“I told them who was boss!” said Pepe.
“I asked Crystal Star about them and she said someone gave them to her. She thinks she can get Dogawanda to teach them how to behave.”
“Or me,” said Pepe. “Did you tell Felix how I am going to be the next Dogawanda?”
“Or Pepe!” I said. “He thinks he can communicate with them.”
“I can!” said Pepe with an indignant tone in his voice. “Because a little wolf remains in all dogs.”
“Oh, that sounds dangerous,” said Felix.
“I beg to differ,” said Pepe.
“Unless she has some sort of training, she could be in real jeopardy.”
“Oh, he is referring to Star, not me,” said Pepe. “He knows I can handle those wolves.”
“Well, maybe you can teach her how to work with them,” I said. “And at the same time ask if you can borrow them for the filming.”
“What a great idea!” said Felix. “Do you think Crystal Star will be open to that?”
“Well, we do seem to have her interest,” I said. “Or at least Pepe does.”
“She sees my potential,” said Pepe.
“Why don’t you come along?” I asked. “We’re heading back up there tomorrow.”
Chapter 19
“This is Felix Navarro,” I said to the green-clad acolyte who guarded the entrance to the Dogawandan compound. “The famous Wolf Whisperer.”
“Really?” said the man. He had a bushy beard and long dark hair. His name tag said his name was Kale.
“Yes. And I’m sure Star will want to talk to him. He can help her with her wolves.”
We had pulled into the dusty parking lot of the Dogawanda compound around noon on Sunday, and Felix was waiting for us there, having driven up separately so he could leave after talking to Star. I didn’t know how long Pepe and I would have to stay to investigate.
Felix had made better time than I did, probably because Pepe wanted me to stop twice, once for a bathroom break and once to get him some beef jerky at a convenience store. It had been raining in Seattle, but as we came over the pass, the rain disappeared. The sky was blue overhead and the air had the spicy smell of warm pine needles.
“I will check with her,” Kale said. He walked a little bit away from us and pulled out a walkie-talkie. I heard the squawk as he turned it on and carried on a brief conversation.
I took advantage of his preoccupation to give Felix a quick hug. Pepe took advantage of the guard’s preoccupation to go darting down the path.
“Hey! Come back!” I yelled after him. The guard looked up but didn’t seem concerned. Little did he know Pepe. “Pepe! Come back!”
I looked at Felix, who said nothing, but I caught the twinkle in his eye, the twinkle that said If you had only let me train your dog properly, he would come when you called.
“Can I go get my dog?” I asked Kale. Pepe had vanished behind a curve in the path between the tall pines.
“Just a second . . .” I heard more squawking and then he looked up.
“Yes, you have permission to enter. Star wants to meet this Wolf Whisperer. She’s in her inner sanctum at the main lodge.”
We hurried down the path, trying to catch up with Pepe, but he had vanished from sight. The dirt path wound through the trees, until it came out on a rise, overlooking the cleared area that contained the buildings. We paused a minute to take in the idyllic scene. But there was no sign of Pepe.
“Where could he have gone?” I asked.
“Knowing Pepe, I would guess he is eating,” said Felix. It’s always a bit embarrassing when someone else knows your dog better than you do.
Because that’s exactly where he was. In the dining hall at the lodge and sitting in the lap of my sister, Terry, who was feeding him bacon.
“Look, Geri!” Pepe said as we approached. “I found your sister.”
“You got out!” I said, leaning over and giving Terry a big hug. “How did you manage that?”
She smiled but it seemed halfhearted. “Star got everything straightened out,” she said.
“So you’re not under arrest?”
She shook her head, but I could tell she was holding something back.
I introduced her to Felix.
“Wow!” he said, looking from one of us to the other. “You two look so alike! You could almost be twins.”
“Really?” I was surprised. Terry had always been the acknowledged beauty of our family. We have the same dark, curly hair, but Terry has those killer green eyes, while mine are simply brown, and she also has a longer, leaner frame than me. Or maybe that was the result of good, clean living at the Dogawanda Center. Maybe I should give the Paleolithic diet a try.
“So this is the famous Wolf Whisperer,” Terry said. “I understand Crystal has summoned you to her inner sanctum. That’s a rare privilege. No outsider had ever entered it before. Here, I’ll show you the way.”
She unfolded herself from her chair and set Pepe down. She led us up the grand stairway in the center hall of the lodge, which split in two as it proceeded to the second floor, while the central portion remained open to the room below. We passed a door, which Terry said led to the administrative offices.
