Strange Outfit: An Avery Barks Dog Mystery (Avery Barks Dog Mysteries Book 2) (7 page)

I slowly and softly rubbed the top of Bullfrog’s head, and a thought floated to my brain just like a feather drops from the sky.

Biggest treasure.  As far as size goes, Bullfrog is the biggest treasure.

I looked at Bullfrog’s old red stinky dog collar.  There was a drastic difference between that one and Princess’ beautiful collar.  I ran my hand over the dirty collar and noticed a slight bump about an inch long. I unfastened the buckle, took off his collar and ran it between my fingers.  At first I thought it was a blemish in the material, but the more I touched it, I became convinced that there was something inside the layers of nylon webbing.

I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out my trusted pocket knife.  It had come in handy on many search and rescue missions, and now it would work to dissect a dog collar.

I carefully slit the thread stitching, and opened the layers.  Inside the collar was a small metal key.  And a little note.

Just like Ben, I thought with a smile.

I unfolded the small piece of paper and immediately recognized Ben’s handwriting:

‘Pull back the rug and use the key, and buried treasure you will see.  Bullfrog protects the box.’

Bullfrog protects the box?  What?  All he does is sleep in his bed all day.

I looked at the note again, remembering Ben’s fervent words.

My biggest treasure holds the key to my treasure
.

I pushed the hair back from my face, thinking hard.

Sleeps on his bed. Protects.

I rolled Bullfrog off my lap and moved across the floor toward his dog bed. I hesitated, then bent over and tried to slide Bull Frog’s dog bed aside.  It wouldn’t budge.  On closer inspection, I discovered that the wooden frame of the dog bed was nailed to the floor.  Underneath was a navy blue area rug that covered the room’s tan carpet.  Only one end of it was unattached to the bed.

Pull back the rug
.

With three dogs now gathered around and watching me, I reached down and raised the edge of the blue rug.   To my surprise, there was a locked door latch hidden underneath.  The dog bed was actually attached to a homemade hatch door cut into the floor boards.  I put the key into the lock and it opened easily. 

I swung the entire contraption up and open while Bullfrog kept a wary eye on his bed.  As I laid on the floor, I pushed aside some loose floor insulation covering the hole to reveal the dirt land underneath the mobile home.

I got up and grabbed Ben’s metal detector from behind his couch.  Once I figured out how to get it started up, I placed it through the secret hole in the floor.  The machine immediately honked and beeped like a dysfunctional smoke alarm.

The dogs barked and howled with the sound until I was able to shut it off.  I went out to my truck and grabbed a mini shovel I kept for cadaver dog training, brought it in the house, and jumped down through the hole in the floor, the dogs barking behind me.  It was a stinky place with lots of spider webs, but I focused on the task at hand and knelt down on the damp earth to dig. 

As soon as the dirt started flying, Princess jumped down through the hole and decided to join in the fun.  That dog was a little digging machine. She must have thought I had a big bone buried under there somewhere.   I moved aside and let her go to town.  As she dug, I scooped out the dirt behind her as fast as I could go.  Not only was I glad that Princess had impressive digging skills, I also figured no rodents would dare come around me while she was there. Chevy and Bullfrog stood on the floor above and looked down through the hole at us as we dug.  I chuckled to myself…men.

It wasn’t long until I noticed both Chevy and Bull Frog had disappeared from view.  I stuck my head back up through the floor and discovered that Chevy had entered into his mischief mode.  He had snuck the special soft dog treats off the kitchen counter and both dogs happily chowed down on the last of the snacks.  The same snacks rumored to give Bullfrog extensive gas – Great.  One thing was now for sure, Bullfrog would be having his own farting party before the night was over. It was too late to save the treats, so Princess and I went back to work digging for the secret box.

We dug about two feet down when I was alarmed by the sound of gravel spewing from under tires outside.  It must have already gotten dark out, because I saw vehicle lights through the cracks in mobile home’s underpinning. I wasn’t expecting anyone, and my phone was still in the kitchen. 

Two people got out of a car and ran straight for Ben’s front door.  Instinctively, I grabbed the trapdoor and pulled it back down over me and Princess. 

It was pitch dark under the mobile home with the hatch closed and no light coming from above.  I held Princess tight, petting her to keep her quiet.  It was vital that no one knew we were under the house. Things had turned from being weird and crossed into dangerous.

I could only assume that the dog bed fell back in place, hiding the secret hole.  As an added bonus, Bullfrog jumped back on his bed and growled to protect his prized possession. 

There were two loud crashes at the door, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps as they entered the home.  My heart raced as I heard them travel from room to room.  I heard Chevy’s paws hit the floor as he ran to the door, but his barking stopped.  I was glad Princess was hidden under the mobile home with me.

“Where is she?”  The voice was familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“This is going too far.” I immediately recognized Rocky’s voice. 

“You are in it up to your neck, so get your head in the game.” The voice was threatening.

“She hasn’t done anything wrong.” Rocky was almost pleading.

“She either has the treasure or knows where it is.  I saw a loser private detective slip her a package at the festival.” I realized the voice belonged to the announcer from the dog parade. “We have worked too hard to just let some broad get rich.”

“We wouldn’t be in a pinch if you hadn’t hired those idiots to dig up the place.” Rocky said.

My heart hurt in more ways than one, as it became apparent that Rocky was not who he portrayed himself to be.  As I huddled in the dirt, I remembered that Princess’ hackles rose when Rocky came around the first day I met her.  I guessed she knew it all along.

The room was momentarily silent.

“AAAAGGGGGHHHHH, what is THAT??”  The stranger yelled, followed by gagging.

Rocky snapped back, “Knock it off, you’re gonna make me puke!”

