Geek to Farm

Geek Farm

Author’s note. This is my first story written for the American reader. It is rather long and covers a wide swathe of life to tell the hero’s tale. Please note, this is not an educational document so accept the pieces of info that is not absolutely in line with the latest computer lingo or does not conform to modern farming practices. It is not an educational piece of written porn either. Readers have to be over the age of 18 and I assume they know what happens when people are in love and end up by themselves.

Chapter 1

I was drumming on the tank of the bike while waiting for the traffic light to go green. Anger still made made me grind my teeth and while wishing for the light to change I also wanted it to just stay red and force me to sit there. At least I would be halfway between two parts of life I wanted no part of just then. One, my neighbor with his almost maniacal dislikes for me and dogs (mine specifically) and, two, the showdown threatening at work.

Why my dogs chose to jump the picket fence the previous night and chew his newly acquired set of garden chairs into almost infinitesimal pieces of useless plastic, only they will know. I am sure they were aware of the almost aggressive dislike we have for each other and maybe they had reasoned that they could add their quarter’s value to the developing confrontation between us or maybe they just felt like upping the ante a little. Needless to say, after a night of almost no sleep sitting in front of a computer screen, hammering away at the keyboard to create some logic from an endless jumble of seemingly haphazard code, was not conducive to good neighborliness from my side. Being awakened at just after five in the morning by a thunderous hammering on the front door, accompanied by the screeching voice of said neighboring individual was enough to plunge me into a dark and murderous mood.

It had taken every ounce of self control I possess to prevent myself from ramming my fist down his throat when I opened the door while he was still madly hammering the little gnome’s head knocker with enough force to make the door jamb rattle. My eyes smarted. My body ached. My brain was fuzzy.

“What on ear…” I started to ask only to be screamed into stupefied silence.

“Your fucking dogs destroyed my garden set! I have asked you before and I do so again! Get to hell out of here! You are an irritating, disease carrying piece of fermented bat shit that should be kept in safe custody! And your mangy curs as well!”

I had gawked at him. Still trying to kick start my brain and at the same time trying to understand the reason behind this new attack of rabid anger. And before I could even wake my brain he had turned, kicked my own garden table with enough force to crack the top and topple over. He stomped out of my yard, muttering and gesticulating like a constipated druid with hemorrhoids.

Of course, the two reasons for this upheaval sat at the side of the porch with shining innocence on their woolly faces.

I had turned to them. “And?”

All I got was a desperate tail wag from Grody. Being the elder I expected him to prevent Justin from getting into mischief but mostly this seemed to be wishful thinking. Justin just sat there with his lips pulled back into a pathetic imitation of a grin.

“Happy?” I scolded and Grody flung himself at my feet while Justin took a quick run around the small patch of grass in the front of the house before jumping up and trying to lick my face.

“Down!” I yelled and both flattened themselves on the paving.

A piece of green plastic just off the side of the lawn drew my attention and I walked over to it. Justin took one look at the direction I was taking and bolted around the corner of the house. Grody flattened his ears and turned his head away from me. He had that expression of seeing nothing but looking out the limits of his peripheral vision much the same way an old man would look at a feisty young girl while his wife is looking at him.

It was a flat piece of plastic with some serious white rimmed dents in it, obviously caused by canine teeth. I picked it up and turned around to demand an explanation from the two dogs just as the remnants of a table leg came crashing down next to me. I jumped. As much from fright as the desire to get away from another missile that might have been thrown.

Discretion. Allow time to cool jangled nerves and bristling anger. I ducked into my house and listened to a number of objects hitting the roof and others falling in haphazard fashion around my yard.

After a hot shower with a collection of Nazareth’s ballads making the house rumble I grabbed a hot coffee and after putting myself around it, I set off to work. Traffic was terrible and with the bad start to the day to add to my mood I was in a foul frame of mind by the time I had to pull up at an intersection because of an out of sync traffic light.

From the corner of my eye something pulled at my attention. It was that type of sense that kicks in when you are being stared at. Intangible but just kind of ‘there’. I glanced around and was met by two dark honey colored hazel eyes perched above a smile directed at me, framed by wavy dark brown hair. That was about what I could see before the blasted light went green and the traffic moved.

