Chapter 1
"Sorry." Abe Morgan apologized to a young couple as he opened the shop's door and stepped aside to let them in. They smiled at him and entered the shop. Abe frowned a bit at the well-groomed, English shepherd dog, dark brown and white in color, that had been hanging around outside, blocking people's entries and exits, for the past couple of days.
"Shoo!" He waved his free hand at the dog. When the canine sat and stared up at him with its large, pleading eyes and whimpered, Abe's heart almost melted. But just as quickly, he reminded himself that he was not in the market for any pets.
"Go home. Go. Shoo!" Abe shook his head and closed the door behind him as he walked past his customers, back to the front desk.
No need to hover around customers. If they wanted to buy something, they would. If not, then, he wouldn't have wasted his time hovering, right?
"That's a beautiful animal out there." the young, sandy-haired man remarked. "I take it he's not yours; I mean, the way you were trying to run him off."
"No. I have no idea where it came from, either. Just ... showed up a couple of days ago and planted himself there." Abe looked up at the dog that now pressed its nose to the lower portion of the shop's glass door. Smudges, he thought to himself, more smudges for him to clean off again. And slobber. He sighed and walked quickly towards the door to try to shoo the dog away again. As if reading his mind, the dog suddenly backed away, perked up its ears, and whined as Abe reopened the door and ordered him more loudly and firmly to leave.
"Go away, Lassie or Laddie or whatever your name is. Go!" The whining animal backed reluctantly away with small steps but only as far as the edge of the curb. Abe stomped his foot at the animal which caused it to flinch. Its ears, still perked up, twitched and its whining ceased. The dog hung its head slightly and finally turned and trotted away to the left of the shop, down the street.
"Finally." Abe sighed, and went back into the shop and closed the door once more. He was gratified to find the couple waiting at the front desk with a pewter coffee set.
"Ahhh, I see you've made a fine choice, there." He slipped behind the counter and readied to ring up the sale.
"Well, we actually wanted to know if this was Georgian or not?" The green-eyed brunette smiled beguilingly, her waist-length, black hair shimmering under the shop's artificial lights. "I just love that period."
"As a matter of fact, it is." Abe replied.
The sandy-haired man stood mostly with his back to Abe, his attention held by the goings-on outside the shop. "Looks like your little friend is back." He turned around and smiled at Abe as he pointed towards the shop's door.
"Awww, it looks so sad." the woman cooed. "Why don't you just let him in?" she appealed to Abe. "It's probably hungry."
"It's not my dog." Abe shrugged and slightly resented having to defend himself. It wasn't his dog. "Guess I'll have to call Animal Control." he muttered. "Um, will that be cash, credit, or debit card?"
The couple exchanged looks of sadness. The woman fought back tears and the man asked Abe, "Don't you know what they do to them down there? They just starve them and kill them after 24 hours or something like that."
"Well, you're free to take it home since you're that concerned." Abe suggested. Why was this his problem, all of a sudden? "Like I said, that's not my dog, I do not own a pet, period."
"Oh, we'd love to take it home with us," the man nodded, "but pets are not allowed in our building." He looked at Abe expectantly.
"Look, I feel sorry for the mutt, too, if it doesn't have a home, but ... are you going to buy the tea set or not?" he asked impatiently.
They looked at each other, then back at Abe. "No. Anyone who can be so cruel to a dumb animal does not deserve our patronage." the man's voice angrily resounded.
"Fine!" Abe yelled. He leaned over and snatched the tea set from the woman's hands.
"Fine!" the man yelled back as he and the woman stormed out of the shop.
Abe waved a dismissive hand at them. "Yeah. Go. Shoo!" He walked around to the other side of the counter, picked up the tea set, and placed it back onto the display table with three other tea sets. The dog's whining caught his ear and he snapped his head up in the direction of the sound. The dog was pressing its nose up against the shop's glass door again, and pawing a bit at it. Abe's patience had worn thin. He marched over and, as he did, the dog backed sheepishly away. Abe reached out to swing the door open and caught himself just in time to avoid crashing it into Jo Martinez.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed, as she put up both arms to protect herself from possible injury. "You almost got me." she chuckled.
"Ohhh, sorry, Jo. It's that, that mutt over there." He held the door open and stepped aside for her as she entered. "Been hangin' around here for a couple of days."
She turned around and smiled at the dog. When she tilted her head to the side, the dog did the same. She tilted her head to the other side, the dog again did the same. "Cute mutt. Smart, too." She placed her hands on her knees and bent forward as she smiled broadly at it. The dog stretched out its front legs and peered up at her, its large eyes pleading and touching her heart.
"Ohhh, it looks so sad." she cooed, echoing the young woman's earlier remarks.
Abe rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and I can't help that. It doesn't belong to me, blocks any customer from entering or leaving. It's a nuisance! No wonder the owner dumped it." He picked up the receiver of the phone on the counter. "Calling Animal Control right now."
Jo surprised him when she snatched the receiver out of his hand. "Don't you dare!" She clunked the receiver back down into its cradle and looked again at the dog. "The dog can come home with me ... temporarily, at least. Until we can find the owner or ... another home." She turned back to Abe with dark determination in her eyes. "But NO shelter." She turned back to smile at the dog who seemed to understand its reprieve. It panted and raised a paw to her while wagging its tail.
"See?" she said, pointing at the dog. "Dogs are happy when their tails wag. It - " she turned to Abe, "is it a he or a she?"
"Pretty sure it's a he." Abe grudgingly replied, his hand still on the phone's receiver and the other on his hip. His physical stance of annoyance/defiance/had-it-up-to-here.
"He knows he's not in trouble any longer." She bent forward again with her hands on her knees and mushy-talked to the dog. "Yes. Yes. Yes, he is. He's a happy widdo doggie now. Bow wow wow. Yes."
