A Dog Named Cat
By
Carol Carroll
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY:
Smashwords
A Dog Named Cat
Copyright © 2010 by Carol Carroll
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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Many thanks to my husband for his patience during the hours I write my stories.
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A Dog Named Cat
The house was quiet, too quiet. It felt strange, off kilter somehow. After all, I had a wife of nearly twenty years and three rambunctious teenagers, I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d had the house all to myself. Hearing nothing but loud silence made it feel eerie in a place that was usually full of the everyday noise of a family of five.
It just happened that everyone had plans for the evening. The kids were off with various friends, doing the things young folks like to do, and my wife, Susan, had gone to catch a chick flick with her friend Jean.
I turned off the kitchen light before making my way to the front room. I molded myself into my favorite easy chair and picked up the TV Guide. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I was going to see my favorite television show without interruption for once. CSI was coming on in just a few minutes. I pointed the remote at the TV and clicked the power button. After the seemingly endless commercials, my show started. I relaxed, let myself get absorbed in the mystery of the story.
A soft scratching noise broke the silence in the house. It actually made me jump. I felt a little foolish that a mere sound had startled me so, but I wondered what it could have been when there was no one in the house but me. I lifted my head and turned an ear in the direction it had come from to see if I would hear it again. Sure enough, there it was… a scratching on the front door. Curiosity won out, I left my show and went to open the door. As soon as I pulled on the doorknob I heard excited yipping. When I looked down, there was the cutest little dog jumping and wagging his tail furiously at me. The friendly little critter reminded me of Dorothy’s pet on The Wizard of Oz movie that we watched every year without fail. “Well, hello, Toto. What can I do for you?”
He took my words as an invitation and came on in. He sniffed my pant leg, then rolled over just to get back up and jump against my leg. “Whoa there, fella, calm down! What’s this all about?”
I bent down, patted him, and tried to get him to settle down. “There, there, be quiet now. Let me see your tag.” He was well trained, sat still while I checked his tag, found a phone number, and a message. ‘If you find Cat, please call immediately.’ I looked again. Cat…yes that’s what it said. I frowned. What kind of joke was that anyway? I picked him up to keep him from running through the house and went to the phone.
On the third ring a feminine voice answered a bit breathlessly. “Hello, this is Christy speaking.”
“Hello, Christy, are you by chance missing a little friend?”
“Oh, did you find Cat? You must have, thank goodness! I’ve been worried sick.”
“No need to worry, he’s just fine. I’m holding on to him right now.”
“I do appreciate your call. If you’ll tell me where you are, I’ll come get him.”
“Our address is 1746 Newhall Road. It’s the only yellow house on the block.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Mister….”
“Evans, Daniel Evans, no need for thanks. Just come get your pet before my wife gets home. She doesn’t allow animals in the house.”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Goodbye,” I said to what turned out to be a dead line. She didn’t even wait to hear my farewell. I snickered and hung up the phone. I carried Cat over to the recliner, sat down, and tried to catch on to what had been happening on CSI. As long as I pet the little mutt, he was content to lie there in my lap.
Even before the next commercial, there was a quick knock on the front door. “I think your owner’s here to get you, Cat. We’d better answer the door.”
As soon as I opened the door, a young woman with long dark hair, deep brown eyes, and a nervous little smile walked right in. She held her arms out to the little dog and took him from me. Hugging him tight she said, “I was so worried. I don’t know how he got out of the fence, but when I called him to come back in he was nowhere to be seen.” She held the fuzz ball at arm’s length and looked him in the face. “Naughty kitty, you know better than to run off and scare me like that!”
She must have read the surprised look on my face because her lips curled up into a weary smile. “I know, you think it’s strange I call him Cat. But you see I don’t like dogs. Cats are my passion. Cat looks a lot like a cat, and he has such a personality, I couldn’t resist him.”
She hugged the small dog to her bosom again and rested her cheek on his head. Then, all of a sudden, she burst in to tears. She tried to snuff them back, but without much success. “I’m sorry, Mr. Evans. I don’t mean to stand here and blubber. I’m just having the most awful day… it’s a bit overwhelming. First my Cat disappeared, then while I was trying to figure out how to find him I noticed the sound of water running in the house. I checked all the plumbing upstairs. When I couldn’t find anything I went down to the basement. I couldn’t believe it. One of the water pipes must have a hole in it, because water is spraying out all over the place. I was trying to figure out what to do when you called. Now that I have Cat back, I still have to stop the water. I need a plumber, but I don’t have the money to pay one.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Now, now, take it easy. Maybe I can help.”