An elevator took us up another floor to a foyer, decorated rather incongruously, I thought, considering the rustic interior of the lodge, with a crystal chandelier and marble tiles and a huge gilt-covered door. Terry rang the bell and we heard a voice commanding us to enter. Terry gave me a quick hug before heading back down.
We stepped into an Arabian fantasy: Persian rugs, gold silk drapes, tall brass jars full of peacock feathers, low divans covered with pillows in shades of hot orange, pink, a
nd mustard. A huge beam ran down the middle of the peaked roof and a chain of brass lanterns containing flickering candles hung from its length. The room smelled of jasmine and incense.
Star was lying on a divan in the middle of the room, propped up on gold pillows. She was wearing a pink silk caftan and lifted her arm languidly, beckoning for us to approach. Pepe sneezed.
“Ah, Towering Cedar!” said Star. “What fortuitous timing!”
“Towering Cedar?” Felix was confused.
“That’s Pepe’s Dogawandan name,” I told him.
“I have the most amazing news to share with you,” Star went on, holding out her arms to Towering Cedar, who jumped up on the divan, where he was immediately showered with kisses. I saw the marks her pink lipstick left on his white fur.
“What?” I asked.
“Let me show you,” Star said. “Bring me my tape machine.” She pointed to a small machine on a table near the door.
“Is it musica?” asked Pepe. “I can dance, you know,” he told Star.
I fetched the tape recorder and brought it over to her.
“Take a seat,” Star said to us.
The only places to sit were pillows on the floor beneath her thronelike chair.
“I hope she does not expect me to sing,” said Pepe. “I once had a disastrous experience at Teatro alla Scala. The orchestra was—”
“I record each one of my channeling sessions,” Star said. “It is the only way I can hear the wisdom of Dogawanda. He comes through me and my voice becomes his and I am always blank after the experience.”
“I am that way often when I first wake up,” said Pepe.
She turned the recorder on. As it started to play, we could hear Star’s girlish voice announcing the arrival of Dogawanda, and then the gruff tones of the spirit himself, delivering his wisdom.
“Here!” said Star. “Listen carefully! There is another voice that overlaps Dogawanda’s voice here. It is most perplexing.”
She was right. I heard her voice speaking as Dogawanda, but I also heard Pepe’s voice saying, “I am not a road. I am a Chihuahua.”
“Did you hear the other voice?” Star asked me.
“It was me, of course,” Pepe said.
“I’m not sure,” I said. My thoughts were swirling. This was not the time or place to let Felix know that my dog talked. Plus, this seemed to imply that Star could hear him. Which bothered me for some reason.
“Listen!” said Star. The tape went on a little longer.
I heard Pepe say: “See, Geri, I told you I can bring you many riches.”
“Did you hear that? The promise of treasure!” Star said.
“Geri!” said Pepe. He sounded thrilled. “I think she can hear me!”
“Of course, it is puzzling,” said Star. “Not exactly what one expects from an entity, but . . .”
“What do you mean, entity?” I asked.
“Well, clearly this is another spirit coming through your dog,” Star said. She turned to bow to him. “Or I should say Towering Cedar.”
“Ah, I see!” I said.
“Why should she not believe that wisdom comes directly from a dog?” Pepe asked. “Why must she always credit a spirit?”
Yes, and I wondered why couldn’t she hear him speaking in the room. She merely patted him on the head and said, “He’s so adorable.”
“So it’s very important that you and Towering Cedar remain with us after the introductory weekend,” Star went on.
“Yes, we would love to,” I said. It would be the perfect cover for our investigation.
Crystal nodded. “I think you will progress rapidly through the levels. Artichoke will handle the oh-so-necessary but boring paperwork and payment arrangements. Meanwhile, I have been neglecting your guest.”
Chapter 20
“You must be the famous Wolf Whisperer,” said Star, turning her attention to Felix. I didn’t like the way she looked at him, like she was hungry and he was good to eat. But he did look good. He was wearing a pair of slightly worn black jeans that fit really well, a black T-shirt, and a pair of well-worn cowboy boots. “How did you earn that title?”
Felix looked at me. I think he was asking for help. All I could do was shrug my shoulders.
“I grew up in L.A. My parents worked in the film industry and so do my siblings. I was always the one bringing home stray animals, and so it seemed logical for me to get involved in training animal actors. I’ve worked with wolves, big cats, and even”—he looked at Pepe—“Chihuahuas. I have to say that Chihuahuas are the most difficult animal to train of any I have yet encountered.”
“That is because we are smarter than humans,” said Pepe.
Star laughed. She had a girlish laugh, soft and light. “More difficult than wolves?”
