A few months after Sherman’s death Sophie gave birth to a litter of six puppies. When Lynn found out that Sophie was going to have puppies she started telling the boys that when they were born they had to put them in a gunny sack and find a place to drown them. She told Jed and Justin she didn’t want to have to feed anymore dogs. She said, “I don’t feel like having any more mouths to feed around here, even if they are just dogs.” Jed and Justin didn’t want to drown the puppies so they waited a few day after they were born to tell her. The puppies were a mixture of colors of brown and black. There was one male puppy that was completely black and it was much bigger than the rest of them. When Joshua first caught sight of the big black puppy, he instantly fell in love with it.
As soon as Jed told Lynn the puppies had been born, Joshua began begging his mom to let him keep just that one puppy. Her first reaction was no and she kept telling Joshua no, over and over again, for what seemed like to her, a thousand times. Joshua didn’t stop there and it became apparent, he wasn’t going to give up in his quest to keep the puppy. He became very persistent, as he kept pleading and begging with her. He said, “Please let me keep him, Mom. He’ll be my dog and I’ll take good care of him.” He continued to hound her for the next two days until she finally relented and said, “Ok, ok, Joshua, you win. You can keep the stupid puppy, but just that one puppy and no others. I want you to know that keeping the puppy comes with a lot of responsibilities. This will be your dog Joshua, but it will also be your responsibility to take care of it. You’ll have to clean up after it and make sure it’s fed and watered all the time. Do you understand that?” Joshua shook his head up and down in agreement. He jumped up in the air with happiness and clapped his hands together several times, as he said, “Yes, Yes, Yes, I get to keep him. I have my own dog now.”
A few days later, after all the other puppies had been drowned, Joshua was walking around carrying the puppy and Lynn asked Joshua if he had a name picked out for it yet. He smiled at her and said, “Yes Mom, I’m going to name him Mister.” She said, “That sounds like a good name for a dog, but why Mister?” He told her, “I’m naming the puppy after me, because the puppy is special too, just like me, Mom.” Lynn instantly knew what he was talking about as she recalled what she once told him years ago that M.R. stood for Mister. She got tears in her eyes for a minute as she said, “That’s a perfect name for him, Joshua.” She quickly turned and walked back into her room because she didn’t want him to see the tears coming down her face.
Joshua was her little boy and she realized how much the puppy now meant to him.
It took Lynn by surprise that Joshua had remembered their conversation about the word Mister from so many years ago. Now he was choosing to name his dog the same name used to taunt him in school. She was really touched by what he said and it brought back a lot of hurtful memories of the way the other kids had treated him. That was one of the first times that she truly realized he was so much different than the other kids. It didn’t stop her from taking him to town with her every chance she got. She tried not to pay any attention to the many stares and the gawking eyes as people pointed at him, from what they thought, was behind her back. Her heart ached to see him so happy over something so simple as a puppy.
The puppy didn’t open its eyes until the morning of the eleventh day, but as soon as Joshua saw it had its eyes open he was convinced it had also fallen in love with him. Joshua scooped him up in his arms and went running into Lynn’s room carrying the puppy and yelling to her, “Look Mom, Mister opened his eyes, and he’s looking right at me. He loves me, I can tell.” Lynn reached out and cupped the puppy in her hands and looked at his half-opened eyes. As she handed him back to Joshua she said, “You know what, Joshua, I think your right. He does love you, just like I do.” She brushed Joshua’s hair back and smiled at him before he left the room.
It only took another few days before the puppy was able to start walking with wobbly legs on all fours and finding its way around. He got all his mom’s milk so he soon starting to grow from this little cute and cuddly puppy to a strong and feisty dog. Over the next several months Joshua was with him constantly. They developed an innate bond with each other that was different than the normal boy-dog relationship. Joshua had started training Mister to go to the bathroom outside when he was only about eight weeks old. After only about two weeks of training him, when Mister wanted to go outside, he would go over to Joshua, look up and bark. Joshua knew that bark meant he wanted to go to the bathroom and he would immediately pick him up and take him outside. It didn’t take long with Joshua’s constant diligence before he was completely house trained. By the time he was three months old, Joshua had taught Mister all kinds of tricks. Jed and Justin hadn’t paid too much attention to him because they were always busy at night and sleeping during the day, but it didn’t go unnoticed by Lynn. Joshua was always showing her the new things he had taught Mister to do and she was always amazed at how fast Mister would learn the things Joshua taught him.