Abe had had more than enough. "Oh, puh-lease, just take him home then. Get him outta my sight!"
"Oh, Abe. Be a little gentle to our animal friends." she scolded. "And, uh, you're sure it's a he?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure." He reached under the counter and pulled out a half-full bag of dry dog food. "Here, take this with you when you go."
She smirked at him. "Mr. Cold Heart, really a little mushy heart." She taunted him as she took the bag from him and patted his cheek. "You're just an old softie, Abe." She pulled him towards her by his collar and kissed him on the cheek.
He grinned and blushed slightly. "Well ... " He smoothed out his features and teased her back. "You'd better save those kisses for Henry. He'll be upset if he thinks I'm movin' in on his territory."
Her mouth dropped open but she couldn't hide the smile ... or the blush. "Oh, you are impossible." She playfully swiped at his arm. Then, she frowned slightly. "By the way, where is Henry? That's what I came by for, actually, to pick him up."
"Another crime scene?"
"Yeah." She looked towards the stairs.
"Don't bother looking up there, he's not here. Hasn't been since ... " He furrowed his brow. "He went off a couple of days ago to meet you at, uh, uh ... " he snapped his fingers and squinched his eyes shut in an effort to spur his recollection. He sighed and opened his eyes. "Sorry, Jo. Guess I either didn't listen closely enough or he didn't say. But it was connected with that suicide case you guys had a few weeks ago."
"That was a weird case, as it turned out. Not a murder, though, thanks to Henry's good eye. He'd figured out that our elderly vic had hanged himself in his closet."
Abe shuddered. He wasn't sure if it was because of the nature of the suicide or that the vic, as Jo referred to him, was a member of his generation. There but for the grace of God, he thought.
"He'd speculated that someone had placed the body back into the bed and ransacked the place to make it look like a break-in. Then, applied pressure to the vic's neck in order to make it look like they'd been strangled."
Abe frowned, confused. "Why would someone go to all that trouble? The person was already dead."
"Insurance money. Beneficiaries couldn't collect on the insurance if the insured committed suicide." She smiled and winked at the dog. "Henry had discovered during the autopsy, that the strangulation marks were post-mortem." She looked back up at Abe. "All we had to do was find out who the beneficiaries were and once we did that, we were able to find the insurance fraud culprit. None of them got any insurance money, as a result."
"I'll bet that bunch just loved him after that." he scoffed.
"You mentioned that he had left to meet me somewhere regarding that case? That's impossible. I never contacted him - oh, no." she moaned, eyes round with worry. "That case was solved already, put away. By him. If he'd had some new evidence or a new theory to share with me, he would have done so." She looked imploringly at Abe.
"Well, we are talking about Henry, here, right?" he chuckled nervously. At the back of his mind something began to demand scrutiny. Henry doesn't show up for a couple of days and then this dog shows up. A dog with the same large, puppy-dog eyes as ... nah, impossible! But ... what if ... ? He suddenly walked quickly to the shop's entrance and swung it open. The dog's ears perked up, and Abe could almost swear it was smiling.
"C'mere, boy." He beckoned with a finger and a smile. "That's it. C'mere. C'mon." He encouraged the dog as it baby-stepped closer to him, then encouraged enough, trotted the rest of the distance. Abe let the dog in and watched it as it slowly made its way through the shop, careful to avoid knocking into anything.
It made its way up to Jo, who knelt down on one knee to hug and pet it. It licked her face and she laughed and leaned her face this way and that way, trying to avoid its wet tongue. She finally stood up and grinned when the dog sat back on its haunches and raised its right paw to her. She grasped it and introduced herself. When the dog barked and nuzzled its head against her leg, she almost squealed with delight and hunched her shoulders up, looking at Abe.
"Such a friendly dog." she said. "He's adorable."
Abe moved slowly closer to the both of them. He'd noticed something about the dog that had nearly made his heart stop.
"Er, yeah, adorable." His focus was now more on the dog than anything else. This animal that had popped up out of nowhere just as Dad had gone missing. His knees creaked and prevented him from kneeling down to examine the dog. A bit embarrassed and more than exasperated, he asked Jo to pick the dog up and place it on the counter. They were both surprised when the dog seemed to understand and hopped up onto the counter, sat down, and faced them.
Abe gently parted the long hairs on its chest and froze when he saw the puckered, circular wound that eerily resembled the one on Dad's chest. "Oh. My. God." He looked deeply into the dog's eyes and whispered, "Henry?" He let out a loud WHOOP when the dog barked and licked his face. This dog was Dad ! But how ?
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy there." he managed in between the dog's barks and licks. "Down." He said as he pointed downward and the dog obeyed by gingerly dropping to the floor and once again nuzzling its head against Jo's leg. "Of course, you're gonna nuzzle against her pretty leg even though I'm the one who figured out who you are." The dog barked but continued to nuzzle Jo's leg. "Hmphf! Casanova." Abe teasingly accused and sat down in one of the nearby straight-back chairs.
Jo had fished an antiseptic wipe from her purse and cleansed her face of the dog's saliva. She handed one to Abe and continued to pet the dog with her other hand. "What are you talking about, Abe?" She was smiling but totally confused.
His smile froze on his face as he suddenly realized that he'd said too much. Jo didn't know about his father's immortality. The fabrication wheels turned quickly in his head and he finally managed to churn out, "Uh, this is the dog that Henry named after himself." Yeah, smile. Smile, you dratted little liar, and maybe she'll just buy it. He swallowed and continued down liar's lane. "See this wound on the dog's, er, uh, Little Henry's chest?"
She kneeled to examine the scar and her eyes widened as she looked back up at Abe and then stood back up. "That's amazing. What an amazing similarity." She gazed down at the dog again. "Little Henry, eh? Hello, Little Henry." As the dog barked at the mention of his name, she responded in between barks with various affectionate cooings and kissing sounds.
