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  He wondered if he wouldn’t be one of the suspects in this confusing case if it weren’t for Jack Simpson being his best friend.

  Parker picked Simpson up at his house, and they joined in the search.

  *-*-*

  “Joshua, I said come on,” Donna Hartwell said, reaching. All week long, Joshua had asked his mother, “Fishy? Go fishy, Mama?” Now, the little devil wasn’t interested and was looking for imaginary dogs in holes.

  “Doggie, Mamma, doggie!” the boy said again, even more excited as he reached into the dark hole. “Doggie, Daddy!”

  “There’s no doggie in here, sweetie,” Donna said with a quick glance, beginning to lift the boy.

  Joshua began to cry, still reaching to the culvert opening. “Doggie! Doggie!”

  Donna looked back to the darkness. Something glistened. Two objects, round and black. Liquid black. Eyes. Her own eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she saw a dark shape three feet in front of her, a foot from Joshua’s outstretched arms. A large shape, very large. The eyes blinked. Donna froze. She’d heard of this beast, this murdering monster, and, now, it stared at her eye to eye. It had killed without reason with its tremendous, vicious fangs.

  Donna’s jaw locked and trembled as she tried to shape words. The huge beast blinked again. Speech seemed impossible; the words would not come. She raked in a deep breath.

  Finally she screamed, “Jezebel!” With two hastened steps, she stumbled up the embankment with Joshua gripped tightly in her arms.

  Bart looked over his shoulder, eyes wide.

  Long, black legs began flinging out of the dark hole like a huge tarantula trying to get a foothold. In a split second she was up, out of the hole, and standing with legs cocked, showing her murderous fangs. She stood for scant seconds, then became a black blur streaking out from the ditch and into nearby bushes.

  *-*-*

  Parker and Simpson received the call as they pulled away from Simpson’s house. Jezebel had been spotted downtown near the river. They searched relentlessly for the rest of the afternoon without results. Due to the intensity of the search, Parker hadn’t had a chance to go to the blind man’s house. He’d do that tomorrow. Maybe he’d find a clue there to help make some sense of the mess.

  They checked in on Pastor Santini. He was out of surgery and in the ICU, still unconscious and in serious condition.

  When Parker returned home after eleven that evening, Julie was already in bed and either sleeping or pretending to be. He didn’t try to wake her. Instead, he said nothing and got into bed as quietly as possible.

  Sometime in the middle of the night, Jezebel returned to Parker’s foggy dreams. The same dream as before. Once again, she moved through the mist. Quietly, resolutely. Once again, she stopped. Once again she looked up the sidewalk, to the door of the house—Parker’s house. But this time, she slowly approached the door. She walked with purpose, head in a guarded position, not showing her deadly weapons, the ivory stilettos. She walked to the door and stopped short of the first step to the porch. Her muscles tightened.

  *-*-*

  Several miles away in a dark room, a big Heinz fifty-seven stood motionless, watching in anticipation from a large cage. “DAWG” it said in prominent letters on his dog tags.

  His tail wagged. He buffed softly and whined. His feet pranced in excitement.

  A chrome-plated, wire gate opened with a nitch and clank. It slowly creaked as it swung wide.

  A man’s hand with a doctor’s rubber glove patted Dawg on the head. It moved down his back to his rump. The other hand revealed a hypodermic needle. Pressure from the thumb made a small amount of clear liquid squirt out, and the hand quickly pushed the needle into the animal’s hip.

  Dawg acknowledged the needle with a short yelp but continued wagging his tail, looking up at the dark man who had a patch over one eye.

  The needle withdrew, and Truong gazed back and smiled. He raised the black eye patch covering his left eye.

  Dawg whined and continued to stand, wagging his tail, as Truong patted him. For a moment, there was no reaction. But soon Dawg began bobbing his head. He staggered, stumbled, and losing his balance, he collapsed, eyes wide, trying to focus, rocking his head back and forth. His tail thumped against the floor. In the dog’s mind, the walls of the cage became a blur. They melted, and everything around him distorted. Truong’s face appeared directly in front of his nose. Dawg saw an eye, a very dark eye. Dark and deep like a well.

