The Nose Knows (30 page)

The boys stayed at home. They knew Mom needed the walk to be quiet and serene. Sometimes she needs them with us to make her laugh, but today was not one of those days. She needed to be alone with her thoughts. I had a lot of practice letting her do that. It was easy for me to walk quietly alongside her. She soon forgot I was even there.

In fact, maybe I had gotten a little too good at it. We had walked at a good pace for quite a while. The scarcity of our scent on this path told me we’d not been this far in a long time. Mom hadn’t said one word to me. I was getting a little winded and wondering what I should do. Luckily, she abruptly came out of herself and said, “Oh, Spunk, I’m so sorry. I have been walking awfully fast. Come on, old girl, let’s sit down on that log over there and take a rest.”

How about that? She’d sensed my need. Maybe all these years of work were paying off. She was better trained than I thought.

Up ahead was the perfect sitting spot. A wide log had fallen right next to a big, solid tree. The tree made the perfect back support for Mom to lean against, and the log was wide enough for me to jump onto it with ease. In just a few seconds we’d settled in for a good sit.

“Boy, Spunky, things sure have taken a strange turn. Who would’ve thought that after all these years I’d have to deal with Mr. Cartwright again. I just wish I knew what I was going to do.”

I hoisted myself up onto Mom’s lap and turned so my back was facing her. As expected, she began stroking my sides and scratching behind my ears. It soon developed into a slow, steady rhythm all its own. I could feel the tension leave her body.

Someone once said, “The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word to, and then walk away from, feeling like it was the best conversation you ever had.”

That’s how it is between Mom and me. Some of our best conversations occur when we just sit together quietly and she strokes my body. We balance each other’s energy. The peacefulness within me flows into her. A mutual calm is created. Maybe because we’ve done it so often, it’s become easy for her to enter this zone of serenity. I prefer to believe she’s aware that the zone exists and now she knows how to cross the threshold.

When she enters this zone, she can silence the voices of fear and anxiety inside her head. She’s able to hear the quieter voice of her heart. It’s in this peaceful place that we communicate at our very best. It’s in this place she often finds inspiration. Today was no different.

I felt the shift. It began to slowly build. Her energy level was increasing, and she was getting excited. Her strokes became quicker and more confident. I could feel her being restored. It was as if she was expanding. I turned and gave her a gentle lick on her nose.

“Thanks girl. As always, you’ve helped. Come on, we have work to do.”

On the way back home, her steps were quicker and lighter.

When we got home, Mom placed calls to both Dr. Hayden and Detective Finley. Tomorrow, Mom and Dr. Hayden would meet with Theodore Cartwright. Detective Finley would be standing by to make sure Mom remained safe.

After the humans had gone to bed, I met with the boys and filled them in. Since they’d not witnessed the toll on Mom eleven years ago, I didn’t expect them to understand the depths of my concern.

I was the only one who knew how much was at stake.

T
he next day, Mom loaded Fearless into his carrier. She put an empty one in the car for me. Today, I was allowed some time to partake in the pleasure of the wind blowing in my face. We headed to the jail. During the drive, Mom went over the plan. I pulled my head back in and listened intently.

When we arrived at the jail, I walked from the parking lot to the entrance before jumping into the empty carrier. It’s hard work to lug both of us, so I walked as far as I was allowed.

Once inside, we found Detective Finley waiting for us. He carried Fearless and me the rest of the way. We went down several different hallways until we got to the interrogation area. Dr. Hayden was already there waiting for us in one of the rooms. Mom and Dr. Hayden greeted each other warmly. It was easy to see why people trusted him. He was a strong-looking man with a kind and gentle presence. It was also obvious he was very protective of Mom. This boosted his ratings in our book.

They reviewed the plan. Mom leaned over and said to us, “Okay, you guys—just do the best you can. Above all else, stay safe, okay?”

Fearless meowed his agreement. I wagged mine. The humans left the room. We remained on the floor in our cages.

After about ten minutes, two police officers escorted Theodore Cartwright into the room. His hands were handcuffed in front of him. They sat him down and attached his handcuffs directly to the table. The table was bolted to the floor.

From our vantage spot across the room, we quietly watched his movements. His chin rested against his chest. He didn’t speak. He seemed listless and offered no resistance. He acted drugged. One of the officers spoke to him, but Theodore didn’t respond. After checking that the handcuffs were secured, the officers very carefully picked up our cages and placed them on the table facing Theodore. The officers left the room.

I don’t know if it was the sound of the door shutting or the complete silence that followed, but Theodore slowly raised his head. We now could see his eyes. They were vacant. The cold, dark anger that had been there the other day was gone. It was difficult to see any life reflected in his eyes.

He silently stared at our cages. Then he frowned. His eyes sluggishly shifted from Fearless to me and then back again. It looked as if he was trying to bring the world into focus. Things must have suddenly cleared up because he abruptly pulled backwards as far as his handcuffs would allow him. “Hey, what the hell are you doing here?”

He yelled for the officers, “Hey, are you crazy? Get them out of here! Hey, guys, do you hear me? Get them out of here!”

No one answered. No one came.

Fearless and I sat in our cages eyeballing the man. Both of his arms were heavily bandaged. I knew his right wrist bore my teeth marks. I didn’t want to imagine what his left arm looked like, given the damage Fearless had inflicted on it. The long scratches across his head looked raw and painful.

We stay very still, staring at him through the bars of our cages.

He yelled some more, but nothing changed. We didn’t move. No one came.

The longer we lay there, the calmer he got. Finally, he took a big breath and said, “Well, I guess you can’t do any harm if you are all locked up.”

Then he went too far. “Good thing for you that my hands are all locked up. I owe you two a whole bunch of hurt. You’re lucky they locked these handcuffs, or I’d show you a thing or two.”