Abe relaxed a bit but at the same time felt like such a lying heel. But she'd bought it. Dad's secret was safe for now. But he realized that he couldn't allow Jo to leave with the dog after all.
"Jo, uh, perhaps I jumped the gun by telling you that you could take Little Henry home with you. After all, he's technically Henry's dog, since he's the one who found him and named him."
"I thought you said this dog was abandoned by its owner. Henry may have named him, but it doesn't appear that he actually took him in, so ... it's okay if I take him with me." She smiled down at the canine again. Her forehead crunched together slightly as she tilted her head to the side again and then squinted her eyes. "You know, his eyes even look like Henry's. Large, and brown, and soulful. Just such a nice looking little guy." She looked up at Abe again. "You've just gotta let me take him home with me. I promise (Abe protested), I promise I'll take good care of him, ummm, until Henry returns."
"What are you going to do with him during the day? Take him out to crime scenes? He's not even trained for that kind of stuff and you know it." This time she protested, but he was adamant. "He stays here. You can come visit him in your spare time, but he stays here. Henry's dog."
She sighed in defeat. "Okay, you make a good point. He doesn't look like the crime-fighting kind of dog, anyway. He looks like one that sits in your lap by the fireside and you pet him and stroke him until you both drop off to dreamland. Oh, I could just pet him all night."
Little Henry barked several times at that and wagged his tail at an exorbitant rate. Abe did his best not to burst into raucous laughter. His dad. Charming the ladies with those puppy dog eyes. Those real, live, puppy dog eyes.
"Well, I've gotta go, Abe. Let Henry know we need him ASAP for this latest crime scene, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll let him know. Soon as he checks in with me."
"So odd. Even for Henry. Has he stayed away this long before?"
"Uh, there ... have been times, yeah." Abe managed a slight chuckle as he scratched the side of his head. "But I think I have a pretty good idea where he is."
She nodded and pulled her lower lip in. "Okay, Abe. See ya. And bye-bye Little Henry." She smiled and waved to him as she walked backwards a bit, then turned and left the shop.
Abe let out a huge sigh of relief. He watched her drive off and made sure her car was out of sight before turning his attention back to the dog, his Dad. He placed both fists on his hips and looked sternly down at Little Henry.
"What in the world have you gotten yourself into this time, Pops?"
Little Henry whimpered and drooped his ears. He then sat down with his head on the floor and covered his face with his front paws.
Chapter 2
"What in the world have you gotten yourself into this time, Pops?"
Little Henry whimpered and drooped his ears. He then sat down with his head on the floor and covered his face with his front paws.
vvvv
Two days ago ...
"It's a Saturday. Where are you off to?" Abe asked as he cleared the table.
"Off to meet Jo. That is, Det. Martinez." Henry lowered his voice and his head, hoping that his son hadn't picked up on the slip of referring to Jo by her given name instead of her title.
"Oh, c'mon, Dad, you can call her Jo around me. If you like, you can even practice on me."
"Practice on you? Abraham, whatever do you mean?"
"Call me Darling or Sweetheart or Baby Cakes." Abe chortled as he set the controls on the dishwasher.
Henry let out a heavy, mock-sigh of disappointment and shook his head. "Ahhh, sometimes I do wonder where I went wrong with you."
"You didn't go wrong with me." He pointed an accusing finger at his father. "And you'd better start laying your claim to her before some other guy comes along and sweeps her off her feet. You'll be sorry then."
"Oh, I'm sorry now." Henry moaned. He checked the time on his pocket watch and snapped it close and tucked it back into his waistcoat pocket. "As much as I wish to continue this useless word volley with you - "
"Ow, useless word volley. How long did it take for you to come up with that?" Abe teased.
" - I must be off." he finished with a roll of his eyes. "Her message seemed rather urgent." And a bit odd, he thought. Jo had never taken to texting him, knowing how rudimentary his use of a cellphone still was. And the fact that she had used someone else's phone had thrown him off a bit, but in her text, she'd explained that hers needed to be charged. So, he'd shaken off the doubt and smiled, reading it as her growing confidence in his ability to adapt, to evolve, as Abe had once told him. He'd managed all on his own, to text her back that he would meet her that morning at 10:30 AM, at the address provided in her text message.
Abe settled back down at the kitchen table and grabbed the garage sales section, then, looked up at his father. "Need me to run you over to wherever since she's not picking you up?"
"No, thank you, Abe. I'll catch a cab." He smiled, waved goodbye, and plodded down the stairs and out of the shop.
Abe silently hoped that his father's newest burner phone would get no more action than simple texting between the two reluctant lovebirds.
vvvv
Present day ...
"Sit up, please, Henry. It's okay." Abe sighed and sat back down into a nearby chair. "We'll figure this out."
Little Henry peeked out from behind his paws and stood up. He slowly walked over to Abe and laid his head in his lap, softly whimpering. Abe's heart melted again as he looked into those big, sad, brown eyes of his.
"I see you in there, Pops. Sorry it took me so long." Abe whispered as he stroked his head and scratched behind his ear. "We'll figure this out. Get you back to your old self again. I promise." But even he was clueless as to how that would be accomplished.
vvvv
The crime scene was actually a movie set for an indie film. A cheap one. A really cheap one. Fake blood, a mannequin head made to appear as if violently severed from its mannequin body with a blood-covered hatchet. Jo shuddered, nonetheless, at the sight; and at what kind of sick mind could think something like this up, real or fake.
"Not bad, not bad." Lucas said as he gingerly stepped around the scene, a small smile of admiration on his face. "Maybe could use a little more blood, say, over the top of the torso, even though the blood would have spurted kind of upwards and onto - " he swiveled his head in different directions as he bent down to observe the scene more closely. He stood up straight again and looked at Jo and Hanson. "Yeah, definitely could use more blood here."
