The Secret Dog (14 page)

Water from the hood of her anorak dripped onto her face. She folded it back with her free hand and then rang the bell, praying that Dunham didn’t answer. She’d prepared a little talk about how she was doing a sponsored walk for Children in Need, but she wasn’t optimistic it would fool someone as suspicious as Dunham. The door started to open. Yvonne held her breath.

Relief flooded her body, as she recognised Mariella, Dunham’s wife.

‘Yvonne!’ Mariella exclaimed. ‘What a nice surprise! What brings you out on this dreadful night?’

‘I’m going to do a sponsored walk. In support of Children in Need.’

* * *

Josh stayed behind the back of the kennel until he heard the door close. Yvonne had succeeded in the
first part of her mission – to enable him to get to the dogs.

The dogs were still barking frantically. They’d seen him running to hide behind their kennel. He had to get them to stop, otherwise the distraction Yvonne had provided would go to waste. He removed four meaty bones from his rucksack and, still crouching, stepped out from behind the kennel. The kennel was divided into two. There were two dogs on either side. Four dogs stared at him. Before they could react, he shoved two bones into each side of the kennel. There was a brief sound of growling, then the dogs went quiet. They couldn’t eat and bark at the same time.

The two dogs nearest him were the ones he’d seen in the valley. They were looking up at him. ‘Good boy,’ he whispered, before they decided whether to bark or not. One left his bone and came up to the edge of the kennel. Josh stroked the side of his face. He could hardly believe a dog would leave a bone to get some affection. In a moment, the second dog was there. ‘Good girl.’

But as Josh soothed the two dogs, a horrible realisation was hitting him. There were just four dogs in the kennel. And
none
of them was Reggae.

Could she really be
 . . . 
dead? His mind conjured up the scene – Dunham trying to drag her from her shed, her fighting back, biting him, drawing blood, and Dunham striking her hard, without thinking.

* * *

Yvonne took her time removing her boots as she sat at the kitchen table, as Mariella closed the door to the living room. With luck, Reggae would be in the kennel and her phone would buzz in a few moments.

When it didn’t, Yvonne sighed inwardly. She’d have to do her ‘talk’. She moved to the kitchen table, carrying her bag.

‘Would you like some slippers?’ Mariella asked. ‘This floor is always freezing.’

Yvonne nodded and Mariella scurried off to a cupboard full of knitted slippers.

The slippers made a difference on the stone floor. ‘Thanks,’ Yvonne said. ‘They’re really lovely and warm. That was very thoughtful.’

Mariella blushed. ‘It was nothing.’

‘And such an interesting design. Where are they from?’

‘My brother brought them from Canada.’

‘I didn’t know you had a brother in Canada,’ Yvonne replied, attempting to keep the conversation going.

‘He’s not there anymore. He moved back to the island,’ Mariella said, sitting down at the table. ‘Tell me about your walk.’

Yvonne took out the papers and sponsorship form she’d prepared. Surely if Reggae had been in the kennel just outside the door, Josh would have texted her already. Which meant she wasn’t
 . . . 
and that their plan wasn’t working out the way they’d
hoped. Now her job was to keep Mariella occupied as long as possible, to give Josh the best chance to find Reggae.

‘It’s 40 miles as the crow flies,’ Yvonne said. ‘Probably longer in reality.’ Because Mariella had been really impatient when she talked about Children in Need, she’d cut that bit of her talk short and concentrated on her planned walk.

‘That’s quite a way,’ Mariella interrupted.

‘Would you like to sponsor me?’

‘I know about long walks,’ Mariella continued, as if Yvonne hadn’t said anything.

‘Do you?’ Yvonne asked, as she took out her phone. She was sure she would have felt a text arrive, but she had to check. Nothing. And the clock on the phone showed her ‘talk’ had only taken a few minutes.

Where was Josh? And Reggae? What could she do now?

But Mariella was speaking to her. ‘I’ve done lots of long walks, five days, even a week. So you’re fortunate to be talking to me, even though your walk will only take two or three days. I know as much as anyone on the island about long-distance walking. Walking that far is a serious matter,’ she continued. ‘Blisters
 . . . 
that’s your major concern. They can stop you in your tracks.’

