Canines and Crime

by Sandra Baublitz

  Carl Hessen was the owner of Hessen’s auto repair. He was contracted with the police department to handle emergency towing for accidents.

  “What about Mildred? Surely she has some tow trucks in service.”

  Mildred Bennett ran the other auto repair shop in town. Mildred’s Mechanics.

  Harry rubbed the back of his neck. “Two of her tow trucks had to go to Dockers for an accident there, and the third one is over in Chambersburg towing some rich guy’s fancy car to town.”

  “Someone wants a tow over here all the way from Chambersburg?”

  Harry shrugged. “No telling what people will pay for.”

  “Chief?”

  Harry turned to where Barnes was waving him over to the firemen. “Wait here.”

  Harry strode off, and I sat down on the porch with Paw next to me. I snapped on his leash, so he didn’t try to help in the cleanup. We watched as the firefighters worked to stem the flow of gasoline and begin the cleanup of the peas, but traffic had to be diverted in both directions as the police closed Main street.

  Behind me, the phone rang. I tugged Paw up and hurried into the house to answer it.

  “What’s going on?” Bruce asked.

  “Accident in front of my house. Where are you?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. I wasn’t involved.”

  “Good. I heard about it on the police monitor.” Bruce had one installed in his car.

  He sighed. “Wish I was there. I’m in Harbour. Got a break on an old case just a short while ago. Can we reschedule dinner tonight?”

  I grimaced but said, “Of course. Call me when you get back.”

  “Will do.” Bruce hung up.

  “Looks like it’s just you and me for dinner this evening, boy. My guess is we’ll be staying in anyway ’til they get that all cleaned up. Let’s sit on the porch and watch a while longer then I’ll make dinner.” We returned to the porch to watch the cleanup effort which was slow going. After a while Paw and I went inside, and I made dinner.

  When I stepped outside again, I saw that Mark had arrived and was questioning Harry. A camera hung around Mark’s neck, and he had his trusty notepad and pencil poised to write down all the facts. Mark was usually right on the scene as soon as the police and firefighters arrived, and I wondered what had detained him. Raised voices to my right answered that question.

  Lillian stood arguing with a firefighter who was trying to hold her back from the scene. Saber, who was perched on Lillian shoulders, arched his back and hissed at the firefighter who took an involuntary step back. Before I could intervene, Banks hurried over and okayed Lillian’s presence then turned to Lillian and spoke to her while pointing towards me. I saw Saber take a swipe at Banks who deftly avoided the cat’s claws from long practice. And then Lillian was marching towards me. I saw her mouth moving and knew she would be grumbling and grousing about the treatment she had received. She marched across my grass and up my sidewalk then pointedly stared at me with hands on hips.

  I jumped up and retrieved one of the wicker chairs on the porch and moved it closer to the steps so that Lillian could sit down with a front row seat of the activity. This she did, and Saber hopped down and sat on the porch, twisting around to lick his shoulder. I sat back down on the porch next to Paw.

  “What happened?”

  “Accident.”

  Lillian huffed. “I can see that.”

  “I didn’t see the accident happen,” I said as I watched Mark thread his way amongst the emergency personnel, snapping shots of the scene. “I was gathering items to take to the thrift shop when I heard a crash. I stepped out and saw this.” I gestured to the scene.

  “Anyone hurt?”

  “No, but the truck is leaking fuel, and the peas have made a mess of the roadway as you can see.”

  We sat for a moment in silence then I said, “There were looky loos earlier that Harry sent off. The odd thing is both Ned Turner and Sam Davis were in the crowd.”

  Lillian crossed her arms.” I don’t like that. Why were they here?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Mark snapped another photo then lowered the camera and glanced around. Catching sight of us, he trudged across the grass, mounted the steps, and leaned his shoulder against the porch post to my left. This way he avoided standing too close to Saber.

  Lillian sat with her head tilted in thought, ignoring him.

  Mark raised an inquiring eyebrow at me.

