Chapter 31
Brodie lifted Thistle down from the vehicle and clipped a lead onto his collar; the last thing he needed was for the dog to run away again just when they had arrived at his home. He might be returning Thistle to his rightful owner, but he had every intention of observing every one of Thistle’s reactions to being back here. And he wanted to discover what it was that had caused this friendly dog to run away.
Lettie looked at him and pointed to the doorbell. ‘Shall I?’
‘Please.’ For some reason it mattered that he wasn’t the one doing it. He wanted to keep Thistle by his side for as long as possible. He reached down and stroked Thistle from his head to his tail. ‘You all right, boy?’
The dog wasn’t shaking or trembling and Brodie noticed with relief that his tail was wagging slowly. At least he wasn’t scared to be here; that was something. If the dog showed any signs of fear or being uncomfortable he decided he would make an excuse to have to take him to the practice and keep him there until he had found out more about the owners.
The front door eventually opened and a very elderly lady clapped her hands together in delight when she saw Thistle.
‘Derek, you’re back.’ She bent slightly and opened her arms and Thistle, or Derek as Brodie now knew his name to be, increased his wagging and pulled forward to get to her.
Brodie unclipped the lead, let the dog go and looked at Lettie. She was smiling and looking as relieved as he felt. As part of him felt. He realised the rest of him was sad that this was the last time he would have Thistle. No, he reminded himself, his name is Derek, with him.
‘He seems very happy to see you,’ Brodie said.
The old lady seemed to notice him and Lettie for the first time. ‘I can see you have a few questions you’d like to ask me and if you want to come inside for a cup of tea, then I can answer them for you.’
Brodie hoped he hadn’t shown his thoughts on his face but assumed that he must have done. He held out his arm for Lettie to go first. ‘We’d like to see him settled, so that would be lovely. Thank you.’
As Lettie followed the lady into her neat little home, Brodie looked around. They passed a small kitchen where he noticed a clean and filled water bowl on the floor, then into the living room where a dog’s bed with several blankets and a couple of toys lay to the side of an electric fireplace. The woman seemed to have catered well for Derek. Brodie watched as the dog came up to nuzzle him and he leant forward and cuddled the dog’s head and shoulders, before the dog went to his bed, turned in a circle a couple of times and then lay down.
‘He certainly seems settled here,’ Lettie said thoughtfully giving Brodie a side-eyed look.
She was right. But if that was the case then why had the dog run away?
‘Let me make that tea.’
Lettie exchanged glances with Brodie again and he gave a slight shake of his head. ‘Tea isn’t necessary, Mrs Broadbent,’ she said. ‘Why don’t you tell us what you wish to and we can be on our way and leave you and Th—Derek in peace?’
The woman sat and folded her hands in her lap. ‘Derek here isn’t my dog.’
Brodie tensed. He had no intention of leaving this dog with an imposter. He sat up straighter and leant forward frowning. ‘What exactly do you mean by that?’ Was this supposedly sweet lady admitting to getting Thistle under false pretences?
‘Please, don’t get me wrong. I am supposed to have him here. I didn’t fib when I said I was his owner.’ Her lined face crumpled slightly as she squeezed her eyes closed for a moment and appeared to be gathering herself. Opening them she took a deep breath. ‘I’m trying to work out how best to explain this.’
‘It’s fine,’ Lettie said calmly, shooting a pointed look in Brodie’s direction. ‘Take your time. We’re not in any rush, are we, Brodie?’
‘No.’ He took a steadying breath. ‘We’re happy to be here for as long as you need us to be.’ He looked at Derek lying comfortably in his bed, his big eyes staring up at him, and wondered what the dog was thinking. Don’t worry, my little pal, he thought, wishing the dog could hear what he was thinking, I won’t leave you here unless I’m certain it’s the best thing for you. Derek opened one eye briefly, looked at him as if to reassure Brodie that he believed him and then closed it again and began snoring softly.