My lane of traffic was slow to move and I absently watched the little Ford move from sight, carrying the honey-hazel eyes away. Despite my dark mood I felt myself smile. I smirked and then for reasons unknown I burst out laughing. The band that held the anger in gave way and I guffawed into the helmet like a damn fool. Half a mile up the road my laughter subsided and a happy mood, full of joy settled over me. I shook my head at the folly of my anger of minutes ago and I looked around in an effort to find the hazel eyes but the little Ford had disappeared. I had an odd feeling of loss and strangely felt an urge to find her, just to see her again. Maybe just thank her for the ‘pick me up’.

My elation lost its buoyancy when I walked into the office. Henry, my departmental head, was waiting in my office and he had the damn audacity to glance at his watch as I entered. My being almost half an hour early must have stuck in his craw like a porcupine swallowed the wrong way round.

“You finished?” he asked and malice made his eyes squint.

“No,” I answered levelly and nodded. “Good morning.”

“Fuck you and your sarcasm!” he hissed.

I just shrugged and dropped my laptop on the table. While I waited for it to boot up I idly paged through some documents while he sat and breathed though his cathartic nose. I wanted to sit down but I knew he was waiting for that minute indication that I deemed him unworthy of my respect. I did of course, and he knew it but to blatantly show it would be even more damaging to my career than the day I accidentally mentioned to the directors that I had done a specific piece of research, blissfully unaware of the fact that he had already taken credit for it. I have no idea what was said after I had left the room but ever since he was on the war path with me. I knew he wanted to fire me but two things prevented him from doing it. I was the top qualified programmer in my field and he needed me. Secondly he needed a good excuse which I would have loved to give to him but right now I had some serious financial challenges and until they were sorted, I needed this job.

“When are you going to finish?”

I blew through pursed lips. “Henry, I told you weeks ago. The original coding is hogwash. The company has already paid for and accepted it. Just debugging it is going to take weeks. I shudder to think how long before it actually works.” I shrugged again and felt a strange joy. “I promised you my best effort. If that is not good enough you are welcome to find another programmer. I will happily move departments or even find alternative employment.”

His breath caught and his cheeks flushed as he leaned forward. “Do you think you are irreplaceable?”

“Not at all,” I said with a smile. “Both of us can be replaced in a matter of days!” I felt the hair in my neck rising and a feeling of being ready settled over me. I was suddenly enjoying this confrontation that I had dreaded, much like a boxer getting his second wind and I looked at him levelly. “You screwed the contract and now you need me to keep you in your job. I cannot work with you breathing down my neck and let me tell you something. I am not doing it for you. This company needs to go forward and I need it to do so because I am planning a career in this discipline. Get out of my office and go think of a plausible excuse to give to the directors.”

He fumed. “How dare you? I will have you fired!”

I walked to my office door and opened it while I bowed. “Please do so. Now get out of my office!”

He was pale with fury as he walked past me and I casually noticed some startled faces in the cubicle offices. Somewhere in the back of my mind was a realization that I may have raised my voice a little too high.

I sat down and scanned some coding sequences I had done last night, just to refresh and kick start my brain. A while later a soft creak of my door opening made me look up.

“Hi Jenny.” I smiled. “Help you?”

She pokerfaced. “I need any file on your table.”

“What?”

She pulled the muscles in her lower jaw to feign fear. “I need to say something but the boss is watching with eyes of lava. Any excuse to be here?”

I ducked into a drawer and pulled out a file about a finished product. “Here you go. There is something of interest in the process they followed to make the old and new programs chat to one another. Just in case someone asks. It is somewhere near the end.”

Jenny took the file and I saw the slight tremble of her hand. “That was awesome!” she said monotone while acting as if she was paging through the file. “He hates your guts and now he will be on the prowl to find an excuse to fire you.”

I pointed to the file in her hand to play out the act of conversation. “He has that already but this job on my computer needs to be finished. I, and I alone can do that. If it does not go on line in two weeks he will be looking for a job, not me. See you for coffee at ten.”

