Chapter 6 #2
“As far as Grandma goes, just avoid her if you can. I’ve already spoken to the deputies who came out to Sean’s place, and that was an eye-opener for them as well, so we’ll see where all this goes.”
“Did you tell them what’s going on?”
“Yes, I set their asses straight, called the sheriff on them too. Grandma told them that I was stealing the homestead from her.”
“Oh God,” Crystal muttered, “that’s not good. No matter, she won’t handle that well that you set the deputies straight.”
“No, she won’t, but I keep hoping she’ll wise up.
This is beyond serious, and she’s broken many laws.
Every bit of profit and every bit of extra money that Grandpa and I have made over the last however many years has been funneled back into his clients’ accounts, to cover her thefts.
But they’re not completely repaid yet, and, if she’s now put money away for herself, it’s to continue her gambling, not to pay back these clients for all the money she stole.
That won’t go over well, so she doesn’t get to continue this scot-free living, while she makes the rest of us suffer. ”
“What are you thinking, Ashton?”
“Nothing that’s not right, Crystal. I’m not out for revenge, but I will not allow her to take even more money to feed her gambling addiction. If she’s got money, it needs to pay back what she’s stolen.” With that, he disconnected, leaving Crystal staring in shock at her phone.
“How does a family come to this?” she murmured to herself.
Meanwhile, Ashton drove up to the address in question. It was a decent-sized property, not quite a ranch, maybe a hobby farm. He hopped out of the vehicle, walked up to the front door, rang the doorbell, and got no answer.
The Wilfords were expecting him, so he was hoping that they were hanging onto the dog and were doing it for the right reasons and would be helpful.
He rang the doorbell again and heard a shout from the back.
He walked around to the rear of the house and saw an older couple, standing with a couple horses.
They looked over at him. He sauntered closer and introduced himself. “I’m here about the dog.”
Mr. Wilford frowned. “Well, you’re going to have to prove it’s your dog,” he began. “We ain’t just handing it over to anybody.”
He looked at him and nodded. “Sure enough. If it’s a War Dog, it should be chipped, with the registered name of Khan. We can go to any vet clinic and confirm it immediately. I do believe it’s Sean’s dog.”
“And when you say, Sean?” Mr. Wilford asked.
“Sean Keaton, a disabled vet. He’s gone missing, and his dog has also gone missing.” The two looked at each other. “And that’s why I need to know where you found the dog, in case Sean’s out there as well.”
Mr. Wilford still frowned. “Well, if he’s on a disability, he’s not likely to be out there.”
“I don’t know where he is,” Ashton replied.
“I did, however, just come from his place this morning, only to find that he and his wheelchair are missing, and, for all I know, he’s out there looking for his dog.
This dog is a retired K9 War Dog, so it’s not a dog that people can just pick up and keep on a whim. ”
Mr. Wilford flushed. “We’re not trying to do that,” he protested. “Obviously we picked it up because it was in trouble.” His voice was stiff, as if he had taken that personally.
“I appreciate that,” Ashton noted, “but you also are implying that, if it’s not my dog, that you won’t let me see him. I need to see the dog so I can identify him, and we’ll go from there.”
The couple again shared a look.
Mr. Wilford started to speak again, and his wife just tapped his arm, shaking her head.
He glared at her. “Well, it’s a good dog, and we could use a watchdog.”
“Come on. It’s not our dog,” she told him, “and he won’t stay if he belongs to somebody else anyway.” She glanced over at Ashton.
He nodded. “Can I see the dog now?” Ashton asked.
She glanced at her husband, who was still glaring at Ashton. “Come on, dear. Let’s get the dog.”
Mr. Wilford pointed at Ashton. “We don’t even know who he is. I’m not going to let the dog go just because he says he’s got some sort of claim on it.”
“I can give you my boss’s name. He works for the US War Department. They are the ones interested in finding the lost War Dog.” He pulled out his phone to show them the number to call.
Mrs. Wilford continued to speak to her husband. “Come on now. We found him, but you know that he won’t stay, and we’ll spend all this time keeping him locked up.”
Ashton snorted. “That’s not a life for a dog, not to mention the fact that it’s not your dog,” Ashton declared, frowning at the two of them.
Mr. Wilford glared at him and added, “It’s not your dog either.”
“That’s true,” Ashton agreed, “but I am here representing the War Department, and I need to know that this War Dog, who has spent the better part of his life protecting and saving our GIs overseas, is safe and sound with the person assigned to legally adopt the dog.”
