Chapter 6

"Here you go, Mr. Garcia," Dave said handing him a check, once he had signed a contract that his lawyer had drawn up. "This should be enough to take care of any back taxes and to upgrade the puppy mill. To hire people to help you out. My attorney will be keeping a close eye on you and will alert me to any problems."

Dave, his attorney and Mr. Garcia had several meetings over the last few weeks. Alejandre Garcia had been rather surprised when Dave and his attorney had showed up at his door, looking all official. Once they had explained the reason for their visit, he had been more than grateful, so discussions had been going on over several weeks until everything was agreed too. Today was just the official signing, once Mr. Garcia read over the contract carefully.

Finally, Alejandre signed on the dotted line and in several other places and Dave handed him a large check.

The man was beyond grateful, as this would help his family get back on their feet and make the puppy mill into a real successful business.

"I wish you luck in your endeavour," the lawyer said shaking the man's hand. "I'll be by to visit periodically to make sure everything is running smoothly."

It was a subtle warning to use the money, as it was supposed to be, but Mr. Garcia just nodded getting the message. He had every intention of upgrading this place and paying his back taxes.

"Good luck," Dave said shaken the bands handed as well.

"Thank you very much Mr. Rossi. I'm grateful to you for taking an interest in my little business," Alejandre said accepting the check he was handed.

"You're quite welcome sir," Dave said with a smile. "Jazz and I love the puppies we got from here and were thinking about getting a cat as well, but not right now. Really, you're doing everyone who loves dogs a public service as not anybody thinks about going to the pound. Besides, that's usually full-grown dogs and cats not puppies or kittens. I won't say that they don't get the occasional puppy or kitten it's just not very common."

Mr. Garcia waved goodbye and watched Dave, and his lawyer leave in their separate vehicles.

