Hell-o Sweet Friends … since I wasn't smart enough to figure out how to make my short story "Douglas Danner" C.I. (canine investigator) into a link I'm going to have to put the whole story on my blog … rats. Ha. I hope you'll take a few moments and give it a read. I would love to know your thoughts. As always, Hugs xoxoxo
Douglas
Danner C.I. (Canine
Investigator)
By
Cindy Riley
Garrett enjoyed the walk from the edge of his property
where he parked his 97’ pick-up truck. (Always have a clear get-away) he
chuckled to himself as he walked the ¼ mile path to his cabin carrying a few
groceries.
Garrett turned towards a clearing as he headed for
home. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he saw his golden retriever
“Douglas” sitting behind the water tank. Douglas was quietly waiting for him.
Garrett stashed his bag of groceries behind some
bushes & crouched behind a few smaller fruit trees. Douglas didn’t move a
muscle waiting for his command.
They’d been together for over seven years. Garrett rescued him as a pup from drug
dealers during a meth raid. They had
kept him in a glass gallon jar with a few air holes poked in the lid.
When they raided the house & Garrett saw him … the
puppy stood up against the glass and began wagging his tail and letting out
some short-excited yips. His fur
standing out like it was electrified and his sleek snout.
“Uh-oh … love at first sight,” Randy Folks his partner
joked.
He was finally named Douglas and followed Garrett
everywhere. His toenails clicking all
day long on the Agencies highly polished floors. Bringing smiles to all his co-workers.
As he grew older he became quite the stealth
walker. Silently showing up at someone’s
desk just when they were going to unwrap a sandwich.
Despite his floppy ears he had a serious expression
& was so intuitive concerning people that he became a genuine asset to the
team.
Riley – Page 2
From his vantage point Garrett could see two Black
SUV’s backed and parked on the other side of his garage. Evidently, they were expecting him to drive
up his front driveway.
Douglas turned to watch the action at the cabin then
back at Garrett. His ears perked up when
one of the men approached his dog house.
Garrett motioned him to come to him and when Douglas
stooped to pick up something before joining him, he had to chuckle in spite of
their predicament … Douglas had rescued his floppy doll “Violet” (so named for
her purple dress & embroidered name on the dress) from the cabin.
Pulling Doug close, Garrett began back tracking
towards his truck.
Garrett smiled when Doug glanced over to the bushes
where he had hidden the groceries.
Grabbing the sack of groceries Garrett prodded, “Come
on Eagle Nose.”
They stopped by a small group of rocks so Garrett
could dig up a metal suitcase.
“Grab a shovel and help, will you Doug?”
Douglas gave him a patient look and hopped into the
back of the truck next to the groceries.
Garrett swung the suitcase up into the back of the
truck just as a huge explosion shook the ground.
Douglas let out an involuntary bark as Garrett yelled
out, “What the Hell!”
Riley – Page 3
“Come on boy … up front with me!”
Douglas was quick on command.
On the way back to town so many thoughts were racing
through Garrett’s mind. Garrett was
heading to his Safe House … something he learned early in his career … not even
his sister knew. His parents had both passed away but, he thought maybe his mom
had figured it out.
Thinking back to the problem at hand he pulled into
the driveway of a small cottage. All his important assets were stored there in
a large safe. This house was gifted to
him by a very savvy and old family friend.
Putting on a pot of coffee, Garrett checked on
Douglas’s water and food dish. Douglas was fast asleep by his dishes with
Violet sitting in his food bowl.
Taking his mug of coffee to the kitchen table, Garrett
began writing down his thoughts:
There were 3 men & 1 woman going in and out of his
cabin … carrying files, his computer and all of his cameras.
“Too bad for you that you won’t find the originals
there,” Garrett joked out loud.\
He had looked for some kind of Logo but, decided not
to waste too much time racking his brain as to why this was happening.
Instead he would head to the CDS.
He’d been retired for 3 years from the CDS (Crime
Detection Squad).
Riley Page-4
Retiring young at age 51, Garrett had spent 30 years
serving his country having been recruited while in college.
He’d been determined to reconnect with his family
after retiring … his Sister Shelley & her husband Gary and their 3 grown
kids.
He started a new career, he was a travel food writer
with Douglas, “Traveling with Man’s Best Friend.”
Garrett had stayed in contact with the guys from CDS
and couldn’t resist showing up from time to time when they needed a consultant.
When it came to detangling a puzzle … he & Douglas are the best.
Before heading down to the CDS he put together a
sandwich and filled Douglas’s bowl carefully putting Violet off to the side.
Douglas was silent on their ride to the agency while
his ears were twitching out some kind of top-secret code.
His old team were relieved that they were unhurt in
the explosion. They were meeting behind
closed doors in his old boss’s conference room. Douglas followed them into the
room carrying a magazine in his mouth.
Randy his old partner took it from Douglas and teased,
“Hey, you two made the front cover.”
“Yeah, on our last trip to New York we were eating
outside so I set up the tri-pod to take a series of 15 photos while we ate.”
“Douglas is the obvious photogenic one … Hey! Wait a
minute!” Randy said.
Riley – Page 5
“Look inside the restaurant at that table in the
back,” Randy continued.
They all gathered around to look. Including Douglas.
There were 3 men & 1 woman meeting inside. “Isn’t
that Rose Lee?” Dennis asked.
“She is suspected to have caused that bombing in Spain
six months ago,” Greg offered.
Garrett’s old boss was already on the phone to his boss sharing the news.
Garrett used Randy’ phone to talk with his sister and
let her know he was in hiding for now. Then, he and Douglas headed back to the
safe house.
Four days later they were asked to return to the
Agency. Even Violet went along for the
ride.
Randy shared the good news, “All four were captured
this morning.”
“They were caught trying to leave the country at a
small airport,” he added.
Garrett turned to Douglas and said, “Evidently they’re
not smarter than you Doug.”
Douglas scooped up Violet & headed down the hall.
Garrett could only imagine what he was thinking.