Bullfrog’s gas bombs must have kicked in from all the soft dog treats. 

Right on time.

“Get me outta here, this place stinks like rotten eggs!” The strange man was still heaving as they ran out the door and drove down the drive.

Heart still beating fast, I hugged little Princess with relief and said, “Bullfrog does know how to clear a room, doesn’t he?”

I pushed up on the hatch door to get back inside, but it wouldn’t budge.  Bullfrog was lying in his bed and had no desire what-so-ever to move.  I called out to him with no luck, and pushed again with all my might but couldn’t get any traction with the cramped space.  Besides, the old dog was heavy.  As true to his habits, he was set in his bed for the night, and probably would be farting dog treats for several more hours.

The next time Bullfrog would have any incentive to get up would be his morning potty break.  I didn’t want to break out the sides of the underpinning because I didn’t know if there were still intruders outside. 

I sighed, looking around in the dark.  That only left one available option. Princess and I hunkered down and spent the night trying to sleep on the cold dirt with one eye open.

The sound of two dogs barking woke me with a start.  I realized that Chevy and Bullfrog were at the front door, above us, ready for their morning potty break. My body was chilled and clothes were filthy from sleeping on the dirt all night.  At least Princess provided some warmth as we curled up together in the pit.

With Bullfrog out of his bed, I was able to lift the trap door up with ease.  As I climbed through the secret door, I was smacked in the face by the horrendous smell of Bullfrog’s solo farting party last night.  Since Princess and I both were covered in a dirty stench all our own, it was a real stink-fest. 

After checking to see if the area was clear, the dogs went out in the yard and did their business quickly while I stood watch and figured out my next move.  I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and hurried them back in the house.

“Sorry guys, come on, everybody back in quick.”  I gave all three dogs a cookie to make up for the lack of morning play time outside.

As they enjoyed their treats, I pulled out the paper bag from the refrigerator and took out the mysterious package.  I carefully cut the duct tape with my knife.  Inside, there were photos of Rocky going in and out of a pawn shop with a very skinny man.  There were a couple of photos of the private eye holding Princess’ dog collar inside the shop.  There were surveillance notes, a newspaper clipping and more photos showing Rocky’s whereabouts over the last two weeks.

I looked closely at the newspaper article from two years before. It showed a picture of the new Mayor, celebrating his election with extended family members.  I recognized the man as the announcer at the dog parade.  One very familiar face in the family picture was circled. It was Rocky. 

Wearily, I looked out the windows again to make sure it was all clear.  This time, I noticed a brief flash in the woods.  Something had reflected the light from the morning sun.  It was there and gone, but I definitely saw it.  Something or someone was watching us from the trees.

=+=+=+

I did not know how much time I had.  I decided that I couldn’t call the local police, since I didn’t know who the Mayor had in his pocket.  I called Deputy Don and it went straight to voicemail.  I left him a message that would be sure to get his attention.

“Get the authorities out here.  Be careful who you call, the Mayor is involved.”

I jumped back down through the floorboards into the hole we dug the night before and frantically continued our mission. After removing eight more shovelfuls of dirt, I hit something.  I tapped it with the end of the small shovel and it clanked.  It was metal.  My adrenaline rose so high I didn’t even feel my hands bleeding. 

The metal box was a lot heavier than expected, as I pulled it out of the hole.  It was a struggle, but I lifted it out of the cramped space, up through the hole and onto the floor of the mobile home, where it landed with a thud.

I cracked the back door open and saw two guys standing next to an old beat up truck at the far end of the driveway.  My stomach knotted and my body tingled with stress as I fought the feelings of fear.  I had to get myself and the dogs to safety, preferably with this heavy box in tow.

I grabbed the empty paper grocery bag from the table and quickly dumped enough dog food in it to fill it about half way. Then I rolled the top of the bag over and re-used some of the duct tape to seal it as best I could. This fake bag of treasure would keep them focused on me and not the dogs.  I took a deep breath, then told the dogs to ‘stay’ as I stepped out on the porch. 

The two men headed my way too fast for a casual walk, then they broke into a trot.  This was menacing, so I started to jog toward the hill lugging the fake treasure bag of dog food along.   As I looked over my shoulder, they broke into a full blown run and so did I.  I focused on making it to the wasp mound.

They gained on me as I struggled to run with the extra weight and bulkiness of the dog food in the bag.  By the time I made it within ten feet from the wasp nests, they were within shouting distance.

I turned to the men as they approached and yelled, “Just take it and leave us alone!”

With that, I lifted my arms over my head and threw the bag with all my strength.  It went up in the air and landed right in the middle of the hidden wasp mound.

The wasps didn’t take too kindly to that and converged on the men as they ran over and stood over their ‘treasure’.  The wasps took no pity on the invaders and attacked as only wasps know how to do.  I was sure the thieves got stung over thirty times.  They yelled and screamed in pain, trying to swat the wasps off of each other. 

As I turned to run, I screamed out, “You better get to the hospital for treatment or you can die of allergic reaction.”

I didn’t know if that was one hundred percent true, but at the time I didn’t care. 

They grabbed the package and ran down the driveway, still swatting off wasps. As I ran toward the house, the men reached the truck, threw the fake treasure inside and sped out of the driveway in reverse, kicking up dust.

I ran inside, grabbed the real treasure box and put it on the passenger seat floor of my truck.  I got all three dogs loaded up and took off.  As I drove in the opposite direction as the thieves, I called Don and gave him a description of the guys and their truck.  I didn’t mention anything about the buried treasure.

Once I had driven at least twenty miles and was sure no one was behind me, I pulled over to the side of the road and looked closely at the old metal box for the first time.