Sharon Sala - Cold Hearts

The moment he dropped the trap, he bolted into the shadows between her neighbors’ house and hers, then slipped down the first alley he came to and kept running. He was breathing hard when he finally reached the truck and unlocked the door. Everything was fine, just as he’d left it. His little dog was asleep in the seat, but he wasn’t through with Melissa Sherman. He clipped the leash on to the dog’s collar and dragged him out.

“Come on, Bobo, let’s take a walk.”

Bobo’s legs were short but his attitude was big, and the word walk was always welcome.

Even though the night was chilly, sweat was drying on Reece’s forehead as he walked Bobo through the park, purposefully taking a shortcut that would take him within two blocks of Melissa Sherman’s house. He’d heard the sirens and guessed she’d finally called the cops. He wanted to see what was happening. It was a different kind of high to know she was that kind of scared.

The wire-haired terrier was nosing beneath every bush and sniffing trails left by nocturnal creatures but Reece had other business and all but dragged Bobo back toward her house. They exited the park at a side street and immediately headed for the sidewalk. The moment he saw two cop cars at her place, he grinned. There was another vehicle at the curb and he wondered who it belonged to, but this was no time to get too curious. He decided he would just walk Bobo by the house and maybe get a peek at what was going on as they passed.

Then, as if on cue, a stray cat slunk out from beneath the SUV parked at the curb and took off across the street. Bobo leaped forward so fast the leash slipped from Reece’s hands and he took off running after it. All of a sudden Melissa Sherman’s welfare was playing second fiddle to recovering his dog.

* * *

Carl took the pictures, then bagged up the dead rat and trap, securing everything inside his vehicle before he began to check out the neighborhood.

The lights had been off in every house when they’d arrived, so he doubted there would be any witnesses, but it was his job to ask.

He began with the house north of where Melissa lived and asked them if they’d seen anyone running away from her place earlier. He got a play-by-play of where the residents had been sleeping and what they’d had for supper before going to bed, but no one had seen anything.

He went down the block, knocking on doors and asking the same question without getting a useful answer. He had just started back up the block on the other side of the street when he heard a small dog begin to bark. He turned around to look just as a man came running out of the shadows.

* * *

Reece was a little panicked. He loved Bobo and didn’t want to lose him, but this was not how he’d intended to revisit the scene of the crime. Not only was the dog outrunning him, but Reece was running out of energy.

“Bobo! Bobo! Come back here! Heel, Bobo, heel!” he yelled, and then groaned when he saw an officer come off the porch of the house across the street.

When the cop began running toward him, his heart skipped a beat. But when the officer made a little side step and grabbed the trailing leash and caught Bobo, he relaxed.

Bobo’s escape ended with a yelp as the leash tightened and pulled him up short.

The grateful cat disappeared into the shadows.

Reece approached the cop, winded and gasping with every step, and smiled as the officer handed over the leash.

“This is pretty late at night to be walking a dog,” Carl said.

Reece pretended disgust as he picked Bobo up in his arms. “Tell that to Bobo. He’s the one with the nervous bladder.”

Carl chuckled as he reached over and patted the terrier’s head.

“You’re the man, Bobo,” he said, and then he glanced up. “By any chance, have you seen anyone else on foot in this area in the past thirty minutes or so?”

Reece’s heart skipped a beat. He was actually being questioned as a witness to his own crime. This couldn’t get much better.

“Why? I see patrol cars at Miss Sherman’s house. Did something happen to her?”

“No, she’s fine. Just a prank gone wrong,” Carl said. “So did you see anything or anyone suspicious?”

Reece thought about pointing the finger at someone else and then at the last minute didn’t.

“No, sir, I did not. Bobo and I were originally in the park. I just wound up here trying to catch him.”

Carl nodded. “Okay. Just be on the lookout as you go back.”

“Are we in any danger?” Reece asked, holding Bobo a little tighter.

“I don’t think so, but just be aware.”

“Yes, yes, we will,” Reece said, and hurried away.

It wasn’t until he was back in the park that he began to grin. This had turned into a most interesting night. He gave the little dog a quick hug and kiss.

“Good boy, Bobo, good boy.”

Bobo yipped once.

Reece was still smiling as he reached his vehicle. He put Bobo safely inside, then scooted in beside him and started the engine. It was time to get home and do a little work. Sunrise would be here before he knew it.

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