  Dawg heard a blowing noise. Two long puffs, two short, a long. But it wasn’t just blowing. A whistle was masked in the noise, high pitched and inaudible to human ears but not to Dawg’s. He heard it with piercing clarity.

  The eye Dawg stared into seemed to widen and grow even deeper as it came closer and closer. Dawg was caught up in it. He couldn’t fight it. He didn’t want to. There was something seductive about it. It drew him closer until, at last, he fell in, tumbling end over end. He passed fangs and claws and walls of blood as he fell and fell and fell.

  Suddenly, he no longer tumbled. He heard the beating of hooves and paws on damp earth, and he was running. A pack of large, wolf-like dogs raced down a dried up creek bed, and Dawg sprinted amongst them. He was excited as all the dogs seemed to be. They were in chase. A large bull elk ran in front, and they closed in. The stag jogged from side to side of the creek bed, avoiding tree limbs and roots and other brush-like debris, gracefully jumping over much of it. Still the dogs drew nearer.

  Without warning, a large, dark dog leaped from one side of the creek bank, onto the stag’s back and tore into its throat. The huge stag stumbled and fell, and the entire pack stormed in and ripped at the ill-fated animal. Dawg joined the frenzy. He also attacked the big buck savagely, tugging and slashing. He saw the big, dark dog. He sensed he was the undisputed pack leader, far superior to all the others. He saw one of the dark leader’s eyes. It was dark and deep like a well.

  Now, several human-like creatures appeared, wearing furs made from animal hides, some made from other dogs. Their spears and rocks flew. Clubs bashed the dogs. The pack fought back, but many of the dogs fell dead to the primitive weapons. The dark pack leader looked at Dawg with his dark, deep eye. A sort of whine came from the leader’s throat. It turned into a piercing whistle that seemed to envelope Dawg. Dawg sensed a command.

  Attack, attack the man-animals! Kill! Tear open their throats!

  Dawg obeyed, easily overcoming one of the adversaries and knocking him to the ground. He tore at his foe’s neck, and soon, the man-enemy quit fighting and lay motionless on the ground. Dawg smelled the blood. It smelled good, and he licked it from his snout. The taste made his excitement soar even higher. More dogs appeared, and within seconds, four of the man-enemies lay dead on the ground, being ripped apart by the vicious dogs. The remaining half dozen of their enemies fled with two of the dogs still in pursuit as the rest of the pack began feeding on its new kills.

  Dawg saw the eye of the dark one once again. He seemed pleased with Dawg. Dawg was pleased also, and the meat of the man-enemy tasted sweet.

  Dawg continued his hallucination. He lay on his side with all four paws twitching, fur raised on his neck and hackles, lip curled, revealing his deadly weapons.

  Buff, Buff! he sounded in a dream-muffled bark.

  CHAPTER 15

  Tony Parker woke with the previous night’s dream still fresh in his mind. Again, Julie’s place beside him was empty and cold. The clock radio next to the bed told why. It was seven thirty. Normally, he was in his office by eight. Usually, he woke on his own by six thirty and took his time showering and getting ready for work while Julie fixed him a nice breakfast. He smelled coffee, and bacon and eggs. Maybe Julie wasn’t upset anymore. Maybe all was forgotten, and they’d be back to their old, happy selves again.

  “Come on, Nicholas!” Julie’s voice rang out. It was a pleasant sound. “You don’t want to be late for the first day of school, do you? Your breakfast is getting cold.”

  “Coming, Mama!” Ni
ck yelled back from his room down the hall.

  When Nick’s feet hit the stairway, it sounded as though a centipede were descending the steps rather than a small boy.

  Parker rose from bed and took a quick shower. By the time he dressed and went downstairs, Julie was preparing to leave with Audrey in her arms, and Nick waited at the front door, eager to get to school.

  Parker caught them on the way out. He kissed Nick on the forehead.

  “Have a good day in school, big guy!” he said.

  “I will. Bye,” Nick said and ran out the door.