Over the next year, Jed and Justin continued to break into the houses in either Randsburg or Johannesburg, stealing anything to sell they could get their hands on. They made trips to Los Angeles together but sometimes Jed would go alone when he needed time away from Justin. Even though Joshua was never allowed to go on those trips, he didn’t seem to mind. He was so involved with training Mister, little else mattered. Joshua taught him to sit, shake hands, and roll over and many other tricks by using the command of a clicking sound Joshua made with his tongue. Different clicks of his tongue gave Mister a different command. He taught him not to bark unless he was told to bark and not to growl unless he received that particular command. He taught him how to attack a toy and rip it to shreds on command and to sit, just look at the toy and not move until he heard the correct command. He taught him how to growl viciously on command and he taught him to fetch things and to return to him or to leave at the sound of the right command. He could make Mister do anything he wanted because Mister loved him and would do anything for him. They were best friends and Joshua was very proud and protective of him and Mister was also very protective of Joshua.
As he got older Mister didn’t like Brutus or Sophie getting too close to Joshua because he was jealous. He would growl furiously and bare his teeth if either of them got too close. Mister always slept on the same bed and next to Joshua and when he went into town with Lynn during her shopping trips Joshua would take Mister with him. He would wait in the pick-up with Mister instead of going inside while Lynn was doing her shopping. When people walked past the truck and stared it made Joshua feel proud that he had such a beautiful and well trained dog. He didn’t realize it, but a lot of the long stares from people, were because of him and not just Mister. No matter where he went or what he did Joshua and Mister were inseparable.
By the time Mister was a year old he was huge. He was several inches taller than most Rottweiler’s and he weighed over 140 pounds. His entire body was nothing but solid muscle, more like a pit bull terrier. His head was huge and boxy and Joshua thought the muscles in his body made him look strong, like a man body builder. The pupils of his eyes were dark and they matched the shiny black fur of his coat. He had long fang teeth both top and bottom and when he growled he was scary looking. When he was full grown, Joshua used to brag to Jed and Justin as he said, “He is MY show dog and I love him.” Because he was Joshua’s dog he wouldn’t have much to do with anyone else. He especially wouldn’t listen to anyone else’s command if they tried to get him to do something. Joshua was so proud of Mister, he would sometimes show off all that he had taught Mister. They were always a little amazed and surprised in what Joshua could get him to do. They had never heard of anyone that could get their dog to do the things Mister would do for Joshua just by him clicking his tongue a certain sound. They knew he truly loved Joshua and he was a one man’s dog with total devotion.
Mister was about fourteen months old when Sophie came
into heat once again. Jed and Justin were sleeping after one of their late nights and Lynn hadn’t gotten out of bed yet. It was late morning when Joshua took Mister outside to go to the bathroom. When Brutus saw Mister he started getting frisky and acting like he was the new boss in town. He pranced back and forth in front of Mister as if to challenge him to come and get him. At first Mister just ignored him and stayed away.