Felix nodded. “Right now I’m working on a film being shot here in the Northwest that features wolves. However, we are still looking for the right animals.”
“I understand you’re interested in my wolf-dogs?” She said that in a soft and seductive voice.
“I am,” said Felix. “How did you acquire them?”
“They were a gift,” said Star, holding out her hand so Felix could help her to her feet, “from an admirer.” She laughed again. “Would you like to see them?”
“Of course,” said Felix.
“Are they still talking about wolves?” Pepe asked.
As we proceeded down the path through the woods to the pen, Star kept Felix beside her. But Pepe and I stayed close enough behind them to hear Star explaining how the principles the Dogawandans learned from dog behavior created success and harmony for humans. Felix nodded now and then and politely uttered, “Oh, I see” and “That’s interesting” and “Yes, dogs do have much to teach us.”
“I have been telling you that for a long time, Geri,” said Pepe.
“Yes, I know,” I told him. (And it was true—I had learned a lot from my dog. I just didn’t want it to go to his head.)
When we arrived outside the pen, the wolf-dogs were pacing back and forth.
“I think they heard us coming,” said Pepe.
“They can sense us coming,” Felix told Star. “They use all of their senses, not just hearing, but also scent.”
“And what do you sense?” Star asked Felix.
He answered by giving me a sly wink, then opened the gate and calmly walked inside the enclosure with the two wolf-dogs.
Star gasped.
I closed my eyes.
When I opened them again, Felix was still alive and in one piece. In fact, the wolf-dogs were circling his legs. I held my breath, afraid to say a word for fear that it might cause the wolf-dogs to attack. A wolf could crush the bones of an elk in one mighty bite. Star was of the same mind, I think, because she was so frozen in place and ashen-faced that she could have been mistaken for a statue.
Pepe, on the other hand, muttered, “Show-off.”
“Good wolves,” said Felix, his tone low and even. “You are beautiful, lovely creatures.”
“They are primitive beasts,” said Pepe, “although they are my distant cousins.”
“I’m just here to visit with you,” Felix told the wolf-dogs, his tone reassuring. Then he did the inexplicable: He slowly sank into a squat, looking at each wolf-dog in turn. I had heard that you were never supposed to stare directly at a dog, particularly one that looked ready to attack. What was he thinking?
My heart was doing jumping jacks in my chest. Then one wolf-dog began to lick Felix’s hand, the way Pepe sometimes licks me. The other wolf-dog lay down in front of Felix, forepaws extended, and gazed up at him, almost worshipfully.
Star gasped again. Then a smile spread slowly across her face.
Felix slowly stood up.
So did the wolf-dogs.
“Sit!” he said. There was a moment of hesitation, and then the giant beasts slowly lowered their rumps to the ground.
“They behave better than you,” I said to Pepe.
“Sitting on comm
and is just a parlor trick,” said Pepe.
“Lie down,” commanded Felix, putting out his hand, palm forward and lowering it toward the ground. The wolf-dogs bent their paws and lowered their heads and were soon stretched out in front of him.
“Nice work!” Felix said, giving each of them a quick rubdown, a scratch around the ears, a knuckle working down their backs. One of the animals rolled over and presented her snowy belly. I considered trying the same move myself once Felix left the pen.
Which he did, a few minutes later.
I let out a huge sigh of relief.
Star’s smile grew even wider. “Remarkable,” she said. “That was utterly amazing,” she told him. “You are truly dominant, Wolf Whisperer.”
“I can work with these hybrids,” said Felix. “It’s obvious someone put some effort into training them. Do you know much about their background?”
Star shook her head.
“I could question them,” Pepe said. He seemed a little put out that we were paying more attention to the wolf-dogs than to him. “Their language skills are basic compared to mine, but I should be able to translate.”
“You really don’t have the proper setup for them,” Felix said. “They need exercise and training every day. And the pen is far too small. They require an area at least five times this size, especially if they are going to be cooped up for most of the day.”
“We’ll see what we can do,” said Star. We began walking back toward the lodge. “When do you need them?”
“The sooner the better,” said Felix. “We are looking for a new location for the outdoor scenes. Our film crew is in Seattle just waiting for the go-ahead.”
“I can act,” said Pepe. “I was once a stunt double for the most famous Chihuahua to ever appear in a Hollywood movie.”
“What type of location are you looking for?” Star asked.
“An open meadow that is framed by big trees.” Felix waved his hand at the pines and cedars that surrounded us. “We had a permit to shoot in a Seattle park, but it didn’t work out.”
“Because they banned the wolves?”
The Big Chihuahua Page 9