She nodded and left. I glanced up and saw Henry watching her walk to her cubicle. Once again my hackles came up and I sat there thinking that if he went to her now I will follow him. I was tired of his bullying attitude. With one eye on him and the other on my screen I started working again in earnest.

A soft cough at my door made me look up. “You mentioned coffee?”

Startled I looked down at my watch and she chuckled.

“Hard work makes time fly,” she said softly and gestured at the file in her hand. “I have made a study of it. We can chat about it at any time. At least it will confuse the issue.”

“Go make the coffee. I’ll be there in a minute.”

I finished a few lines and after making sure that I will remember what I was on about, I got up and went to the tea room where Jenny sat with her coffee clasped between her hands. She tilted her head towards my own cup parked at the edge of the little table next to her.

“Making progress?” she asked with a coy smile I knew well. It made her beautiful face come alive with an almost heated sensuality. Softly I promised myself that one day I was going to kiss that beautiful mouth until my lips were a mass of gangrene. Married to a wonderful guy or not.

I just shrugged. “I will finish it but quite honestly I am concerned that it may be a little late. It is a terrible product and the company can really do without the bad rap it will get if it is late. It seems to have been put together by students! Every now and then I come across lines of the craziest code!”

She gulped a mouthful. “If it is late. What will be the consequences?”

I just shrugged. “The immediate thing will most probably be a disgruntled client. At best it would cause embarrassment. At worst they can take legal action and we may have to do the entire thing for free or even pay for some other company to do it properly. Whatever the outcome, it will be bad for us. I don’t even want to think of the bad publicity.”

She nodded slowly. “We could lose some other big contracts because of this?”

My left eyebrow shot up. “God forbid.”

“But possible?”

I grinned. “The Gauls were afraid of the sky falling on their heads. Centuries later we call them French and the sky is still safely up there.”

“So you doubt it?”

I looked into my mug and squinted. “There have been some awful cloudbursts.”

With her typical daintiness she bit off a minuscule piece of the cracker she held between her fingers while staring out the window with her head tilted slightly. It never ceased to amaze me that she could be such a perfect lady. Impeccable manners. Perfect poise. Cool, calm and collected. Intelligent and with an inherent respect for everybody. And to top it all she was beautiful. Breathtakingly so. Her rather large eyes sloping upwards to the outside with the glittering green irises perched next to a surprisingly prominent nose above a full mouth curved into an almost perpetual smile. All of this framed by a head of heavy, dark chestnut colored hair with just the right amount of waves to give it shape.

And yet I knew. She had grown up on the wrong side of the tracks. Her mother an alcoholic prostitute and her father long gone by the time she went to primary school. And yet… She always spoke well of her mother. No backlash at bad teachers. No blame at anyone for her childhood. Just a happy girl.

Plonking the mug down I rose and gently touched her arm. “Thanks for the coffee. I have to get back to my office and save the world.”

Her happy smile followed me and drifted in front of me for the rest of the day. I got into a groove and things just fell into place. At some stage I absently noticed that it was quiet but only realized that it was late when my stomach came up to see if I had been beheaded. I glanced at my watch and returned to my keyboard and was typing away when an awful thought rammed itself into my conscious. The dogs! Casper who normally would take mercy on the dogs if I did not show up was visiting his ailing dad up state and that would leave two very hungry and frustrated dogs to bark out their worry.

I was halfway to the door when I turned around for my laptop. With it clamped under my arm I ran to the front door. The night guard was there to open for me but it was as if he had lead in his feet. I wanted to yell at him to hurry up but realized that he was actually walking quite fast. I ran to the bike, dropped the laptop into the panniers and mercilessly gunned the willing engine the moment it started. At one time I thought I was crazy to be in such a huge hurry now. It was long past ten and any damage that could have been done must have been done by now. Nevertheless I kept to racing speed through town and almost skidded into my driveway.

Chapter 2

When Grody came romping around the corner of the house and jumped up at me I laughed with joy. I ruffled his hair and rubbed his rib cage while waiting for Justin to come around the corner as well. When it did not happen I asked Grody; “Where’s Justin?”

