Chapter 9

Bethany calmed down relatively quickly, mostly because the locksmith pulled in right after the two thieves had left. Wiping away her tears, she opened the door, and he hurried in.

"Hope it's really important. My after-hours rate isn't cheap."

"The people who just left are the ones who copied my keys, and they came in with a gun," she stated, still rubbing tears from her eyes.

He looked at her and whistled. "That's not good." Right behind him came the sheriff's deputy in a cruiser.

Bethany raised her eyebrows at Conall, and he nodded. "Yep, that was me." He smiled and went out to talk to them, while Bethany spoke to the locksmith.

The locksmith nodded. "Yeah, okay then. It's important. I'll get on it." He pointed to the entrance. "Just the front doors?"

She nodded, but then Conall returned, and she told him, "The locksmith just asked me if we should do only the front door."

Conall immediately shook his head. "No, you need to do the back door too."

"Why is that? I don't think she had a key to that door."

"I just picked that lock to come in, when I saw they had a gun, and that only took about two seconds."

The locksmith faced him and swore. "He's right," he agreed, turning to Bethany. "You shouldn't have a lock that's so easy to pick."

"No, she shouldn't have, but I'm sure it wasn't on purpose," Conall added.

"Right," the locksmith muttered and got to work.

She walked over to Conall, and he wrapped an arm around her and held her close. "It's okay. We'll get this sorted out."

"It's not every day I face an armed intruder in my clinic or realize that I had accidently employed a psychopath in training."

"These hoodlums have just taken a big step," Conall noted, "and it's not a step that anybody is happy about."

"What did the deputy say?"

"They're out looking for them now. I gave them a brief description and license plate of the vehicle, but chances are they'll ditch it fairly quickly. At least you're getting your locks changed, so that's progress."

She nodded. "Somehow it doesn't feel like it's enough though, especially since Page warned me that they would be back. How the hell did you get in?" she whispered.

"As I said, I picked the lock on the back door," he repeated, staring at her. "Your system really does suck."

She raised her hands in frustration. "Thanks for that," she wailed, almost in tears again.

"You're welcome," he teased, nudging her, trying to get a smile, "but at least now we can get it fixed."

She shook her head and rubbed her face with her hands. "I just can't believe this day." She groaned. "I just want to go home, have a bath, and get to bed."

"You'll do that soon enough," he replied, "I,… on the other hand, found Bacchus, and I'll go introduce the person who has the dog to Michael."

She looked up at him in shock. "What? You found Bacchus?"

"I did," he confirmed. "Now I just have to find a way to make it all work out," he added. Then he explained what had happened.

"Oh my gosh, Danny is a sweetheart," she said. "Of course he's the one who would have found Bacchus."

"Or the other way around. Looks like maybe he's the one the War Dog has been visiting on a regular basis."

She nodded. "That would make sense, but it'll break Danny's heart, if he has to give up Bacchus."

"But the dog wasn't his in the first place."

"I know. I know," she conceded, holding up her hand. "You don't have to convince me of that. I just know it'll be hard on Danny."

"Maybe, or maybe he'll be totally okay with it. I don't know, but I also need to get back to Michael's place too."

"Of course," she agreed. "I'm here for now, and I'm fine."

He hesitated and then nodded. "I think you probably are for the moment. Get the locks changed, and let me know when you leave, so that I know where you are."

She smiled up at him. "You arrived in town just in time to help out, didn't you?"

"Or maybe I put it all into motion. Anyway," he added, with a shrug, "not that I intentionally tried to upend everything, but some things happen for a reason."

"I certainly believe that," she murmured, "and if I can do anything to help out, let me know."

"I'm still trying to keep an eye on Michael," Conall shared, "so if you come up with any solutions there, I'm all ears."

"Will do," she replied. She watched as he pulled away.

When the locksmith looked at her, she smiled. "He's been a godsend since he arrived."

"I can't believe he came after a War Dog, if that's what I was hearing."

"Yeah, he sure did. It's nice to know that somebody cares about them."

"Yeah, I wouldn't have thought so. The things they did to War Dogs back in Vietnam made me so angry. So I'm glad to see the government is treating them better now. I enlisted back then, but I walked away from that crap."

She winced. "That's a bit of history I don't want to know about."

"Sure, but it's also the history that we can't allow ourselves to forget," he stated, "any more than we can let back in again whoever you had in here tonight. With the medications you've gotta have here, you really should have a much better system."

"Apparently so," she muttered. "I just hadn't realized it was such a terrible system."

He smiled. "Now you know better. Let me go get the back door done, and then you should consider a full-on security system."

"I do have one," she shared, "and that's how I tend to keep track of everything here, but the doors weren't a part of it."

He grimaced and shook his head. "Then it's not a full-on system. It's half a system, and you need to get a whole lot more because, chances are, those kids will come back."

