Just Arnold--4

Chapter four1

I’d been up to my antics of chasing anything that moved while Annie played the congenial audience and Kelsey tried to disrupt my act. Then things changed. Annie went back to the house. 2

Suddenly Kelsey’s ears stood even straighter than normal and she bounded up the back stairs. Her sharp and desperate barking erupted and wouldn’t stop.3

Annie must have closed the inside door because Kelsey was coming out the side door, then spinning and charging back in. When Kelsey acted weird, I kept my distance. She ran about on the porch snarling.4

I could hear Annie screaming, “Kelsey!” but not Arnie! Her high-pitched voice sounded strange. But since she didn’t want me I meandered into the high grass hoping to jump out and startle Kelsey when she returned to the yard. Still, I kept a watch on Kelsey and her clowning around.5

Kelsey was turning on the last step again apparently to go back when the house door flew open. “Shut The Fuck Up!” A strange voice shouted. Kelsey never touched the stairs only leaped through the air. I saw her straddling the man as they disappeared through the house door.6

Then I heard Kelsey yelp! And yelp again and then more shouting. The door slammed. I lay in the grass frightened but not really knowing why. I stayed huddled there for a while. Then I got hungry.7

It was getting dark. Where was Annie? I ran to the back stairs. I turned on the most pitiful yelp I could manage. Annie didn’t come to cuddle me? Kelsey didn’t run out and swat me?8

I crouched on the stairs whining for a long time. My throat was dry. Annie I’m thirsty. I crawled to the water dish but it was empty. I ran back up the porch stairs. Jumping about, I tried a grown-up bark as I hit against the door but no one heard. Annie I’m hungry! I was barely whimpering now but no one seemed to care. I was so lonely…my eyes were filled with water and I would have settled for Kelsey’s paw on my neck holding me down…9

‘You’re a sorry sight.’ Muffin slinked along the walkway. I had never seen her on the ground before. 10

“You’re littler than me?’11

‘Don’t let it throw ya.’ She yawned exposing her pointy teeth. ‘I can take care of myself. Where’s the howling hyena?’ She stretched her neck and rippled her golden fur while she slowly swished her tail. 12

Howling hyena? She must be referring to Kelsey. ‘In the house.’13

‘So why aren’t you? It’s getting late.’14

‘Annie called Kelsey. She didn’t call me.’15

‘Hmmm maybe she forgot you?’16

‘Annie wouldn’t do that—would she?’17

‘Humans do odd things.’ Muffin did her weird fur rolling and stalked about as if considering something. Suddenly she bolted towards the side window and perched on the ledge. I ran after her and stopped beneath the window. Even standing on my hind legs I couldn’t reach the sill. 18

‘Odd is right,’ she said. ‘Are you sure Kelsey’s inside? She should be barking her fool head off. There’s no lights on.’ She leaped over to the companion sill. ‘No lights anywhere inside—strange.’19

‘I’m awful thirsty.’ I had to admit. ‘There’s no water in my dish.’20

‘There’s water in the birdbath.’21

‘I can’t reach it.’22

‘You are stupid.’ Muffin jumped down and sashayed off to the birdbath. 23

My tail tucked between my legs, I followed and stood underneath the tall cement pillar. I watched while Muffin leaped up and stood on the edge. She seemed to be thinking. She looked at the water and then down at me. I gave my most pitiful whimper, and thrust out my parched tongue. ‘Stupid, stupider, stupidest.’ I guessed she was renaming me. ‘Stand back further.’ I did and she shoved water from the dish with her paw so it trickled over the edge into my mouth.24

Ugh. It was warm and tasted funny. I didn’t complain only kept slurping until she grew bored. She licked the remainder off her paw.25

‘I’m awful hungry.’26

‘Look. Taking care of myself is enough work.’ She sneered. ‘I don’t worry about anyone else—especially a stupid dog. If you want to eat go catch yourself a mouse or bird.’27

‘You catch and eat them?’28

‘Sure. Well, sometimes. Lucy feeds me and hunting is too much work. Still, if I was hungry.’ Then she decided, ‘You’re too slow to catch anything.’29

