Ghost Dog Secrets (17 page)

“Congratulations, Rusty,” Heidi said. “Not only did you discover an illegal drug lab, but you gave me the evidence I needed to refile the cruelty charges.”

“But we can't prove that it was Mr. Myers who hurt Ra,” I said.

“No, but he didn't seek help for Ra's injuries. Not only that, there was another dog inside the house. A Rottweiler this time. He was half starved, the same as Ra and the Labrador puppy, and his filthy crate was too small. Apparently, Mr. Myers mistreated the dogs and didn't feed them enough because he wanted them to be mean so they'd prevent anyone from coming on his property and discovering what he was doing there.”

“What a scumbag,” I said. Then I started to laugh. “He wanted Ra to be mean but he's the only one who got bit. Twice!”

“I'll win the case this time,” Heidi said. “Of course, Mr. Myers will be in prison anyway.”

Mom pointed to her watch and I knew I had to leave for school. Her one concession to my late night had been to say she'd drive me, which meant I could leave ten minutes later than when I rode the school bus.

I had called Andrew as soon as I got up and told him the whole story. He greeted me when I walked into Mrs. Webster's room. “Hail the helpful hero!” he cried, and extended his hand for a high five.

Other kids crowded around. Some had heard the radio broadcast that morning. The news had spread quickly through the halls of Heath.

“I heard your name on the news,” Jordan said.

“You're a celebrity!” said Lexi.

“Are you going to be on
Oprah
?” asked Hayley.

Mrs. Webster beamed. “I knew my guest speakers were worthwhile,” she said, “but I didn't expect such dramatic results.”

I looked at my classmates' excited faces. All but one. Gerald Langston sat as still as a stone, staring at his desk. Matthew walked over and stood beside Gerald. I expected Matthew to ask, “Have you seen the jailbird lately? ” and I would not have blamed him one bit for saying it. Instead, he patted Gerald's shoulder, and then walked to his own desk without speaking.

I decided not to say anything more in class about what had happened with Mr. Myers and Gerald's dad the night before. Instead I said, “The best part of all this is that I got Ra back and he's going to be okay. He's having surgery today but he gets to come home late this afternoon. Andrew and I will be taking care of him. We rescued him together, and we'll both help him heal.”

Some of the kids who had been congratulating me turned to thump Andrew on the back. He grinned at me.

At lunch, Andrew asked, “Will the Humane Society release Ra for adoption now that Mr. Myers is in jail?”

“I don't know. I was in a rush this morning when I talked to Ms. Kellogg, and I didn't ask.”

It turned out that I didn't have to ask because Mom did it for me. After we picked up Ra that afternoon, she said, “Because Ra was a Humane Society dog when this happened, they are paying his vet bills. People donate to a special fund that's used in cases like this, when an animal needs surgery or extra veterinary care.”

“But you were willing to pay it,” I said. “Last night when you gave permission, you didn't know the Humane Society would take care of the bill.”

“That's true,” she said. “After what Ra did for you, we had to help him no matter what it cost.”

I was almost afraid to ask the next question. “Does that mean we can adopt him?”

“We already did,” Mom said. “I went to the Humane Society this morning after I dropped you at school. Mr. Myers signed papers last night relinquishing all claims to Ra, the Lab puppy, and the Rottweiler.”

“He did? After the fuss he made over wanting to keep Ra, I never expected him to do that.”

“He probably thought he'd get off easier on the drug charge if he cooperated about the dogs,” Mom said. “Since this meant Ra was officially available for adoption, I signed the adoption papers and paid the fee. I also called the emergency clinic right away, and while Ra was anesthetized for his leg surgery, he got neutered and microchipped. Ra's part of our family now.”

Ra stuck his nose into the front seat and nudged my arm. I patted his head.

“Good dog,” I said. Then I looked at Mom and added, “Good Mom.”

I heard the phone ringing as we took Ra into the house.

“Have you read tonight's paper?” Andrew asked.

“Not yet.”

“Go get it. I'll wait.”

I returned to the phone.

“Page three,” Andrew said.

I turned to page three. LOCAL METH LAB BUSTED.

“Got it.”

“Read the third paragraph.”

I read:
Mr. Langston insisted at first that he had nothing to do with the meth lab. He swore he had never set foot on the property before and was there only to look at a refrigerator that Mr. Myers had advertised for sale. However, the police had a dated photo, from a related investigation into animal cruelty, of Mr. Langston's car parked in Mr. Myers's driveway a week ago. When he saw it, he admitted that he and Myers are brothers-in-law.

“Wow!” I said. “That was my photo!”

“I thought so. Way to go, Mighty Muscles Man!”

“The first time I followed the collie's ghost there in the night, I took a picture of two cars in the driveway, and I sent it to Heidi Kellogg. I never dreamed it would be proof that Mr. Langston had been there before.”

