Killer Career (24 page)

“Dade and I will search by the tree.” Julie said.

As they exited, Julie turned back to see Sarah sitting at the end of
the chair, as if ready to bolt out and join them. The lot was
snow-packed and dark. Sarah could easily slip and break a bone.

“Sarah, you know how slippery it gets in this weather. Promise
you’ll stay here. The search will go much faster that way. We can’t
keep on eye on you and look for Jimbo at the same time.”

With a sigh, the woman reluctantly agreed.

It was an awkward trek through the five inch snow banks to the far
end of the lot. Almost as if to prove her warning to Sarah, Julie
herself stumbled on an icy patch. Dade silently righted her. They
trudged on, flashlights gleaming on the white snow.

At this end of the lot, the bushes were overgrown. Snow hung down,
turning them into almost solid white curtains, blocking the view of
the neighbors’ yards. Though she was next door to her own home,
Julie felt disoriented, as if she’d traveled far from civilization.

She couldn’t see Jimbo’s paw prints, but that was not surprising.
The snow had probably drifted and covered them.

Something wasn’t right. She fought back an uneasy feeling.

They came to the tree that Sarah had spoken about.

“Shine the flashlight beginning in circles at the base, then try
the inside. I’ll do the perimeters,” Dade said.

After four circumferences, Julie’s light dimmed. If only she’d
had time to drive out to the hardware store for more batteries.

The light went completely out. She was alone in the dark. The sound
of heavy breathing froze her in tracks. Where was Dade?

“Dade, is that you?”

“I’m right here. Don’t move,” he said.

She couldn’t move if she wanted to. The breathing she’d heard had
not come from the direction of Dade’s voice. Was there a monster
out there, human or otherwise?

She heard a whimper. Her heart stood still.

“Jimbo, honey, where are you,” she asked, taking small steps,
waiting and listening again. A second whimper guided her. She
followed the sound to its source, about a yard away, under a bush.

She bent down and reached out. Her fingertips touched fur. It felt
wet and slimy and had a metallic smell. He must be bleeding. Her
stomach turned.

“Jimbo, honey, Julie’s here. Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”
She tried to keep her voice steady. Dogs were not easily fooled. They
could tell when people were upset.

Dade stepped beside her.

“I’ve found him, but I think he’s hurt,” she said.

Before Julie could warn him, Dade bent down and ran his fingers over
the dog’s fur. Jimbo was trained as a guard dog and didn’t take
kindly to strangers. Dade could get bit.

Instead of retaliating, the animal only whimpered. He had to be very
weak. Julie’s heart went out to him.

“My poor Jimbo. What’s the matter, sweetie,” she asked.

“What the hell,” she heard Dade say.

“What, Dade?”

“Go back, get Sarah and call the vet right away. This poor fellow’s
caught in a trap and he’s bleeding. He’s probably lost a lot of
blood already. I’ll carry him to the car. Meet me there as soon as
you can.”

Julie’s blood froze. Who would do such a thing, and right next to
her own house?

She stumbled on clumsy legs through the snow, tripping and righting
herself, as she rushed to get to Sarah’s back door. She had to
hurry, but dread pulled her back. How could she tell Sarah?

The woman still sat perched at the edge of her chair, an anxious
expression on her face. “Did you see him? Is he all right?”

Julie reached over and patted Sarah’s shoulder. “Jimbo’s hurt
and bleeding. Some crazy person put an animal trap out there. We have
to get him to the vet. I’ll call right now.”

The woman flinched, then straightened. “Let’s go. Time’s
awasting,”

Julie helped her up. They hurried into the tiny kitchen. She spied
the phone on the wall and rushed to it.

Julie picked up the receiver. “Is the vet’s number handy?”

“I know it by heart, five-five-five, one-two-one,
three-three-five-five.”

Julie’s fingers slipped as she dialed, but she managed to connect.
The emergency message played, supplying a different number to call.
Precious minutes ticked by.

Finally, she got a human at the emergency animal hospital. She
explained the situation and was instructed to bring Jimbo over
immediately.

“I’m coming with you,” Sarah said.

“Of course, Jimbo needs you.” Julie held Sarah by the elbow as
they made their way through the snow to the car.

