The Nose Knows (15 page)

She turned everyone’s sound system back on. “I’m sorry, group, but you’re going to have to excuse me for just a few moments. Please don’t leave your computers, I’ll be right back.”

She shut off all transmissions except the one of her intended target. “Mr. Johnson, I must speak to you privately for a moment.”

Mr. Johnson was startled. “Sure, Doc, what do you want?”

“I want to know
who
is that sitting behind you and
why
are you letting someone eavesdrop on us?”

Mr. Johnson hesitated, looked back behind him and then said, “Um, who? Oh, well, that’s just a friend who was considering joining the group but wanted to see what it’s like first.”

Mom’s voice became very stern. “Mr. Johnson, you’ve violated the privacy of every member of this group and I’ll not allow it to continue. In addition, I can’t allow you to continue as a member of this group. I told you the rules. Obviously, you chose to violate them. Mr. Johnson, your sessions are ended as of right now. I’ll send you my bill and enclose the names of other therapists who might be able to see you. However, be assured I will be telling them the reason that I kicked you out of my sessions. Good day, Mr. Johnson.”

Just then Fancy-Pants’s head shot up, his fur bristled, and he too growled. Those super-sensitive ears of his had heard something. Now was not the time to ask. It would have to wait.

Mom entered a code that permanently blocked Mr. Johnson from transmitting to her computer. Once he was blocked, she opened the lines to the other group members and told them what had happened. They spent the rest of the session plus an extra half-hour dealing with their feelings about what Mr. Johnson had done. Some therapists might have kept it secret that an outsider had been eavesdropping. Mom did not. She always said that her clients needed to trust her and she’d never knowingly lie to them.

Everyone in the group was upset, talking all at once, and raising their voices. Alan’s voice was the loudest of all, for no obvious reason. None of them could believe someone would eavesdrop on the group’s session. True, nothing prevented one of them from repeating what was said in the group. That was a known risk, but they all shared the risk equally. This was a stranger. Someone they didn’t know, hiding behind the scenes and listening to them. It made no sense.

Something stank about the whole thing. Critters may like a lot of stinky things, but not this kind of stink. Something was not just wrong, but rotten.

Mom acted calm during the rest of the session, but as soon as everyone logged off, she threw down her pencil, shoved back her chair, and stomped around the house muttering to herself.

“Dagnabbit, what’s wrong with that man! Why did he do that? Why? Why?”

She then called Judy and told her all about it. She wasn’t ready to sit still, so she put Judy on the speakerphone while she paced back and forth.

“How dare Mr. Johnson let that person sit there and listen in on our group! The nerve of him!”

Mom kept ranting. Judy kept listening, offering only the intermittent “Hmph” or “My, my.” Mom’s normally a calm person, so when she gets this angry, I have found it is best to just cock my head, stay low, and listen. That’s exactly what Judy did. She’s smart for a human.

Judy was exactly what Mom needed. She listened a good long time and then said, “Well, is there anything else you can do about it?” Mom concluded she’d done all she could and eventually her rant subsided, her anger was now reduced to a manageable level. She and Judy made plans to meet in town for breakfast the next morning.

After she hung up, Mom turned and said, “I think a good long walk in the woods would do me good. Who wants to come along?”

No need to ask me twice.

We love our walks with Mom. There are several long trails in the woods surrounding our house where we can frolic undisturbed to our hearts’ content. Fearless, Bobby, and Sweetie decided to go with us. Fancy-Pants chose to stay at home. He said he wanted some alone time. Hey, we all need that now and then.

The “boys” set off ahead of us. They scampered up trees, chased squirrels, and when all else failed, they chased each other. I always get a chuckle out of Sweetie in the woods. Back home, Sweetie acts refined, subdued, and quiet, but when he gets out in the woods, he really lets loose. Guess the call of the wild gets him going. He acts like a young kitten, leaping high in the air and stalking everything that moves. His eyes are full of wonder and his tail is swishing.

Mom says that even though Sweetie is a male he must have gotten an extra dose of his momma’s genes because he’s so gentle and sweet. I personally know their tomcat daddy, and believe me, Bobby is definitely his son. His dad is also a no-tail with a lot of testosterone. But out here in the woods, both Bobby and Sweetie are just little two kids frolicking and having a good old time.

It was a good day to be outside; the sun warmed my back and a gentle wind ruffled my fur. The breeze carried the sweet smell of honeysuckle mixed with cow manure from the nearby fields. There was a steady drone of a tractor at work. The occasional whiff of diesel made me grateful for the breeze. A residual smell left by our friend, Peewee the skunk, told me something had startled him last night. I certainly preferred skunk to diesel. The squirrels noisily scolded the cats and the mockingbird made sure we knew where his territory was. Mom and I slowly strolled along while the cats ran far ahead. Maybe if they tired themselves out, tonight would be more peaceful than usual.

After we’d walked awhile Mom sat down on a big rock. She picked me up and put me down beside her. She inhaled deeply. “You know, Spunky, this place sure can make a person feel a whole lot better.”

As I climbed onto her lap, I felt the tension begin to leave her muscles. I knew she’d relax even more once she began stroking my body. It is a known fact that once a person starts petting an animal their blood pressure drops and they feel calmer. It’s neat to feel a person calming down right under you, especially when it’s someone you love. I sat there and let her pet me. Real hard life I have, right?

We were absorbing the peacefulness of the forest, when all of a sudden Fearless came charging back and jumped up behind Mom. As he rubbed against her back, Mom said, “Hey there, Fearless, did you come back to check on us?”

Fearless was meowing a blue streak. Mom tried to comfort him. She said he must’ve gotten scared when he couldn’t find us, but my ears heard a very different story.

“Spunky,—someone is coming—this way—
wheeze
—through the woods.”