“Speaking of pictures,” Andrew said, “Wendy printed out the two that you e-mailed to me and, guess what? I can see the ghost!”

I was so surprised I couldn't respond.

“Wendy handed them to me without saying anything, so I didn't know what they were, and when I looked, there was the collie in front of your bedroom door. She looked exactly the way you had described her. I can see her in the other picture, too, standing beside Ra in Mr. Myers's yard.”

“That's great,” I said. “I'm really glad.”

“You want to hear the strange part? Wendy and I showed the pictures to our parents and they don't see her.”

When I showed the photos to Mom the next day, she didn't see the collie's ghost, either. Andrew and I agreed not to show the pictures to anyone else.

I never saw the collie's ghost again. I suspect she wanted me to go up that driveway so I would discover the Rottweiler and rescue it. The rescue didn't happen the way she thought it would, but it did happen. Because of all the publicity about the case, both the black Lab puppy and the Rottweiler were quickly adopted.

Due to the overwhelming evidence, Mr. Myers and Gerald Langston, Sr., pleaded guilty to the drug charges. Since they both had prior convictions, they got long prison sentences. Heidi Kellogg also won a cruelty conviction against Mr. Myers, and the judge ruled that he could not own any more animals.

Gerald, Jr., quit attending Heath Middle School two days after his dad was arrested. We heard that he had gone to live with his grandparents in another state.

That Friday, Andrew said he couldn't come to visit Ra after school. “Mom and Dad are taking Wendy to the Humane Society to deliver her cat blankets,” he said, “and I want to ride along.”

He called while I was eating dinner. “You have to come over here,” he said. “Right away!”

“What's up?”

“You'll see. Ask your mom to drive you.”

Mom agreed.

When Andrew opened the door, a beautiful German shepherd stood beside him, wagging her tail.

“Meet Cleopatra,” Andrew said.

“Cleo, for short,” said Wendy.

I let the dog sniff my hand.

“While Wendy was giving her cat blankets to the Humane Society staff,” Andrew said, “I looked to see if the dog we'd seen on our field trip was still there. She was.”

“We begged Mom and Dad to let us have her,” Wendy said.

“I said I'd take good care of her, just like we did with Ra,” Andrew said.

“I told them if they let us take her, I'd never whine again,” Wendy added.

I figured that probably cinched the deal.

“She was already spayed,” Andrew said, “so we got to bring her home with us right away.”

“She's beautiful,” I said. “Bring her over tomorrow so she and Ra can play together.”

Both dogs seemed glad to have a dog friend. They chased each other, played tug-of-war with a rope toy, and then stretched out together for a nap while Andrew and I did our homework.

 

The next time Andrew and I decided to go bowling, I asked Wendy if she wanted to go with us.

“Nope,” she said. “I'm busy. I've started my own club, the Kitty Knitters. There are three other members. Grandma taught them how to knit and we meet every Saturday to make blankets for the shelter cats.”

“You're a fine friend to felines,” I said.

“Before I do any more cat blankets, I'm knitting special blankets for Ra and Cleo.” She held up a knitted piece the size of the kitchen stove, made from garish purple and chartreuse yarn. “This one's for Ra,” she said. It was the ugliest thing I'd ever seen.

“He'll love it,” I told her. “Thanks, Wendy.”

Mom drove us to the bowling alley. Partway there we passed a yard where a dog was tied to the fence.

“Mom, look! ” I cried. “That dog was left tied up alone!”

“Not again!” she said. She pulled over, then backed up to get a better look. “He has a bowl of water and a snug doghouse,” she said.

“The yard is clean,” Andrew said. “He's wearing a collar and a dog tag.”

“I guess he's okay then,” I said. “We won't need to rescue him.”

“Thank goodness,” Mom said as she headed for the bowling alley.

 

PURR – FECT CAT BLANKETS

Materials

Using two strands of 4-ply yarn, cast on 33 stitches.

Knit every row for 66 rows—there will be 33 ridges.

Cast off.

 

The blanket will measure approximately 15 x 12 inches.

Blankets can be made all one color or by joining leftovers from other projects. The cats do not care how they look.

Two 6-ounce skeins will make two blankets with leftovers.

THANK YOU TO:

Detective Robert Onishi of the Renton, Washington, Police

Department for patiently answering all my questions about police procedure.

The Pierce County, Washington, Sheriff's Department for information about meth labs.

Pasado's Safe Haven for information about cruelty investigations.

Diana Sigalla for cat blanket knitting instructions.

The Buckley, Washington, Public Library for a never-ending source of research material.

 

 

 

 

Animal cruelty is against the law in every state in the United States.

Learn how to help:

www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/top-10-ways-to-prevent-animal.html
.

 

Learn more about puppy mills:

 

Learn more about ghosts at:

OTHER BOOKS BY PEG KEHRET