He barked and then whined in something almost like a growl before jumping up at me again and only then did I notice the strength with which he clung to me. I did not need a degree to understand that something was very wrong. I ran around the house to see if Justin was there but Grody kept barking and running towards the back towards the neighbor. A terrible dread fell over me and I ran around the house. In something like two bounds I was on my neighbor’s front porch and hammering away at his door. At first nothing happened but eventually, after I had been knocking long and hard enough for other neighbors to switch on lights in their house, I heard him unlocking.

As soon as that door opened I stepped forward. “Do you know where Justin is?” I asked and noted that I was breathless. This in itself should have warned me to remain calm but I was mad with worry and for good reason. This ‘thing’ in front of me had been tormenting me and my dogs ever since we had moved in here more than four years ago. Threats of harm had been a regular occurrence and right then I was sure he had made good on his promises.

A malicious grin was plastered on his face and he almost laughed when he hissed; “Find the mongrel yourself!” He pushed at the door to close it and years of pent up anger slipped in my head. I momentarily pulled hard on the door to put him off balance and then shoved with all the power I had. There was just enough time for him to contort his face in fear and then shock as the door first hit his chest and then half of his face. His nose bounced to the outside and his left eye moved in its socket to look to the inside before his head snapped backward.

I watched his eyes lose focus and he fell backward. As he hit the floor I moved over him and lifted him by the scruff of his shirt.

“Where is my dog?” I growled. Somewhere a faint voice tried to warn me to slow down, take it easy but I was over the top. Not even the Devil himself would have stopped me then.

He glared at me and then did the most unexpected thing. He spat in my face!

I snapped. Whining with fury I lifted my fist to above my shoulder and brought it down to his face. The shock of contact travelled up my arm and I felt my shoulder shudder. His head snapped away from my hand and he went limp. I slowly let him fall to the floor and stood over him. My breathing was haggard and my hand felt a lame pain.

I called but only heard Grody’s panted whine. I had no idea what to do. Justin was missing. The only person who may have an idea of where he was, was sprawled on the floor with a trickle of blood running from his left nostril, showing no sign of waking up soon.

I sat down in a chair. Rummaging through the house would lead to another felony and I did not need that. All I could do was to wait for the ‘thing’ to wake up.

After a few more minutes he stirred, slowly shook his head and tried to sit up. I gently supported him by his shoulders and got him into a sitting position. He looked around stupidly and then his gaze fell upon me. It took seconds for realization to dawn on him and I saw shock, anger and fear dart across his complexion. He slowly wiped his hand across his mouth and stared uncomprehending at the smear of blood in the palm of his hand.

I decided to strike while the iron was hot. “Where is Justin?”

He shook his head and tried to focus his eyes. “Ask the dog catcher!” he slurred and wiped at his bleeding mouth. He sat back and looked at me with venom. “I will have your balls for this!”

Fury is a strange thing. It can make you do terrible things but sometimes it has an almost weird calming effect. I softly put my hand around his throat and I felt my lips curl into a smile. “Understand this. I will go to prison, possibly for life, but you will be dead. There is no comeback. No recourse to the law. Where is Justin?”

I had to give him that. He was brave. To the point of being stupid.

“Ask the dog catcher!” he guffawed and I slapped him. Hard. His eyes clouded over and for long seconds he looked at me with an empty expression as his marbles rolled around in his head. The stinging of my palm was an indication of how that must have hurt.

“Where is Justin?” I hissed. I knew I was nearing loss of control. Waves of heat were sweeping across my forehead and in my mind’s eye I could see his head bursting open due to pressure from my hands. “Please tell me. I do not want to kill you.”

I think that got through to him. He gestured behind him and mumbled, “The garage.”

The door from the kitchen to the garage was unlocked. I would have kicked it into smithereens if it had been otherwise. Apart from his Cherokee the garage was almost bare. A few basic garden tools lying about but nothing else except a black garbage bag against the car’s back wheel.

“Oh God no!” I whispered and ran to it. I tore at it while Grody whined and ripped at the plastic with me. Inside I found Justin’s limp body. Across his head, over his left eye was a deep gash from which blood must have seeped while he was still alive. I tore at the rest of the bag to expose what remained of the dog my father had given to me a few years before he had a fatal aneurysm. My mongrel. The street smart cur from the wrong side of the breeding line. My Einstein. The one who used to have long and intelligent conversations with me by alternating growls, whines and barks. He was my super-friend!