Before long, Sophie came around the corner of the house with her tail raised up and off to one side as a sign of her readiness to mate. She was walking in the direction of Joshua and Mister and it was at that moment Brutus couldn’t stand it any longer. He wasn’t going to let Mister have anything to do with his female, so he plunged forward in an attack mode toward Mister. Mister tried to avoid him as he swerved to one side as Brutus nipped into his right hind leg. Mister was able to jerk himself free and turned to face Brutus. He stood there for a minute as if to say, are you crazy? What did I do to you? At the same time, he wasn’t going to run from the fight as the hair on the back of his scruff bristled. That was when Brutus decided he wasn’t through with him yet and attacked Mister once again. Joshua got angry with Brutus for trying to hurt Mister so he gave the clicking sound for Mister to attack. That’s when Mister went on the offensive and fought back with fierce conviction. With a ferocious growl, he charged forward and knocked Brutus to the ground. They fought for a few minutes when suddenly Mister had Brutus by the throat and he was squirming in an effort to get free. Mister was ready for the command to kill when Joshua surprisingly gave him the command to retreat. He didn’t hesitate as he immediately let go of Brutus and backed up toward Joshua. Brutus was then able to get to his feet and like a wounded warrior, went cowering away to hide under the pick-up. It didn’t take very long and the fight was over. Mister had proven he was a good fighter and established himself as the master of that domain. Joshua patted Mister on the back and shoulders and said, “Good boy, you done good! You protected yourself. Let’s get you in the house and see if he hurt you. That stupid Brutus!”
Once inside the house, Joshua looked over every inch of Mister’s body to make sure he wasn’t hurt very bad. There was a big gash in his hind leg where Brutus had tagged him with his sharp teeth and blood was slowly oozing out of it. Joshua grabbed some gauze and tape and starting wrapping it around the open wound. Joshua was angry at Brutus for what he had tried to do to Mister as he said, “That stupid dog! Next time that happens, I’m going to let you kill him.” He patted Mister on the head and laid down next to him. Mister was lying on his side with his head raised in the air and his tongue hanging out and panting. He would occasionally lick Joshua’s face with his warm wet tongue. Joshua could tell that Mister wasn’t sure what had just happened, but he was both excited and proud of himself for the outcome of his first fight.
Jed and Justin had both heard the fight and by the time it was over they came running into Joshua’s room to find out what had happened. Joshua told them that Brutus was acting crazy and attacked Mister. He told them, “They got into a big fight.” Jed asked, “Did either of them get hurt?” Joshua had an angry look on his face as he pointed to Mister’s wound and said, “Mister got a gash on his leg.” Jed said, “What about Brutus, is he okay? Joshua said, “Yea, Mister kicked his butt, but he’s okay.” Jed just shook his head and mumbled under his breath as he walked back toward his bed, yea, well don’t let Mister kill him. Stupid dogs.
Joshua made up his mind that he wasn’t going to let Mister be surprised by another attack like the one from Brutus ever again. He decided he was going to do some things different with Mister so it would never happen. He would train Mister how to protect himself even if it meant doing something he was never allowed to do. He was going to train Mister outside the walls of their property.
No one in the family knew that Joshua had watched and observed every move that Sherman, Jed and Justin did before they went out on a break-in. He knew that if he took Mister out of the property he had to dress in all black clothes, like Jed and Justin and paint his face with charcoal, before he went out.
One night he waited until Jed and Justin left for one of their break-ins when he decided to take Mister out. By then Lynn was in her bedroom, like she always was, and in a deep sleep. The duo slipped out of the house and off the property. Joshua quietly closed the gate behind him. He used to hear his dad tell Jed and Justin how they needed to try to stay low and out of sight of people and cars when they were out stealing. Joshua had decided he was going to follow everything they had been taught and stay hidden. He didn’t want anyone seeing him out with Mister.
Once he was outside the property, he used the cover of the Yucca Plants, sage brush and other desert plants to hide behind as he made his way from one to another. Once they were far enough away from the house, they headed very slowly toward another part of town. They went up the hill and behind some of the houses. He didn’t know exactly what he was going to find out there but figured they would sneak around and see.