‘Really?’ Yvonne said. She was beginning to realise that the reason Mariella hadn’t wanted to hear about Children in Need was because
she
wanted
to talk about the walk. And that she’d closed the door to the living room because she was starved of conversation. All Yvonne needed to do was listen, and provide some encouragement.

‘Vaseline and thick socks. They’re the key to stopping blisters. And well broken-in shoes
 . . . 
Do you know about breaking in shoes?’

‘Not anything like enough,’ said Yvonne, trying to look interested.

‘Well,’ said Mariella. ‘Shoes are a very big topic!’

Yvonne began to relax. All she had to do was let Mariella go on.

It was then that the door to the living opened. And Kearney entered.

* * *

Josh sat listening to the dogs gnawing through the bones he’d given them, paralysed by crippling thoughts, which seemed to be on a permanent loop in his head.

‘This was your brilliant plan? Look for Reggae in the kennel by Dunham’s front door? What a loser. You don’t deserve a dog like Reggae! Or a friend like Yvonne. You’re just sitting there, useless and stupid, as she risks everything to help you. Useless and stupid. That’s you.’

Through the window, Josh saw Kearney come into the kitchen. For a moment, he almost welcomed this, as it would bring his agony to an end. But then
he thought about Reggae, lost and hopeless. She trusted him.

Then the tune popped into his head. ‘Get up, stand up!’ His mother’s fighting song again! ‘Stand up for your rights!’
She
didn’t want him to give up.

His brain shifted up a gear. He began to think. Okay, he’d been wrong about the kennel. Yvonne had always said Dunham was too devious to put Reggae there.

He had to think like Dunham. And he didn’t have any time to waste.

* * *

Yvonne forced herself to smile.

‘I thought I heard your voice,’ Kearney said. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I’m going to do a sponsored walk. For Children in Need. I never knew your mum knew so much about walking.’

In Yvonne’s eyes, Mariella seemed to grow, like a plant being watered.

‘She likes nothing better than to set out on a rainy day with her rucksack and a thermos,’ Kearney said proudly, putting his hand on his mother’s shoulder.

Now Yvonne imagined Mariella blossoming.

‘I don’t remember doing anything about fundraising for Children in Need at school,’ Kearney said suspiciously.

‘It’s not a school project,’ Yvonne replied quickly. ‘I’ve been thinking about it for a while.’

As soon as she said this, Yvonne kicked herself mentally. That was a terrible way to put it, because it would make Kearney wonder why she was doing it today.

Kearney looked at her searchingly. Yvonne fought to keep calm. When she’d agreed to do this, she hadn’t thought about how it would involve lying to people she knew.

‘I see,’ Kearney said, nodding to himself.

Yvonne had a terrible feeling he did see.

‘I really miss walking home with you,’ Kearney said.

Yvonne tried to hide her dismay. She could see Kearney was thinking how Josh had taken his place. And how Josh was no friend of his
 . . .

Then Kearney surprised her.

‘Josh was in a really bad way today, wasn’t he?’ Kearney continued. ‘He looked like a scarecrow with the stuffing knocked out.’

Now there was no doubt. He knew. Yvonne’s heart sank. What was Kearney going to do? And why hadn’t Josh texted? Where
was
he?

* * *

Josh crouched by the kennel and tried to think like Dunham. Where was the least likely place you’d put a stolen sheepdog?

With sheep? Josh smiled grimly at the thought.
You didn’t keep sheep inside a building. But what about other animals? You wouldn’t keep most Borders with animals – they’d bark and harry them. But Reggae wasn’t your typical Border. She’d been trained to be quiet. Would Dunham have realised that?

He would have! Because Reggae wouldn’t have barked, even while he cut off the padlock to his shed
 . . . 
She may have created a racket when Dunham tried to grab her
 . . . 
but Dunham would have guessed it was safe to keep her with animals.

Josh felt a surge of excitement. Okay, he said to himself, you’ve thought like Dunham, where’s Reggae?

Josh remembered the barn with the open door. There were three calves there. Could Reggae be there?

He hoicked his rucksack onto his back and took a final look at the kitchen. Oh no!

* * *

The door from the living room burst open and Dunham entered the kitchen, his face red with anger.

He spoke to his wife sharply. ‘I’ve been waiting for that cup of tea you promised fifteen minutes ago!’