"Thank you, Dr. Death." Hanson dryly replied. He turned to Jo and apologized for the wild goose chase. "Sorry, Jo. Nosey neighbor called it in." He pointed up to a third-story window overlooking the fake murder scene in the courtyard below. "Looked real from a distance to me, too, though."
"Yeah, well, sometimes it's the nosey neighbors who help us the most in solving these crimes."
"Hey, Lucas, where's the Doc?" Hanson asked. "Not that he's needed here, but figured he'd have come along with you, anyway."
Lucas sighed and walked over, removing his blue gloves. "He's a no-show today. Not like him to not show up and not even call." They both looked at Jo.
'Well, don't look at me. I was just over to the shop to pick him up to come over here and Abe said that - " she suddenly stopped mid-sentence as she recalled Abe's words.
"He went off a couple of days ago to meet you at ... Sorry, Jo. Guess I either didn't listen closely enough or he didn't say. But it was connected with that suicide case you guys had a few weeks ago."
She was now worried and could kick herself for having such a delayed reaction to what Abe had told her about the reason behind Henry's absence. Two days! She felt sick to her stomach now, sick with guilt and a healthy heaping of stupidity.
"Um, if we're done here, I need to go check up on something." She didn't want to alarm either of them just yet in case her sometimes crime-solving partner was merely having an extended romantic encounter with a lady friend. And the thought of that made her equally sick to her stomach. Because ... it wasn't with her. She mentally shook off that train of thought and focused on what she was going to do now. "See you guys later."
"Sure. Sure. See you later." Hanson replied to her retreating form.
Lucas stepped closer to him and said, "She's wearing that look."
"Yeah, that look when the gears start turning in her head and she's sniffing out a lead."
"Uh, no, I meant that look. The look of love."
Hanson frowned at him.
"Yeah, you know. Her. And the Doc." He clasped his hands together, wriggled his fingers, and nodded with raised eyebrows. "You know."
Hanson huffed. "I only know that you'd better not let Jo see you doing that. She'll punch your lights out." He quickly walked away to his car.
"Okay, just leavin' me here with the body, the ... fake body. I'll just, uh, catch a ride back with the van - " he watched the van drive off. "Or catch a cab." He sighed and walked out of the courtyard to the street to hail a cab. "The world's greatest minds also suffered," he lamented of his plight.
vvvv
Abe paced back and forth, trying to map out a strategy for turning Little Henry back into Henry. He stopped pacing and looked down at Little Henry. "Did Jo send you a text message about where to meet her?"
Little Henry barked and wagged his tail.
"Okay. Okay. She texted you." Abe began to pace again, then stopped again. "You mentioned an address." His face was lit up with blessed recall.
Little Henry barked several times and wagged his tail faster.
Abe bent over and grinned at him. "You're gonna have to take me there, Pops."
Little Henry backed away a bit and whined.
"That's where it happened, isn't it?" his smile wiped away by concern. "You died there and came back as, as, this." He spread his hands towards him.
Little Henry whined louder.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Pops. But maybe if we go back there, we can get some answers and - "
Little Henry now growled low, soft and gutteral, his ears pinned back.
"Okay. Okay. Just a thought." Abe put up both his hands in an effort to calm him down. It seemed to work as Little Henry's ears perked up and his tail wagged again. "Wow. It was bad whatever happened to ya, wasn't it, Pops?"
Little Henry licked the inside of his hand as he pet him on the head and on the side of his neck.
"Tell ya, what, Pops. I think we need to take a little trip down to the river."
Little Henry made a short grumping sound and twisted his head sharply to one side.
"I don't know what else to do for you except to ... you know ... you gotta ... " he threw up his arms in frustration and said louder, "There's no other way. I can't think of anything else to do." He sighed.
Little Henry made another sharp grumping sound and bobbed his head up and down twice.
Abe laughed. "Boy, I'm glad that you're still smart." He clapped his hands together and looked around for the duffel bag with spare clothes he'd recently stashed behind the counter. Once he retrieved it, he grabbed his car keys.
"Wait. It'd be better to do this at night." He motioned for Little Henry to follow him. "In the meantime, ya hungry?"
Little Henry barked enthusiastically and wagged his tail.
"Okay, okay, here ya go." He poured out some of the dry dog food into a plastic dog dish he'd scrounged up from the basement, and placed a dish of water next to it. His back creaked as he straightened up. "Whew! Now, if you have to go, go outside, not in the shop."
Little Henry stopped eating and snuffed out another grump at him.
"Well, you are still a dog, Pops. I'm just reminding you. Sorry."
vvvv
Jo pulled out the case file for the suicide-by-hanging/insurance fraud case they'd closed a few weeks ago. She went back over Henry's report and read and reread all the statements, including all the data compiled from background checks. She recalled that during the interrogations, a nephew of the deceased, had been particularly more upset than any of the other family members and had threatened to get even with Henry. A background investigation had uncovered details of the nephew's troubled finances including over $50,000 in student loan debt. They'd all brushed it off at the time because, in their lines of work, threats from disgruntled criminals or distraught family members were not unusual.
The sinking feeling in her gut told her that something terrible had happened to her Henry. Her Henry? Since when had she ever referred to him that way? She shook her head to refocus on the matter at hand. Had this embittered nephew acted upon his threat against the absent ME? She sighed and rubbed her eyes and closed the file. Time to have a talk with Abe, she decided. Maybe he can remember something Henry had said or done prior to his disappearance. Disappearance. She didn't like that word. Especially not associated with someone she cared about so much.