  “I didn’t see the accident happen. I was in the house gathering items together when I heard the crash. I ran out and saw this.” I told him how I checked with the drivers and what happened until he showed up.

  “Both men were in the crowd?”

  I nodded.

  Mark scratched his jaw. “Hmm. What were they doing here?” Mark cursed under his breath. “Got here too late.”

  Lillian stood up. “Don’t go blaming me for that, reporterman. Let’s go find these two men and find out what they were doing here.”

  I stood up too. “What?”

  “Mark is a reporter so naturally he would want to question some of the onlookers. It gives us the perfect excuse to speak to both men again.”

  Mark straightened from the post. “Yes, it does.”

  “Wait,” I said as they prepared to leave. “I’m coming with you.”

  Lillian shook her head. “No, you’re not. You need to stay here until all this mess is cleared up.” She motioned toward the accident scene.

  “There’s nothing I can do here. I might as well make myself useful and go with you.”

  Harry trudged up the sidewalk. “You’re not going anywhere, young lady. I have some more questions for you. You two,” he pointed to Mark and Lillian, “can go.”

  Lillian smirked at me. “See.” She started down the steps and called over her shoulder, “Come on, Saber.”

  Saber ignored her and hopped up in the chair she had vacated, curled around three times, and lay down. “Come on Saber,” Lillian coaxed, stopping halfway down the steps and bending to catch the cat’s eye.

  Saber stared mutinously at her then looked away.

  Lillian straightened up with a hurt expression on her face.

  Mark bent over laughing. “Looks like he’s treating you like he treats the rest of us.”

  Lillian glared at him.

  Mark shut up.

  Lillian pointed at me. “You take good care of my baby.” She turned on her heel and marched away. I refrained from pointing out that Saber was an old battler and could take care of himself.

  Mark hurried after Lillian, no doubt afraid she would drive his car away.

  I turned to Harry who was smirking. I raised an eyebrow.

  He wiped the expression from his face and said, “It’s going to be a while before we clear everything away, but I want to sit down and go over everything that happened and what you saw in detail.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “Why? It seemed like a straightforward accident to me.”

  “It wasn’t.” Harry jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Heldman examined the truck. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but Steven used to be a mechanic. He says not only was the gas tank leaking, but it appears someone tampered with the truck’s brakes.”

  I gasped. “Somebody wanted that truck to crash.”

  “Looks like it. Think back, did you see anybody else on the street? Who was in the crowd of onlookers?”

  “Why?”

  “I got a feeling that whoever tampered with that truck wanted to see the results of their handiwork.”

  It took the police and firefighters hours to clear away the accident. By the time they were done the thrift store had closed, and Lillian and Mark had yet to return. I went inside. Paw trotting ahead, eager for his supper, and Saber sauntering behind, seemingly content to join us. I closed and locked the front door and went to the kitchen and prepared Paw’s supper, adding a second bowl and opening a can of cat food for Saber. While the pets conten
tedly ate, I threw together a ham and cheese sandwich and a bowl of salad and fixed myself a cup of tea. Of course, Paw finished his dinner first and sat next to me pleading for some bites of my sandwich.

  Saber finished his meal, washed his whiskers and face then hopped up on the chair across from me and intently watched me eat. Relenting I gave Paw a few bites of ham and cheese, and a little bite or two of cheese to Saber, who placed his paws on the table as he stood up and gently lapped up his treat. It always surprised me how dainty the cat could eat based on his irascible disposition on many other occasions.

  When I was finished, I washed the dishes, put them in the drainer, and took my tea into the living room. I was growing concerned that Lillian hadn’t returned so I called her house but got no answer. I then called Mark, but again the phone rang and rang. Finally, I called the police station to ask Harry if he had any idea where Lillian was. To my surprise, he answered in the affirmative.

  “She’s here at the station.” Harry grumbled under his breath, no doubt cursing. “That woman’s driving me crazy. She and Mark showed up because, of course, our resident reporter had more questions about the accident, and of course, both he and Lillian found the onlooker in the crowd who works for the same company as Keith Rill.”