“Did you see who it was?”

“Heck no,—I wasn’t about to sit there—waiting on a stranger.—Smells like a man—sounds like he’s wearing—
wheeze
—very heavy boots.—A critter’s with him—but the wind shifted—before I could get—a really good sniff.”

Poor Fearless, men and boots sure bring back bad memories. I tried to reassure him. “Okay, Fearless, just calm down. Mom and I are right here. No one is going to hurt you. Did you see where Bobby and Sweetie went?”

Before he could answer, I saw a man emerge from the trees about two hundred feet away. Given my cataracts, I couldn’t get a clear picture. However, just as Mom’s head turned in that direction, Fearless stiffened, the wind shifted again and I got a real good snootful.

I jumped off Mom’s lap and started running straight at the man, barking all the way. “It’s Jacob and Quincy. Hi, Jacob! Hi, Quincy! ”

By now, they were close enough that even Mom could see who they were. I knew she was smiling. Quincy sprinted ahead to meet me. We had a glorious greeting. My tail was wagging so fast I could’ve taken off like a helicopter! Quincy ran and leaped into the air. His back end was swinging around so fast that it almost touched his head. We chased, we rolled, and then we gently touched noses. Dogs never tire of greetings, even if we’d just seen each other the day before. It’s always good to see my friend. I stopped to catch my breath. My heart was pounding and my tongue was hanging out so far it could have gotten dirty.

“Quincy, it’s good to see you! How was your day?”

“It was terrific. Jacob played hooky and we drove up to the cabin and went fishing. We just got back and I bugged Jacob until he finally agreed to go for a walk. The rest is history; I just led him over here!”

Bobby had been right—Quincy could have just walked the man over here!

As my initial glee subsided, I turned to check on Mom and the cats. Mom looked gleeful herself. It was clear that Jacob made her happy—so happy that when he invited her out for a drink, she accepted. The cats were nowhere to be seen.

We strolled back to the house so Mom could get her purse. Mom was telling Jacob all about the unknown person spying on the group. I assumed later Mom would tell him the story of the steak that had mysteriously jumped out of the freezer and then ask him to help her out by joining us for dinner tomorrow night. I gave Quincy the latest update.

They took Mom’s car and drove Quincy back home, before heading out for their date. It took another hour before Bobby stuck his head through the critter door. He said he’d been sent ahead to see if the coast was clear.

I sighed. I sure had a lot to accomplish before tomorrow night.

L
ater when all the boys had returned, I took the opportunity to ask Fancy-Pants what had caused his hackles to bristle when Mom was shutting Mr. Johnson out of the session.

Fancy didn’t answer. He kept licking his paw.

“Hey, Fancy I know you saw or heard something. Please tell me what it was.”

Fancy kept licking his paw.

I had a couple of choices. Choice number one— growl. Fancy wouldn’t like that. Or, choice number two—walk away. If he wanted to play deaf and dumb, then so be it. Knowing Fancy, I figured he was expecting me to growl and he’d pretend he didn’t care. Even he knows I wouldn’t hurt them on purpose. But they still should show me the proper respect. If he actually did ignore one of my growls, I can guarantee you it would be my hackles bristling. But I’ve learned a few tricks of my own. More than anything, Fancy didn’t like to be ignored. I turned and walked away.

Sure enough, I barely made it to the kitchen door before I heard, “Sorry, Spunk, I was just scared.”

“What scared you, Fancy?”

“That man, Mr. Johnson, he said something awful under his breath as Momma was shutting him off.”

“Tell me what he said, Fancy.”

Fancy lower his head and whispered, “He said, ‘You’re gonna pay, bitch.’”

My stomach tightened, but I maintained my calm demeanor. “He must’ve said it very softly. I didn’t hear anything. However, you’ve got the best ears in the house, Fancy. Are you absolutely sure that’s what he said?”

“Yup, one-hundred-percent certain.”

“Did the person behind him say anything?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know what it was. They started to talk to each other, but the transmission ended too fast. But I’m certain about what Mr. Johnson said.”

Fancy may be a little full of himself, but he never lies.

“Okay, Fancy, you did the right thing to tell me. Mr. Johnson, or whatever his name may be, doesn’t know where Mom was transmitting from, so she’s completely safe and so are we. No need for you to fret. Okay?”

“Okay, Spunk, if you say so. But would it be all right if you leave the bedroom door open a smidgen tonight? I promise I won’t bother you unless it’s an emergency.”

“Sure, Fancy, I’ll be glad to do it. I just don’t want to hear any stupid jokes about my snoring, understand?”

“Not one word, Spunk, I promise. Thanks.”

“No problem. Hey, Fancy, I think we should keep this to ourselves for right now. No need getting the other guys upset, right?”

“That’s fine with me. Besides saying it out loud gives me the creeps!”

I didn’t have a warm and fuzzy feeling either. Nevertheless, we were all safe, at least for now anyway.

T
he next day, Mom was sitting outside on the lounge chair having her coffee. The boys had gone off to do cat things. Mom was fidgeting. Maybe she was nervous about Jacob coming for dinner. Humans’ relationships are a lot more complicated than ours are. Mom needed to let her mind rest. I jumped up the chair and waited until she patted her lap. I climbed aboard, turned around, and stayed still. She began stroking my sides. I could see the boys up ahead. They provided my entertainment. Bobby was walking toward the tree where Sweetie was hiding, waiting to ambush him. Sweetie’s tail swished back and forth. His back legs were tucked up under his rump. He raised his rump slightly and began to jiggle it, winding up and getting ready to pounce. Right then, Fancy snuck up behind Sweetie and stepped on his tail. Sweetie leaped in air, spun around, arched his back, and hissed. Fancy’s ears went back.