She bit her lip at that. "You really think so?"

"Yeah, I really do," he confirmed. "That's just the kind of people they are. You need to ensure that you're a whole lot safer when they do return and that you have a backup system to keep them out."

"Yet if they really wanted in," she noted, looking at him wryly, "they'll just shoot the locks out or break the windows, right?"

"Hopefully that would trigger an alarm and bring someone in to help you out," he replied. "Because you've got drugs here, that's a whole different ball game."

Feeling thoroughly chastised by everybody in her world by that point in time, she was happy when he was finally done. She paid the bill, wincing at the completely unexpected amount, yet knowing he was right.

"Now, get the security system people back in here and ensure that they connect the doors and windows and that there's an alarm in place, in case of a break-in."

She nodded, not knowing what else to say. A security company had set this up in the first place, but she had gone cheap because she hadn't had a whole lot of money. Thankfully that time had come and gone, and her practice was thriving, so she needed to do something a whole lot more serious about security.

Making a note to herself, she locked up and headed home. She was exhausted after a long day, and the last thing she needed now was to have her sleep interrupted because she had to come right back and start again tomorrow. She also hadn't checked to see if her volunteer helper would be around tomorrow or if he was done here. Considering he'd already found Bacchus, maybe Conall's stay was over, and that was another unsettling thought she didn't even want to consider.

Something was very capable, even magnetic about him, and the last thing Bethany wanted was to say goodbye to him now. She wasn't sure she had any choice though, and, if he had found Bacchus, there was a really good chance that Conall would be gone tomorrow, and that would break her heart.

Conall drove backto the corner store, only to find the woman looking at him in exasperation. "You said you would come back in like fifteen or twenty minutes."

He quickly explained what had held him up, and she gasped. "What the hell were they thinking? Page had a gun and fired at Bethany? That's crazy."

"I know. Pretty ridiculous," he agreed, looking around. "How much longer is your shift?"

"I'm done now." She winced. "That's the last thing we need around here."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's the last thing Bethany needed too."

"I hear you. Anyway, Danny is here, and he's got the dog."

"I need to see the dog to confirm it is Bacchus."

"He's out back. Danny sits out there and has an ice cream most of the time."

Conall nodded and headed out back, and, sure enough, the dog looked remarkably like the one in the pictures. He smiled.

As he walked out, the dog raced over on three legs to say hello, showing absolutely no fear or sign of distress. Danny came over as well, with a big smile on his face. "Hi," he said happily.

"Hi there, Danny. I was just talking to your mom."

He just nodded and didn't say anything, the big smile still on his face.

Conall felt terrible, knowing he had to let Danny know that the dog had to go back to Michael. Conall just shook his head because, at the moment, he couldn't see a path to making this work out because he wasn't prepared to let Michael suffer either. "How long have you had the dog?" he asked Danny.

"I found him," Danny replied. "He needed saving."

"Sure he did, and you did a great job. Did you try to find who he belonged to?"

He nodded. "We did, but nobody came forward."

He wondered how hard they'd really tried and guessed it wasn't much of an effort, but it wasn't for Conall to say. "Do you know Michael, the older man in town who lives in a wheelchair?"

Danny looked a little confused for a moment and then shrugged. "I don't think so."

"He had a dog like this."

Danny stared at him. "Like this one?"

He nodded. "Yeah, just like this one."

Danny frowned and shook his head. "I don't think like this one. This one is special."

"He is, isn't he?" Conall agreed, with a bright smile. He looked around to see Danny's mom standing there, biting her lip. Conall took several photos of the dog and then called him by name.

Bacchus immediately turned on a dime, his ears up, and he gave a woof. Conall smiled and called him over. Bacchus raced over and welcomed him with a huge welcome, even more than he had done before, as if understanding that somebody knew who he was.

He gave the dog a big cuddle, laughing as Bacchus tumbled Conall to the ground in his joy. As he looked up, Danny frowned at him, asking, "Does he know you?"

"He certainly knows of me," he said, with a gentle smile. He looked over at his mother and nodded.

She sighed. "Danny, let's go get into the car, and we're taking Bacchus with us."

"Okay. Where are we going?"

"We'll go see Michael."

Danny shrugged. "Why?"

"Because we've got to see if Bacchus is his."

At that, Danny shook his head. "No, no, he's mine."

"We know he's not yours," his mom explained, brooking no arguments, "and just imagining that he's yours doesn't make it so."

Danny looked terrified for a moment, and his mother reminded him, "We always knew that he could belong to somebody else because he was looked after and healthy. It's not right to keep him, honey."

"But, if he wanted to go back, he would have, like he did before."

"That's because somebody was at home that he didn't like, but that person is gone now. So we'll go and take him to his owner."