‘I can catch a squirrel’s tail.’30

‘Not much meat on that. Do wonder where your humans went?’ 31

‘Ben went away in the car yesterday. Annie?’ Annie? I sniffled. Where was my Annie? What happened to Kelsey? I didn’t know why but I started to tremble all over. ‘Annie wouldn’t go off and forget me?’32

‘Well, apparently that’s what happened.’ Muffin jumped to the fence and disappeared.33

I tried yipping but that made my throat dry again. I curled up at the back door waiting. Annie would come soon. I knew she’d come soon. I tried to sleep. I couldn’t even do that. I just lay there as it got darker and darker. The sun went completely out and only a sliver of white showed in the sky. Annie…Annie…I was shaking all over.34

Muffin bounded out of the darkness. I squealed pleasantly, hoping she’d stay. Muffin burped out some brown lumps in front of me. They smelled pretty good—like fish and I gobbled them up before I thought to say, ‘Thank you.’35

But Muffin was gone again.36

I lost count how many times Muffin returned. Each time she left she said, “I’ve had it. Feeding you is too much work.’ Sometime later she would return. I slept. The sun came back. I visited the birdbath and howled. Muffin came back. The water tasted even worse now. Muffin complained. I crawled back onto the porch and squealed for Annie. Annie didn’t come. I slept.37

The house door opened. A big man was looking down at me. I wanted to run away but I couldn’t move. “Shit!” he said and called back to someone else, “Didn’t the poor guy say something about a puppy?”38

“Yeah. He said his wife was alone except for the dog and a pup.”39

“Well the pup’s out here. At least they didn’t kill that.” He bent over, “Come on little fellow.” He lifted me up. “Two days without food or water. It must have been Hell.”40

As he carried me into the house, I hid my head in his neck. There was a wretched smell and I could sense Annie wasn’t there. We passed by Kelsey; she laid in pool of brown…a kitchen knife stood straight up out of her head like a third ear. Get up you dummy! She didn’t so much as wiggle her tail. She always wagged her tail. That beautiful long busy tail was a limp-looking rod lying in a pile of poop between her back legs. Her mouth was open and her tongue hung out the side.41

The man took me in the kitchen and put me in my bed. He filled my water dish and put some food down. But I didn’t feel thirsty or hungry. He sat on the floor and put his fingers in the water then in my mouth to coax me to drink. “Seems you had a pretty nice home here, little fellow. Damn Bastards. Bet she was one sweet girl. I get my hands on them—we won’t need a judge and jury.” He put some food next to my nose and the smell got to me. I lapped it up.42

Another guy came in the kitchen. “You getting the pup to eat?”43

“Yeah. You finish talking to the Jersey boys?”44

“They’re taking care of informing the husband.” The man took his hat off rubbed his head, and then slammed it back on his head. “I’m sure they don’t relish that job. Can you imagine taking a trip to visit a dying relative and having your home invaded and your wife murdered while you’re away.” 45

I didn’t have the foggiest idea about what they were talking about. I wished Kelsey would come out here and explain. She told me that Ben went to Ocean City, a far away place—further than Pritchard’s kennels, to see his uncle. Humans have these uncles. I guess dogs don’t.46

Annie said Ben was close to his uncle and felt bad because he was real sick. Annie missed Ben but he’d be home Sunday.47

“Damn good thing, Fitzgerald got nervous when he couldn’t get his wife on either the house or the cell phone.” The kneeling man said. “Can you imagine if he walked into the scene we did?”48

“A pity the big dog didn’t get the bastard in the throat –so we’d have one body not just their DNA,” the standing fellow said. “The detectives figure about an hour more—then we can call it a wrap for tonight. I can use a drink.”49

“Yeah. This really gets to you.” The kneeling man had taken to scratching my belly and with it full now, it felt nice. “What was she twenty- two? Die like this. Catch ‘em they should cut their balls off and then hang them. What should we do with the pup—he won’t be much good as a witness.” He laughed but it wasn’t like he enjoyed it.50

“No sense calling the dog warden. We can drop him off on the way in.”51

“Think I’ll take him home.”52

“What.”53

“Sure, why not. I’ll keep him at my house until Fitzgerald gets home. So at least the poor guy will have something left alive.”54