“Are you okay?” I asked, concerned that he’d hurt himself.
“I’m fine,” Taxi answered. He broke into a smile. “Isn’t this fun?” he asked. And then he dove for Harrison’s feet again.
“Break his thumbs!” Lyle was shouting gleefully. “We’ll teach him a thing or two!”
“Attaboy, Lyle!” Chester said encouragingly. “Come on, Harold, what happened to the barking?
Oh yeah.
“Woof! Woof!” I couldn’t help thinking how dumb I sounded, but, unfortunately, a dog’s vocabulary is limited. Just then, I heard a car pull into the driveway. Maybe “woof” wasn’t so dumb after all; it seemed to have done the job.
The gate to Chateau Bow-Wow flew open, and Jill and Dr. Greenbriar rushed in. They were followed by Max, Georgette and—yes, it had to be, it was—Louise!
“Okay, Harrison, that’s enough!” Dr. Greenbriar shouted.
Harrison froze to the spot. His eyes widened in amazement as his mouth fell open, and his flashlight fell to the ground. The light went out.
There was a long moment of silence, and then Jill’s voice cut through it like a knife.
“Harrison, how could you?” she said at last.
Harrison mumbled something under his breath, as Jill and Dr. Greenbriar moved in closer to confront him face to face. Lyle and Chester hung stubbornly from Harrison’s shoulders.
“I only hope, Harrison,” Dr. Greenbriar said, “for your sake as well as theirs, that no harm has come to any of these animals.”
“When I think of how I trusted you …” Jill interjected.
“How did … did you … how did you …” Harrison stuttered.
“Oh, I knew you were up to something after I called you tonight, Harrison,” Jill answered. “You were so strange on the phone. Nervous and jumpy. I’d never heard you like that before. And then, well, I thought about how weird it was that you were here instead of home in the first place. I mean, that dedicated you’re not.”
“I never should have answered the phone,” Harrison said weakly.
“Yes, that was your first mistake. And then on the way over here, we passed your house and found the dogs barking outside your window.”
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Dr. Greenbriar said, “but you and I have to talk, Harrison. First, I want to take a look at everyone and get them back into their bungalows. I’ll check on Howard and Heather and the kids. If they’re all right, we’ll leave them where they are for the night. Harrison, wait inside the office until I come in. I want a full explanation. And then …” and here he paused dramatically, staring into Harrison’s eyes, “… then we’ll decide your fate.”
Harrison hung his head as Dr. Greenbriar moved beyond him and through the opening in the fence. Jill stayed where she was.
“I just can’t believe you’d do such a thing!” she said vehemently, her eyes connecting with the top of Harrison’s unruly thatch of hair. “What got into you, anyway?” she demanded. “Was this how you were going to make a million dollars? By lying? And kidnapping?! And murder? And on top of everything, making it look like it was all my fault! I can’t believe it, that’s all! I just can’t believe you’re capable of such evil.”
Harrison continued to stare at the ground, avoiding Jill’s gaze.
“Well?” she asked after a moment. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”
Harrison shrugged and lifted his head slightly. In a soft voice, he uttered his defense. “You can’t blame a person for trying.”
Jill just shook her head slowly and watched as Harrison shuffled off toward the office door. Then, she moved away to join Dr. Greenbriar in the storage shed. Chester and Lyle jumped down from Harrison’s shoulders. And Taxi came over to me with a piece of Harrison’s sock hanging from his mouth. A souvenir of his night of bravery, no doubt.
When he reached the office door, Harrison turned back and sighed heavily. I almost felt sorry for him then and turned to Chester to tell him so.
“Don’t waste your pity,” Chester replied. “When I tell you about Harrison, you’re not going to have such a soft spot in your heart for him.”
Just then, Louise walked over to me. “Scott,” she said to me softly. I wanted to remind her that my name was Harold, but she continued before I could say anything. “Scott, I know you have held out hope that we’d get together. But I am going back to Chip. He wants me … and, well, I am wanting him. I’m going to forgive and forget. No matter what has been between him and Liza. Forgive and forget, Scott, I hope you can understand.” She walked back to Max’s side.
Chester and I turned to each other.
“What terrible thing did Harrison do to Louise?” I asked in shock. “Mind control?”
“Worse,” Chester answered. “Two days of afternoon television.”
I looked back at Louise and a feeling of horror overwhelmed me. Chester was right. There could be no pity for Harrison.
Chapter 11 - In the Days That Followed …
IN THE DAYS that followed, a calm fell over Chateau Bow-Wow. After that fateful night, the storm died down and was replaced by hot, sunny weather. Heather was moved indoors with her babies; and Howard, when he wasn’t inside visiting, was proudly extolling the virtues of family life. He also handed out bones on which he’d written, “It’s a boy … and a boy … and a girl … and a boy … and a girl … and a girl … and a boy.” I was very moved by his gift. Chester was nauseated.
“Typical dog present,” he grunted after Howard walked away.
“What do you mean ‘typical’?”
“You wouldn’t catch a cat giving out used bones,” he replied, as he rolled over on his back to bask in the sun. After a moment, he added, “Yuck! Just the thought of it—”
“Hello, Harold,” a voice called out. It was Taxi, stopping by to chat. I told him I was sorry for thinking he might have murdered Louise and Chester, and he readily accepted my apology.
“Under the circumstances,” he said to me, “it’s understandable that you’d think I might have done it. After what I said about poison, I mean—”
“Yes,” I replied, “and you seemed pretty upset about Max and Georgette, too.”
“Well, I was a little jealous, I’ll admit. But, Harold, do you really think I’d murder someone just because I was jealous?”
I was embarrassed that such a thought had ever crossed my mind. Chester, naturally, wasn’t embarrassed in the least.
“It happens all the time,” he said. “Besides, just because you look like you wouldn’t hurt a fly doesn’t mean you aren’t capable. I checked into your file while I was being held in the office, and I found out a thing or two.”
“Really?” Taxi asked in surprise. “What kinds of things?”
Chester just smiled.
“You read the files?” I asked.
“Yup,” he said. “Harrison and I pored over every single one of them that evening. And let me tell you, there was some pretty interesting stuff in there.”
I started to panic. I was hoping there was nothing in my file about the incident with the geranium. I mean, it had been in poor taste (and it tasted pretty poor, too) to eat Mrs. Monroe’s favorite plant. I didn’t sleep too well after that one, but whether that was from an unclear conscience or an unsettled stomach, I wasn’t too sure.
Chester must have been reading my thoughts. He looked into my eyes with a knowing little smirk.
“Geranium?” I inquired innocently.
He nodded his head. Was nothing sacred? I thought. Boy, you make one mistake in life and they never let you forget.
“There was also mention of the episode with Mr. Monroe’s electric shaver,” he added.
Boy, you make two mistakes in life and they never let you forget. That one wasn’t really my fault anyway. Could I help it if I thought he was being attacked by an oversized bumblebee? It was a perfectly logical error.