Her face lit up. “Oh, could you? I would be forever grateful. I’m just no good at fixing things. There’s not a handyman muscle in my whole body!” She snuffed again and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Can you go with me now?” She craned her neck to look into the room behind me.
“Just let me turn off the TV and get my keys.” I picked up the remote, hit the power button, and picked up my keys from the hall table. “Let’s go, I’ll follow right behind you.” I opened the door and waited for her to step outside. Somehow she managed to trip over the threshold, I had to reach out to catch her arm to keep her from falling.
“Thank you again, Mr. Evans. I’m getting to be an awful nuisance, aren’t I?”
“It’s all right. Let’s just get your water problem taken care of.” I pulled the door shut behind me and hurried to my car. Well, now I’ll never know how CSI ends, darn it! Oh, I forgot to lock the door. I reached for the door handle, then thought better of it. Christy had already started her engine and was waiting for me to follow her. What the heck? I’ll only be gone a few minutes.
As soon as I started backing out of the driveway, Christy pulled out from the curb. I followed her taillights for what seemed like at least three miles into an unfamiliar neighborhood. When she pulled into a driveway, I parked in front of the house. I wrinkled my brow. How did she get to my house so soon after she hung up the phone? Something doesn’t add up. No matter, I’ll get her water turned off, and that’ll be the end of it. I followed Christy into her kitchen.
“Here’s the basement.” She opened a door, flipped on the light switch, and stood back to make room for me.
“I’ll turn off your water at the main valve for tonight. You’ll have to find someone in the morning to patch up the pipe, but it’ll stop the problem for now.”
“Oh, good,” she said from right behind me.
I walked down the treads listening to the sound of water running. I found the string for the first light bulb I came to and pulled it. I followed the splashing noise. When I stepped into the laundry room, and turned on the light, I was totally surprised to see the water I heard was coming from a faucet over a wash tub. “What the… What’s going on here?” I twisted to see what Christy had to say about all this, but she wasn't there.
I headed right back up the stairs. I grabbed the knob. It wouldn’t turn. "Christy, the doors locked. Open it from your side.” I knocked… "Christy, are you there?" I pounded on the door with both fists. "What's going on? Unlock the door.” I felt perspiration beading on my forehead. “Christy, what the hell are you doing?”
No answer. Not a sound. Well, standing here is getting me nowhere. Maybe I can climb out a basement window. I walked back down the stairs and looked around the room. There were a couple of windows. One had bars on the outside, so I tried the other, locked tight. Did Christy trap me down here on purpose? Why on earth would she do that?
When I got to the back corner, I spotted a closed door. “Looks like an enclosed room, hopefully it’ll have an egress window in there.” I felt for a light switch. There was none. I made my way toward where I thought I would find a pull string. Before I could find one, my foot caught on something lying on the floor. I stumbled. I caught my balance and stepped away from whatever it was.
My foot bumped into something else. What in the world? The light from the other room wasn’t bright enough for me to make out what was laying there. It was too dark for me to make out anything in this area. My hand finally came into contact with a string. I grabbed onto it and pulled. Light! Thank goodness! My eyes adjusted to the brightness as I looked up at the walls. No windows, damn! There’s no way to get out of this basement. Now what?
The next thing I saw made my heart pound furiously. I pressed my hand to my chest. “My God, what have I gotten into here?” The bulging eyes of two dead men stared up at me from the floor. They'd both been shot in the heart, and from the looks on their faces, it had come as a complete surprise. I staggered back a few steps. I felt my dinner come up into my throat and gag me. I forced it back down. Think, Danny boy, think!
I realized I hadn’t heard a sound from upstairs the whole time I’d been in the basement. Had Christy left the house? Am I alone here? I can’t be sure. What I do know is I have to get out of here as soon as possible. I’ll have to break down that basement door somehow.
I immediately started hunting for something small enough to fit up the stairs, yet solid enough to bust through the door. There, in the corner, I saw a fancy carved totem pole. I lifted it. I was in luck. It was solid, heavy as any rock its size.
At the top of the stairs, holding my battering ram on a shoulder, I listened intently. I could hear nothing, but I knew once I got that door open someone could be waiting for me, maybe a pistol in hand. Is this the end for me?
The sweet smile my wife gave me earlier in the evening, just before she left, flashed before me. My boys, I'd give anything to hear them arguing about who gets the car right about now. My little girl… I have to get home to them." I stared at the door. Well, one way or the other I could get shot. It might as well be trying to get out.
I held the totem in both arms and balanced it in front of the doorknob. I swung around as far as I could and rammed the door. It jarred me more than I expected. I had to lean back against the
wall to catch myself. I had cracked the door around the knob, but it was going to take another good hit to break it. Wasting no time, I smashed it again. The door flew open.