They hadn’t gone very far when Joshua spotted two cats that seemed to be distracted by their courtship with each other. They were in the middle of a narrow dirt road and hadn’t noticed Joshua and Mister. They crept up inch by inch to get as close to the cats as they could get. Joshua looked around for a few minutes just to make sure that no one was watching them. He sat there momentarily with Mister with his arm wrapped around Mister’s shoulders. He whispered to Mister, “It’s almost time, boy.” Just when the cats were least expecting it, he gave Mister the command to attack and kill. Mister had the male cat by the throat in a split second and had started shaking violently. In under a minute the cat was dead and the other cat had disappeared. When Joshua believed the cat was dead, he gave Mister the signal to return to him. In just a few short seconds Mister was sitting by his side panting with excitement. He had blood dripping down the sides of his jaws as he tried to lick it away. Joshua patted him on the head and shoulders and said, “That’s a good boy! You done good, Mister!”
Mister had completed his first kill and Joshua was extremely proud of him. When he was through with the cat, they turned and headed back home. He praised Mister several more times on the way home. Before they went to bed for the night he sat with Mister and told him again what a good job he had done.
The next morning, they went outside and Joshua looked down at Mister and asked, “Wasn’t that fun, boy? Mister just looked up at him and it seemed to Joshua that he knew exactly what Joshua was talking about. He wagged his tail as Joshua patted him on the head and said, “We’ll do it again soon. We’ll have to wait until Jed and Justin go out again.” Joshua could hardly wait to take Mister out again. It was disturbing how much he seemed to enjoy killing the cats.
Over the next several nights Jed and Justin laid low, just waiting for the crescent moon and the wind so they could go out on their next break-in. Joshua never told Jed or Justin that he had taken Mister off the property. He knew they would be angry with him if they found out he had left the compound. They had always warned Joshua to never to leave, but now he was getting really anxious to take Mister out once again. He could hardly wait for Jed and Justin to leave. He starting grilling them about when they were going out on their next break-in. They couldn’t understand, why, all of a sudden, Joshua had become so interested in what they were doing. After he had asked Jed several times when they were going out Jed finally asked him, “Joshua, why are you so interested in what we’re doing, all of a sudden? Why do you want to know when we’re going out again?” Joshua hesitated for a moment and then replied, “I just wanted to know, that’s all.” When he said that, Jed just laughed and said, “We’re going out soon, we’re just waiting for the right time.” Joshua didn’t respond. He just turned and walked back toward his room with a big smile on his face. He knew that he and Mister would have another night of fun just as soon as Jed and Justin were gone.
A few nights later, just minutes aft
er Jed and Justin left for their next break-in, Joshua hastily changed into his black clothing and darkened his face. He grabbed Mister and rushed off the compound. There was a large dog that lived about four blocks away and when Joshua went out he could hear the dog barking as they made their way around Red Mountain. Everything in the town seemed dark and dead silent accept for that barking dog and a couple others in the distance. It wasn’t long before Mister and Joshua spotted another lone cat making its way along a narrow dirt trail right toward them. There was a lot of desert plants on both sides of the trail. Joshua and Mister froze in their tracks and waited for the cat to get closer. The cat appeared to be preoccupied with itself as it just strolled along on the trail, not paying any attention to what lie ahead. When the cat got within five to six yards of them it spotted them about the same time that Joshua gave Mister the command to attack and kill. After a short chase Mister had pounced on the cat and began ripping it to shreds. Joshua gave Mister the command to return and he dropped the cat and was soon sitting by his side once again. They had now killed two cats and Joshua had no intentions of stopping.
For the next few months, when Jed and Justin went out, Joshua would go out on a mission of his own looking for cats that Mister could kill. He had already killed several of the Red Mountain cats when Joshua decided he was going to test Mister with something a little larger. It was during their next outing that he decided he was going to see what Mister could do with the large German Shepard that always barked at them. Joshua purposely headed with Mister in its direction, creeping ever so slowly, closer and closer to the house. When they were directly across from the house they took cover behind some sage brush. By then the big German Shepard had spotted them and it had come out into the middle of the street barking. Joshua had Mister crawl to the edge of the road by himself. He waited for a minute to see if the owners of the dog would come outside to see what their dog was barking at. After not seeing any movement from inside the house, Joshua gave Mister the command to attack. Mister went tearing into the middle of the road and met the dog with full force. He knocked it down and they wrestled around for a few minutes. The dog was trying to nip at Mister and then retreat. It didn’t take long and Mister had the dog by the throat. His strong grip was like a vice as it cut off the dog’s wind pipe. Joshua waited for the dog to go limp as he gave Mister the command to kill. Mister gave the dog’s neck a few quick and angry jerks and broke its neck. The German Shepard was no match for Mister and the fight ended just about as fast as it had begun. To Joshua, Mister looked like a victorious warrior as he stood over the dead dog. That was when Joshua gave Mister the command to return to him.
