Play Fetch: An Avery Barks Dog Mystery (Avery Barks Dog Mysteries Book 3) (2 page)

A spider web hung between the tree branches and across the trail. I slapped it out of my face as Ace took a right-hand turn into a small clearing. I tried to brush the remaining sticky web off my navy sweatshirt, but it was no use.

“He’s in a scent pool,” Don called out to me.

I watched Ace closely as he worked back and forth in the area of strong scent, his whole body focused on taking his nose where it needed to go.  Only the dog could smell the scent we followed.  We humans only picked up the refreshing smell of morning mountain air. 

It was apparent from the Ace’s movements that the man had spent some time in this area, so I checked the ground for clues while Don watched his dog.  Right next to a big log, I noticed a neatly stacked pile of small branches.

“Anna was right.  It looks like he was stacking some fire wood,” I told Don.

“It’s amazing how much better we do when we have a good scent article!” Don was still irritated by being misled with the wrong jeans.  I wondered if the woman would face criminal charges for tampering with evidence and offering false information.

Ace worked out to the edge of the scent pool and dove into the trees behind the wood pile.  The dog’s movements increased in speed and intensity and I hung a strip of orange flagging tape on a tree branch by the main four-wheeler path.  If the victim needed medical assistance, the orange tape would help the paramedics find us faster. 

I caught up to Don as he followed Ace on a narrow twelve-inch wide trail, created and used by the many deer in the area as they moved from their food and water source to the spots where they bed down.  Don jerked his right arm up and stopped so suddenly that I almost ran into him.

Ace positioned his nose above a pair of shoes, neatly aligned next to a neatly folded white handkerchief. A wool sweater hung on a branch, like it was a coat rack.  The scene almost looked like the entrance foyer in someone’s home.

Ace ran in a direct line back to Don, and pawed at his leg, alerting him that he had found the victim’s clothing. 

“Work it out.” Don gave Ace a vocal nudge to keep looking.

The black lab disappeared as he jumped over a downed tree log and romped into the woods.  In less than a minute, Ace returned and pawed at Don’s leg again while staring him straight in the eye.  It was the dog’s indication of a live find.

“Show me.” Don gave Ace the command to take him to the victim.

Ace turned and jumped back over the log, while Don and I followed him.  About twenty feet behind the log, the man was lying face up.

Don said “Good Boy,” and handed Ace his toy.  Don dropped on his knees next to the victim and made an initial assessment of the man’s condition.  He was still breathing but was not responsive.  Don reached to his vest, activated his hand radio and called a code C-300.  In these parts, that’s the code for finding a person that is alive but unable to walk out on their own.  Assistance was needed for medical treatment and to carry the victim out. 

Ace’s toy dangled from his mouth as he watched Don take the man’s pulse. I called Ace over to me and played tug with the dog, so Don could focus on helping the old man.  Our radios crackled with voices as other search team members and paramedics requested our location. 

Don radioed in our coordinates and advised responders to look for the orange flagging tape along the four-wheeler path.  We were within shouting distance of that spot. It wasn’t long before help arrived with a stokes basket.  The team stabilized the patient for a carry-out.

Once the crews cleared out, Don focused on giving Ace the proper play time as a delayed reward.  I enjoyed watching them celebrate a job well done. 

“Way to stick with it,” I told Don.  “Great work!”

“Thanks for coming out,” Don replied.

“Anna’s information saved her granddaddy’s life,” I said, proud of my new little friend.

“At least someone in the family cares about him,” Don said and turned from the dog to me.  “I can’t believe that woman gave us the wrong clothing to use as a scent article.” He scowled as his thoughts entered deputy mode.

“It’s possible the lady was just embarrassed about having strangers see any kind of a mess.  Unfortunately, it’s a common issue for search and rescue missions.” I said. “But it does seem suspicious considering the possible motive to get rid of him.”

As we walked back toward the command post and the adrenaline of the search wore off, my eyes started to feel heavy.  After a quick debriefing, I would finally be headed home to bed.