I picked up his head and held it to my chest. I kissed the lifeless eyes and mumbled things. Grody whined and nuzzled between me and Justin’s lifeless body while licking at the bloody wound across his eye.

Time slipped. I sobbed over Justin, telling him how sorry I was for being late and not being there to save him. When I regained full consciousness a terrible rage washed over me. I sobbed as I slowly laid him down on the floor while my tears made pearls on his fur. Grody had moved to the other side of Justin’s body and was lying there with his left paw across his neck, again licking at the blood from his friend’s head.

I got up and roared. I grabbed the Cherokee by the roof rails and shook it. I wanted to kill it! Eventually exhaustion made me relent and I staggered to the door leading into the house.

Inside I found some blood on the floor and an open front door. Nothing else. I was breathing heavily as I searched from room to room. I needed to kill! Only, the house was empty.

I sat down on a couch and groped for my phone. The Policeman who answered had a deep and calm voice.

“How can I help you?” he asked after the typical formalities.

“I need someone at 53 Crescent Drive, Smears lake.”

“What is the problem sir?”

“There is going to be the most spectacular murder this county has ever seen if a Police officer is not here soon!” I said almost as a sigh and then added with force, “Please!”

“Your name sir?

“Gough,” I mumbled, “Jonathan Gough.”

“Is your life in danger Sir?” he wanted to know and I almost screamed at him.

“No!”

A few seconds of silence. “You mentioned a possible murder Sir?”

My anger flared and I almost yelled at him again but I managed to take a deep breath and while blowing it out I got my voice under control. “Please listen to me,” I pleaded. “If I find my neighbor tonight I will kill him. I do not want to go to prison but I doubt if I will be able to control my actions.”

“Did he harm you or someone?” came the calm reaction.

“He killed my dog!”

Seconds of silence followed and I thought I could hear him softly speaking to someone before he came back on line. Are you armed Sir?”

I smirked. “I have a gun but don’t carry.”

“Knife?”

I shook my head. “What is it to you?”

I could swear I heard a soft laugh. “We like to keep our officers informed on what they may expect at a scene.”

I shook my head. “Except for my neighbor, I have no intention of hurting anybody much less a Police Officer.”

Another pause before he said; “We have a patrol car in your vicinity sir. They are on their way. Are you at the address you gave us?”

“Not at the moment but I will be there in less than a minute. Can you tell the officers that I will be standing on the lawn in front of my house?”

“Will do,” came the reassuring reply and I disconnected. I called to Grody and after an interminable time he showed at the door of the kitchen with an expression of uncomprehending grief on his face.

“Let’s go boy.”I called but he only looked at me and turned back to where he had come from. I let him be and with blinding tears dripping from my cheeks onto my shirt front I stumbled outside to await the Police.

Nothing announced their arrival. Not even a blue light. The car almost coasted around the corner and trundled to where I was standing. It stopped and I could see two people inside looking around. Maybe to ascertain themselves that it was safe before they got out. The passenger door opened and a female uniformed got out.

“Mr. Gough?”

I nodded in the dark and almost laughed at my stupidity. “Yes.”

She walked around to the back of the car and stopped. In the glow of the tail lights I could see her right hand hovering close to the gun on her side and I sighed as I saw the driver’s door open.

“You can relax ma’am. I am unarmed and have no desire to harm a police officer.”

“Are you ok Sir?” the man asked as he got out of the car.

“No!” I yelled and I could see him jerk. I held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. “My fight is not with you guys. Please relax.”

“Our radio call stated that you were threatening to kill.” the lady asked. “Is that the case?”

“My neighbor killed my dog.”

I could hear them conversing in low tones and then the man approached me, stopping a few yards behind me. “Do you mind telling me where the said neighbor is?”

I clasped my head with both hands. “I do not know. He left the house while I was looking for Justin.”

“Justin?”

“My dog.”

“Will you please escort Mr. Gough inside Melanie?” he said and as she approached he faced me fully. “Officer Scholtz will be safe?”