It was about that same time when the lights went on in the house and a half-dressed man came out with a shotgun in his hands. Joshua and Mister slowly started to retreat further into the darkness, blending in with the landscape. The owner of the dog was calling for his dog as he made his way to the edge of the street. That’s when the man saw his dead dog lying dead and limp in the street. He fired off a few warning shots intending to scare away whatever killed his dog. He fired in the direction of Joshua and also in the opposite direction. By then Joshua and Mister were already making their way back home.
Arriving home, Joshua was so excited and very proud of Mister. He kept patting him on the head and shoulders as he said, “Good Boy, you did it. You killed your first dog and he was a big one.” He was now confident that Mister could defend himself against just about any animal. He believed Mister could definitely kill any dog that tried to attack him. He gave Mister treats and lovingly patted him. He continued to praise him until they went to bed for the night. Mister also seemed to be pleased with himself as he sat like a proud warrior next to his sense! His head was raised in the air and he would occasionally reach over and lick Joshua with his tongue. Joshua knew Mister was also proud of himself for a job well done.
When Lynn went to town a few days later, the store clerk knew Lynn was from Red Mountain, so she asked her if she had heard the news about some of the people in Red Mountain losing their cats. Lynn said, “No, I haven’t heard or seen anything about it. What happened?” The clerk said, “I heard some ladies from Red Mountain talking about their cats being killed. One of them told the other one she needed to keep an eye out for coyotes or something. Most people didn’t think it was coyotes because they figured a coyote would take its kill back to its den and eat it. The cats were ripped apart and left where they were killed. One of your neighbors lost a big German Shepard. They said the owner heard his dog fighting with it and by the time he got out of bed, put on his pants, grabbed his gun and went outside, his dog was lying dead in the street.” Lynn was real interested as she asked, “Do they have any idea what it could be.” The clerk said, “I heard them say that some people believe it might be a mountain lion. If it’s not a mountain lion it was just as big. Nothing like that’s ever been seen in these parts before. One of the neighbors thought it might have something to do with the Night Crawlers. Lynn had never heard that term used before and asked, “What in the world are the Night Crawlers?” The clerk said, “You know, the druggies that creep around town after everyone’s gone to bed, breaking in and stealing anything they can get their hands on!” Lynn replied, “That does sound pretty creepy, I’ll be sure to have my boys be extra cautious and I’ll keep my eyes open for anything unusual. I have two large dogs but they’re not allowed to leave the yard and stay locked inside the gate. I’ve never had any problems with anyone stealing from us or killing our pets!”
When Lynn got home she told Jed and Justin about what she had heard from the clerk at the grocery store. Jed thought about it for a few minutes and glanced at his mom with a puzzled look on his face and said, “I hate to tell you this Mom, but that “animal” sounds like it could be a very large dog. One the size of Mister. Do you think Mister could be getting out while Joshua is sleeping?” Lynn seemed dubious at the possibility Mister could be sneaking out at night. She told Jed, “What! No! How could that happen? I’m always home when you and Justin are out at night and I’ve never seen or heard him leave the house.” Jed looked at Lynn with a little irritation on his face as he said, “Yea, but most of times you’re “sleeping,” Mom.” Lynn thought for a minute and then she said, “We need to talk to Joshua and see if Mister may be responsible. Maybe Joshua didn’t know about him getting out.” Jed said, “Mister is definitely big enough and certainly capable of doing that kind of damage to other animals.” Lynn was very concerned as she said, “We have to talk to Joshua and find out for sure if Mister had anything to do with this.”