Dade was already holding the animal on his lap in the back seat.
Julie helped Sarah in beside Dade. The exchange was made, so Jimbo
could rest his head on Sarah’s lap. As Julie climbed in on the
other side of the animal, she saw a shudder pass through the old
woman. Julie swallowed hard, trying not to look at the gruesome metal
object clamped to Jimbo’s leg.

“My poor baby,” Sarah said.

The animal let out what sounded like a human sigh.

Sarah continued to comfort Jimbo during the two mile stretch to the
hospital. Once there, Dade wrested the dog from the old woman’s lap
and quickly carried him in. The vet was waiting. The two men
disappeared through a connecting doorway.

“Will I ever see my baby again?” Sarah sobbed, as she stood in
the middle of the reception area.

Julie wanted to bawl also. She loved Jimbo, too, though, of course,
not as much as Sarah. She had to be strong for her friend’s sake.

That was difficult when a few feet away she spotted a blood red trail
leading up to the swinging door where Dade and the dog had passed.
She hoped Sarah’s waning eyesight didn’t pick that up.

“Let’s sit on one of the bench seats.” She guided Sarah to a
spot nearby.

“If only I’d called Jimbo inside instead of talking so long. He
usually comes in when he’s cold so I didn’t pay any attention.”

Julie put her hand over Sarah’s. “Don’t even think this is your
fault. Someone with a cold heart and twisted mind did this. You’ve
got nothing but love for Jimbo. He loves you, too and he wants to be
with you. He’ll make it. You’ll see.”

The woman looked unconvinced. Julie could think of nothing more to
comfort her, so she resorted to prayer.

Please God, don’t let Jimbo die. It would kill Sarah.

Such a rotten thing shouldn’t happen to such a dear old lady. Sarah
had enough trouble coping.

The woman’s lips also moved in silent prayer. At this point, it was
all they could do.

She kept her eyes glued to the door, hoping that Dade or the vet
would reappear, but the door remained obstinately shut. It was hell
not knowing what went on.

About an hour later, Dade reemerged, his jaws clenched, his denim
shirt dotted with crimson. He carried a plastic bag, which clanked
when he moved. Julie looked away from the sight. She wanted no
reminders of the instrument of torture.

A man in a red-streaked white coat followed him into the waiting
room.

“Sarah,” the vet said, coming up to the old woman and patting her
on the shoulder.

The old woman’s eyes widened with fright. “Is Jimbo--?”

The vet smiled grimly. “Despite that monstrous trap, I believe your
boy’s going to make it. He’s lost a lot of blood, but he’s a
fighter. It’s a mighty good thing you got him in when you did.
Another half hour longer and things might have been different for the
poor scrapper.”

Julie glanced sideways at Dade. He had to be thinking the same thing
as she. It would have been easy for her to ignore the doorbell. Thank
God she hadn’t.

“Your little buddy won’t run as fast as he used to. The trap
fractured his left rear tibia. `We’re fortunate it was a clean
break.”

“Will he be in much pain? I can’t bear to have my Jimbo suffer,
no matter how much I want him to be with me.”

“Don’t worry. We’ve got medication to dull the pain until the
worst is over. Once the fracture heals, he should feel almost like
new, though he may limp a bit. You’ll need to leave him here for a
while, so he can get proper care. We’ll keep an eye on him.”

“I appreciate everything you’re doing, Dr. Curtis. May I see him
for a minute before I leave?”

“Sure, have a look. It might make you feel better. He’ll be
sleeping because of the sedation so don’t be alarmed.”

The vet led Sarah through the swinging door, leaving Julie and Dade
alone in the waiting room.

Julie shook her head. “Jimbo’s always running around in that
yard. That trap must have just been set or he would have gotten
caught sooner. I’d like to get my hands on the coward who did
this.”

“We’re calling the police. I’ve got the evidence in this bag. I
don’t like the idea of a nut hanging around your neighborhood.”

“I don’t either, but first, let’s get Sarah home and
comfortable. The poor woman’s been through hell.”

* * *

“It seems so quiet here without Jimbo,” Sarah said, as the three
of them stepped into her kitchen.

“It won’t be long. He’ll be home before you know it,” Julie
said. “Sit down and I’ll make you some tea.”

She glanced around Sarah’s kitchen. Now where were the tea bags?

