by Dale Mayer
“Shit,” Lucas said. “How did he escape?”
“I have six-foot fences not eight-foot fences,” the voice on the other end said in exasperation. “He couldn’t have gone too far, but I don’t want to take any chances, as he was very aggressive at the center, and we don’t want him to attack anyone.”
“He’s a trained military dog,” Lucas said. “He understands commands very well.”
“He wasn’t listening to any commands I gave him,” the man snapped. “You are welcome to help us hunt for him.”
“We’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Lucas said. He ended the call, put away his phone and glared at the woman on the other side of the counter. “There will be repercussions for this.” He snatched up the note and walked out.
Hating to see the worried look on the woman’s face, Tanya said, “It’s really important that we find that dog.”
The woman nodded. “We just couldn’t keep him here,” she said. “It was a godsend Andy was here as it was because we had no other place for the dog.”
“Andy who? And you couldn’t have just separated Top Hat from other dogs? Or brought a vet in to tranquilize him?”
“Andy Ross.” The woman looked even more worried. “I don’t know. I don’t make those decisions, and I wasn’t here at the time,” she offered hurriedly. “I’m sorry. I hope you find him.”
“You better hope we do,” Tanya said. “This was an official request. He’s come a long way to get this dog.”
The woman nodded and watched until she left.
Tanya hurried outside and jumped in the truck. “It looked like you were about to take off without me.”
“Only if I have to,” he said and turned out of the parking lot, spitting gravel behind.
“Is it that bad?”
“If the dog is put down, yes,” he said.
“If the dog is aggressive, maybe he needs to be put down.” And she realized she had said the wrong thing because the look he gave her was black and dark. “Why do you care so much?” she asked.
“Because I’d been on missions where those dogs saved our asses,” he said. “And a dog saved my life this last time too.”
“Seriously?”
He nodded. “That dog gave his life and took the bullets intended for me,” he said. “If there is anything I can do to help this dog, I will. We train them. We put them through hell, and then, when they finally get a chance to have a bit of a life, something like this happens. It takes a special person to deal with them.”
“But are you that person?” she asked.
“I worked with them over there, although I wasn’t a handler or a trainer. I was on a team with two dogs. You get used to working with them, and they followed orders incredibly well.”
“Still …” she said, “you need a place to keep a dog like that.”
“Nathan’s got kennels,” he said. “We have to capture Top Hat, get him checked out so I can get him across the border, but, after that, I’m not sure what’ll happen to him.”
“Are you looking to maybe keep him long-term?”
“I’m not sure,” he replied and shrugged. “You’re asking questions I don’t have answers for.”
She realized there wasn’t anything to be gained by pushing him. She was worried about a dog that aggressive. One that could escape six-foot fences. She hoped they would have a good ending to this.
He turned to look at her and asked, “Did you have plans you need to be back for?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t work until day after tomorrow. So, if we are delayed today, it’s fine.”
“Good,” he said. “Because obviously this trip will not be as quick as I thought it would be.” He let out a slow breath.
She realized he must have been stressed about getting her back home today. Tanya let out a slow breath as well and smiled. She was relieved they would be spending more time together. Nothing waited for her back home. And all she wanted was sitting right beside her.
He drove to the address with his truck’s GPS spitting out instructions every step of the way. When he reached his destination, he parked his truck and hopped out. From where he stood in front of the house, he could see what appeared to be a good five acres, fenced and cross-fenced.
That made him feel a bit better.
He had been worried somebody hadn’t taken care of the dog, so the dog had been desperate to get free. But that didn’t look to be the way of it. At least the property was clean, well-cared-for, and the fences were strong. He rang the doorbell, and the door was opened immediately.
“Hi, I’m Andy. You must be Lucas.”
Lucas nodded and said, “I am. Can you show me where Top Hat disappeared from?”
Andy shrugged and said, “I do this all the time. We pick up a lot of dogs the shelter can’t handle. I work to rehabilitate them and then find them homes, but this shepherd wouldn’t be kept in by anybody.”
“That’s possible,” Lucas said. “The history on the dog since he left the military has been sketchy. I’m not sure what happened or how he ended up in the rescue pack coming up here because the tattoo should easily have been tracked back to the War Dogs department.”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Andy said with alarm. “The shelter called me in a panic and said they had a dog they had a problem with and couldn’t get a vet to come in and deal with. They didn’t have anybody there capable of taking care of him since just the support staff was on duty. So I went in and managed to get him tied up and crated. I put him out here in one of my pens, and, next thing I know, he was gone.”
Andy led the way through the house out to the back. Lucas checked once to make sure Tanya was with him. She kept very close to his side. As they walked outside, they were greeted by barking dogs. Four of the dogs were milling around, happy-go-lucky and obviously at ease with strangers.
Andy led them over to a pen at the back. “He was in here. As you can see, he’s no longer here.”
It was, indeed, a strong wire pen, basically a deer fence, with square holes through it and six feet high with solid steel posts.
Lucas stared at the pen and shook his head. “Bud, no offense, but that is the worst fencing for keeping a dog in.” He knew his tone was abrupt, but he was not impressed.