Lynn called Joshua into the kitchen and had him sit with her, Jed and Justin. She told him the story she’d heard at the grocery store while she was shopping. The more she talked about it with Joshua the more he began to get nervous and squirm. She noticed he seemed to become more irritated the more she talked about it. She knew something wasn’t right and began to press him a little further. She said, “Joshua, do you think there’s any chance Mister would be getting out in the middle of the night while you’re asleep? He is the only dog in Red Mountain large enough and capable of inflicting that kind of damage!”
Lynn kept pressing Joshua harder and harder about Mister until finally he decided he couldn’t just sit there and let Mister take all the blame for what he and Mister had done together. He started to cry as he told them, “I’ve been taking Mister out while you were sleeping and Jed and Justin were out stealing stuff.” When Jed heard him admit to it he jumped up and said, “Oh Christ, Joshua! I can’t believe you did that!” He was both confused and angry as he continued, “What the hell’s wrong with you, Joshua, are you trying to get yourself killed?” Lynn started crying as she said, “Why would you do something like that Joshua?” By then Joshua was crying and drools of snot was running down his face as he said, “I never hurt nobody, it was just cats and dogs.” We just wanted to have a little fun too, like Jed a
nd Justin.” Jed was stomping around angrily as he said, “Fun? Do you think what Justin and I are doing is fun? Lynn interrupted Jed and questioned Joshua more, “But why would you do something like that Joshua. We’ve always told you it isn’t safe for you to go out there by yourself.” As he looked up at her in his ignorance and innocence said, “But I wasn’t alone Mom, I had Mister with me.” She looked at him in disbelief when he said that because she didn’t know what to say next. She said slowly, “Those people out there will kill you Joshua, don’t you know that? They are now calling Jed and Justin “Night Crawlers” and they have guns just waiting to catch someone late at night, so they can kill them.” She grabbed him and held on to him against her breast and said, “I want you to promise me you’ll never do anything like that again.” With his head lowered, and still weeping, he pulled away from her and promised her he would never do that again as he said, “I promise, mom, I won’t do it, ever again.
Jed was completely beside himself as he told Lynn, “You do realize we can never steal anything from Red Mountain again! It’ll be too risky. If the people in this town are calling us Night Crawlers then that means they are gunning for us. If we get caught out there alone at night they’ll kill us.” She said, “I know Jed, I know, just take it easy, we have to figure this whole thing out.” She told the boys to go to bed and they would sort it all out in the morning after they had time to sleep on it. Jed was so angry with Joshua he couldn’t even stand to talk to him. He knew he would explode if Joshua said another word to him so he just walked into the other room to keep from saying things to Joshua he knew he shouldn’t say or couldn’t take back.
When they awoke the next morning Lynn called them all into the kitchen once again and said, “We’re going to pretend this entire thing with Mister and Joshua never happened. Jed, you and Justin should continue to hit Randsburg and Johannesburg like you’ve been doing and stay away from Red Mountain until this thing dies down.” She made Joshua promise once again that he wouldn’t leave the property at night by himself or with Mister. After he promised her several times that he wouldn’t go out without her permission she sent him out of the room.
Once he was out of the room she told Jed and Justin, “I promise you, I’ll stay up on the nights you boys go out on your break-ins. I’ll keep an eye on Joshua just to make sure he doesn’t sneak out again with Mister.” Jed had calmed down by then and he was thrilled that Lynn was finally going to take some interest in what they were doing and would be a little more involved with them. She always seem to not care what was going on outside the walls of the property. Jed thought it would give her something to do instead of just doing her drugs and then going to bed every night. When they were through talking, Jed walked into the other room with Justin and said, “It’s about time she paid attention to what we’ve been doing to keep this family going instead of numbing herself with stupid drugs.” Justin just shook his head up and down in agreement as he said, “Yep, I agree.”
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Chapter 8 – Randsburg Nights
Night Crawlers Page 7