by David Kersey
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
Three weeks later. Chip sat on a bench in the cavernous Grand Central Station. He thought it was funny that not one of the thousands of people that passed by him took notice that he was even alive and on planet Earth. It was his first ever visit to New York City. He watched as a diminutive man with John Lennon type round spectacles approached him. The little man carried a brief case nearly half his size.
“Sheriff Shermahorn, I presume?”
“That would be me. Did my uniform give me away?” Chip wore a Hawaiian shirt, red with yellow flowers, not tucked in, blue jean cutoffs, a straw hat, red tennis shoes, and held a single yellow rose, the attire required by the contact. The Brits have a warped sense of humor.
“This is for you, sir,” said the man with a British accent. He handed the briefcase to Chip. I assure you it’s all there. Be sure, chap, to tell the lady she has my gratitude and congratulations. Chip handed the little man an information packet which included a detailed map of Kenya. “The mission shall be accomplished in a few hours you know, cheerio.” Chip knew that Phalah would soon take a bullet between the eyes in suburban Nairobi. He watched the small man walk away, and then noticed two heavies turn to accompany him.
He couldn’t wait to get to his Sheraton room. The hotel was just south of Central Park and he wanted to see the famous places, especially the Freedom Tower. He felt conspicuous wearing the garish tourist garb and carrying a half a million dollars around, who wouldn’t? But this was New York, so that probably happened every day. In his room he keyed in the code on two separate sets of rollers; 0704 and 1776. The latches opened and there it was. More money than he had ever seen in one place. He lifted the top layer of Benjamin stacks to make sure the lower layers were genuine. They were. He couldn’t take the chance on leaving the loot in the room while he did his sight-seeing. New York would have to wait for a second visit, like that would ever happen. He threw the disguise apparel into the waste can and dressed like a normal Joe from the Midwest would, paid his bill, found his civilian car in the hotel garage, and headed west with a half million dollars as his passenger. It would be a long drive back home.
Marlene finished packing her car, a ’93 Buick Century, with most of her worldly belongings. Her C.O. tried to persuade her to stay. In many ways she would miss it, especially the dogs. It had been her lifestyle for many, many years. All that remained was for her to say her goodbyes to Guido and many other of the K-9 Ops canines. She had pleaded for Guido to be decommissioned at the same time as her discharge. Her C.O. said no, but that she would for certain be able to adopt him in a little less than five months. Guido’s new handler had no objection to that since Guido would transition out before his handler. He agreed to help put the ball in motion and make it happen. He promised her that. Her fellow handlers and trainers threw a going away party for her and gave her a leather bound photo album that had the pictures of dozens of the canines of her past. The gift truly was her most cherished possession.
John consulted a friend of his to investigate the preliminary planning for a dog training operation. He had talked with Marlene every evening and she told John that the wooden fence surrounding the forty acres of pasture would have to be replaced by a containment fence, not just a decorative one. So John had the wooden fence removed and stored behind the old barn west of the cornfield. In its place he had installed a chain link fence that was eight feet high. Yes, it was ugly. So he planted some firethorn hedge plants along the fence in a few places that were more highly visible. He needed them to root before winter set in. Marlene told him it was imperative that a double gate system be installed so that new canine arrivals had a protected area in case of aggression, and provide less opportunity to escape from what she called “runners”. He should also consider expanding his vehicle parking capacity by clearing an area east of the garage. Yet he was not going to go at it piecemeal. He wanted to wait until she arrived before they both raced too far ahead, there was a mountain of planning to do first.
The day had finally come for Marlene’s arrival. John, Cassie and I waited. We had walked nearly to the end of the drive by the highway. We knew she was just minutes away because she had broken the law by texting John that she was very near. And there she was. Her Buick turned into the drive. She stopped the car, jumped out and ran to John. The embrace was movie-like. I wished Methusaleh was there to sing “You light up my life.” Cassie had tears in her eyes. This was a gloriously happy day. And then she hugged Cassie and me. So Methusaleh, had he been there, should switch his song to “We Are Family.”
After the car was unloaded John escorted Marlene to the basement. “Close your eyes, young lady.” John led her to an occasional table. “Ok, now open.” There lay the briefcase.
She opened the lid and then collapsed into a chair. “Oh my God, John, I wasn’t holding my breath on this, it all sounded like a too good to be true ruse. John, this about twice the amount I would receive if Robert was killed in action in today’s world. Do you know what I received in ’91? A lousy three thousand dollars. Two weeks after Robert died the army raised that death benefit substantially, but they wouldn’t even consider talking about it with me. Do you remember me telling you I was bitter?”