I poked my head into the kitchen just far enough to see that no one was there. I sat the totem on the floor and made a mad dash for the back door. I turned the knob, pulled frantically, but it would not budge. I stood there staring in disbelief. Then I noticed the dead bolt lock that could only be unlocked with a key inside as well as out.
My ears picked up the sound of a car pulling up close to the house. Without wasting a moment, I picked up my totem friend and hauled ass to the back bedroom. I raised my battering ram high over my head and let it fly through the window behind the bed. I jumped up on the bed, picked up a pillow, and quickly cleared out the jagged glass that was still in the frame.
I heard the back door open. Heavy footsteps came running down the hallway. My heart was racing so hard I could feel it pound in my ears. I had to get out. Now! I flew out of the window so fast it would have made Superman proud. My landing wasn’t so pretty, but what the hell… I was outside. I hit the dirt and ran for my car just as I heard a gunshot. That put the fear in me, I’m sure I ran faster than any track star in history!
I fumbled in my hurry to open the car door. I seemed to be moving in slow motion when all I wanted was to get out of there as fast as I could. I took a breath. I opened the door, got in behind the wheel, and started my engine. Another gunshot rang out and then the sound of a bullet hitting my back window. I peeled out into the street and raced toward town.
I sped all the way to the police station. I didn’t know if I was being followed, but I was taking no chances. As soon as the station was in sight I started honking my horn. When I pulled into the drive, up to the door, I was met by three police officers.
“Hurry,” I said, “Get inside quick!” I ran to the door with the three of them on my heels. Once inside I sat down, tried to catch my breath.
“What’s going on?” One of the uniformed men asked in a rough voice.
“Someone just tried to shoot me.” I gulped air, finding it difficult to breath.
“You’d better calm down before you hyperventilate,” another officer advised.
“Let’s see some identification,” the sergeant said.
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet under the scrutiny of all three policemen. I took out my driver’s license, handed it to the closest officer.
He read my name and address out loud, then looked from my license to the sergeant. “Isn’t that the address we just got a burglary call from?”
“That’s the one. Phillips and Jenkins are on their way over there right now.”
I stood up, headed right for the door.
“Whoa, where do you think you’re going?” The tallest man in the room barked at me and grabbed my arm.
“I have to get home to my family.”
“They’ll be fine. You need to tell us what’s going on. Who’s trying to shoot you?”
“Can someone at least call to see if my family is all right? Please. I can’t tell you what happened when all I can think of is that my loved ones are in danger.”
“Go radio Phillips,” the sergeant ordered one of the officers. “Now start talking,” he said looking at me.
“It’s a long story and a strange one.”
“Just start at the beginning.”
I struggled to get my wits about me. Before I succeeded, the officer came back into the room. He looked at me. “Our men are in your house with your wife. The place has been burglarized, but the thieves are long gone. Your wife is handling herself very well.”
I let myself breathe a sigh of relief, then I spelled out everything that had happened to me. When I was done telling my story, I looked the sergeant in the eye and said, “I don’t know the address of the house I was in, but I can drive you right to it.”
***
On a dismal Monday morning, shortly after I got to work, I received a call from the police station. “Mr. Evans,” a friendly feminine voice came across the wire, “this is Marilyn Harris down at the station. I’ve been instructed to take an official statement from you on what happened to you last Thursday evening. When can you come in so we can get it done?”
“I’ve already told the sergeant everything that happened, I don’t see why I have to go through it all over again,” I complained.
“I’m sorry sir, but we need your statement in written form for the record. It has to come from you so we get all the details. Are you able to come in some time this afternoon, sir?”
“I can be there at four-thirty,” I grumbled and hung up the phone.
***
When I told the young women my story, she typed it word for word. She showed no reaction what-so-ever from start to finish. Then she looked up at me and asked, “Is there anything else you want to add about that night?”
“Yes! When I raced to the station and told the sergeant what had happened to me, he just steadied his icy gaze on me and said, ‘I think we’d better go over and see what the men have found out at your house now.’ I couldn’t believe it… he didn’t believe a word I’d said. How could anyone make up a story like that?”
When she finished typing, she turned toward me. “Is there anything else you want written in your statement?”
“No, that’s everything.” I shifted in my chair. I was getting very uncomfortable.
The young woman printed out the document and then handed it to me. “Please read and sign it for the record if it’s all correct.”
I read it carefully and then signed my name. It made me nervous to sign their official paper. I wondered if I should have called a lawyer. No, I thought to myself, that’s not necessary, I didn’t do anything wrong, I shouldn’t need a lawyer.
