Chapter 6

Things were quiet for quite a while. My relationship with my wife was still a bit strained. I was able to produce police reports, my sisters’ affidavits and videotaped confessions, and other physical evidence, but keeping it from her for as long as I did was going to be cause problems long term. It wasn’t so much that she couldn’t trust me, but that she wasn’t sure what else I just hadn’t told her.

I managed to convince Stevie to come up for dinner. The girls were thrilled with ‘meeting’ their uncle, even if he’d spent several months as their live in babysitter it had been long enough that they couldn’t remember him well. After I put the girls to bed, I returned to find my wife grilling my semi-estranged brother. I sat in my recliner and just listened. She occasionally gave me a guilty glance, but I’d dug this hole and I’d accept whatever it took for her to take my hand to get out of it.

I listened as she dragged out childhood stories and his version of everything between them falsely accusing me and our mother’s death. When she started asking questions about my father, I redirected her and told her I’d answer those myself later. Eventually, Stevie left and I elicited a promise from to warn us if our sister showed up.

I did have one ace up my sleeve. I’d visited my sister once while she was being treated and told her that I’d legally switched the girl’s names. I hadn’t, but it would hopefully make her second guess herself if she ever managed to get her hands on them.

It also meant I had to tell the girls a bit about how they came to be and why their aunt needed to be avoided. I left out the majority of it, but the basics: sisters’ kids, adoption, and crazy aunt killed your grandmother was a lot for them to take in at once. I also made it clear that if they saw her (unfortunately I didn’t have any pictures or video that wasn’t as old as they were) they were to run, call the cops, call us, go to the nearest authority, and under no circumstances reveal their names to her.

It was almost a year before anything happened. Just a slow process of rebuilding trust and trying to teach the girls the skills my father had taught me without explicitly saying, “Yes, you need to learn to shoot in case you run into your surviving aunt” or “Hey, yeah ... my dad was a reformed criminal and he taught me a certain set of skills.”

I was at the shop when my phone rang, “Yo?”

Emily spoke, “Luca is sick can you come take him to the vet?”

“Where is your mom? She should be off work now?”

“She was driving April over to her new friend’s house.”

“What new friend?”

“The one she texts with every five minutes. Samantha something.”

“What’s wrong with Luca and where did April meet this, Samantha?”

“Vomiting and he is just kind of lying there and Online. One of those chess tournaments.”

“I’m on my way, do you know the screenname?”

“Of course not. I don’t play chess. I dance.”

I let the team know I was heading out early and headed to the car. I flipped on the GPS tags I had on my wife’s car and it was three neighborhoods over in a slightly upscale neighborhood. It fit the story, but I’d have to find out more about April’s chess friend. Then I headed to the house. I needed to get Luca checked out. I drove a bit quicker than normal. I got to the house and entered. Emily ran up and hugged me, “He’s in my bedroom.”

Luca had been attached to Emily since we’d gotten him. Steph had finally relented on the girls and my own whining about getting a dog, so I decided to find the biggest dog possible. I settled on an Irish Wolf Hound. I dropped three grand on him and another 800 for training. He was a loyal and loving pup and adored my girls. It was amazing how gentle something that big was, but I’d had him trained in case the worst happened.

I climbed the stairs and popped into Emily’s bedroom. He was crashed out on the daybed and I saw where he’d thrown up. I moved over to the pup and examined him. His breathing was slow and shallow and he didn’t respond to my touch, though the fact that he hadn’t met me at the door was enough to tell me he was sick.

I slung him over my shoulder and navigated the steps slowly. I put him in the back of my car and Emily jumped into the passenger seat. I hopped in and headed towards the nearest emergency vet. The last time I’d gone was when Luca had tried to befriend the neighbor’s collie and jumped through a wooden fence.

There was something nagging at the back of my brain. It was too much at once. Luka being sick. My wife and youngest going to the house of someone I didn’t know. I had a bad feeling, but I had to get Luka to the vet and get my Emily somewhere safe.

“Is Luca going to be okay, Dad?”

I tried not to look at her. I didn’t want her to pick up on what I was really feeling or thinking, “I don’t know. We’ll take him to the vet. They’ll do everything they can. Was April wearing her necklace?”

I could hear the eye roll in her voice, “Yes, Dad ... we have to wear them except when you change the battery.”

“Alright. Call your grandpa and see if he can come pick you up.”

“No! I want to stay with Luka!” She whined.

I offered in my serious Dad tone, “Emily.”

She slapped the dashboard, “Fine! I don’t know why I’m getting punished.”

She pulled out her phone and dialed as I weaved through traffic. I was increasingly tempted to pull my own phone and check the cameras for the last couple days and to see if April’s necklace was pinging where the car was.

I finally pulled into the emergency vet and told Emily, “Come join us when you’re done talking to grandpa.”

I moved around back and opened the hatch and picked up Luca. I slung him over my shoulder and thanked the workout habits my years of football instilled in me that I was able to even lift the good boy.

I rushed into the emergency vet and up to the counter. I checked to make sure Emily wasn’t in earshot yet before saying, “I’m pretty sure my dog has been poisoned.”

The woman behind the counter looked up at me, “Do you know what the substance was or how long it’s been since it was ingested?”

“Not yet. You’ll need a cart for him.”

“How big is he?”

“180 pounds.”

“What’s the dog’s name?”

“Luca. He was here before. Should be under Phillips.”