“Well, there’s five hundred thousand dollars there, so you’re getting your just reward. You have enough there to do a little shopping, maybe get a new car if you want. But remember, Beverly is out there and needs a driver. Besides that, we’ll need to purchase a van fixed up to transport your dogs. Chip told me there will be no CIA reward money. He didn’t want to expose you so he didn’t pursue it.
“The reward doesn’t matter really. This is plenty. I don’t need a new car, or clothes, or anything really, but yes, we will need the van, and we’ll need an old junker car to train the canines to do vehicle searches. What I do want is to make the dog training center first class. I really don’t know the expense of operating a facility yet but I did ask a lot of questions at my facility and from other private centers I have visited over the years. We’ll have to work up a detailed business plan and budget. I contacted a friend at Lackland, which is the military canine training center in San Antonio. He will help me with the planning and budgeting.”
“We already have the old junk car thanks to the pair of Iranians,” John interrupted.
“One of the people in the Special Operations Medical Unit told me that there is a fast rising utilization of dogs in human cancer detection. It’s already known that dogs can smell the distinct scents of ovarian cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and there is current testing on stomach and pancreatic cancer, which are late detection types that almost always result in death. I want to get involved in that if it isn’t cost prohibitive. He told me to go for it, and that it’s the thing of the future. I’m so amped, John. He told me that medical advances in treating cancer are hampered by one key thing, and that’s not getting early enough detection. Cancer smelling dogs, he said, can detect the unique scents not long after the outset of cancer development, in some cases in situ, meaning at stage zero of tumor development. He said the stage is set for man’s best friend to become man’s most important friend, all that’s needed is the actors. Oh, John, we can do this and make a difference. Isn’t it exciting?”
“Extremely exciting and I will help you all I can. I know some people who can possibly help with funding for cancer projects since that’s a part of my current job. Unfortunately some of the components we’ve used in the past in our pest controls have been known to cause cancers. I’m going to let my Board of Directors know what you intend to do. One of the members I know will have an extreme interest in helping your cause and can push the right buttons. And regarding my job, I am going to give ACC two more years at the outside and then call it a day. After that I can exercise your dogs for you on a daily basis, but I wouldn’t mind wearing a lab coat again, it’s how I got started years ago. Yes, I am excited for you and me both. Even while I’m still at ACC I’ll be with you every step of the way.
He
re’s another question. I took Cassie in to her vet, Doctor Hatfield, for her annual checkup while you were gone. I mentioned to him about our plans for the property and business. He was excited too, and said he would spread the word among his patient base. He wondered if we would have obedience training since that question is often asked of him. Another of his patients has a guard dog that will soon need to be replaced. He also said that he knows of some of his past employees that you could contact for some help in obedience training. He was tickled, Marlene, and said he could find you business as early as tomorrow, there’s that much demand. And I imagine he’s excited because his client base will enlarge.”
“That’s something I’ve thought about, the obedience element, and would be best handled by capable people we could hire. And it would provide an additional income source. John, I want Buck and Cassie to be my assistants, so to speak. They both learn so fast and we both know what they could do with the communication aspect. I laughed so hard on the way to Virginia when Guido and I left here. He was trying to talk with me the whole way. So I talked with him the whole way too, it was hysterical. One of the handlers told me just before I left to come here that Guido was “gwarfing” at the other dogs. What a hoot. I’ll continue with Buck in the letter and word development, but I can’t wait to start with the scent training, and, oh my God, John, the facility planning.” She let out a squeal.
“So you think Buck learns fast, huh?” Well, Buck has a little surprise for you.”
John slid the wall to the left and we entered the secret room. There on the floor was the large keyboard that Marlene had left behind for me to practice with. “Go ahead, Buck.”
I took my position, and using both paws I typed; W E L C O M E H O M E M A R L E N E
“Wait, he’s not done yet.” L O V E B U C K
I looked up at her and smiled so big that my eyes shut. It felt soooo good to welcome her in that way. I knew Marlene would be impressed that John had taken the time to teach me. When I opened my eyes I saw John and Marlene embraced and kissing passionately. I looked over at Cassie, and she said, “Don’t even think about it.” You win some and you lose some, I guess.
++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A week later John had one another surprise to spring. “Marlene, remember I told you that a member of the ACC board would have an interest in what you want to accomplish?”
“I do remember you saying that, John, why?”
“Sit down, honey, I have some news for you. He is an extremely wealthy man who has cancer and lost his wife to cancer. When I told him of our plans that involved cancer detection he asked me how many acres I have in pasture. I said forty. He said fill the whole thing up with what she needs, he’d write the check for the entire expense. He didn’t even ask an amount. I know him, he’ll do what he says.”
“Oh my God, oh my God.”
“Guess what his last name is?”
“Just tell me, John, oh my God.”
“It’s Buck. James Buck. That’s how my dog got his name.”
Buck vs. the Bulldog Ants
PART THREE – The Facility and a madman