Her cellphone buzzed and she looked at it to see who the caller was. But it was an alarm she'd set previously to remind her it was dinner time. Wow, she thought. Been at this with the file for more than three hours. She replaced the file back in the Records Room and grabbed her coat, purse and car keys from her desk. It was only a little after 7PM, but it got dark early in winter in New York. And no call from either Abe or Henry by now, meant that her quirky best friend was now three days missing. She made it to her car and decided to pick up a gyro from her favorite place near the East River, before heading over to the antiques shop to speak with Abe again.
vvvv
Abe's car pulled into one of the parking spaces near the East River. He switched off the car and turned to face Little Henry. "This is it, Pops." He took a few nervous breaths. "You just ... swim out there and ... stay under until ... well, you know."
Little Henry whimpered and placed his right paw on Abe's right knee.
"Geez. Didn't think this would be this hard." he softly muttered to himself. He looked into Little Henry's eyes and then laughed a little when a wet tongue found the side of his face. "Okay, okay, that's enough of that." He looked again into his eyes and then threw his arms around his neck and hugged him in close. Even though he was sure (well, pretty sure) that his father would return to him, he had to admit that he'd grown attached to him in this form. He was quite adorable as a dog. Smart, well-behaved, well-groomed, cute as a button, and, best of all, house trained by default because of his previously human status.
"C'mon, Pops. Let's get you back to human." He opened his door and Little Henry piled out after him. Abe opened the trunk and retrieved the duffel bag from inside. He closed the trunk and motioned for Little Henry to follow him to the river's edge. He stopped and remained on the dry land and motioned for Little Henry to continue. The dog hesitated, looked over its shoulder at Abe and whined a bit.
"Go. Go on in. It'll be over before you know it." he whispered hoarsely at him.
Little Henry barked, hesitated, and barked again. He then slowly walked down the slippery bank and entered the water. He swam out into the frosty, choppy waters and turned around to face Abe on the shore. He could see Abe making a pushing down motion with both his hands. He turned away from him and dove beneath the waters. He plunged deeper and deeper into the dark, murky depths until his lungs burned and felt as though they would burst. His eyes closed as he fought against the natural urge of survival; against the urge to dog pedal as quickly as he could back up to the surface and to blessed air, needed air. Then, the images of people and places, some long dead, others still fresh and alive today, passed before him in a parade of colors and emotions. The desperation and panic of life leaving him, was slowly replaced by a peaceful calm as he exhaled his last breath. Then silence. Then darkness.
The next thing he knew he was making a mad scramble for the surface. He breached the waters and gasped and feverishly gulped the precious oxygen down into his lungs. He turned around and around to get his bearings and finally saw a figure on the shore that he knew was Abe. As he gratefully swam towards shore, with human arms and legs, he saw another figure running up behind Abe. It was a woman. It was ... Jo. Oh, no.
Chapter 3
It was only a little after 7PM, but it got dark early in winter in New York. And no call from either Abe or Henry by now, meant that her quirky best friend was now three days missing. She made it to her car and decided to pick up a gyro from her favorite place near the East River, before heading over to the antiques shop to speak with Abe again.
vvvv
"Closed?!" Jo banged the steering wheel of her car with her hand. She'd already had the taste of the yummy gyro in her mouth, but they were closed! Closed for Renovations, the sign said. She scoffed at the thought. Renovate what in that tiny, little dump? Upgrading from paper napkins to paper boats for the gyros? She gritted her teeth as her stomach grumbled, and she pulled back onto the street to hunt up another place to satisfy her hunger.
As her car approached the corner, she intended to turn right and proceed two blocks down to her favorite burrito place. A familiar car parked near the edge of the East River caught her eye. The disembarking occupants also looked familiar. She was surprised to see that they were Abe and the cute, little dog. What on earth were they doing here, she wondered. She pulled over to the curb and turned off her lights. In the darkness, she could see Abe lift a duffel bag from the trunk. He then closed the trunk and motioned for the dog to follow him to the river's edge.
"What on earth - ?" She watched in horror as Abe stopped walking, but motioned for the dog to continue on into the chilly waters. "Oh, I don't believe this!" Her heart clenched at the sight of the dog as it briefly hesitated before advancing slowly into the waters. In her confused, emotional state, she failed to cleanly extract the key from the ignition. She finally banged the steering wheel and the key finally slipped out. The dog was far out into the water now. A scream stuck in her throat as she now struggled with her seatbelt. A terrorized squeal managed to escape her throat when she saw Abe motioning downward with his hands and the dog dove beneath the waves. Finally, she had the stupid seatbelt off and she flung open her car door, jumped out, and ran towards Abe. She just couldn't imagine Abe being so cruel to the helpless, little animal, and bringing it here to drown itself in the nasty, polluted river. Why couldn't she utter a sound? It was all too horrifying, too terrible to witness. The poor little innocent doggie! She'd just about closed in on Abe when she saw ... she saw ... Henry! Henry? He'd shot up from under the water as if from a giant slingshot, and he was ... naked ... Naked? Naked? She was behind Abe now, slightly to his right. Breathless from her run and near-emotional meltdown, she managed to whisper out his name.
"Abe." Her eyes remained trained on Henry, though, as he butterflied his way to the river's edge, then detoured slightly to the left of them so that he could take advantage of cover from a nearby bush as he exited the water.
"Sorry, Jo. One moment." Abe never looked directly at her, but he still felt her emotional disarray, causing his muscles to tense. He stiffly moved closer to the bush and threw first a towel, then items of clothing over the top of it to Henry. He zipped the duffel bag up and slung it over his shoulder. He now walked back to stand next to Jo again, but kept his head down. He stood next to her and tried to find the right words to say, but failed. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her trembling; he heard her quick, shuddered breathing; he saw her hands shaking like leaves on a tree. Finally, he turned and faced her. Her attention was locked on the bush, or rather, the person behind the bush.
"For what it's worth, Jo, he tried to tell you. More than once."
"Tell me what?" Her voice cracked and he knew she was on the verge of a tearful outburst.