I stood up in my cage. I moved my head forward. He stopped talking. Guess he wasn’t so sure of himself after all. I lay back down.

We stayed that way for quite a while. Then, one at a time, Fearless and I got up, turned around several times as if we were restless, and lay back down. We repeated this numerous times.

Finally we began to make some headway. He started talking to us. “Hey, you two don’t seem so bad. Must be hard being in those tiny cages for so long. I sure know about that. It can make you crazy. I’d rather be dead than to do another stint in jail.”

He lowered his voice to a very soft whisper. “And just between us, if that’s my only way out of this, that’s exactly what I’m going to be—dead.”

It was time for me to make my move. Fearless and I had previously decided that I’d move first. This was so Fearless could see for himself if those handcuffs were going to do their job. Theodore was about to learn that the doors to our cages . . . were not locked.

Staring right at him, I nudged the cage door open with my nose.

“Oh, my God, how did you open that door?”

I stepped out of my cage.

Theodore tried to no avail to pull back and stretch the metal handcuffs even further. They cut into his wrist. He winced but his range remained secure.

“Okay, doggie, that’s far enough. Nice doggie. Nice doggie.”

His tone held only fear.

Then Fearless made his move and stepped out of his cage. That really upset the man. “Oh, no you don’t. Shoo. Shoo. Go away, kitty. Scat!”

He made all kinds of noises in an attempt to scare off Fearless. He failed. He yelled for help. No one came.

Then we both sat down on our rumps. We were about two feet away from him, yet safely beyond his restricted reach. Slowly we both lay down. We rested our heads on our paws. Nothing moved, except for the incessant swishing of Fearless’s tail. Fearless’s breathing was surprisingly calm. But then Theodore wasn’t wearing boots, and Fearless knew we’d already whopped the man once. We just lay there and watched him.

There’s a strange effect on a man when he can do nothing but stare into the eyes of two critters. The room was empty. There were no distractions. It took another five minutes before he began to relax. We still didn’t move. After another ten minutes, his energy level had been reduced to one of mild anxiety. Theodore repeatedly tried to look elsewhere, but invariably his eyes came back to meet ours. Then, a hint of a smile crept across his lips. He was beginning to connect.

Bingo! We now got the desired effect. He began to talk to us. “Hey, you guys seem okay. In fact, you’re pretty darn cute. Why
did
they put you in here? Were they trying to scare me? Well, just between us, it worked! I never knew how bad cat claws could hurt. I sure don’t want to argue with you two again. So, tell me, why did they put you in here?”

My whiskers twitched. It happens every time. Leave us alone and the human will forget someone might be listening. Before you know it, he’s asking questions and waiting for us to give him the answers.

Of course, we knew exactly why they’d left us alone in the room with him. Mom figured if she had walked into the room, even with Dr. Hayden, it was a good bet Theodore would withdraw or become angry and defensive. Given his mental issues, he might think she was trying to outsmart or manipulate him.

However, it was unlikely he’d suspect a dog and cat had been sent to outsmart him. Yet, that’s exactly what we were doing.

As anticipated, at first he was scared of us. That changed when he thought we were harmless because our cages were locked. That led him to verbalize his fear of being locked up again. Then he went on to tell us exactly what he intended to do if he had to serve another jail term. He had completely forgotten a human might be listening.

We knew we were gaining on him. We had the advantage. We are excellent lie detectors. Heart rate and breathing increase plus humans’ eyes shift when they tell a lie. Theodore’s body told us he was speaking the truth. I think he was actually starting to like us.

I decided it was time to make the next move. I stretched my right paw toward his handcuffed hand. He jumped. I couldn’t blame him for that reaction. However, it was just a momentary response. He sat for a second looking at both of us and then he slowly uncurled his finger and reached out toward my paw. I stretched my paw even more. I touched his finger. He smiled. I could feel the warmth increase in his finger. I didn’t have to touch his body to know the warmth was spreading. It’s a spontaneous reaction when you feel something good.

As planned, Fearless stretched out his paw; Theodore reciprocated. He extended a finger on his other hand.

Mission accomplished!

Previous enemies were now holding hands—a dog, a cat and a suspected criminal.

By the time Dr. Hayden entered the room, we’d progressed to lying alongside Theodore’s arms. He was stroking our heads with his fingers. When he looked up and saw Dr. Hayden, he didn’t jerk away or act embarrassed. In fact, his chest swelled as he said, “Looky here, Doc. I got myself two new friends.”

“You sure do. Aren’t they the same critters that attacked you the other day?” Dr. Hayden asked as he lowered himself slowly into the chair across from Theodore.

Theodore smiled. “Yup, that’s exactly who they are. But hey, they were just protecting Dr. Richards. I can’t blame them for that. Doesn’t mean they’re bad. They were defending somebody they loved.”

The next voice was sweet and very gentle. “And it doesn’t mean that you’re a bad person, Theodore, for trying to avenge the wrong done to your father.” He hadn’t heard when Mom opened the door and entered the room. But he heard her now. His head snapped up. His body tensed. A flash of anger crossed his eyes. Fearless intensified his purring and leaned heavily onto his arm. I administered licks to his hand and nudged him with my nose.

He looked down at my face. My eyes said it all. “Come on, man. Give her the same chance we gave you.”

Our energy level stayed calm. Mom didn’t move any closer. She stayed silently by the door.

Dr. Hayden spoke gently. “Theodore, I know Dr. Richards very well. She wants to tell you something. I think you should hear what she has to say. She’s here to help you. Listen to her, Theodore.”

I again nudged his hand and gave it a lick. Fearless patted his arm several times with his paw.

“Okay,” he said, “I’m listening. What do you want to say, Dr, Richards?”