Mr. Wilford flushed at that, and Mrs. Wilford seemed nervous. “We’ll go get him,” she said, as she looked at her husband. “You need to go get him. Now.” He just glared at her, but she didn’t relent.
“Fine,” he muttered, then headed over to the barn in the background.
She turned to Ashton and apologized. “I’m really very sorry. He’s not usually this difficult, but we once had a similar-looking dog who was the love of his life. So when this one showed up out of nowhere,” she explained, “he took it as a sign that he was getting his beloved animal back.”
“And did the animal take to him?”
“No, not at all,” she admitted, “and that’s been a bit of a challenge.”
“That’s because the War Dog already has somebody, and he knows and wants to be reunited with Sean,” Ashton told her. “Also I have two missing seniors, and this War Dog is a good tracker. I’m hoping I can use him to find them both, so I can get everybody back home again.”
She stared at him in shock. “We didn’t know any of that,” she cried out. “We were trying to find the dog’s owner.”
“How hard were you trying?” he asked shrewdly.
She flushed. “My husband is definitely connected to this dog.”
“Yet the dog is not connected to your husband.”
She winced. “He’s just been lost without his dog, that’s all. He’s very concerned and wants the best for the dog. That’s all.”
“And where have you kept the animal since bringing him home?”
She stared at him and then glanced at the barn.
“The dog is locked up in four walls? He’s a big animal, and he’s used to being outside, and yet you’ve got him contained? Did you take him for any walks? Did you feed him? Did you do anything with him other than lock him up and try to keep him as your own?”
The woman flushed. “You must understand, he’s, … he’s really—” She looked miserable, turning all shades of red.
Ashton nodded. “I do understand wanting a dog, but I also understand that this is not your dog.”
“Maybe it’s not even the one you’re looking for.” A note of desperation filled her tone.
Ashton asked, “How long should it take your husband to get the dog?”
She grimaced and stared at the barn.
“I suggest we both go to the barn,” Ashton noted.
She looked at him and whispered, “You just have to understand.”
“I heard everything you said to me, and what I’m also hearing is that this dog may not be safe here.”
“No, my husband wouldn’t hurt him,” she whispered. “He would never hurt him.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Ashton declared, moving at a fast clip as he headed to the barn. He opened it just in time to see the old man trying to put a muzzle on Khan, who was fighting him at every turn. Ashton hurried inside and stopped him. “A muzzle is not needed.”
Mr. Wilford shot back, “You don’t belong here.”
“Yeah, well, watching you put a muzzle on a War Dog that doesn’t want or need to be muzzled, a dog that isn’t yours in the first place, when you were supposed to be bringing it out to me, makes me wonder if you had something to do with this dog going missing in the first place.”
The wife gasped, a silent cry of distress.
Ashton turned to her and asked, “That’s what happened, isn’t it?”
She closed her eyes, but the husband just started yelling at her.
“Don’t you say anything, don’t you dare!”
But Ashton already knew. “So, what happened to the old man whose dog you stole? A disabled veteran, a senior citizen in a wheelchair? A man who isn’t where he belongs and whom nobody seems to know what happened to him?”
She shook her head. “We … we didn’t hurt him.”
Shocked, Ashton turned to her. “Are you telling me that you two stole this dog from an old man who needed him, just because you wanted him?” he asked, staring at her, struggling hard to hold back the disgust, but she saw it anyway.
She closed her eyes and muttered, “You have to understand.”
“I think the time for understanding has passed,” Ashton announced, as he walked over to where Mr. Wilford held the leash tightly. Ashton looked down at Khan, and the dog looked up at him. There wasn’t a note of desperation, but there was almost a stillness, a quiet.
Ashton gave him a short, sharp whistle, Khan stood at attention, had followed through with no hesitation.
Ashton looked back at Wilford. “Either let him go or I’ll command him to pull on that leash, dragging you along if need be.
So, just in case you think you’re keeping this animal, you’re not.
From what I see, you probably shouldn’t have any pets.
I worry about what happened to the poor dog you did have,” he shared, “because this is not how you treat animals.”
When Wilford refused, Ashton gave another sharp whistle, and Khan separated from the old man, taking his leash with him to come and stand at Ashton’s side, with absolutely zero hesitation.
Ashton looked over at the wife and called out, “Do you have any further doubts?”
She shook her head and whispered, “We didn’t know.”