‘Do go on.’ Brodie was looking forward to finding out exactly what the situation was with this woman.
‘It’s like this,’ she began, her fingers knitted together. ‘You might have noticed a matching bungalow next door.’
Brodie hadn’t but he nodded, impatient to hear her explanation.
‘The gentleman who lived there, Percy, moved in with his wife in the sixties when I moved in here with my late husband.’ Brodie wondered where she could be going with this story but didn’t show his confusion on his face. ‘We were neighbours and good friends for almost sixty years and supported each other when our spouses died.’ She stopped speaking for a few seconds and seemed to brace herself before being able to continue.
‘Please carry on.’ Lettie gave Brodie a sideways glance and he could tell she was as confused as him.
‘Yes, do.’ Brodie forced a friendly smile.
‘His wife died sometime in the eighties and he moved to another parish, near where you found Derek, I believe. Then, when my husband died about ten years later, Percy and I bumped into each other in town one day and became close. We were companions.’ She cleared her throat. ‘You know, accompanying each other on short trips away, that sort of thing. Then he became ill late last year and begged me to take Derek on.’ She took a handkerchief from her sleeve, blew her nose and looked at the sleeping dog. ‘We both miss Percy. Don’t get me wrong – I like the dog. He’s very sweet and not much trouble, but I’ve never had dogs before, only cats. Not that I have any of them left now.’
She took a deep breath and flattened her hands and fingers on her skirt, gazing at them briefly before looking up at Brodie and then Lettie.
Lettie shuffled in her seat and Brodie wondered what she was about to say. ‘I’m not sure though why Thi—er, Derek would be where we found him though.’
The older lady shrugged. ‘I asked one of the neighbours’ grown-up daughters if she wouldn’t mind taking Derek for a walk with her dog while I was out at the hairdresser and she happily obliged. But when I got home, she was waiting for me in a terrible state. She said she had taken him to the beach but that as soon as she had removed his lead to let him have a bit of a play, he ran off, up the stairs to the car park and she couldn’t find him after that.’
Brodie understood what must have happened. ‘Was the beach near to where Percy and Derek lived?’
She nodded. ‘I suppose it was closer to that area.’ Her mouth dropped open. ‘You think he was trying to get home?’
Brodie nodded. ‘He was probably looking for Percy.’
Her lined face crumpled and she began crying quietly. Brodie turned to Lettie unsure what to do.
Lettie cocked her head towards the woman and mouthed for him to comfort her.
He stood and crossed the small distance between his chair and Mrs Broadbent, crouching down in front of her. ‘Please, don’t get upset. It’s not your fault. It’s a natural thing for the dog to have done.’
She wiped her eyes and looked up at him, sniffing. ‘It is?’
‘Yes,’ Lettie agreed. ‘I was the one who found Derek and I can assure you he was fine.’ She pointed to the dog and smiled. ‘Look at him. He’s sleeping soundly in his bed and I think we can all see that there’s no harm done by his little adventure.’
Mrs Broadbent blew her nose again and seemed to calm down a little. ‘Thank you both. You’re very kind.’
Brodie sat back down in his chair. She seemed reassured but there was something not quite settled about the whole incident, although he couldn’t put his finger on what it might be. He went over what she had told them about Percy, then about not being used to dogs and it dawned on him what the problem might be.
‘I was wondering if you knew how old Derek is?’ He presumed the dog must be about seven years old, but thought he may as well ask the person most likely to know.
‘I believe he’s about seven or eight maybe?’ She sighed. ‘He’s a rescue. Percy was kind like that. I think he’s a greyhound cross, or something.’
‘I had suspected as much,’ Brodie said nodding.
‘What, the dog’s age, or breed?’ She seemed very interested.
‘Both.’ He watched her as she spoke briefly to Lettie and it occurred to him that as relieved as she might be to have Derek returned to her she didn’t appear to be as elated as most owners usually were when reunited with a beloved pet.
