SNOOKERED (part 3)
by Judith H. Simpson
Christopher is not endearing himself to this man! No, we need to remove Christopher from this man's custody. Then we can figure out how to get him back to the shop."
"If we can figure out where the shop is," Dino said, his tone sarcastic.
"We will," I said blithely.
"What makes you so sure?"
"White poodles with red bows in their hair get noticed, as you mentioned before. If I stroll around town, someone will notice me. See that tag on my collar? It has Maggie's name and phone number on it. Oh, yeah, we can find Maggie. But we need to secure the bird!"
"Then you'd better be the diversion. That cage looks heavy and I gather you expect me to carry it outside and hide it? Where would you suggest?"
I peeked around the corner of the building. Other than the shed and the truck, there was little cover close by. A few straggly shrubs were on the far corner of the yard and behind the yard was an open field. It was several hundred yards, at least, across it to the tree line. "He will expect you to go for the trees," I said, thinking hard. "So, put the cage in the truck. Can you get it in the truck and cover it with a tarp?"
"Probably. What worries me is the stupid bird! He'll squawk up a storm and how do you hide a bird yelling his head off?"
"You explain matters to him. Tell him you're rescuing him and to be quiet! Intimidate him! Do whatever you have to do, but keep him quiet and hide him!"
Dino grinned. "It will be my pleasure."
"Are you ready?"
"Ready."
I went down the dirt driveway to the front of the house. I positioned myself in the center of the front yard, drew a deep breath, and began singing as loudly as I could. Singing is, perhaps, not the right word -- yodeling might be more accurate. Whatever, it would raise the hair on the back of your neck and it brought the man bursting out the front door in a satisfyingly short time.
"What?" he shouted. "Who the hell are you?"
I sang another verse.
"What do you want?" He came down the front steps and began advancing across the yard toward me.
I knew I had to keep him occupied as long as I could, to give Dino ample time to deal with Christopher. So I retreated, but only a little, and quit singing. Now I faced him and sat up and begged, waving my front paws endearingly at him.
He wasn't charmed. "Who the hell are you?" he repeated. "Never seen you around here before."
I stood up on my hind legs and did a perfect pirouette. 
"Crazy mutt," he sneered. I knew the plan was working.
Then, a car pulled into the dirt driveway and stopped. The man stared at the car and swore.
Simultaneously, two voices rang out.
"Angelique! What are you doing here?" Maggie shouted.
"Edward Smith, I have a search warrant here for your house and truck..."
The man turned and ran.
"Dino," I shrieked, running after the man. Behind me came Maggie, still shouting my name, and Chief Robert, who was puffing too hard to shout anything. "Stop him, Dino!"
The man rounded the corner of the house, and stopped so suddenly he nearly fell over. Dino was there, his black and tan body quivering with anticipation, his muscles bunching then stretching, as he sprang. He struck the man's chest and took him down hard, but before he could do anything more, I was there. I planted a beautifully manicured white paw on the man's throat, getting there only just ahead of Dino's fangs, and leaned a little weight on it. The man gurgled and gasped, then lay still, able to breathe as long as he didn't move.
"Angelique! Dino! This is incredible!" Maggie said. "What are they doing here?"
"Later. Persuade them to let me have Smith, O.K.?"
"Come, girl, get off! You, too, Dino! There, Robert, take him. I told you he had stolen the bird!" She gasped. "The bird! Where's the bird?"
She let us go and ran for the house. I looked at Dino. "The bird?"
"I had a little trouble with him," Dino said, leading me around the corner of the house. "He didn't want to go with me and wasn't sure he wanted to be quiet about it. But I got him to agree and we were almost at the truck when the car came into the driveway. So I shoved him in there," he said, jerking his head at the shed.
I went to the shed and looked in. The cage sat on the dirt floor of the shed. Cowering on the bottom of the cage was Christopher, his beak firmly shut, his eyes enormous. He was shaking all over. When he saw me, he moaned, closed his eyes, and rocked back and forth, making little whimpering sounds. "What did you say to him?" I asked Dino, impressed.
"Nothing much," he said modestly. "I just... intimidated him. He's been quiet since."
"He may," I said tartly, "be quiet for the rest of his life! I would say he's totally stressed out. Look at the feathers falling off of him!"
"Losing a few feathers is better than being lunch," Dino said. "Here comes Maggie."
"Angelique, Dino, where are you?"
I went to the shed door and let her see me. She came in and saw the cage. "It's Christopher! He's safe!"
Well, I guessed that was true. He was safe. He might never be the same after his little adventure, but he was safe.
She carried the cage out to the cruiser and put it on the front seat. " I sure wish I knew how they got out of the shop and ended up here! Could he have come back and kidnapped them?" she asked Chief Robert.
Dino was inclined to be indignant at that. He barked fiercely at the man. Chief Robert shoved the man into the back seat.
"I'm not the animal expert you are, " the Chief said sourly to Maggie, "and I guess the man could have dognapped the poodle but I don't see how he could have taken the Dobe. Whatever, " he said, "we've got to get Smith to jail. Where you want to put those dogs? The trunk?"
Maggie was made of sterner stuff than the Chief. She rode in the front with him, the birdcage on the seat between them. On the back seat, Edward Smith rode with me on his left and Dino on his right. He sweated so much he reeked by the time we reached the shop and Maggie removed us from the car.
Much of the "why" had been answered on the ride, as Maggie explained it again to the Chief. Edward Smith, ex-husband of Sabrina Smith, resented the fact that in their recent divorce, she had gotten custody of the income producing parrot. His resentment was increased by her admiration for the younger man who had gone with her on vacation, while she celebrated her freedom. Edward, plotting revenge on her, had wooed the impressionable Charlene and persuaded her into being his accomplice. He'd sworn he only wanted to borrow the bird, and throw a scare into Sabina, and Charlene had believed him. The why had been easier for Maggie, since she had known of the acrimonious divorce and the bird custody fight. She had pondered the fact that only someone inside the shop during the day could know if that run was empty or not. With boarding dogs coming in and out all day, only someone on the inside could be sure. If the intruder hadn't been sure, he could have crawled through the dog door to face an indignant Chow in that run. (Of course, Maggie didn't have the advantage I'd had in knowing what Dino had seen. Dino had known that the intruder had not come in through the kennel. Maggie had believed that he had.) And she had found the fact significant that Dino had been shut into his run, instead of loose in the shop. So her reasoning led her to realize that Charlene had to be involved in it. It had taken some time to convince Charlene to talk, and even more persuasion to get Chief Robert to get a search warrant but Maggie had been determined.
She hung the cage on the wrought-iron hook and gazed in a worried fashion at the bird. "You are very quiet," she said to him. "I do hope you are all right. Perhaps I'd better call the vet..."
Then she looked from the bird to me, lounging on my own cushion, and to Dino, sitting alertly at attention at her feet.
"What a smart dog you are," she said to Dino, petting him lovingly. "You must have tracked the scent of the bird all the way to Edward Smith's house! I'm so proud of you! You are so smart!" Dino didn't deny it. He leaned against her and let her scratch his ears. "And I guess Angelique followed you, huh? You took care of her, too. What a good boy you are, Dino!"
Dino had the grace to flash me an apologetic look. He did not,
however, offer to share the big chewbone she gave him as a reward.
What can I say? Curly hair and red toenails. Poodles
get no respect.
THE END
C1996 Judith H. Simpson
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