The Kidnapping

It smelt wrong. The air flowed over her body, ruffling the curly hair on her tail. She looked over at the bed. Maizie slept soundly, mumbling softly with her arm around Pippy the doll. The yard erupted as Bert began barking. She wished she could see out of the window but it was too high. Bert hit the chain link hard, growling. She could hear the approaching foot falls. They were headed toward the back of the house. Suzette planted herself between the window and Maizie’s bed. Sue was a medium sized dog, half poodle and half basset hound. She thought of this child as her own. This was her territory, and that smell didn’t belong.

The small man walked quickly around the bushes bordering the house. He had been here before. The little girl had caught his eye while playing in the park down the street from the supermarket where he worked. She was so beautiful, blond curly hair with eyes so blue you could get lost in them. He had to remind himself to think of the task at hand. This was the fourth night he had stalked the house. This was the night. Jeffrey, he told himself, you have to be quick about this, just break the window of the little girl’s room, open the window, put the cloth over her mouth and carry her to her new home. They would be together forever. He would love her and raise her just like she had been in his family.

Suzette could hear the man creeping around in the bushes. She saw his hand reach into the window through the screen and force the window up. She began barking which quickly turned into a harsh howl. The man stepped through the window. She bit down on the only part she could reach, his calf muscle. He moaned and kicked, throwing her into the wall. She felt a pain in her side and then it went black.

The small girl slept like an angel, that dam dog hadn’t even awakened her. He wrapped up his precious bundle in the bedding, being sure to place the chemical-soaked rag close to her nose and carried her through the window. He ran past the large kennel in the back yard. A huge dog barked and hit the fencing so hard he was grateful that the family had so carefully locked up that beast. Jeffrey was happy. He carefully strapped the child into the car seat that he had purchased the day before and drove off at a safe speed.

Kim had a very hard day at work. Her boss had given her an extra shift just because she had to stay home last week when Maizie was sick. That rat was only 19 what did he know about children. She climbed into the bathtub half sleeping in the warm water.

Suzette awoke with a start. She cried out in pain, her rib was broken. Then the smell hit her, the man had been in the room. It stunk of evil. He was a predator and Maizie’s scent was fading. He had her. She was gone. A huge howl rang from her throat. Maisie’s mom Kim pushed open the door. She looked at Suzette and then at Maize’s bed and finally at the window. She screamed so loud the dogs' howls were drowned out.

Bert had seen the man put Maisie in the car. He heard Suzette’s howls. He was no genius, but he knew something was wrong. He was locked in his kennel and couldn’t do anything. He paced back and forth, working himself into a frenzy. The sirens brought a new element to his confusion.

When the police arrived, the front door was left wide open which was all Suzette needed. She bolted out the door and headed straight to Bert’s kennel. Bert was kind of tall at the shoulder and low at the wit, but he was the muscle she needed. She pulled and pawed on the release latch until it gave way. The massive ridgeback leapt through the door. One moment later they were running down the street, past the police cars and all the noise, toward Maisie and the man. They streaked by a police dog locked in the back seat of its car. Maisie howled and Bert barked a pursuit code known long before humans roamed the Earth.

The scent was strong and close. They ran for three blocks. Maisie’s short legs hurt, and her rib was rubbing badly on her chest. Bert was hardly winded. She had to growl a warning, so he didn’t rush up too fast. They waited until they could hear the man laying Maisie down. He made a big production of tucking her in and locking the door.

“Mrs. Kim Gentry, is it?” The police man inquired.

“I am officer, William Russell. Tell me what you found when you went into your child’s room?”

“She’s gone. I was in the bathtub, and I heard the dogs howl. Suzette never growled like that before. It scared me and I came right out to see what, what was wrong. Maisie was gone and the window was open.”

“Where are the dogs? I don’t see them.”

“They must have run off when all the police arrived.”

“Show me the child’s room.” They walked the few steps to the room. The minute officer Russell entered the room he knew it was a kidnapping. He could smell the chloroform and could see how the window had been forced. He also saw two pools of blood, one by the window and another by the baseboard on the opposite wall. “You said the dog sleeps in your child’s room?”

“Yes, Maisie can’t sleep unless Suzette’s in the room.”

“Well, I think Suzette took a bite out of our assailant.”

“Let’s sit in the living room while the forensic people do their work.”

She asked the officer, “Do you think the kidnapper will call? I don’t have a lot of money, but I’ll get it somewhere.” She cried into her hands.

Officer Russell knew this wasn’t a kidnapping for ransom. This house wasn’t the kind of place that looked like money. He said nothing and tried to think of any perverts in the area. The missing dogs bothered him. He excused himself and left a junior officer with the mother.

He went back to his car to ask the dispatcher for a list of felons in the area when he noticed the police dog, Charlie in the car behind his, jumping up and down in the backseat. Police dogs don’t do that, they are trained not to do that. He went to the back door of the squad car and opened it thinking may be the dog had to go. The minute the door was open the dog took off, running down the street. He yelled for help but no one came. He ran after the police dog knowing how expensive it would be if it was lost. Three blocks later he stood in front of a small, average looking house with three dogs barking on the porch. The police dog scratched on the door. The other two launched at the door with a vengeance. The large one cracked the screen door and was hitting the main door hard. The smaller dog limped over to him and fell at his feet, some blood matted its side, and it began to howl.

Officer Russell said, “Suzette?” He reached down to check out the small dog. He called back the police dog which came and sat by his feet. He went to the door and called, “This is the police, open the door.” He was going to force the door when the large dog stopped hitting the door and ran toward the back of the house. He followed the big dog that was being followed by the police dog. Before he turned the corner of the house, he heard a scream. A small man lay on his back trying to keep both dogs from ripping his throat out.

He let the dogs bite the man. He took out his gun. Pointing the gun directly at the man’s face he asked, “Where is the little girl?”

“Please get the dogs off me, she’s in the house. She’s safe. I love her.”

He called back the police dog. But Bert wouldn’t stop. The noise must have awakened the child because Bert looked up and bolted for the window. A small tousled haired little girl stood at the window. The big dog reached up with both paws touching the glass panes. He was joined by the littler dog.

After the child was returned to her mother and Officer Russell returned to the station he finally thought about the strange case. It’s always great to solve an important crime and have a family reunited but this sure was a weird one, he thought. He was settling in preparing to write his report when the canine officer from the kidnapping walked by his desk.

“Hey Russell, my dog Charlie and I were wondering if you figured out, who gets the collar?”