‘May I ask you something?’ Brodie hoped he was not about to overstep the mark. ‘I hope you won’t be offended if I ask how you cope with exercising the dog? He seems to have a lot of energy and I was wondering if it might be a little difficult for you.’
She dabbed at the end of her nose and gave him a quizzical look. ‘I’m not offended at all. In fact, exercising him is the thing that concerns me the most. I’m not as steady on my legs as I was and find it a struggle to take him out much.’
‘Is it going to be difficult having Derek back living with you?’
She looked aghast. ‘I’m not the type of person to abandon a defenceless animal, Mr Murray.’
Horrified to have offended her so deeply, Brodie gasped. ‘That’s not what I meant.’ He puffed out his cheeks, trying to think how best to rectify his mistake. ‘You mentioned you’re not used to looking after dogs.’ She continued to stare at him, her eyes narrowed. ‘What I’m trying to say, very badly, is that I’ve grown very attached to Derek in the short time he stayed with me and, if you were to consider him coming to live with me I would be very happy to take him on.’ He raised his hand. ‘But only if that’s what you would like. If I’ve misread this situation I apologise.’
Her shoulders lowered and he noticed her relax slightly back into her chair. ‘I see. Well…’ She looked at Derek for a few seconds, seeming to consider his suggestion. ‘I have felt a little overwhelmed having to look after him and especially now that he ran away.’ She looked at Lettie. ‘What do you think about all this? Would it be dreadful of me to agree to this young man taking Derek on when dear Percy entrusted him into my care?’
‘Not at all,’ Brodie was relieved but not surprised to hear Lettie reply. ‘To be honest with you I haven’t known Brodie all that long but he is well liked by the community. He’s also a very good vet, so Derek couldn’t be in better hands.’ She put her hand up to the side of her mouth and whispered loud enough for Brodie to hear, ‘And he does seem to already love this little guy.’ She pointed to Derek snoring louder now on his bed.
Mrs Broadbent considered what to do, looked at Derek for a few seconds, then at Brodie. ‘I’m happy for you to take him on. Would you mind if I visit him on occasion?’
‘If you want me to bring him to see you all you need to do is call me at the practice and I’ll happily drive him here.’
She smiled and patted her hands onto her knees. ‘That’s agreed then. You take this dear dog and care for him.’ She stood. ‘I’ll show you out, if you don’t mind. I’m feeling a little emotional and think I need some time alone.’ She bent to stroke Derek, waking him from his sleep. ‘I do feel guilty though.’
‘Please don’t.’ Brodie stroked Derek. ‘I promise you there’s no need at all. He loved being at the practice when I was working and I’ll walk him on the beach most days.’
Her face lit up. ‘That’s settled then.’
Derek stood and gave a good shake before standing next to Brodie and wagging his tail. He seemed to know exactly what had been agreed.
Brodie suspected seeing the empty dog’s bed might not be the best thing for the older lady to find each morning. ‘Would you like me to take his bed with me?’ He noticed a few toys. ‘And all his other paraphernalia?’
‘That would be kind of you, thank you.’
He wanted to invite Lettie back to his cottage but she mentioned she was meeting Joe and he should be getting home in case Maddie arrived.
‘I never imagined that happening, did you?’ he asked as they drove down the lanes towards the farm.
She shook her head. ‘No, but I believe it’s the best outcome, for all three of you.’
‘And you?’ he teased, sensing she had fallen a little in love with Derek too.
‘That goes without saying.’ She laughed and took a mouthful of her drink. Swallowing, she frowned. ‘There is one thing I can’t work out though.’
Intrigued, he looked at her. ‘What’s that?’
‘His name. Are we to call him Derek, or Thistle?’
‘Good point.’ Brodie studied the dog. ‘I suppose his original name was Derek, so we should probably stick to that one.’
‘I think you’re probably right.’
At the mention of his name, Derek gave a soft growl.
Lettie laughed. ‘I have a feeling he’s trying to tell you it’s supper time.’