  Parker reached and caught Julie on the cheek with a kiss. Julie’s expressionless face made it obvious the cold shoulder was still solidly frozen. He pecked Audrey on the nose.

  “There are eggs in the refrigerator if you want to make yourself breakfast,” Julie said and walked out the door.

  *-*-*

  Parker and Hill checked out the blind man’s house first thing. They looked through the house carefully. For exactly what, they did not know. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary—nice, middle-class house, new furniture. Several windows were unlocked, but all with untampered screens. No signs of a struggle. The victim had been found beside his bed, carotid artery ripped, with the dog lying on top.

  A picture of the man and his dog sat on the fireplace mantle in the living room. Hill took it down and gazed at it.

  “Good looking pair. Too bad,” she said, wiping a thin layer of dust off with her hand.

  “Yeah. Got any ideas?” Parker asked, looking over her shoulder.

  “I know it isn’t rabies.”

  “Now, how do you know that? Women’s intuition?”

  “Come on. You don’t think its rabies, either.”

  “What the hell is it, then?” Parker asked, taking the picture from Hill’s hands. He slammed it back onto the mantle. “It’s the same MO as with MacGreggor—no motive.” He went to a window and stared out with his hands on his hips. “The dog attacks, unprovoked, and kills its master. Then, it looks to me like it shows remorse. Something’s setting them off, causing them to do things they don’t want to do. But what—and how?”

  Hill walked over to Parker. She reached out and gently straightened his collar, then patted it down.

  “You got me,” Hill said with a familiar, impish grin. Apparently, her little talk with Julie had done little, if any, good.

  Parker felt a strange rush of adrenaline go through his body. A tingling sensation tickled his spine, and goose bumps grew on his arms. His senses seemed heightened. He could smell Sarah’s perfume and it excited him. He gazed into her wanton eyes and watched as she moistened her lips, and noticed the dimple in her half-smiling cheek. Parker could feel his face fill with an excited grin. It was an eager, self-serving, hungry grin. It wasn’t the broad smile a person gives back in kindness; it was a lustful grin with only himself in mind. The look she returned showed incredible surprise.

  This was it. Now was the time. He would have cute, little teasing Sarah. He would have her hot, firm young body. He would take her and feast on her, no holds barred, until he was satisfied. No more teasing. He would take control and have his way. No one else would know. No one else would find out, and if they did, it didn’t matter. Right now, it really didn’t matter because, right now, he would have sex with Sarah with no one to please or account to except himself.

  Parker reached around her and pulled her body up firmly into his arms, lifting her off her feet, and kissed her long and passionately on the lips. He felt Sarah’s backbone go limp as her body melted in his arms in complete submission. She wrapped her legs tightly around his middle. He pressed his lips increasingly harder against Sarah’s, and she pulled her mouth away with an uncomfortable frown.

  “Oh, Tony, I knew there was an animal inside you somewhere,” she said, gasping.

  Parker began kissing her hard down the side of the neck, nipping and biting her soft, smooth skin. The scent of her, the fragrance of her perfume mixed with the natural smell of her body, excited him even more. He was a fiery rocket, out of control, burning hotter every second while building speed.

  Without looking up, he carried her through the doorway into the dining room and over to the small, round dining table. He dropped her with a thud, not taking care to be gentle, her legs still clenching tightly to his body. He grabbed with both hands and with one tremendous yank, ripped her uniform shirt and bra open, exposing her large, firm breasts.

  Hill’s eyes widened with shock. He leaned down and locked mouths with her again, clutching both breasts. He slowly moved his lips back down her neck and rubbed a strong erection up and down in jerks against her crotch. She responded, moving her hips in a slow fluid motion.

  “Tony, I never imagined,” she gasped, stroking his thick hair. “I wouldn’t have dreamed!”

  He worked down to her breast, still kissing, firmly caressing, nipping, and biting. He put his lips around her nipple and suckled.

  “Oh, Tony, yes. This is what I’ve been waiting for. Oh, yes! Give it to me now. I want you inside of me!”

  He continued mouthing her nipple. His nips and bites increased in strength, harder and harder, until he began to taste blood.