I made my way through the same parking lot I’d been in last Thursday night. Vivid remembrances crowded my mind. When the sergeant suggested we go to my house, I hadn’t bothered to try to convince him that I had told him the whole story, and it was all true. I was all for going home and checking on Susan. Finding the house had been broken into when she got home from the movie was bound to have her terribly upset.
The sergeant and I had walked out the same door I’d entered when I first got there. My car still sat right where I’d left it, practically blocking the entrance. I looked around nervously, knowing someone could have followed me, could be waiting to take a better shot.
“We’ll go in my squad car,” the sergeant informed me.
“But I might as well take my car,” I spoke up. “You can follow right behind me.”
“No. My car is right over there.” He nodded at a parking spot a short distance behind my vehicle.
I followed without saying another word about it, but when we got around to the back of my Buick I pointed out the bullet hole in my back window.
The sergeant had a momentary look of surprise on his face before he hid it behind his ‘all business’ expression. He started for his car again and indicated I should lead the way. When we got to the car he opened the back door, motioned for me to take a seat.
I sat there feeling more like a criminal than the victim I really was. There were no handles on the doors. There was a thick wire screen between the backseat and the front of the squad car. I now felt trapped all over again. I decided it was time for me to keep my mouth shut!
The ride to my house was short, but there was time for me to think. I had nearly been killed that evening. My house had been burglarized for the first time ever. “What else could happen to a quiet law-abiding citizen on a rare evening of alone time?” I asked myself and sighed.
The sergeant pulled up to the curb in front of my home. There were lights shining in every window. I noticed two police cars parked on the street nearby, so I figured there were still officers inside with my wife. We went up the front walk, climbed the three steps to the stoop. The sergeant stopped at the door, looked it over carefully, opened it, and scrutinized the door jam. Must be looking for evidence of a break in I supposed.
The moment I stepped into the room, Susan crumbled. She flung herself into my arms, sobbing. I held her tight and whispered, “It’s all right now. It’s all over.”
“But they took my jewelry. The TV’s and our cameras…” She pulled back to face me. “My grandmother’s silver, and the five hundred dollars I had in my dresser drawer, all gone. The house is a shambles-”
“Are the kids okay?”
“Sami’s in her room, she’s pretty shook up. She came in right after I did. The boys haven’t come home yet.”
“Then we’re all safe, that’s the only thing that really matters.”
Susan couldn’t know what I had experienced that evening, or why I felt the break in was insignificant. She locked eyes with me. “But, Dan, thieves were in our home. They tore up the place. They took everything of value that they could lay their grimy mitts on. How can you be so unmoved by all of this?”
I pulled her close, gave her a squeeze. “We’ll talk about it later,” I told her in my best head of the household intonation. I wanted her to feel safe and stop the awful trembling. “Do you want a blanket around your shoulders? Your arms feel cold.”
“Yes, that would be nice.”
I directed her to the sofa, tucked the throw around her. Back in the foyer, the sergeant and two other policemen had their heads together. They were talking in very low voices. “Mr. Evans,” the sergeant called, “will you step over here for a moment?”
I did as he requested, looked him in the eyes, and asked, “Yes, what is it?”
“I’m wondering, Mr. Evans, are the things that were stolen covered by insurance?”
I nodded. “I’m sure everything is insured. I had to give my new agent a list with current values and pictures to verify everything we had of substantial worth. Let’s see… that was about three months ago. I can’t think of anything we’ve purchased since then. We’ve never had to make any insurance claims on any personal belongings. I hope we won’t have to now. What are the chances of getting our things back?”
He looked at me with steel in his eyes. “Well, sir, we haven’t found any evidence of forced entry here. Mr. Evans, can you explain how someone could get into your home and just walk off with all of your valuables?”
Before I could answer, I heard pounding footsteps come rushing down the stairway from the second floor. I turned to see my fourteen-year-old daughter flying toward me. “I thought I heard your voice. Oh, Daddy, isn’t it awful? Someone was in my room! They went through my things. They took my beautiful diamond earrings, the special ones Grandma wore at her wedding and handed down to me. I can’t stand it… I feel so… violated!”
That’s my little drama queen, I thought to myself. She threw herself at me, put her arms around my neck, and held tight. “Yes, Sami, it’s no fun knowing burglars have been going through everything in our home. But, Princess, they’re gone now. Everything will be all right.”
“Mr. Evans, I hate to break up this little scene, but we really need some answers here.”
I looked at the sergeant with disdain. “Now, look, my family needs my attention too. Give me a darn minute.” I loosened Sami’s grip. “Your mother’s on the sofa. Why don’t you go in and help her calm down?”