I nodded and tried to smile but I could feel my face contort into something that must have looked like a grimace.

“The house next door is the neighbor in question?”

I shook my head. “At the back. I don’t know where he is. The house is open. You will find Grody and Justin’s body in the garage.”

“Who is Grody?”

“My other dog!” I snapped and then sighed. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to yell at you.”

He just nodded and started walking around the house towards my neighbor’s. The lady softly took me by the elbow and led me to the front door. There was gentle comfort in her touch.

Once inside I simply kept on walking to the kitchen but did not switch on the main light. Light coming from the great room illuminated it enough for me to see what I was doing without lighting up my eyes that I was certain looked like two red balls. I filled a kettle and switched it on. “Coffee or something?”

“Coffee would be great but can we wait for Mark?”

I nodded absently and kept myself occupied by placing mugs on the table. “Instant ok?”

“As long as it contains caffeine I will happily drink mud right now. Instant is absolutely fine but if you have some half and half, my heart is yours.”

My head jerked up but she was looking at me with a relaxed smile. “Just a saying Mr. Gough.”

“Johnathan,” I said with an attempt at a smile. “I will answer to John but Jono will leave you thinking I was deaf.”

“Melanie,” she introduced herself. “You loved your dog.” she said simply and I had to look at her again to measure the context. She had an almost wistful look and I saw her staring at the two dog’s water bowls placed at the door to the garage.

“My father gave him to me before he suddenly died and yeah, he was special to me.” I could feel my throat closing up and my voice became strained.

“I had a dog like that.” I heard her say softly and in the half light I thought I saw a sad expression wash over her face. I was still thinking of something to say when she snarled; “Bastard!”

Stupidly I opened my mouth. “Was that your dog’s name?”

“Are you trying to be funny?” she hissed and I felt my mouth go dry. There was some dangerous anger there.

I raised my hands in surrender. “I’m sorry.” I busied myself with the mugs again just to occupy my hands. I felt stupid and with no intelligent words to get me out of the fix I was in, I just kept quiet. One foot in my mouth was enough. I had no desire to change them or stuff the other in as well. The uncomfortable silence dragged on and I started hoping for Mark or whatever his name was, to get back.

“I’m sorry,” she said suddenly and I could hear the emotion in her voice. “It will never cease to upset me.”

“What?”

She dropped her eyes and doodled on the table top. She took a deep breath and then looked at the opposite wall. A tear slowly dislodged from between a few eyelashes and moved over her cheek. “I used to be a K9 handler. One night we were called to assist some of our guys at the scene of an armed robbery. We got there and had a fugitive holed up in a dilapidated building outside the property. With my dog at the ready two of our guys approached and ordered the fugitive to give himself up and come out. He did. And just as we relaxed he suddenly lifted a hidden gun. He shot both policeman at almost point blank range. In shock I released Jackson and he ran at the man. Jackson took three bullets but still managed to grab the fugitive’s gun hand before collapsing. In that time I had cleared my gun and fired at him. He dropped to the ground and I slowly approached him. As I passed my fallen colleagues I recognized my fiancé’s body.”

She took a shuddering breath and looked past me at something only she may have seen. “As I looked up again that piece of human garbage was trying to get up, still with a gun in his hand. I lifted my gun and fired. I took a step closer and fired again. I stood over him and kept on firing into his chest until the gun was empty.”

“Shit!” I said softly.

She nodded. “Yip.”

“Your fiancé?”

Again a wistful smile. “That bullet went through the heart I know was beating for me.”

“And I suppose you were charged with all kinds of awful things because you used excessive violence?” I crooked my fingers next to my ears to indicate quotes to soften the words.

She doodled again and nodded. “I was demoted, removed from active duty and placed behind a desk for a few years. Tonight is my second night of ‘probation’ after endless sessions with shrinks.”

I stood there looking at her. I guessed her to be about my age and I imagined her in civvies with her hair a little less tightly bound. I could get used to looking at her. A pretty woman.

“Why don’t you leave? Do something else?” I asked the obvious.

“I was one of the best!” she said with a firm smile. “I intend being that again and I guess I owe something to Peter.”

