Chance Encounters - Ch. 13

From the rough draft of Chance Encounters, by Pat Otterness.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

?Hope ran shouting towards the dog, but Wolf’s attention was focused on the boat. He had a sixth sense about where the action was, and he wanted to be a part of it. With a gigantic splash, he landed in the lake and commenced to swim towards the boat, looking not unlike the Loch Ness monster as he sank beneath the surface and then arose again, closer to the boat.

Jordan watched in horrified silence as the soaked and muddy monster tried to clamber aboard the tiny craft. Before Jordan could push him away, Hiram grabbed Wolf’s collar and the scruff of his neck and hoisted him aboard. Like all dogs, his first act was to mightily shake himself, coating both men with the muddy effluvia of the lake.

We were too far away to hear the argument that ensued between the two dripping men, but Wolf seemed happy enough. Demon was missing, however, and both men quickly began searching the water for signs of the cat. After a moment, a small head broke the surface. ?Jordan reached out and scooped up the dripping, spitting bundle of bedraggled fur from the muddied water. He was rewarded by half a dozen rapid blows to his arm by an angry paw. Jordan dropped Demon in the boat, rubbing his wounds. The angry cat stalked over and immediately began beating Wolf about the face with ferocity.

Wolf, of course, was oblivious to the insult. ?He offered a slobbery kiss to Demon’s dripping face. Hackles were raised, or would have been, had the aforesaid hackles not been soaked into temporary submission. Jordan grabbed Demon by his scruff and Harm pulled Wolf away with the dripping leash. I would love to have been a fly on the wall for the discussion that was taking place in that boat.

After a few tense moments, Demon began to wash himself dry and was deemed safe to set on the floor of the rowboat. Hiram took up the oars again. The small craft skimmed slowly across the surface of the lake. Jordan gazed down, trying to make out any sign of human remains. Wolf lay at the helm, nose over the side near the water, sniffing every ripple.

Skeeter joined me on the bank, and we sat and watched the progression of the small craft with its unlikely occupants. “What are they doing?” Skeeter asked. “Why the boat?”

I didn’t want to tell him, but he was going to figure it out anyway. Better to be upfront about it. “They’re looking for your dad’s body,” I said. “It’s possible that it ended up in the lake.”

“Oh,” said Skeeter softly. I saw a single tear roll down his cheek and pretended not to see it. “Are they sure he’s … dead?”

“Pretty sure, sweetie,” I told him. “There was so much blood.”

We sat in silence for a while, each thinking our own thoughts.

Suddenly there was action on the water. Without warning, Wolf gave a single bark and tried to leap off the boat. Jordon, who had the leash wrapped around his hand, was jerked off balance. Wolf lurched again, making the boat rock to one side. Hiram grabbed at the dog, but it was too late. The boat teetered on edge for a moment and then flipped over, dumping all of its occupants into the muddy lake.

I was mesmerized. I saw Jordan shake the leash off his hand and grab for the cat before it sank. Demon thanked him by climbing onto his shoulders and beating him about the head. Wolf had disappeared under the water somewhere, but Hiram was trying to tread water and flip the boat back over. After a moment, Jordan gave him a hand to get it floating upright again. Hiram climbed over the side and Jordan tried to hand him Demon, but Demon was holding tight to Jordan with all his might, claws ripping the fabric of Jordan’s shirt as he was hauled back into the boat. This was better than television.

Jordan’s attention was fixed on Wolf, though. Had Wolf found something under the water? Skeeter and I were on our feet now, watching to see what would happen next. Wolf finally surfaced with something in his mouth. Jordan grappled with the big dog, trying to get the animal to relinquish it. Whatever it was, Wolf was proud of his find and wasn’t going to give it up without a fight.

At this point, Hiram leaned over and snatched it out from between Wolf’s teeth. We couldn’t see what it was, but Jordan and Hiram passed it back and forth between them while Wolf dived back under the water to look for more treasure. He didn’t get far. Jordan grabbed his floating leash and held him back. When the dog resurfaced, Jordan grabbed his fur and literally threw him into the boat with Hiram.

Once all four occupants were back in the boat, Hiram began rowing back to shore. Skeeter and I walked along the bank to the place they were rowing towards. Skeeter looked nervous, but I was excited to see what Wolf had found.

I grabbed a towel I found on the ground in preparation for reclaiming my cat. I’d had enough of Demon’s swift claws. The mood he was likely to be in boded ill for anyone in his path.

As soon as the boat reached shore, Jordan grabbed Demon rather roughly by his scruff and handed him into my towel-ready hands. There was a brief struggle as Demon tried to free himself, but I had wrapped him tightly. He wasn’t going anywhere. Instead, he scowled and hissed at me. I ignored him.

“What did you find?” I asked.

Jordan scowled at me, too, but didn’t hiss. “Damned cat!” he murmured under his breath.

Hiram was being forcefully removed from the boat by Wolf, who was pulling on his leash, eager to join the action on the bank. For a minute Hiram teetered on the edge of the boat before making a splash landing face-first in the water. It was that kind of day. Jordan gave him a hand up and took Wolf’s leash. “Bad dog!” he said.

Wolf, impervious to insult, wagged all over himself in self-congratulation. You had to love the silly beast. ?In spite of everything, he was the hero of the day. His find was being passed from hand to hand, and a consensus was reached. This looked like a human bone.

Skeeter looked confused. “Is that … Dad?” He asked me softly.

“Not unless that lake is full of piranhas,” I told him. “Bodies don’t decompose that rapidly. If that is a human bone, it has been there for quite a while.”

Jordan turned to me at last, shaking his head. “That,” he said, is why Demon flunked out of cadaver dog training.”

“A shame,” I said. “He has a good nose for it.” The bundle I was holding began to squirm in my arms. “I need to get this boy home. I hope he didn’t hurt you too much. His claws are his only weapons. He was afraid.”

“I didn’t take it personally,” said Jordan. “It was that or let him drown.” He smiled. “I actually respect his ferocity in the face of fear. It reminds me of someone else.”

I blushed. Sometimes Jordan said the sweetest things at the oddest moments.

Tightening my hold on my bundle, I headed for home. Skeeter joined me, and after a moment, Hiram and Wolf caught up with us and walked alongside.

“ I met Chance,” said Skeeter.

“How did you like him?” I asked.

“He was okay. Not as scary as I expected. I didn’t know it was him at first, and he didn’t know it was me.”

“We saw you help him capture Wolf,” said Hiram. “That was nice of you.”

“Yep! It was fun, trying to catch him. Chance and I worked well as a team.” Skeeter reached out and patted Wolf. “He’s a really nice dog. I thought he was yours, Harm.”

“Nope. He belongs to Chance.” After a moment, he added, “but I found him. I adopted him for Chance.”

I wondered if he really believed that. Wolf was so much Hiram’s dog, they could almost have been blood relatives. I kept my opinion to myself.

I left Hiram and Skeeter at Chance’s place and walked on home alone. Well, alone except for a very angry cat. I wondered if a bath would be in order … or even a possibility. Self -interest led me to conclude that another dunking in water right now would be considered cruelty … to both of us.? When I reached the house I set down my bundle on the grass, still wrapped, and went inside. I knew he would eventually unwrap himself, but only after my ankles were safely out of reach.

?

?

?

?