Surveillance

Jake woke up early, as usual. That heated mat was really comfortable. As he crawled out of the doghouse, he looked inside to see Hannah and Adriana were already up. Jake let himself into the house as Hannah rushed to see him.

“I’m so sorry Jake. Are you OK?” Jake nodded. “Did you sleep outside because Adriana was in your spot?” Jake shook his head, which surprised her. “Do you actually like your doghouse?” Jake nodded. “Is it because of the heated mat?” Jake nodded.

Hannah beamed a smile that warmed him. “I’m so glad! It worried me when you weren’t here. You really don’t have to sleep outside just because someone stays over.” She then gave him a kiss and half her bagel. Adriana then gave her another buttered bagel to Hannah and put the other bagel in Jake’s food dish.

Jake then sat and watched the whirlwind of action as the two girls got ready for class. Both of them giving him hugs and kisses as they walked out the door. Leaving him to his own devices, Jake managed to get the TV turned on and was going through the channels, but he saw nothing on the news about him being missing.

What he really needed was Internet access.

Remembering that he scratched his name in mud on his patio, he went for a walk. Like Hannah’s place, there was a grove of trees on one side of the yard across the public path that led into the park. It was elevated, so if he hid in those trees, he could monitor his backyard.

Jumping the fence, Jake snuck down to his house and hid out in the trees. From his vantage point in the thick undergrowth of the grove, he could actually see most of the backyard. The only part he couldn’t see was between the garage and house. His name had faded as the mud dried, but it was still visible, but it didn’t appear as though anyone had seen it yet.

He lay in the trees—watching—waiting. As the hours ticked by—nothing happened.

Until it did.

Hunger was rearing its ugly head and Jake was just about to head back to Hannah’s place for some food when he heard some movement in the trees beside him. Thinking it was likely a small animal based on the limited sound it was making, Jake stayed perfectly still. There was zero chance he would kill whatever it was, but he didn’t need a dog giving away his position.

He lay there unmoving, hearing the rustling leaves, but still seeing nothing. Although there was a scent in the air, but he didn’t know what it was. After a moment of hearing nothing, he eventually turned his head and looked behind him, only to find a black cat staring at him, but didn’t seem afraid. Most cats probably would go nowhere near a wolf or even a dog.

Jake asked telepathically, “Larry?”

“Phew! You’re not an actual wolf! Who told you about me?”

“Brent is the only other werewolf I’ve met, although I hear there’s a female werewolf out there named Nina. I haven’t met her yet and Brent says he hasn’t seen her in quite a while.”

Larry laughed. “Yeah, it’s because Brent is an asshole. Nina and I avoid him, although I check in on him every few days—just to make sure he’s still alive. So what’s your name?”

“Sorry! My name is Jake.”

“The landscaping guy?”

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“I was the cat trying to stop you from walking up their sidewalk.”

“Sorry about that! I obviously should have listened to you.”

“Yes, you should have! Knowing what they do, I stayed out of the way and watched until you busted through the window and escaped into the park. Then I went and hid in the back of your truck, so I could work out the rest of their plan.”

“So what did you find out?”

“Minutes after you escaped, they grabbed your phone and keys and moved your truck down by the boat launch at the south end of the park, near Sikome Lake. Likely because there are no video cameras in that area. Then when people go missing they end up searching the river and downstream, but obviously find no trace.”

“Wouldn’t they dust my truck for prints?”

“This isn’t their first rodeo, dog—they wear gloves.”

“Surely the police would look into the broken window? People knew I was going there, wouldn’t they stop by and do some questioning? There’s no way they could have gotten a company to repair that window that fast.”

“They just cast a spell and repaired it. There is no trace of a broken window.”

“But wouldn’t some neighbours have doorbell or video cameras?”

“The witches even have surveillance cameras covering the front of the house. Others might have surveillance cameras, but if there were cameras in the backyards, they would likely watch their own yards and the privacy fences and trees wouldn’t see anything in neighbouring yards. All anyone is going to see is you arriving, then leaving the house shortly after, with Gabbie mad at you, then you driving away.”

“Huh? How is that possible?”