  “Who’s Keith Rill?”

  “The guy that was transporting the peas. Apparently, he had a fight with a fellow employee. The guy’s wife, that’s Rill’s, was having an affair with Jerry Young. He’s the guy that was in the crowd that Lillian and Mark found and questioned. They wanted to know about Sam Davis and if he said anything while they were watching the accident investigation. Young thought they were on to him and blurted out the fact that he cut the brake lines and punctured the gas tank. He knew Rill was taking this route and he wanted to scare him up so he would divorce his wife.”

  “How would that help?”

  Harry laughed. “No idea. If you ask me, the guys a few cards short of a deck.”

  “The perp’s been chattering away,” Harry said. “Mark and Lillian made a citizen’s arrest and brought him here to the station. I’m sure you’ll read all about it in tomorrow’s paper because Mark got the full story from him before they got here.”

  I propped my feet up on the pillow I had thrown on the coffee table. Paw settled on the floor under my legs, and Saber prowled the room, sniffing here and there. I was surprised the cat hadn’t demanded to go outside since Lillian left him go where he wanted, and Saber had been known to patrol most of the night outside.

  “And I thought we had a nice quiet small town,” I said.

  Harry guffawed. “No, you didn’t. You who have found more murders to solve than anyone I know who isn’t involved in police work.”

  “True. But at least I keep your life interesting, uncle,” I teased him.

  “That you do that you do.”

  I set down the phone and settled back against the sofa. Now if I could just solve David Tanner’s murder I would be satisfied. Yawning widely, I looked at the clock and considered watching TV but decided against it. Lillian would be at the station for a while longer to answer questions, and she knew that Saber was here with me. She also knew he liked to go out and prowl at night, and through the day as far as that went, so I figured she wouldn’t bother calling or stopping by until morning. I swung my feet off the cushion, and around Paw, and got up.

  “Saber, Paw. I’m going up to bed. You want to go out, Saber?” I walked over to my front door, unbolted it, and opened it.

  The cat sat on his haunches by the TV.

  And didn’t budge.

  “Fine, have it your way.”

  I shut and bolted the door then turned off the living room lamp. I went into the kitchen to check that everything was off and that the back door was locked. Switching off lights as I went, I climbed the stairs to my bedroom. Neither Paw nor Saber joined me, so I left my bedroom door open and prepared for bed. I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth, and when I came out, Paw lay sprawled on his side across the bed, but there was no sign of Saber. I pushed my bedroom door up but didn’t latch it. I set my alarm, turned off the lights, and crawled into bed.

  I woke suddenly startled from my sleep to find Saber perched on my chest batting my nose.

  “Wah?”

  I was cut off by Saber slapping my mouth with his paw. His eyes were slits and I could feel tension radiating through his body. I glanced to my right, but Paw was no longer in bed.

  I glanced to my left, where Paw stood facing the bedroom door.

  The moonlight highlighting the raised fur on his hackles.

  He growled low in his throat. A quiet but distinct warning.

  Suddenly, Saber jumped from my chest to the floor, landing quiet as a feather, and darted around Paw, scramming through the crack between the door and its frame.

  Paw barreled after him.

  I sat up, still groggy for a moment.

  “Woof! Grr!”

  “Paw?”

  Bang.

  Chapter 26

  I threw back the covers and grabbed the baseball bat I kept near the door as I ran out of the room and down the stairs. “Paw?”

  Bang.

  I rushed to the kitchen where Paw was slamming his shoulder against the door, trying to get out. On the other side of the door, someone cursed. I heard footsteps running away. Paw turned his head at my approach and barked and scratched frantically at the door. Glass was scattered near his feet due to a broken pane of glass in the lower corner of the window. I grabbed his collar to pull him back then flicked the lock and opened the door. Paw lunged out of my hand, thankfully missing the glass, and ran out into the night.

  Saber lunged past me too. I carefully stepped around the glass since I was bare-footed.

  “Paw! Come back here!” I said as ran around the house and confronted a sight that made my stomach drop.