  “Ewww! Easy, Tony,” she said. “That’s just a bit too hard, baby. I don’t like that.”

  I don’t care. I like it! He didn’t respond but continued, biting harder.

  “Tony, I said easy!” she said, this time pleading. “Tony!”

  Still, he wouldn’t respond. He didn’t care.

  She hit him on the side of the head with the heel of her hand. Parker felt a dull pain in his temple that jarred his head, and he raised, furious his pleasure was interrupted. He looked at her angrily. A string of saliva dripped from the corner of his wet mouth.

  Hill glared back. “That’s enough, Tony!”

  A noise came from outside the open front door. Footsteps. Parker could hear them, but didn’t care.

  “Tony, someone’s coming,” Hill said as she pulled her blouse back together, searching for any buttons still attached.

  She grimaced up at Parker, fear covering her face. He stood over her, staring down, panting and eager to resume. He wanted more. He couldn’t stop himself. He yearned to finish what had started. That was all that mattered.

  “I said someone’s coming, Tony,” Hill said. She raised her right foot to his stomach and gave him a firm push. “Now, get away!”

  “Everything all right in here?” a frowning police officer asked from just inside the front door.

  Parker had stumbled back. He stared angrily at the officer from over his shoulder.

  Hill peered around Parker as she slipped off the table, still holding her torn blouse. “Yeah, we were just talking.”

  “Are you sure about that?” the officer said with his arms folded across his chest.

  This intruder agitated Parker, cop or not. If it weren’t for him, he could be with Sarah, having her, humping and groping her body.

  Parker spun around and blurted out in a deep, angry voice, “She said, we were just talking. Don’t you understand English?” He felt his face distort in a snarl, eyes bugging. The officer flinched, seeming shocked at the response. Parker saw him look down to Parker’s groin, and he glanced down at himself. His trousers tented at the top of one leg.

  “See something you’d like?” Parker asked, looking up slowly with a wicked smile.

  “It’s okay, really,” Hill pleaded with the officer. “We’ll be leaving now. Please, it’s okay.”

  The officer frowned at both of them briefly, and Parker still stared back, grinning. The cop turned and walked out the door, shaking his head.

  Hill whispered urgently, “Damn, Tony, what in the hell got into you?”

  There hadn’t been time to answer before a call came over the radio in Parker’s truck.

  “Dispatcher to AC One, come in Tony.”

  He heard it through the open front door and broke and ran like a quarter horse out of the starting gate. He couldn�
��t understand what had just happened. It was incredible. It didn’t make sense. He wasn’t like that. Sure, there had been times in his life he wished he were, when if he’d been a little more pushy, he’d have gotten his way, gotten what he wanted, said what he wanted to say. But this was just so foreign, so different from his nature, that it was unbelievable, even to himself. It was as if there was another Tony Parker, a Mr. Hyde, who exposed himself. It was frightening. Especially so, since he had enjoyed being this Mr. Hyde. Would it happen again? If so, would he be able to return to the person he really was? Would he want to?

  As he bolted out the door, Parker noticed a familiar minivan driving by. He stopped instantly in the middle of the sidewalk and stood as close to at attention as he had been since the Marines.

  Julie’s minivan. She had seen him, most likely recognizing the truck first, then saw him fly from the house. She was probably on the way back home with a carload of groceries. Julie’s window was down, and she had either forgotten her anger, and his sudden appearance hadn’t given her time to remember, or she had decided she’d been mad long enough. She smiled, waved, and opened her mouth as she began to speak, driving slowly. Her cheerful look transformed abruptly into a scowl, and her mouth slammed shut. She looked past him.

  Parker turned to see Sarah Hill on the porch, fumbling with the front of her blouse, lipstick smeared, hair ruffled. He imagined the same lipstick was smeared on his face, and he put the back of his hand up to his mouth and wiped it across his mug. He looked back at Julie, seeing now she also noticed his still tented pants.

  Julie roared off, forcing the old white minivan to give all it had.

  Parker stomped over to the driver’s side of the truck and picked up the microphone. There was no way he could explain this to Julie. He didn’t even understand it himself.