"I'm taking Ghost out for a walk Grandma." Emily zipped up her bright blue down jacket and pulled on her favorite pair of warm mittens. The white Shepard shook his head, jangling the tags on his collar like sleigh bells.
"Okay, I'm ready," she slid open the door to the deck and they slipped outside, stopping a moment while Emily shut the door and wrapped the fuzzy scarf once more around her neck.
Ghost moved his feet restlessly, and looked up at her.
"Hang on there, I'm not wearing a fur coat like you are, you know." She smiled fondly at her pet.
Feeling the slack on his leash, Ghost decided to take matters into his own paws and set off across the deck, heading for the path that would take them to the back of the resort property and into the surrounding woods.
Horatio parked his car alongside the curb and slowly got out, looking around carefully. The cemetery was quiet, only the usual sounds of birds singing and leaves moving in the breeze. Though his wounds were healed, he still felt some discomfort when bending or twisting. He had been here visiting his brother's grave 3 months ago when the attack had occurred. This was the first time he had been back since that fateful afternoon. Slowly he followed the sadly familiar path to Ray's resting place. Horatio looked around again before slipping off his sunglasses. The grass had grown and been mowed so all traces of the blood he had lost in the stabbing was now gone. The headstone had been cleaned as well; only the spirits keeping their vigils knew what violence had marred the peaceful resting place.
From an upstairs window, Grandma Estin watched her granddaughter. Emily had always enjoyed walking in the woods, but these frequent ventures into the solitude of the woods bothered her. Emily had changed since coming home from Miami. She was a mere shadow of her old self. Though she put on a brave face during the day, Grandma had heard her crying at night. Once, she had peaked in the open door and seen Emily with her arms around the ever-faithful Ghost, face buried in his fur, sobbing as if her heart would break. Each time she had tried to find out what had gone wrong in Miami, for she was sure that something had gone very wrong, Emily's eyes teared up and she said only that it was for the best. Grandma decided it was time to take matters into her own hands. Keeping a careful eye on the window should her granddaughter return, she rummaged around in her knitting bag, at last coming up with her cell phone. It was time to see if she could get some answers from the Lieutenant.
Emily let Ghost lead her through the pines, the weak December sun already starting to sink low in the sky, deepening the shadows around her. As if sensing her somber mood, Ghost would circle around back to her, nudge her hand with his nose and whine, as if to ask, 'Why aren't you enjoying our walk?'
"I'm not being a very good companion are I Ghost?" she asked him, rubbing the top of his head affectionately. She sighed as she trudged on along the tramped down path. There had been a time when she had believed her life was just fine – her home along the North Shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, the companionship of her beloved pet, Grandma and her Braille work which she could turn into a work from home business, if she applied herself. She had felt content. Now those same things were no longer a comfort, she felt as if there was a big hole in her life. Tears welled up in her hazel eyes, freezing on her lashes, blurring her vision. And it was all because of a blue-eyed, red-haired man in Miami.
'When is it going to stop hurting so much?' she wondered aloud. Ghost turned at the sound of his mistress's voice, but offered no solution other than a soft whine. Wiping her eyes with the back of her mitten, she trudged on, no longer enjoying her walk, but concentrating only on putting one foot in front of the other.
TBC