"Do you think he would let me keep him?" he asked hopefully.

His mom hesitated, then shrugged. "I wouldn't count on it, honey. He needs the dog too."

At that, Danny immediately got belligerent. "No, no, no, the dog is mine."

His mom refused to argue with him. "Get in the car, Danny," she repeated. "We're heading over there now, and, if this dog is his, we'll have a talk with him."

"Only if talking to him means I get to keep him," Danny stated, glaring at her.

It took some work, but they finally got Danny and Bacchus into her car.

"You can follow me," Conall suggested.

"I know where Michael lives," she shared in a casual tone. "I've driven past a couple times over the years. I should have just stopped in, damn it."

"Now you get a chance," Conall pointed out.

She nodded, and he raced to his truck. The fact that Bacchus was as happy as he was revealed a lot about his relationship with Danny, but it didn't change the fact that Michael was desperately in need of this dog. By the time Conall made it to Michael's place, he pulled into the driveway and saw Michael open his front door, relief evident on his face.

"You okay, Michael?" Conall asked.

"I am, but my nephew was here."

Conall groaned. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, he didn't hurt me, but I don't know what's wrong with that kid. He came through, grabbed his stuff, and left, telling me that I couldn't stop him and that I didn't have any right to the money and that I gave it to him. Conall, can you do something, please? I didn't give it to him. I told him that I needed it for food and the property taxes and that he knew I didn't have much money. But, to him, when he looked at the account, I had lots of money, so, like everybody else, I was lying."

"Yet what he thinks is a lot won't be a lot at all in the real world, will it?"

"No, but he doesn't have any concept of how much it really takes to live," Michael said. "So, from his perspective, maybe it was a lot." Michael just shook his head. "I don't know. It's just all bad."

"It is bad. I'll agree with you on that." Just then another vehicle drove in behind him.

Michael looked out and asked, "Who's this?"

"Somebody from your past," Conall replied, with a smile, and he watched as Danny's mom got out.

She looked over at him and smiled heartily. "Hey, Michael."

He looked at her in surprise. "Mariam?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it's me." She walked up closer to him and then stopped and called out, "Come on, Danny. Hop out."

Danny just shook his head.

"I'll go get him," Conall offered. He walked to her car and opened up the passenger door. "You don't have to come out, Danny, but Bacchus does." And, with that, Conall called Bacchus, who immediately hopped out and raced to the front door, barking the whole time, as he happily greeted Michael.

Michael, with tears in his eyes, immediately wrapped his arms around the dog, hugging him, and he couldn't stop crying. He frowned at Mariam. "Did you have my dog?"

"We didn't know it was your dog," she explained. "Danny found him out on the highway."

Confused and obviously not sure what this turn of events meant, Michael looked at Danny, who was still in the car. Danny finally got out and walked over. Then Michael understood. "Ah, you're looking good," he said to Mariam, as he gazed back at her.

She smiled. "I'm a little worse for wear. It's not as if life has been easy on me," she muttered.

He nodded. "Danny is yours?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he's all I've got."

"Life hasn't been easy on either of us, has it?"

"No, it really hasn't."

He invited them all in, as he looked over at Conall. "I'm amazed, man. You really found him, didn't you?"

"I did," he confirmed. "As you can see, it's a bit of a situation."

"I can see that." Michael nodded. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do about it."

"Right now, you don't have to do anything. Bacchus is yours."

"Right," Michael agreed, "but it seems somebody else is affected by a loss here too."

"I know." Conall nodded.

"I'm not even sure what to do with this turn of events," Michael admitted, "and I'll need a bit of help to try and figure it out."

"We'll figure it out," Conall vowed, placing a hand on the older man's shoulder.

With everybody inside the house, Conall bent over and spent some time getting to know Bacchus. It was pretty easy, since Bacchus was a happy-go-lucky, well-settled dog, which spoke volumes about his care in both homes.

He smiled when he looked at the way Michael got along with the dog and with the way Bacchus interacted with Michael. Conall turned to look at Michael. "I gather your nephew caused all the trouble with Bacchus?"

Michael nodded. "I didn't realize what was happening. Page kept telling me that the dog was disappearing, but now I don't know whether he was really taking off on his own or if Page was trying to get rid of him."

"Most likely Page was trying to get rid of Bacchus because that isolated you, making it easier for you to become more dependent on Page."

Mariam gasped, looking at Michael. "I considered contacting you a couple times, but I didn't know how to tell you this. Your nephew came in and stole from the store. I caught him at it and told him to never come back," she shared. "I should have mentioned something to you, but a lot of years have gone by, and it was a little awkward to reach out and say Hi in that circumstance."

"I wish you had," he stated. "Page came in and cleaned me out. The truth is, I wouldn't even have dinner tonight if it wasn't for this man here," he admitted sadly. "When you get old, and you're broken, people just want to take advantage of you. I keep thinking I've seen the worst of humanity, then my own family shows me a new low."