He felt like such a heel, but ... this was not his mess to clean up. He'd warned his father over and over that she should not discover his secret this way. "Jo - well - he, uh ... "
"It's alright, Abraham." Henry placed his hand on Abe's shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. He dropped his hand and Abe walked away with the duffel bag slung over his shoulder, his head down. Henry pursed his lips and inhaled deeply as he realized that he might be standing a little too close to Jo for her comfort, so he took a small step back.
"I'm sorry, Jo. You should have been told a long time ago, but ... " Words failed him. Just like so many times before whenever he'd made an effort to reveal his secret to her. Even now that she obviously knew, he still found it almost impossible to speak of it with her. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. There was no turning back now, he had to finish telling her.
"I should have told you a long time ago about ... my condition." He opened his mouth to continue, but she interrupted him.
"That you're really a dog?" She fully faced him now, her cheeks streaked with fresh tears.
"No, Jo." He shook his head and wrung his hands.
"Well, I saw the cute little dog wade into the water, then you popped up, so that's what you've wanted to tell me for so long, right?" She stated very matter-of-factly, her voice strangely calm and quiet.
He was now more than a bit worried at what her mental state might be. She looked at him with practically no emotion in her face, eyes widened, her voice just above a whisper.
"Jo, let's get you somewhere out of the cold, okay? You're obviously upset and possibly suffering a bit from shock." He reached out to take her hand but she snatched it away from him. She still stood and stared at him with that most unsettling look on her face. "Jo, please, let's get somewhere inside where it's warm so I can finish telling you about me."
"Tell me what? That you're a freak?"
"Wha- what?" He was mortified. Had he heard her correctly?
"Yeah, yeah." She nodded her head up and down slowly as she looked out over the waters, then back at him. "After what I've just seen, I mean, you must be some kind of freak, right?"
He turned his head away from her, frowning, but kept his eyes on her. Her words were stirring up hurt and anger from deep down inside him. "Jo, you don't know what you're saying. Please, just come back to the shop with me and I'll - "
"And you'll what?" She stepped closer to him, a dark scowl on her face, hands on her hips. "Tell me about your - condition - over tea and crumpets?" The words spat out of her mouth with a taunting, faux British accent and landed on him with the force of a brick wall.
He lowered his head and glowered at her, his words measured and deliberate. "Stop. Please stop. You're in shock, Jo. I can understand that, but, please ... don't take that tone with me. Try to understand." He was calmer now but pleading with her. He didn't want to lose his temper with her. She didn't deserve that from him after his many months of hiding the truth from her. But her words were cutting into him like a knife.
"Well, one thing's for certain, whatever you are or whatever your 'condition' is," she chuckled mirthlessly, "you are one helluva liar, Henry Morgan."
"Yes! Yes, I am certainly that, Detective. I LIE to keep myself safe. I LIE to keep my secret from those who might only wish me harm. I LIE so that I can hold a job and live somewhere like anybody else does. And, yes, I may be a freak, as you say, but this freak still needs to eat and sleep somewhere in this unforgiving world." He was unaware that he was now creeping closer to her, frightening her, as she stumbled back and away from him. "Forgive me, Detective, for not fully disclosing certain details of my life to you, but I am not able to truly enjoy living in this world the same way that you and others take for granted!"
"Hey!" Abe yelled as he slammed his car door and approached them. "Cut it out, both of you!" He hurriedly positioned himself between them. "My God, what are you guys doing, cutting into each other like this?" He looked over his shoulder to his father. "Henry. Get in the car." Henry blinked several times at him but didn't move. "IN the car. Now." he said more sternly; as if he were the parent. Henry ran his hand over his hair and reluctantly moved towards the car. Abe walked up to Jo and put his hands on her shoulders. "C'mon." He gently turned her around and draped his arm across her shoulders, hugging her close. "You're coming home with me." She started to protest but he put up a hand. "Don't even look at that guy." he said as he pointed a finger at Henry. He then looked back at her and smiled. "You're my guest tonight. And you're in no condition to be driving anywhere." They approached the car and he helped her slip into the front passenger seat. Henry sat silently in the back seat looking tired and emotionally drained. Abe drove the three of them back to the antiques shop in silence.
Once they arrived, they all entered, still in silence. They made their way up the stairs to the second floor living quarters. Abe shook his head as he studied them. It's like a funeral procession here. Force of habit caused them all to gravitate towards the kitchen. They consumed a meal of tomato soup and ham sandwiches in silence, though.
Abe wiped his mouth and dropped his napkin onto the table. "Well, I've had enough." He looked up at the two of them. "And I'm not talking about food." That remark only garnered a sigh from Henry and a forlorn glance from Jo.
"Okay. Been a longgg day and I'm pooped." He rose and put his dishes in the sink, and turned back around to face them. "Now, I'm going to my room. Can I trust you guys to keep things down to a roar?"
They finally smiled a bit at each other. Henry looked fondly up at Abe, nodded, and lowered his eyes.
"Great. Oh, and just put 'em in the sink." he said, pointing at their dishes. "I'll take care of 'em in the morning." He waved over his shoulder as he left the two of them in the kitchen.
They sat and smiled at each other in the awkward silence. Henry closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. When he felt Jo's hand on top of his, he suddenly looked up at her. She was biting her lower lip and doing a very poor job of holding back her tears. She tried several times to say something and finally whispered, "Forgive me ... ?"
Without hesitation, he quickly stood up, almost knocking his chair over, and gathered her up into his arms. They clung tightly to each other as if their very lives depended upon it. She drenched his shoulder with her tears, and they softly exchanged apologies, caresses, and other words of love before falling back into a blissful silence filled with the most wonderful sense of belonging. Belonging to each other.
Chapter 4
"He went off a couple of days ago to meet you at ... Sorry, Jo. Guess I either didn't listen closely enough or he didn't say. But it was connected with that suicide case you guys had a few weeks ago."
vvvv
The next morning ...