Don and I were walking across the victim’s back yard when the back basement door flew open and Anna’s mother hurried toward us.  Her black coat was unbuttoned and flapped in the breeze as she held a plaid scarf around her head. As she approached, Don’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched, and he stood with his arms crossed.  He still hadn’t finished his cooling off period and was overly tired.

“I just wanted to thank you for helping my father,” the woman sputtered. “My daughter hasn’t stopped talking about your dog since you left.  I was hoping you could bring him inside and surprise her.  I am only asking because Anna doesn’t have a father and I can’t afford to do many fun things for her.  It would mean so much.”  Tears welled up in the woman’s eyes as she spoke.

Don’s face relaxed a tiny bit. “We would be happy to, ma’am.  Besides, I’d like to ask you a couple questions.”

“Please call me Brenda,” she said and wiped away a tear.

“Miss Brenda, why did you direct us to the wrong bedroom to get our scent articles?” Don asked as his eyes flashed anger and he stared her in the eye.

“I’m sorry, it’s just so messy downstairs and…,” her voice trailed off and she dropped her head.

“Don’t ever do that again,” Don said with his arms still crossed. “It almost cost your father his life.”

###

“Anna’s in the crafts room,” Miss Brenda whispered as she quietly led us across the wooded floor down the hallway.

We reached the back bedroom, and the woman said, “Anna, someone is here to meet you!”

Don walked into the room with Ace and the little girl squealed with delight.  “This is Ace,” he said as Anna jumped up and lightly stroked the shiny black fur on the search dog’s back.

I was surprised when Don suddenly tighten his grip on Ace’s leash, until I looked up and took in the surroundings.  The room was filled with bright yellow tennis balls.  There were tennis balls scattered all over the carpet and overflowing out of dresser drawers.  Two fold out tables were covered with exacto knives, scissors, wax paper, stencils, tape, paint and other crafts materials.   Ace must have been tired from working all night, or maybe he was enjoying Anna’s attention, because he ignored the balls. 

I laughed and asked Don, “Can you imagine the havoc Chevy would create if he were to be set free in a room full of tennis balls?”  He chuckled as I spoke about my dog and grabbed Ace’s leash with both hands.

Anna looked up with a huge smile as she hugged Ace’s neck. “You have a dog too?”

“Yep, his name is Chevy and he LOVES to play with tennis balls,” I laughed.  “Sometimes he tries to put two in his mouth at one time.”

Anna giggled and buried her face in Ace’s fur.

“Maybe you can throw the tennis ball for him someday.” I smiled.

“We make crafts out of tennis balls,” the girl’s mother beamed.  “I’d like to give one to each of you as a gift to show our appreciation for helping us. By the way, my name’s Brenda.”

We watched patiently as the woman enthusiastically showed off all the different creations that filled the room. There were tennis ball fashioned into Christmas ornaments, balls sliced open to create key ring holders, some cute puffy ducks that used a tennis ball for the belly, and so much more.  I was getting so sleepy that it was hard to focus.  Eventually the presentation ended and it was time to select our gifts.

I ended up choosing the one called ‘nature lover’.  It was a tennis ball cut in half that served as a mini decorative pot filled with dirt and a baby plant.  I figured I could always use a little greenery around the house. 

Don chose a tennis ball ‘reindeer face’ holiday ornament, and once we got out the door he chuckled, “Don’t look, I just picked out your Christmas present.”

It was nice to be thanked by Miss Brenda, although we never expected it. This was the first time someone had actually given us a gift at the scene of a search incident and we both appreciated the gesture.  Mostly, I was thankful that the old man was going to be okay.

As we crossed the front lawn, I noticed the barbeque brothers and their friends were nowhere in sight.  I hoped they had the decency to follow the ambulance to the hospital.