He wondered what he had done right to have such a generous, kind, man help his family get back on their feet. Whatever it was he would always be very grateful to his guardian angel.

~~~Dave and Jazzlyn~~~

"That was a very nice thing you did," Jazz told Dave. "I know we talked about helping Mr. Garcia of the puppy mill, but I wasn't sure how long it was going to take."

"I do try to help out when I can. I've told you this before," Dave reminded her gently.

"You're an unusual man Dave," Jazz told him. "I've never met anyone with your kindness, compassion or generosity. To be fair though, most people I know you don't have your kind of money. Still, most people don't go out of their way to help others."

"I know," Dave said. "There're still some generous people in the world, but I have to admit there aren't very many of them."

"Well, you certainly impressed me and I'm not usually easy to impress," Jazz told Dave sincerely.

"That wasn't my intention, but I don't consider it a bad thing either," Dave said.

"Good, because you shouldn't," Jazz said. "It actually makes me love you even more."

"That's good," Dave said, as he kissed Jazz tenderly. "I hope I continue to impress you for many years to come."

"I'm sure you will," Jazz said. "Right now, though, I had better feed Jasper before he comes begging. He'll look up at me with those adorable brown eyes of his with the cutest expression on his face and lick my hand or my face until I get up and serve him. He's been known to wake me up from my nap if it's time to be fed."

"Amy is the same," said Dave with an adorable grin. "She'll even sit under where I have the leash hanging to let me know that she needs to go out."

"Well, we have a pair of intelligent puppies," Jazz said impressed.

"Yeah, they do seem more intelligent than most. As I told Jackie Garcia I've had several dogs over the years, and they can be very intelligent companions."

"I would love to have their brother and sister if they haven't been bought," Jazz said

"They were still there when I was with the lawyer the other day. Business is going to pick up soon though, so they're not going to be there much longer, I'm sure."

"Well, I don't have the room for another dog right now," Jazz said regretfully. "I wish I did."

"I do though, and I'll be glad to keep both of them for you," Dave suggested. "I can bring them by to see you anytime you want."

"That's an idea," Jazz said. "I'll certainly consider it. I know one pet should be more than enough it's just that I feel sorry for the those two, especially since they're siblings with yours and mine."

"You would rescue that whole place if you could," Dave said, and Jazz nodded.

"I've always loved having the cats when I was growing up and while I know most people prefer one or the other, I like dogs too."

"Which is why you adopted; a cute, adorable puppy," Dave said smiling.

"That's why," Jazz agreed smiling as well.

"That's why I think that outreach problem is so important," Dave said. "It's something I mentioned to Alejandre Garcia while I was there the other day. He was very enthusiastic about the idea. It's something that probably wouldn't work in a bigger city, but in a small place like Moonlight Gorge..."

"People are more relaxed," Jazz said. "They'll walk up to you to pet the dog and ask if it's yours."

"Which is when I'll tell them that no, it's for sale and I just wanted to let them know that such cute and adorable dogs were available. I'll then tell them about the puppy mill, which will ramp up business."

"I'm surprised that Mr. Garcia never thought about doing that," Jazz said.

"It's possible he did, and he just didn't know how to go about it," Dave said. "Or it might not have occurred to him. It's also possible he was afraid that the police would come after him, but they have no reason to because puppy mills are not illegal. A lot of people don't know what's legal or illegal after all."

Jazz had to acknowledge that, because there were a lot of obscure laws that most people didn't know anything about and from what she understood the owner of the puppy mill would not have been able to afford bail, if he had been arrested, so she could understand why he hadn't done anything like Dave was suggesting.

"Do you think it's possible to get the police captain involved? If he supports our idea well, it's bound to be a success?" Dave suggested.

"He is well respected," Jazz said considering the idea. "And he loves dogs as he has one of his own, though old Downey would be ancient by now. I don't think they'll be any harm in asking as I've known Jorge's boss for as long as I've been alive. He comes a nearly every day to the bakery for a cup of our signature blend coffee and some snack usually a doughnut. He's a creature of habit," Jazz added shrugging.

"It's unfortunate that he wasn't there when Jorge caused this scene," Dave said.

"No, he usually comes in early, shortly after we open at seven. I think Jorge comes in later just to avoid him personally, because he would have to behave himself in front of his captain. Captain Adam Bloodworth would take him to task I guarantee you if he saw how Jorge acted in public harassing me like he does. At least he would be put on suspension without pay and that's at a minimum. Captain Bloodworth isn't one that will take a lot of bullshit, especially from someone under his command."

"So why hasn't he done anything before, well, besides for that black mark on Jorge's record?" Dave asked. "If he's that no nonsense..."

"Because he's usually not around when Jorge misbehaves, and most people just put up with his attitude instead of reporting him including myself. I've taken a lot of crap from him over the years, but he's gotten more persistent ever since he found out we were dating," Jazz explained.

"He never had a chance with you anyway," Dave said. "Not with his general attitude and disrespect for people. You're too intelligent to get involved with someone like him. You were taught to respect others, even ones you dislike. Otherwise, you would have done something about Jorge's attitude a long time ago. You would've been a lot ruder at least then you have been up until now."

"You know that, but I don't think Jorge realizes he never had a chance with me. Even if I was attracted to him, which I'm not, his general attitude would prevent me from ever dating him," Jazz said. "I have too much respect for myself to date someone like him. It doesn't help that I've known him all his life. He doesn't have a kind or compassionate bone in his body. He's more than type to put someone down as nastily as possible."

"He's the kind of man that would try to order you around and probably treat you like you were a servant," Dave said with certainty. "I doubt very much he would ever treat you as an equal."

"No, probably not," Jazz decided. "He'd probably expect me to obey orders like a good little woman. I doubt he would put up with my hours at the bakery for example. He'd probably want me to sell it, something I would never do no matter how much pressure he put me under, and he can't sell it out from under me, because I'm the one that owns it. If I was stupid enough to do so I'm sure he would try to take the money for himself. He probably wouldn't understand anything about dreams as he is just not the kind of person to consider others feelings. If I was stupid enough to date him, because I didn't know what he was like, well, I would break up with him soon after, I'm sure. I can't see Jorge being a good enough actor to fool me for very long."

"So, what are you going to do about him?" Dave asked. "He's practically stalking you now, though I know this is a small town. It's not extremely difficult to find out where somebody is, even without doing anything illegal. There are only so many places you could be, but still, for him to show up practically everywhere you and I go is getting more then annoying, it's damn frustrating. He might very well be building up to something physical."

"You think he might be working up to attacking me when I'm alone?" Jazz asked, never having considered that before. To her Jorge was only an annoyance not a real danger.

"With the way he's acting I would say it's a real possibility," Dave told her gently. "I know you don't like to think that he would physically strike you, but it's more than possible in my opinion. I do know something about the physiology of the human mind. Some people who get rejected often enough, especially by somebody they believe there're in love with can want to exact revenge. It doesn't matter to them if they're obsession hasn't actually done anything to need revenge for, just being rejected is often enough. With a scenario like that a lot of times the whole family is murdered, mother, father, children if the target happens to be married, have a family."

"That's scary," Jazz admitted shivering. "I never thought about Jorge getting physically violent."

"I'm not surprised at that, because you've known him all your life and when somebody has known somebody for so long, they often miss the signs, just dismissing them because they don't fit with what they know of the person," Dave said.

"Even if that person isn't particularly well liked," Jazz added. "There is such a thing as loyalty to your hometown and to the people that you've known all your life, though I don't think Jorge has an ounce of loyalty in his entire body considering what happened a few years ago."

The two fell silent and simply cuddled together on the couch while necking with each other. By mutual agreement they dropped the subject of Jorge Mason for the moment. It likely wouldn't be long before he went way too far and there would be nothing that could save him after that.