Abe's words still rang in her ears as she and Henry stood outside the home of the deceased, Avery Carmichael, previously thought to have committed suicide by hanging himself in his closet. However, based on what Henry had shared with Jo last night, his nephew, Howard Carmichael, currently under investigation for insurance fraud and tampering with a crime scene, was now the number one suspect in his actual murder. This was the same nephew who had counted so much on his portion of his dead uncle's insurance money so he could bail himself out of debt. The same nephew who had threatened Henry for having ruled it to be a suicide because of the post-mortem strangulation marks on Avery's neck, and the amateurish staging of a break-in to make it appear as though Avery had been murdered during a home invasion.
Jo walked up the steps to the door, Henry a few paces behind her. She looked over her shoulder at him to make sure he wasn't about to make any heroic moves. "Stay behind me." she quietly, but firmly reminded him. He grimly nodded to her. She turned back to the door and knocked a few times. They both listened with their heads down. She knocked again, louder.
"Howard Carmichael!" She called loudly. "NYPD!" She waited for a response, but got none. She unholstered her gun and nodded for Henry to move back. "Stay. Put." she reminded him again and he nodded again.
"Howard Carmichael! This is Det. Martinez of the NYPD! Show yourself! Show yourself or we're coming in!"
A deep growl came from their right. They both snapped their heads in the direction of the growl just as it changed to loud, incessant barking. A large, German shepherd, teeth bared, ears flattened back, made quick, scuffling moves towards them as if threatening to lunge at them any second.
Henry froze, his heart in his throat, as he once again stared down the beast responsible for his demise only days ago. It had all happened so fast before when he'd visited there just a few days ago, mistakenly thinking to meet Jo there to conduct a followup interview on the case that he'd begun to have doubts about. He did have a pretty good track record of figuring out their various victims' COD's, but when he was wrong or had doubts, he'd always been quick to take a second look; and a third or a fourth, if necessary, in order to show proper respect to the deceased, and to give proper closure to the surviving family members.
His feet were rooted to the spot, he couldn't move, they refused to respond to his brain's commands to run. In slow motion, it seemed, he once again saw the dog run and leap into the air towards him, its mouth open, its sharp teeth hungrily aiming for his throat again. Just before the weight of the large dog hit him again, knocking him backwards, he threw both arms up to protect himself. The loud discharge from a gun came from his left, just as he and the dog fell down onto the ground. At the same time, the dog let out a high-pitched, gutteral wail and went limp on top of him. He felt warm blood ooze between the dog's body and his. But whose blood? He breathlessly struggled to shove the dog off of him, then pulled himself to his feet. The dog lay lifeless on the ground. He was vaguely aware of someone approaching him from the right. He looked up and saw Jo, her gun still pointed at the animal. She kicked the dog with one foot, then again, then, satisfied of its demise, put her hand on Henry's arm and backed them away from the house.
She opened the passenger side door of her car and motioned Henry inside. He sat sideways in the seat with his feet planted against the curb. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and buried his face into his hands. He heard a voice from far away, Jo's maybe, but he couldn't make out the words. He raised his head a bit and gazed at the dead dog. He rested his chin on top of his clasped hands in an effort to hide their shaking. It had almost happened again: death by vicious dog attack. In all his long life, he'd never been killed by a dog. Bitten, yes, and contracted rabies, yes, but never by having had his throat torn out. He surmised that the sheer terror of it all had caused him to reawaken in the river as a canine. The experience reminded him of something he'd read about Joseph Merrick, England's Elephant Man, so named because of his grotesque, physical appearance that resembled many attributes of an elephant. Merrick's mother had reportedly been terrorized by an escaped elephant while carrying him. The terror had somehow seeped into her womb and caused him to be born with his unfortunate physical deformities. Jo's voice finally became clearer and more normal sounding to his ears.
"Animal Control's on its way and an ambulance for you. So is Hanson. Somebody sicced that dog on you, Henry, both times." She lowered her eyes and admitted, "For obvious reasons, though, we can't mention anything about the first time." She looked at him again, apologetically, and squeezed his shoulder.
He managed a weak smile and placed his hand over hers and squeezed back. "Yes, well, it won't be the first time that someone has gone unpunished after having murdered me." He looked up at her and added, "For obvious reasons."
She closed her eyes tightly and took several deep breaths. "Henry, I am so sorry. I can't imagine what you've gone through, what kind of life you've led. And I was so mad at you for having lied to me, for having kept your secret from me. You didn't deserve that from me." She shook her head and looked down at her feet.
He stood up and leaned back against the car next to her. "No, Jo. Don't ever feel guilty for any of that. It's just ... it's my fault for not having trusted you. Abe kept telling me that I could but I ... " He heaved a deep sigh. "There's no use going back to it now, though." He felt a bit stronger, standing there with her, their shoulders touching, and meaningful words of apology and explanation finally being shared. It had been such a long time since he'd felt so close to and comfortable with someone. Someone other than his son, Abe. Someone other than his deceased wife, his beloved Abigail.
She smiled and blinked several times and moved around, turning to face the street. "I've got to get myself together. They'll all be here soon and I've got to walk and talk like a cop; not a teary-eyed damsel in distress." she chuckled, wiping a tear away. She sniffled and looked at him again. "How do you do it?"
He frowned slightly and turned his head towards her a bit but continued to stare at the dead dog. "Hmmm? Do what?"
"Just - I don't know, keep, keep going. Keep living." She wasn't sure if she was putting the right words together.