Mariella seemed to shrink visibly. She jumped up and scuttled over to the kettle. ‘I’m so sorry. I got involved in a conversation
 . . . 
It’ll just be a minute.’

Even though she knew it was stupid, Yvonne tried to make herself as small as possible. Kearney had
turned his face away from his father. But before he’d moved, Yvonne had registered how upset he seemed. Was it because he realised she was helping Josh?

Dunham turned to leave. It seemed he had been placated by the way Mariella had jumped to attend to him. Yvonne’s shoulders began to relax as she began to hope he hadn’t noticed her.

Too soon. Before he reached the door, Dunham swivelled around and faced her. ‘The vet’s daughter,’ he said, like a spider who had just noticed a fly caught in his web. ‘And to what do we owe this visit?’

‘She’s doing a sponsored walk for Children in Need.’ Mariella answered swiftly, while reaching for a tin of biscuits.

‘Did I ask you anything?’ Dunham said.

Mariella hunched over the little saucepan. ‘No,’ she said, almost inaudibly.

Dunham took a step towards Yvonne. He towered above her in the tiny kitchen. Kearney, who now seemed in control of himself, turned to face his father.

Dunham was looking at her expectantly, but Mariella had already answered his question. What was she supposed to say? Especially when she could almost see Dunham’s suspicious mind making links between Reggae, Josh and her.

‘I’m going to walk from the north end of the island to the south,’ Yvonne said, trying to smile brightly.

‘When’s this “walk” happening?’

‘In ten days.’

‘Strange then, it was so urgent to sign us up you had to go out on a night like this
 . . .
’

‘He doesn’t know anything,’ Yvonne told herself. ‘He’s just fishing.’

* * *

Josh knew he had to hurry. It took just a few minutes to get to the barn with the calves. He removed his torch from the rucksack and switched it on. The light highlighted the drops of falling rain. Holding his breath, he entered through the open door. The three calves looked at him, blinking in the bright light. But as he scanned the rest of the barn, he saw Reggae wasn’t there. He’d been wrong.

His shoulders slumped. He
hadn’t
figured out how Dunham would think
 . . . 
in fact, every single idea he’d had about this rescue mission had been wrong. He was useless.

* * *

Yvonne watched as Mariella finished preparing Dunham’s cup of tea. Then she brought it over to him and stood awkwardly by his side. Yvonne noticed she’d put several biscuits on the side of the saucer.

When Dunham didn’t move to take the cup, Mariella asked, ‘Would you like me to take it into the living room for you?’

Dunham gave her a shark-toothed smile. ‘I think I’ll pass some more time with our visitor
 . . .
’ He left his wife holding the cup of tea and, ignoring both
her and Kearney, focused on Yvonne. ‘I’ve seen you walking with Calum’s boy, haven’t I?’

Involuntarily, her hand went to the mobile on the table. Dunham noticed.

‘Waiting for a call?’

* * *

Josh thought even James Bond would have trouble keeping a secret from Dunham. Yvonne didn’t have a chance. It would just take seconds before Dunham saw through her. And a few seconds more before he knew why she was there
 . . .

‘Get up, stand up. Don’t give up the fight.’

He couldn’t stop now. Reggae needed him. Josh stepped out into the driving rain.

He didn’t have time to search every one of Dunham’s farm buildings. Why didn’t he just call Reggae? The sound of his voice would be muffled by the downpour. But what would be the point? Josh had taught her never to bark.

‘Don’t give up the fight.’

‘Reggae,’ he called out. He was shocked at the sound of his voice – it sounded cracked and desperate. He turned to face the farm buildings at his back, and called out again. ‘Reggae!’

* * *

Yvonne’s brain seemed to step up a gear. Dunham’s voice had been gentle, but she knew there was a
threat behind it. It was the same bullying tone he’d used with Mariella. She had to stop being scared and start thinking strategically. Maybe she couldn’t prevent him from discovering Josh, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

‘My dad’s out at a farm nearby. He said he’d ring on his way home, in case I wanted a lift.’

‘He knows you’re here, then
 . . .
’

Yvonne seemed to be digging a deeper hole, and not only for herself. ‘Of course.’

Dunham looked at her sceptically. ‘I’m not a big believer in coincidence,’ he said. He turned to Kearney. ‘Go check on our recent arrival.’