Andy looked at him in surprise. “And why is that?” he asked.
“Because dogs can climb. That fencing is stiff and firm, and, once they can get their paws and toes hooked in, it gives them strong support, and they can get up and over.”
Tanya snorted a laugh behind him before abruptly quieting.
Lucas looked at Andy. “Same issue with using logs of wood. Anything they can get a grip on.”
Andy nodded. “I’ve never had anyone escape before. So it’s never been an issue.”
“This is a War Dog. He can get in and out of places he needed to get in and out of quietly. It was all part of his training. He can also scale eight-foot fences, but, of course, he didn’t come with a warning sign, did he? Other than that War Dogs tattoo, right?” Lucas let out a short laugh, realizing his tone might have been brusque. It was a tense situation. He had come all this way to find the dog had taken himself out of the picture.
“I’m sorry,” Andy said. “What do you want to do?”
“I’ll find him,” Lucas replied. “Anything else is not an option.”
“There’s another problem,” Andy said. “An underground dogfighting group is here in town. Well, across several towns in fact.”
“Right. That would be a problem. What are the options?”
“The dog is either wild and fends for himself and eventually he will return, or he’ll try to find somewhere he is comfortable, but I doubt that will be the shelter or here,” Andy said. “Or he’ll get picked up by someone else, and, if it is someone from the dogfighting group, that’s bad news.”
“I know the cops have taken down two large dogfighting rings,” Tanya said, “but that was a couple hours from here.”
“The ring is pretty widespr
ead and always hunting for new dogs,” Andy said. “If you took down two, that’s good, but there’s probably at least two more. A lot of local families are involved in that sport. A big male like Top Hat, well, he’ll be prime dogfighting material.”
“That’s so cruel,” Tanya said.
“Yes, it is,” Andy said. “Especially when you get dogs that don’t want to fight. It’s an ugly sport with a lot of ugly people involved, and that’s something we’re all doing the best we can to try to stop it.”
“What if we checked out those places first?” Lucas asked, his arms over his chest. “I’ve got no objection to going in and letting those dogs loose.”
“You can’t just let them loose,” Andy protested. “They need a lot of medical attention. And the aggressive ones don’t know how to calm down anymore. They’ve been trained for this, and they don’t know anything different.”
“Is anybody working to solve this? Here at least?” Lucas asked. “Ones who I could connect with and maybe could help out?”
“Sure,” Andy said, nodding. “If you think that’s what you want to do, you take that step. Though you can get in more trouble than you are expecting. These people are very protective. This is against the law, so it’ll land them in jail, and they could lose their homes. That makes them very dangerous. They have a lot to lose.”
“Good,” Lucas said. “Every home lost is another one they can’t use to train more animals for fighting.”
“I hear you,” Andy said. “It’s not that easy though. You know that, right?”
“It never is,” Lucas said. “But the fact of the matter is, if we don’t do something, nothing gets done.”
“Agreed,” Andy said. “I might have someone I can call. Hang on a moment.” He disappeared inside only to return dialing his cellphone. But it seemed to ring and just ring. “Sorry I can’t get a hold of him, I’ll try again later.”
“Not a problem,” Lucas said. “I’ll be fine.”
Tanya stepped closer and asked, “Are you sure you want to get into this?”
“I do,” Lucas said affirmatively. He looked at her and smiled. “Have you ever known me not to go after the underdog and find a cause to fight for?”
“Sure, but remember what I said about Claire?”
“Yes, and that’s an even better reason,” he said. “We’re only four hours apart here. There’s nothing good about dogfighting. So if we can’t stop it here, we can probably stop it there. But I don’t want to sit here and pick up one or two people involved in abusing dogs by setting up these dogfighting rings. I want to take them all out.”
She winced. “It’s great to be ambitious. but you could pick something that’s not quite so dangerous,” she said on a laugh.
He half smirked. “Not likely to happen. Remember the work I used to do? To protect the innocent? This time I am not traveling overseas and not working for the navy, but I sure as hell am not ready to give up helping out others. Particularly War Dogs and other dogs being abused.”
“It’s dangerous,” she said as she worried her bottom lip.
“It is,” he said. “But it is much more dangerous for the dogs. I’m more than happy to just retrieve Top Hat, but, if he has been taken into a dogfighting ring, he’s in trouble. Top Hat deserves a home where he doesn’t have to fight and doesn’t have to listen to explosions and doesn’t have to go to war each and every day.”
“How do you get him to stay? A six-foot fence wasn’t enough to keep him contained. What is?”
“Easy,” he said with a big smile. “You don’t force the dog to stay. You make it so he wants to stay. So that it is his choice because that’s where he wants to be. You can’t ever hold a rebel in. You can curtail their freedom and keep an eye on them and punish them every time, but the only real way to get them to stay is to win their loyalty and to make them want to stay. It sounds impossible. I know. But it works.”
“No,” she said quietly. “It sounds about right because it’s the same for men, isn’t it? Or any relationship. It’s about loyalty, respect, wanting to be where they are. And not feeling hemmed in and penned in, like a prisoner.”