~~~Dave and Jazzlyn~~~

The police station of Moonlight Gorge

"Come in," Came an authoritative voice, as soon as someone knocked on his door. Jazz and Dave entered the captain's small office.

"What can I do for you, Jazz?" The captain asked, the young woman before him. Both the captain and Jazz were very familiar with each other as they'd known each other all their lives. "I hope you're not in some kind of trouble."

"Of course, not captain," Jazz said not mentioning her recent troubles with Jorge who was really trying her patience. She was sure that Captain Bloodworth knew about them anyway due to the way rumors ran like fine wine through somewhere like a small town.

"First, this is David Rossi who is a visitor here," Jazz introduced. "Dave, this is Captain Adam Bloodworth, who is in charge of the officers and detectives here in Moonlight Gorge.

"It's very nice to meet you Mr. Rossi," Captain Bloodworth said shaking the man hand.

"It is very nice to meet you too sir," Dave said accessing the man silently.

Captain Bloodworth had steel-gray hair, a large frame with broad shoulders and it looked like he worked out as there wasn't an ounce of fat on him. He had a no nonsense face and listened intently as Jazz and Dave told him about the puppy mill, once the introductions were over.

"It's actually an excellent idea," Captain Bloodworth said. "I didn't know about this puppy mill you just told me about, but since they are hardly illegal, it's not really any of my business so long as they obey the laws. However, now that I know about it and what the two of you want to do, with an outreach program to find some abandoned dogs a forever home is really excellent. I might just go there myself as my dog ran out in front of a car after my wife died. She was actually more my wife's dog than mine, but still, I miss having a companion."

"I'm really sorry about your wife captain," Dave said offering his sincere condolences.

"Thank you, but as I said it happened several years ago and was expected."

"And to lose your loving companion on top of that just because they get run over is a double tragedy," Jazz said. "I would've offered you my condolences sooner if I had known."

"It's okay, I kept it to myself on purpose. I didn't want anybody's condolences at the time, but now enough time has passed that both their deaths aren't so sharp," Bloodworth said looking nostalgic for a moment.

"Well, the owners will welcome you to let you choose whatever dog you want," Dave offered. "They have mostly smaller dogs, but there are a few bigger ones."

"So how did you find out about it?" Bloodworth asked.