Mariam nodded and smiled sadly. "I've very sorry I didn't, but I'm very glad that, in the end, this situation did bring me here, and I'm very happy to see you."

He looked at her and grinned. "You didn't used to be so shy," he teased. "In the old days, you would have come right over to say Hello."

"Yeah," she agreed, "but that was before I had Danny."

Understanding crossed his face, and he nodded. "I would have done the same thing," he conceded, "but that was also before I came home from the war like this."

They smiled at each other, and even Conall could see a romance blossoming. "I'm really glad you two have reconnected. I'm hoping the two of you can work out a way to maybe allow Danny some playdates with Bacchus here."

Mariam looked at him and then back at Michael. "Or Danny and I could just come over and visit."

"That would be even better," Michael agreed. "Honest to God, life has been pretty damn lonely, and I would be happy to have you come over anytime. I knew you were working down at the grocery store, but, like you, I didn't go to see you."

"I understand," she replied, "but we're past that part, and we can keep in touch now."

"I would say so," Michael said, "plus you were always one hell of a cook."

She flushed at that. "Yeah, but I don't have anybody to cook for anymore," she said, with a sigh. "I mean, I have Danny, but honestly he prefers chicken fingers."

Danny smiled. "I love chicken fingers."

She nodded. "I know you do, honey."

Danny looked over at Michael. "You know my mom?"

Michael nodded. "Yes. We were friends a long time ago."

Mariam put a hand on Michael's shoulder. "We're still friends. It just seems as though we had a few things to get past."

"And are we past them now?" Michael asked. "I have a hard time believing you don't have people knocking down your door." He eyed her, a twinkle in his gaze. "Because it would sure be nice to know somebody out there gave a damn."

"Somebody out there does give a damn," she confirmed, smiling. "I just didn't expect to have this happen. It's been lonely for me too. Most people I've met haven't wanted to deal with Danny."

"No reason not to," Michael replied. "He looks like a good young man."

"He is, but he can also be a challenge."

"Yeah,… well, I've got my own challenges these days," Michael noted, as he patted the wheelchair he was sitting in. "Nothing easy about this either."

That brought up a discussion about what had happened to Michael and how he'd gotten injured, so he quickly told her about the IED the truck ran over and how long Michael had been dealing with this mess. She was more than shocked, and Conall felt like a fly on the wall, as the two rekindled their friendship from such a long time ago. Yet, at the end of the evening, he'd managed to turn a no-win situation into a massive win for all concerned, including Bacchus.

Not only was a friendship once again opening on both sides but Danny could also use somebody in his world, and, from the looks of it, Bacchus was more than happy to have both of them in his world.

Just then Conall's phone rang. Bethany. He answered it and asked, "Hey, did you get the locks changed?"

"Yes, I did get the locks changed on the clinic." Then her voice changed, becoming almost cautious. "But I'm sitting outside my place, and there's a light on, and I know I didn't leave one on."

He froze. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm in my vehicle," she muttered, "and honestly, Conall,… I'm too scared to go inside."

"Don't go inside," he snapped. "I'm on my way."

"Are you sure?" she asked, her voice nervous. "I should be calling the sheriff."

"I'll be there in five minutes," he stated. "Stay outside, locked in your car. You hear me?"

"What should I do about the sheriff?"

"Call them but nobody else. And, if anybody comes, you keep your car windows closed, your car doors locked, keep your engine running—in case you have to pull out of there. If you do have to leave, you tell me right away. Do you hear me? I don't want to show up and find you not there."

"I promise." Then she added, "Please hurry. A second light just went on."

"I'm on my way." And, with that, Conall looked at Michael, then Mariam, Danny, and Bacchus. "Can you guys work this out?"

Michael looked at him, his gaze hard. "What's going on, Conall?"

"Your nephew recently got his hands on a gun, and he's starting to use it to his advantage."

All the color drained from Michael's face. "Go," he said. "Page is a stupid punk-ass kid, but he sure doesn't need to die, just as he learns to grow up."

"It might be too late for that," Conall shared. "Page has already pulled a gun on Bethany once and shot at her feet. Now we think he's at her apartment."

"Run," Michael ordered, "run."

And, with that, Conall didn't hesitate, bolting out the door. He slammed into his vehicle, hit Reverse, even while he was ordering his phone to dial Badger's number. By the time he was connected, Conall was already three-quarters of the way there. In terse tones, he gave Badger an update on what was happening.

"As soon as you get there," Badger said, "you let us know just how bad it is."

"I'm two seconds away," he added, speeding as fast as he could. "I'll let you know." And, with that, he hung up, peeled into the apartment parking lot, and froze.

He saw no sign of Bethany or her car.