“Fiancé?” I asked and she nodded.

“He coached me. Endlessly. He never lost faith in me and could pick up a mistake even before I made it. I fell in love with him for a lot of reasons but his patience was what drew me to him. A remarkable man with a gift for working with dogs.” She smiled suddenly. “Given time I am sure he would have been able to teach a dog to speak.”

Stamping of shoes at the front door announced the arrival of Mark. I called to him from the kitchen and leaned over to switch on the kettle again. As he entered he looked at me with searching eyes.

“There is blood on the floor close to the door.” he stated simply.

I turned my hand and looked at my knuckles. I expected them to be slightly discolored but strangely enough they looked almost fine. “I hit him.” I mumbled.

Melanie grinned. “Be careful of too much honesty Mr. Gough.”

I looked at her levelly. “As far as I can remember I have never lied.” A smile crept over my face that I could not stop. “The odd fib to try and avoid an ass whooping from my mother or father but I think that is it.”

Mark chuckled. “I can deal with honesty. How hard did you hit him?”

I frowned and looked at Melanie as if she could help me. “He was unconscious after the blow.” I looked at my knuckles again. “It looks as if it could not have been too hard. My knuckles are barely bruised.” Secretly I felt disappointed. I was going to have an assault charge thrown at me and I seem to have not done enough to really earn it.

Mark simply shrugged and fished for a notebook. While he took as many notes as he seemed to need I prepared the coffee while answering questions.

I looked inside the fridge and turned around. “Your heart will have to stay in place for now Melanie,” I joked and Mark looked up with a very surprised expression.

She giggled. “Next time have some half and half.”

“You two ok?” Mark asked gruffly.

“Melanie promised me her heart if I had some half and half but I am dry,” I said chuckling.

He nodded absently and carried on writing a few lines before he looked up. “Please pardon me for this sir, but you were an emotional wreck when we got here. Are you feeling better?”

I shrugged. “Currently I do but I am not sure how I will fare when you leave. Sharing with Melanie made it a little easier but once I am alone I guess anger will surface again.”

By the time our coffee was finished he nodded and closed his notebook. “No need to keep Justin’s body next door. Want some help to bring him this side?”

“Thanks,” I mumbled and walked towards the front door with Mark following. Grody was still lying with his lower jaw on Justin’s neck when we entered the garage. Seeing him like that made anger seethe again but I bent over and lifted the limp body into my arms. Mark wisely kept his silence and simply led the way out of the house of Hell. Walking across the lawn I could vaguely hear him closing doors behind us. Melanie stood at the front door and even in the dim light pain was evident on her face as I shouldered my way past her.

I placed Justin onto his sleeping mattress and slowly came upright. I had to gasp to fill my lungs with air and I turned, right into Melanie who, instead of giving way, put her arms around me. The hug was honest and held just too much feeling for the moment. The breath I struggled into me with my face over her head was sharp and helplessly it turned into a sob.

“Bastard!” I groaned and felt her squeeze me. My arms went around her shoulders and I hugged her back. There was something about the way her body moulded into mine and I sucked a lot of comfort from her. I wanted her to stay there. An apologetic cough from the front door made me release her and I let my hands trail down her arms.

“Thanks,” I mumbled and plastered a fake smile on my face for Mark’s sake. “Thank you guys.”

He nodded and came forward. “I guess someone from the office will be in contact sometime tomorrow. Your neighbor may possibly lay charges. I suggest you acquire legal counsel.”

I nodded. Strange how quickly the scum of the earth run to lawyers when they goof it up. “Do I need to go to the Precinct?”

He shrugged. “Only if required.” He nodded towards Melanie and she brushed by me on her way to the door. I could have sworn I felt her hand brushing softly against my arm as she went past but it could have been wishful thinking on my part.

I followed them to their car and bid them goodnight. I watched the tail lights disappear as they left the Sub and sighed loudly before turning around and trudged the few yards to my front door.

At some ungodly hour I eventually fell asleep after listening to an often repeated soft whine from Grody. My desire to kill was softened by the memory of Melanie in my arms. I could still feel the warmth of it. Somewhere there was a tune and I smiled at the memory of it. Given the chance I may just sing it with her.