"You know my best friend, Shonda. She's the one that told me about it, as she had just gotten a dog from there. I'd been meaning to get myself either a cat or a dog for months but never thought about it until such places were closed. I was too busy running the bakery to even think about it until I was off work for the day, so Shonda telling me about this puppy mill just made me finally get my rear in gear. Dave and I were dating at the time, and he wanted another dog as well."

"I see," Bloodworth said.

"I hadn't had one in a few years and just decided it was time to get another," Dave commented.

"We got lucky and got a couple of puppies, as apparently one of the females was pregnant when the daughter of the owner brought her home," Jazz explained.

"Just make sure they get their appropriate shots and everything," Bloodworth said.

"Already taken care of Captain," Dave assured him. "They've had their shots, and a chip inserted in case they're lost or stolen. Both Jazz and I have the appropriate paperwork."

"We also got them collars and everything with their names on it, along with who to return them to, should they be found," Jazz said.

"Very good," Bloodworth said pleased. "Looks like you have everything taken care off. Yes, I'll be happy to participate in this outreach program. I'm sure most people don't know about this puppy mill, and this is a good way to get the word out."

"Which will only help the business," Dave said.

It didn't need to be said that this outreach program for dogs would never work anywhere outside of a small town.

"Of course, there is also the pound if people want to go that route," Bloodworth said.

"But that's in the next town over from us, as we don't have one," Jazz said. "If people want to go that far because they want a big dog instead of a small one then that's just fine. I won't say the pound doesn't have any small dogs as well, just that large dogs seem to make up the majority. People with little kids though usually want small dogs, so they won't be too big for their children to play with and possibly hurt them, especially if they've never had a dog before."

"I think there is plenty of business for both places," Dave let his opinion be known. "Maybe not specifically here in Moonlight Gorge, but certainly in the surrounding towns. There are plenty of towns within an hour of here and I'm sure there are plenty of people in them that want a dog or even a cat for themselves. We just have to get the word out about the puppy mill so that they'll get plenty of customers and not necessarily from here."

Captain Bloodworth was nodding at Dave's logic because he was right. There were at least half a dozen towns that were within an hour's drive of their little town.

"There are also plenty of tourists that might want to take the dog home with them," Jazz added.

"So long as they drove and didn't fly that's a possibility," Dave agreed.

"Most tourists don't take a flight to get here. It's mostly tourists from towns that're fairly close, though we do get those from the big city is well Chicago, New York, Los Angeles," Bloodworth explained. "Some people have heard about our lovely little town, and it sounds perfect for a vacation from all the stress of daily living."

"And we welcome them so long as they bring no trouble," Jazz said.

"Well, of course you do, it helps the economy," Dave said.

The three of them kept chatting for a few minutes before Jazz and Dave took there leave.

"I just want to let you know that this is a wonderful idea that you two have thought of," Bloodworth told the pair, before they left. "It'll really raise awareness about all the abandoned dogs that live on the street. This is something that most people just don't think about."

"Why do you think I suggested it?" Dave told the captain. "I know very well this isn't something most people think about."

"Very good job, Mr. Rossi," Bloodworth complimented Dave. "It's clear you love dogs, as you're going out of your way to raise citizen awareness."

"That was my intention, sir," Dave agreed. "There are so many sweet animals that never find themselves a forever home. I'm just trying my best to correct that in my own small way."

Jazz and Dave left then, and Bloodworth thought that Jazz had found herself a winner. David Rossi seemed to be worlds above Jorge Mason. He was nice, polite and courteous and as far as he could tell respected others. The same could not be said about his officer unfortunately. Jorge was just a problem child and refused to realize that the way he conducted himself was wrong. He could see a confrontation between Jazz, Jorge and possibly Dave coming. Bloodworth was sure that Dave would want to protect Jazz from the idiot and if the rumors he heard were true he could definitely see an explosion in the near future. That outcome wouldn't be pretty he was sure, but Jorge more than had it coming as the man wouldn't know how to treat a woman or really anybody to save his life. He was rude and obnoxious and didn't seem to know how to be polite to people he didn't like.

Oh well, not his problem at least at the moment, though he knew it to become his problem very quickly.

~~~Dave and Jazzlyn~~~