  Ned Turner stood on the lawn with Lillian in his arms.

  A knife to her throat.

  Paw stood confronting Turner, who shouted to me, “Call off your dog or the old lady gets it.”

  What to do what to do?

  I rushed across the lawn and grasped Paw’s collar. What was Lillian doing here?

  She was pale and deathly quiet for Lillian, and I saw a slight trickle of blood drip down her throat. “Please, let her go. Just tell me what you want.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Ned laughed. “She’s my ticket out of here. After this there’s no way you’re gonna let me walk.”

  A car approached, veered across the street, and pulled up to the curb. Mark jumped out, leaving the engine running and ran toward us.

  “Back off reporter.”

  I raised my hand in a staying motion to Mark, and he halted in his tracks; I assumed when he saw the knife at Lillian’s throat.

  Paw stayed tensed, his muscles bunched, ready to lunge at any moment.

  I desperately held to his collar. Keep Turner talking was the only thing I could think to do, and I hoped someone had called the police for I hadn’t thought about it in my rush to get down to Paw.

  “Why break into my house?”

  Ned laughed, but he kept shooting wary glances between Mark and Paw. Lillian stood unnaturally still in his arms, but she kept shooting glares in my direction. “You got something that belongs to me. And I want it back.”

  Of all the things he could have said that was last thing I would have expected. “No, I don’t.” It slipped out before I could think better of it.

  Ned glared at me and tightened his hold on Lillian who whimpered.

  Mark advanced a step and Turner whipped his head around at the movement. “Back off.”

  To me, he said, “You got my shoes. I want to them back. Now.”

  “Shoes?”

  “Yeah. Charlotte grabbed up a bunch of stuff for the thrift store. Including my red shoes. I want them back.”

  Before I could respond, Mark asked, “What’s so special about them?”

  “None of your business.”


  Turner shot a look at me, and said, “Now go get them.”

  I didn’t have his shoes, but I feared for Lillian if I didn’t go and look like I was getting them.

  “Don’t call the police or she dies. And take that dog with you.”

  Now what do we do?

  “Mreow.” Saber tiptoed across the grass, flicking dew off his paws and began twining around Lillian’s and Ned’s legs?”

  “What the—. Keep that cat away from me.”

  Saber continued to twine and meow.

  “Call off the cat!”

  “He doesn’t listen to me. Only to her.” I nodded to Lillian.

  Ned kicked out with one foot at Saber, but the cat was swift, easily avoiding the foot, and went back to twining around his legs.

  He kicked out again but lost some of his footing and had to hop to adjust. Then he lifted the knife from Lillian’s neck to swipe at the cat.

  Everything happened in a blur.

  Paw lunged from my grasp.

  Lillian elbowed Turner in the gut.

  Mark and I rushed forward.

  Saber climbed Ned Turner like a tree.

  Turner brought the knife up, trying to get to Saber, but Paw was there first and latched onto his arm. Mark reached Lillian and thrust her away from Ned and into my arms and tackled the man to the ground. Saber jumped clear then bit Turner’s hand as he brought it up to punch Mark. With Paw holding one arm down and Saber on the other hand holding on with tooth and claw, Mark subdued Turner.

  I steadied Lillian until I was sure she was safe then ran back to my kitchen door, gingerly stepped around the glass, and called Harry. I grabbed a pair of handcuffs from the hall closet, unlocked the front door, and ran out. Handing the cuffs to Mark, I helped him secure Ned then sat down holding onto Paw to wait for the police’s arrival.

  Lillian hugged Saber close and crooned to him. “What a good boy you are, Saber.”

  Harry soon arrived with officer Barnes who took Ned Turner into custody as the ambulance arrived. Lillian argued she didn’t need treatment but finally relented and let the medics treat her neck. Heldman arrived after Harry made sure I was well then ordered Mark to watch Paw and Saber while he escorted me inside and checked the back door. He sent me upstairs to get dressed, which I did in record time, and when I came back down, Harry was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.