Chapter 3

My alarm woke me. It was an indication that I had overslept. Normally I was well on my way to work by the time it made its irritating noise. I slapped it to silence and curled up under the blankets. Dream interrupted…

Grody’s cold nose against my forehead forced my eyes open and I unwillingly sat up. I ruffled the hair under his ears and he nuzzled up at me. With a groan I rolled out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen where I put on the kettle and then kneeled next to the cold and stiff body of Justin.

“I hope there is a heaven for you Justin,” I mumbled while rubbing Grody around his ears. “I would like to come visit one day. Maybe find you waiting at the gates.” Without warning a sob escaped me and I could feel another tear slowly running down my cheek. Grody whined and nuzzled me again.

I had my coffee and dialed the security office at work, explaining that I would be late and needed him to convey the message. With that done I started looking for pet funeral parlors to take care of Justin. I smirked as the reality of it all came down on me. My dad had died. I was not there. Neither was I at the service. I was in some Asian desert hell-hole, doing what I thought was important.

I phoned my mom. She was still sleepy but I could hear the joy in her voice when she heard mine. Guilt swamped me. I had not been to see her in more than a month! And before that something like a month had also slipped by without me visiting.

“You free on Saturday Mom?” I asked with a smile.

“You visiting?” she asked and I nodded stupidly. Her excitement made me feel good.

“Justin was killed last night,” I said softly and I could hear her sharp intake of breath.

“How?”

“My neighbor,” I almost whispered. “He hated them.”

We shared a few minutes of memories of a special dog and I eventually made moves to end the conversation. Only after we had said our goodbyes did it strike me that she had never asked how he was killed. I smirked. I did not even know. The gash across his eye could not have been lethal. At least I thought so. I walked over to my friend’s body and stared down at it. Rigor mortis had made his lips curl up, exposing his teeth in an awful grimace of death. I trembled while rolling him into his blanket. To me it was a final farewell to a friend who had kept the memory of my dad alive.

I picked him up and carried him to the SUV. As if it would have mattered I lay him down on the seat right behind mine. It was where he always sat when we travelled. If not looking out the window he would sometimes rest his jaw on my inner shoulder. Grody had annexed the passenger seat long before Justin’s arrival and defended that right with flashing canines. Something Justin only found reason enough to question when Grody lay his head on my lap while I was driving. A few soft growls were the normal argument and I always found it very funny. Dogs being jealous was something I would have laughed at until these two enriched my life. I quickly discovered that animals were a lot more intelligent than we gave them credit for. The fact that both were prone to dreaming and even the odd nightmare proved that those brains were active at a high level.

As I got into the car Grody bullied past me and after a quick check on the contents of the blanket at the back, crawled over the gear handle and sat upright in his normal place.

“I am going to drop Justin and then go to work Grody!” I admonished him but he simply wagged his tail slowly and nuzzled my neck.

I got out, walked around and opened the door on his side. “Stay Grody!” I pleaded but he simply jumped over the console and lay down next to Justin’s body with his tail moving slowly, as if begging.

I sighed heavily and closed the door. Walking around to get behind the steering wheel I softly took an oath to do my neighbor a terrible injury if ever I saw him again. I casually glanced at the neighbor’s house as I reversed out of my driveway. I had a strange fear of seeing his door open or something else indicating that he was at home knowing that I may just do something stupid. I was still angry enough to only need a small nudge to go into thermonuclear action.

Half an hour later I walked out of the Vet’s door with Grody at my heels. He had followed Justin’s body to the back and seemed to take leave of his friend when they removed the blanket and gave it to me. He simply turned and ambled to the door where he sat down and waited for me to leave. After I had paid I walked over, ruffled his hair and we left.

Justin was a cherished memory.

I simply drove to work. If anybody had a problem with Grody being with me it was their problem. As we entered, Henry started from his table and seemed to think better of it. Jenny gave me a curious look but stayed seated.

I showed Grody to lie down under my table and he simply curled up. A tail wag was all he gave to indicate he was not unhappy before placing his muzzle on his front paws and stared at the rest of the office within his vision.