"Oh, that." he sighed. "It's called survival, Detective. One must always find a way to survive, to keep living, as you say. Me? I have no choice in the matter. Haven't had for such a long time. It's become second nature for me to figure out how to cover my tracks and avoid detection. People call it lies, well, I am forced to tell lies about many aspects of my life because the truth is often too fantastical for the average person to digest. But we won't go over that again." The far off siren wails of an ambulance and police car battled each other as they drew closer. He patted her hand that rested near his against the side of the car. "Strength and resolve, Detective. Strength and resolve." he repeated to her as the vehicles pulled up outside the house.
The responders descended upon Henry and the dog, and administered aid appropriate to their respective conditions. Henry watched Jo inform Hanson of the events that had led up to their confrontation with the dog and their reason for having been there, in the first place. The two detectives, unis, and those from Animal Control, set a perimeter and did a sweep of the building and surrounding property.
Inside, in a small office, Jo and Hanson found Howard Carmichael dead from a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the right temple, his body slumped across the desk. Their new prime suspect in the possible murder of Avery Carmichael was now their latest corpse. A signed, handwritten suicide note was also on the desk near the body, and contained a confession with regards to attempting to stage his late uncle's death as a murder instead of a suicide. Echoes of "Clear" from different parts of the rambling Victorian and outside rang out. Hanson leaned over the body and even he could determine by its condition, that he'd been dead for at least 24 hours or more. That and the date of the suicide note backed up his initial examination. He voiced his observations out loud, pointing to various areas of the body and to the note.
Jo looked skeptically at him and warned him, "Careful. You're sounding a bit like Henry."
He straightened up and smiled while walling his eyes around. "Think so?" he asked, grinning.
"No." she said with a smirk as he lost his grin. "Let's get out of their way so they (CSU) can do their thing."
Once back outside, they saw the paramedics wrapping up their examination of Henry and AC hauling the dead German shepherd away. There was so much blood on the front of Henry's clothes that at first they'd thought he was injured. It all belonged to the dog, though. He'd refused a ride to Bellevue, and instead, he walked up to the stairs and met them as they walked down.
Jo looked down at his blue-gloved hands in disbelief. "You going in?"
"Yes, Detective." he replied with a slight frown, confused.
"But you've just been - " she started before he cut her off.
"Attacked by a vicious dog, yes. And I do appreciate your concern. But no matter how horrific my appearance might be, I can assure you that I am completely unharmed and still quite capable of performing my duties as a Medical Examiner. So, if you'll allow me ... " He raised a hand to indicate that he wanted to enter the house and they stepped aside for him. He smiled and nodded to both as he passed by them.
"Not afraid you'll contaminate the crime scene, Doc, with all that dog's blood on ya?" Hanson asked.
"Already taken care of, Detective. Animal Control has the blood sample taken from off my shirt. It can be used in the elimination process later on, just in case. But," he smiled and dipped his head quickly at him, "I promise I'll be very careful."
Hanson watched him as he walked into the house and stepped out of view into the small office where Howard Carmichael's body was. He turned to Jo and shook his head. "Your boyfriend's something else."
Her first instinct was to protest his referring to Henry as her boyfriend, but something stopped her. "Hmmm." She tilted her head to the side as she looked in the direction of the office where Henry was inside doing his thing, and a broad smile spread across her face. Boyfriend. Okay. That sounds very nice, she thought. "Yeah, he is." she finally replied. "He really is."
She turned and walked down the few steps towards the car and Hanson followed.
"Remember to let me know when you guys go on your first official date." Hanson told her. He had money riding on them in the office pool, but he felt he should keep that to himself.
She smiled, shook her head, but kept walking.
vvvv
Henry's basement laboratory in Abe's Antiques, two days later ...
"Well, that's the last of the photo albums." Henry said, as Jo viewed the last leaf of photos and closed the book.
"Remarkable. Simply ... remarkable." she gave a small laugh and placed the photo album on top of the small pile of others on the coffee table. She clasped her hands together in her lap and tilted her head as she smiled at him.
He eyed her as he leaned back on the small couch and drummed his fingers on the edge of the couch's arm, his other hand fisted and pressed against his mouth and chin. "Any other questions?"
She shifted her position to face him and draped her arm across the back of the couch. "So, you're not a dog?"
He dipped his head and chuckled. "No. I am not a dog." He chuckled some more.
Her fingers playfully traced along the top edge of his scruff, then behind his ear, and down the side of his neck. He closed his eyes and revelled in the warmth of her touch. She placed her hand on the back of his neck and rubbed the side of it with her thumb.
"Where?" she quietly asked.
He knew she was asking about where the vicious German shepherd had bitten him, eventually killing him. He raised his left hand up and touched a spot on the side of his neck. "Here." He shuddered when her lips tenderly covered the spot, and sucked in his breath when her warm, moist tongue slid over the same spot.
"Jo." he managed to rasp out. "I warn you; there's still a bit of the canine left in me." He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto his lap.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her in closer for a long, passionate, overdue kiss. She then rested her forehead against his. "I was sort of counting on that." she grinned.
Notes:
So, it turned out that Avery Carmichael actually did hang himself after a long battle with cancer. His greedy nephew, Howard, had found him and, believing that the insurance company would not pay off because of suicide, he got the bright idea to stage his uncle's death to look like a home invasion gone wrong.
There's more than one train of thought in the search results I found on the Internet about whether or not insurance companies deny beneficiaries' claims in the event of the insured's suicide. So, for the purposes of this story, they didn't. Too bad.
Why did Howard commit suicide? He had lured Henry to the house with the promise of disclosing new evidence in the closed case by posing as Jo in a fake text message. After he'd let Henry into the house, he'd sicced the German shepherd on him. After the vicious attack, Henry's body had vanished right in front of him which caused a mental break and had pushed him over the edge to the point of committing his own suicide. That left the dog to roam freely in the house and on the property, unfed and uncared for. By the time it saw Henry again, it kind of went berserk, too, and attacked him again. Good thing Jo was there to shoot the animal and save Henry.
And, yes, he told Jo his long story. It's all good. LOL