I had a warm feeling as I walked down to my truck and looked in my dog’s crate.  He was still sleeping peacefully and I was ready to get home so that I could do the same.  I jumped in my seat, set my little tennis ball plant in my cup-holder, and cruised on down the country road.

The music was on loud and I sipped on a caffeinated cola to help me stay awake.  The search scene was three miles behind me and I would be home in about fifteen minutes.  I relaxed at the thought of a hot shower and soft warm bed.

My truck rolled around a big wide curve and surprise caused me to slam on my brakes.  I swerved to the side of the road, throwing up red clay dust in my wake.  Once I was stopped, I exhaled to steady the rapid beating of my heart.  Then I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t just seeing things. 

I wasn’t.

There was a body sprawled out in the middle of the road a hundred feet in front of me.   It was definitely a female, she wasn’t moving, and I was sure she hadn’t been there when I traveled this road a few hours before.

I fumbled through my hip pack for my phone and called 911. My head started to pound.  I had already turned on my emergency flashers and slowly got out of my truck.

Since most of the deputies in the county were still at the search scene close by, it wasn’t long before I heard sirens screaming in the distance as the authorities rushed toward my location.

As I cautiously walked toward the body, I noticed the long bleached blonde hair fanned out on the blacktop looked strangely familiar. It finally registered when I saw her face.  It was the lady that was screaming at my ex-boyfriend in the café earlier that morning. 

Only now, she was deathly quiet.

I turned my back toward the dead woman and stood silently in the middle of the road, watching the orange emergency lights on my truck blink on and off.  The sun was up and the sky was clear, but my mind felt foggy from sleep deprivation and the shock of this morning’s events.

The sound of the approaching sirens seemed distant as my thoughts drifted back to the day Travis and I broke up.   The day had been warm and sunny, both of us sporting tans from a summer full of outdoor adventures.  I remembered watching how the breeze made his curly brown hair float across his eyes as we had a picnic lunch at the base of a big waterfall.

It was there that Travis broke the news that I had dreaded for weeks; he had accepted a lucrative job offer in Chicago.  I briefly considered joining him, but the thought of living in a metropolitan city brought me to tears.  It had become painfully obvious, that although we were a great match many ways, one of us would end up absolutely miserable if we stayed together.

The sounds of a car doors slamming and Chevy barking excitedly jolted me back to the present.  A deputy walked directly up to the body and announced to the others, “Looks like she was shot.”

I leaned over the hood of my truck and put my head in my hands, fighting off nausea.  The metal felt cool against my body and gave me a slight chill. Gradually, I felt a strong hand gently touching my back.

“Avery, what is it?” Don was both an excellent deputy and good friend of mine.  He knew something more than the dead body was bothering me.

“I hate to even say this, Don. I really do.” I stared at the navy blue truck hood. “I saw that lady at the café this morning.”

“Was she alone?” Don asked.

I swallowed hard. 

“Avery, tell me what you know.” Don voice was firm.

“She was with Travis and a little child.” I could barely stand up.

“Your Travis?” Don sounded surprised.

“I think they’re married.  He had on a wedding ring and she was angry,” I said.  I felt guilty talking about it and wished I had driven home on a different road.

“Has he tried to contact you?” Don asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve been out searching with you the whole time.” A slight bit of relief swept over me that there were a lot of witnesses as to my where-a-bouts this morning.

“Check your phone,” Don said.

I opened my truck and reached across the seat to grab my phone. My hands trembled as I fumbled with the buttons to retrieve a voice mail message and played it on speaker phone.  I closed my eyes and felt dizzy as I listened to Travis’ familiar voice.

“Ah, Avery. Umm.  It was good to see you this morning.  I just wanted you to know that I didn’t do it.” Click. He sounded badly shaken.

Don gently unclenched the phone from my hand and dialed the callback number as I sat down on the edge of the driver’s seat.  No one answered.

“If he tries to contact you again, let me know immediately,” Don said and jotted down Travis’ phone number in his notebook.

I stared at the rocks on the ground and slowly nodded in agreement.