They all loaded in the van and headed down the service road through the Sycamores. It had turned into one of those ominous dreary days, where the heavy dark clouds just hung low in the sky and moved so slow it was hard to tell they were moving at all. A thunderstorm had down poured all last night until early-morning and the threat of another deluge lingered, waiting for just the right moment to dump more of its burden on the already saturated areas.
Christina drove her crew down the blacktop highway into the heavily wooded valley, forged out over the millennium by the Wintergreen Gorge Creek. The narrow two-lane road tracked along side the winding and bulging creek and all three of them gazed out the window. Christina saw just how swollen the creek had become and knew it was still rising from all the run-off. She had never seen the creek this high on its banks before and watched it rage through the holler. Jake shook his head, “WOW! This looks almost like the flood we had back in the sixties back, when I worked at the shelter.”
On the other side of the creek, the shelter’s rooftop made its appearance through the trees as they neared the bridge. Christina slowed the van down to a stop at the edge, gazed at the violent boiling water below, and wondered when it would crest. She thought of the stories she’d heard about that flood of ‘68’ and for the second time this morning she set her doubts aside, and plunged forward, over the churning water below.
Pulling into the parking lot, Christina noticed a State Police vehicle parked in front of the Animal Shelter. She pulled the van into the reserved stall, and glanced over at the cruiser…“This doesn’t look good,” she mumbled to her self as she got out and went to the side doors of the van. She lowered Samantha’s wheelchair with the lift, then swiftly walked to the shelter’s door and held it wide open while Jake pushed Samantha through.
“Christina! Thank God you’re here, you forgot your cell phone again! They’re in your office,” Julia, the kennel manager said from behind the green tiled reception desk.
Opening the door to her office, she saw her father, Joe, sitting at the round table talking to a state-trooper who had been filling out a report. “What is going on?” Christina asked.
“Christina, this is Trooper Smith.” Her father said.
“Hi,” she said.
“Howdy, ma’am” the trooper said tipping his head and attempting to stand up then sitting back down at Christina’s wave.
Joe looked somberly at Christina, “This morning when I checked the mail, I found a box with a dead puppy inside.” He motioned for Christina to close the door, and then continued. “It had been brutally tortured with its throat cut.”
“Who did it?” Christina asked with a cold-stone face.
“There was a note inside, addressed to you with a strange message,” her father said handing her the note.
Christina pulled out the closest chair, sat down, and read the note. She lifted her head and looked over to her father, "This has got to be connected to that graffiti?”
“What graffiti?” the Trooper asked.
Christina got up, went to her desk drawer, and got out three pictures, “We found this painted on the outside walls Monday morning, and we thought it was just vandals."
“Do you have any idea who might have done these things?” The trooper asked.
“No.” Christina said.
“May I keep these photos?”
“Sure, I’ll print some more later.”
“Miss. Freeman, your father mentioned you had a protection order on your ex-husband.”
“That was years ago in Buffalo, he was stalking me after our divorce, but since we moved here I haven’t heard anything from him.”
“Is this something he would be capable of doing?”
She took a deep breath in then let it out slowly as she pondered, “I would like to say no, but, maybe. I heard from a friend recently in Buffalo, that things have been going very badly for him lately, with the financial melt down and all.”
The trooper looked at the pictures again, “I don’t see vandalism here, I see sophisticated-malicious hate. I’ll have our crime lab check it out for a profile and in the mean time keep alert, and call us if anything out of the ordinary happens.”
The trooper stood up, “Here’s my card and I’ll be in close touch,” he said as he walked towards the door.
“Okay, we will and thank you so very much, Trooper Smith.” Christina shook his hand and opened the door.
“Pleasure meeting you, Ma’am, Mr. Freeman,” the trooper said with a nod, then walked out into the reception area.
Christina looked at her watch, “Oh my God, where are the kids? They should be here by now!”
Just then, Cathy-Anne and Buddy walked in the door as Trooper Smith walked out. “What’s up?” Buddy asked.
Christina looked sternly at her kids, “Buddy, Cathy, I want to talk to you at the round table, now! Dad, can you check on Samantha, please, introduce yourself to Jake, and bring the critters in from the van, please? Thank you. Oh, and have Jake call his happy home, that’s all I need now is Green Acre‘s wheelchair posse coming in here looking for him, and check that creek too, will you please, it doesn’t look good?”
“Sure,” he said, as he stepped out, allowing the kids to enter the office, “Who’s Jake?” he asked himself aloud, as he glanced over to the reception desk.
Julia shrugged her shoulders, “He is the old guy, I think. He just went back to see the dogs.”
Joe shook his head, “I thought I was the old guy,” he muttered to himself then looked over to Samantha who was sitting quiet as a mouse with eyes budging. “Hi there, you must be Samantha,” he smiled. “My name is Joe, and I’m Christina’s daddy. I am so glad to finally meet you, Christina has told us all about you.”
“How do you do sir, and I am glad to meet you too, and this is my cat, Molly.”
“Well, I’ll be darned, she is sure getting big. I remember Molly when she was just a fuzz ball here. Have you meet Julia, she’s the best friend a dog or cat ever had, or a horse even? Julia, would you get our little guest a snack please?” he asked then turned and headed for the kennels.
Back in the office, Christina had closed the door and sat Buddy and Cathy down at the round table. She explained what happened, showed them the note, and told them about the puppy in detail. She figured Buddy, 15 and Cathy Ann, 16 were old enough to understand life in all its realities, both good and bad. She emphasized that they must realize the possible dangers, yet not lose any good feelings they have for their father. He may be totally innocent and completely unaware of this crisis, but at the same time, they were not to go near him with out her approval. Cathy and Buddy were sickened to find out their father could be a suspect in this.
Christina felt both fear and hate pump through her veins at the same time and her motherly, she-wolf instincts had kicked in. She went over and squeezed both of them tight in her arms, then stood up, “One more thing kids, from now on do not venture outside ALONE, at any time, anywhere, for any reason… Now crack those books,” she said then went to her computer and formulated her list:
1. Pick up 25 mace dispensers, one for each person involved with the shelter and three placed in various locations.
2. Every vehicle was to get one with easy access.
3. The shelter was to have somebody present at all times, 24-7, until this was resolved.
4. Pick up 3 video monitors for outside installation, covering the two sides and the front of the shelter.
5. Every body was to have a cell phone with them at all times.
6. Bring in 357 mag.