Sarah gave her a smile and held up her chin. “Julie, you’re a
nice young lady, but I can fend for myself. I’ll make us all tea.”

She marched up to the counter and pulled out tea bags, cups, lemon,
cream and sugar. Keeping busy might be good therapy for her.

When Julie took a sip of the hot tea, she almost purred with delight.
The brew was soothing and revitalizing, warming her insides. Her mind
had been so occupied with Jimbo, she’d ignored her own discomfort.

“I don’t mean to frighten you, Ms. Pritchard, but I’m calling
the police,” Dade said, putting down his cup. “The person that
did this is dangerous and has to be stopped before something else
happens.”

“You’re absolutely right, young man. Please make the call.”

* * *

In the family room, Dade pulled out the plastic bag to reveal the
blood encrusted trap in all its ugliness.

“Holy sh—” the one officer said. He turned to Mrs. Pritchard.
“Sorry, ma’am, I didn’t mean to say that. I never saw one of
those things before.”

He handed the clear plastic bag to his partner. “Look at this
thing, Wajinski. We’ve got some mean dude hanging around town.”

Wajinski gave a low whistle. “Sure we didn’t step into a horror
flick, O’Malley?”

Julie understood how they felt. None of this seemed real to her. They
were not in the big city. Things like this didn’t happen in little
Arlingdale, a peaceful suburb, widely known for its conservatism and
low crime rate.

While Dade kept Sarah company in the kitchen, Julie guided the
officers to the spot under the bush where she’d found the
unfortunate Jimbo.

The officers combed the area with searchlights then shook their
heads.

“The drifting snow doesn’t help, but I have a feeling the bad guy
is long gone anyway,” Officer Wajinski said. “Let’s call it a
night.”

His partner nodded. Julie walked back with them to Sarah’s kitchen.

Office O’Malley turned to Sarah. “We’ll come back again in the
morning ma’am, when it’s light. Maybe we’ll have better luck
finding clues.”

When they’d left, Julie turned to her neighbor. The woman’s eyes
were even more red rimmed, with dark circles under the lids. She
seemed exhausted, yet she kept looking around the room and biting her
lip. She must feel uneasy without her pet being there to protect her,
but wouldn’t admit it.

“Why don’t I stay over tonight on the couch, until everything’s
checked out tomorrow? Then we’ll both feel safer,” Julie said.

Sarah flashed a grateful smile, though Dade frowned. She could tell
the wheels were turning in his mind. Her protector was worried that
something might happen to her as well.

“Dade, can you wait here for a few minutes while I pick up some
clothes at my house?

“Why don’t I check your place first. Just in case.” He moved
toward the door.

She stopped him with his fingers on the knob. “Stay here. I’ll be
back before you know it.”

He frowned, but let her pass through the doorway.

She should be used to it, yet it still felt good to have Dade care
for her. He’d watched over her all her life and wasn’t about to
change now. He’d probably always loved her and she him, yet neither
of them had realized it. They’d wasted so much time.

* * *

She’d been in such a hurry to get over to Sarah’s, Julie hadn’t
bothered to lock her back door. As she stepped into the kitchen, she
couldn’t help but glance around uneasily. Had the crazy person
snuck in? Her heart hammered at the thought.

“Don’t be a baby,” she said aloud, breaking the house’s
silence.

No one was here. What had happened next door was an isolated incident
by a crazed animal hater. Whoever had done it certainly wouldn’t
bother to stick around and wait to be found.

Still, she didn’t waste any time. She grabbed the first unwrinkled
suit she could pull out of the closet, along with nylons, shoes,
underwear and her laptop computer. She’d stay with Sarah until the
police arrived tomorrow, then go straight to the office.

With an uneasy glance, she closed her back door. She hadn’t been
lying when she’d said they’d both feel better together tonight.

When she got back, a look of relief crossed Dade’s face. She
pretended not to notice.

“Well, it’s getting late. We girls need some sleep,” Julie
said, glancing at the obviously worn Sarah.

“I’ll stay outside in my car to make sure no one comes in,”
Dade said.

“Don’t you dare. You’ve got cases up tomorrow.”

“You’re more important.”

“I won’t let you do it. I’ll put my cell phone right under the
pillow. We’ll be fine. Now go on home.”