He looked at her in surprise. “Well, that was never a problem with us.”
She smiled. “No,” she said. “I could always trust you, and I could always count on you.”
He nodded. “That’s just who I am, and I won’t let these dogs down any more than I would let you down.”
She looked at him for a long moment and nodded. “Very true. You didn’t let me down. I’m the one who let you down.” She took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. “For that, I am very sorry.”
He stared at her in shock. “What brought this on?”
She gave him a sad smile. “A realignment of values,” she said, “and finally realizing what truly matters.”
Chapter 4
She hadn’t expected to get into this conversation like this, but no doubt it was one that needed to happen. She was also disturbed by the look of complete shock on his face. She shrugged and turned to look at Andy, now rejoining them. “Sorry. Personal business.”
Andy’s gaze went from one to the other, interest lighting up his face. “Nothing like star-crossed lovers,” he said. “Keeps life interesting. At least for those of us on the outside.”
“Not too interesting for me,” Lucas said drily. “More like tormenting. Any idea where those involved in this lovely dogfighting ring live?”
“Not really,” Andy said. “I’ve worked with some cops to help bring down a couple. I usually go in when they do the raids to help collect some of the dogs. Often the dogs are so traumatized we have to put them down.” He shook his head and stared off in the distance. “Sometimes I hate people. I have an idea where a couple are, but you can’t just go in there without any backup.”
Lucas shoved his hands in his pockets and studied Andy. “Can you tell me the names of who you work with within the police department?”
Andy nodded. “I can do that.”
“Also do you have any idea where my dog might have gone to?” he asked.
Andy shook his head. “Out there,” he said. His arm spread out toward the wide-open country around them. “I have to assume the dog got out on his own because all the gates are still locked.”
“That was my next question,” Lucas said. “Whether somebody might have stolen him.”
“The dog wasn’t very friendly,” Andy said, his tone dry. “Honestly, even if somebody did want him for dogfighting, they’d have to manhandle him first.”
Lucas nodded. “Not a nice thought either. The dog won’t be cooperative.”
“No, he isn’t.” At that Andy led the way back to the house. They stopped in the kitchen where he pulled out a notebook. He opened and flipped through several pages and then ripped a piece out of the back and started writing down some names. “These are the two cops I’ve dealt with. Talk to them. They’ll keep an eye out for Top Hat, and, if you have any pictures of the dog, it could help maybe locate him. I don’t have any myself. Didn’t have him long enough.”
“Good enough,” Lucas said. “You can expect to see me back here tomorrow. I’ll take Tanya home, but I’ll return and track Top Hat from here.”
“If you’re going to track him, you should start now,” Andy said. “The weather is turning tonight.”
Lucas winced. “Rain?”
“Yes. And lots of it.”
Lucas stared out the window.
Tanya realized she’d become a problem. “Go do what you gotta do,” she said. “I’m fine. I can wait in the truck.”
“You don’t have to wait in the truck,” Andy said. “I doubt tracking the dog will do you any good, but you might as well do it and leave her in the comfort of my home. I don’t mind if she hangs out. I’ve got work to do with the animals for the next hour anyway.” He glanced at her and smiled. “Make yourself at home.”
She could see Lucas hesitating. She urged him on. “Go. Go. Go. Time’s a wasting.”
“Does he know what he’s doing?” Andy asked.
“That’s the one thing about Lucas you can be sure of. He always knows what he’s doing,” she muttered. Then she plastered a bright smile on her face. “He’s ex-military. He tracks like crazy.”
“Oh, well, in that case …” Andy said with a nod. “Maybe he’ll have some luck then.” He turned to her. “Help yourself to tea or coffee if you want, but I have to get back out and start working.”
She waved him off. “I appreciate the hospitality,” she said. “I have my phone with me. It’ll keep me busy.”
He nodded and disappeared out the back.
As soon as he was gone, the thought of tea appealed. She wondered if she should take his generosity to heart. She glanced around the kitchen and spotted a kettle. She grabbed it and filled it with water to boil. Various boxes of tea sat on the counter; she chose the herbal tea and found a clean mug.
Once it was ready, she sat in the living room and relaxed. She wondered if it would be hours before Lucas returned. Her phone rang. It was Meg. She smiled as she answered. “Hey. We’re at a guy’s house who was supposed to keep Top Hat for a couple days and help calm him down, but the dog jumped over a six-foot fence and disappeared into the wild. Lucas has gone after him.”
Meg sighed. “Of course he has,” she said. “So you guys won’t be home anytime soon, will you?”
“No,” Tanya said. “We haven’t even left yet.”
“Okay. I won’t worry about you for dinner then,” she said in a cheerful voice. “How’s it going between the two of you?”
“Better than expected,” Tanya replied. “I was telling him about Alice and Claire. I’m happy to not be in town myself. I would have just spent it at Alice’s bedside.”
“I know,” Meg said, her voice dropping in sympathy. “I’m sure Lucas had no idea what had happened to your friends.”