“Jake, you don’t seem to grasp the concept! They—are—witches! Cassandra cast a spell on herself so she looked like you. She then ran out of the house, while Gabbie stood at the door looking all dishevelled, yelling and throwing stuff, like you tried to rape her. Cassandra got in your truck and drove away. The first thing she did when she got to the boat launch was break your phone, likely so that would be the last known signal from your phone. Then she hung out in the toilet until she changed back. A half-hour later or so, Gabbie arrived and picked her up—your broken phone probably ended up in a trash bin there—or maybe they took it to some other trash bin? Either way, it’ll never be found.”

Jake was mad at hearing that. It would definitely make confronting them more difficult, as they would have plausible deniability and video evidence to back it up, plus they played the rape card to make it look like they were the victims. Hopefully, the videos uploaded to the system—that evidence would be his saving grace. He didn’t know if it would help him fight the rape accusation, but it might discredit their character and anything they say. “I’m developing a plan to break this curse.”

“Let me guess. You’re going to confront the witches on the full moon?”

“Confront witches—yes, but not directly and not on the full moon!”

“Really? OK, now I’m curious. What’s your plan and how can I help?”

“It’s not Dean’s plan, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m gaining the trust of several humans that can confront the witches and fight on our behalf when we’re in animal form. On the full moon, I’ll change back into human and I can explain exactly what happened to the cops and trusted people AND recover the video evidence.”

“Whoa dog! You got video evidence?”

“Yes, as soon as Gabbie called me her mark, I realized I was being setup and immediately began video recording. I’m planning for the police to confront the witches. I’ll just be there when they do. Hopefully, the police will force them to change us back and they’ll be locked away forever. I wish we could burn them at the stake, but I don’t think that will happen.”

“But they destroyed your phone!”

“I used the quick key to turn on the camera without unlocking the phone, so they wouldn’t be able to log in without my password and delete the video, plus if they left the phone on until they could break it, the videos would have had time to upload. My phone syncs to my work software, so all pictures and videos get uploaded automatically. On the full moon, I can retrieve all that evidence and get the police involved with people to corroborate my story.”

“We’ll you’ve certainly got a better plan than anything any of us ever had, plus you actually have video evidence!” Larry then noticed Jake’s collar. “Wait! You’re someone’s pet already? You work fast, dog!”

“Yes, I saved a girl from getting mugged or possibly raped by three guys a couple of days ago, and she brought me home with her.”

“Well, that’s the first step of your plan done! You’ll be meeting Nina soon. She missed the last full moon, so she wants to be here for the one coming up. She mostly hangs out on the reservation as there’s fewer people out there and they respect the wolves, plus it’s further away from Brent.”

Hunger eventually drew them out of the trees and they went back to Hannah’s house.

Jake and Larry both easily jumped the fence into the yard as Larry looked at the doghouse and said, “The doghouse has a heated mat in it.”

“Yeah, I know. I used it last night.”

“She doesn’t let you stay in the house?”

“No, she does. In fact, she was quite worried about me when I wasn’t there this morning when she woke up. She had a friend over last night, so I stayed outside and went back to visit my house.”

“Yeah, I’ve been watching your house, too. They found your truck first thing yesterday morning and called the cops when you weren’t anywhere to be found. The cops checked it over, but found nothing, and then immediately went and questioned the witches. They got the sob story saying that you tried to rape Gabbie, and she chased you out of the house and that was the last they ever saw of you. Then they went and checked over your place—you live in the basement suite, right?”

“Yup! I just used mud to write my name for my parents. Hopefully, they check the surveillance cameras.”

“Is there anything I can do to help with this plan of yours?”

“You’re already doing it. Keep up with the surveillance! Your cat form is way better than a wolf for that. Most people won’t even notice you. You were annoying when I first saw you, but I didn’t feel too threatened by you. If they pull this again, come get me. I’ll go meet them at the boat launch. Otherwise I’ve been hanging out in the trees where you found me, watching my house, but if you wanted to do some checking on it as well, I’d appreciate it.”

“Hey dog, do you get good dog food?”

“Yeah, she gives me some wilderness mix stuff. It’s supposed to be based on the diet of wolves. It isn’t steak and potatoes, but it’s better than killing something and eating it raw.”

“Could you get me some food?”

“Sure! I can let you in for a second, but you can’t stay.”

“No dog, I can’t go in. Nina would kill me! Hannah is allergic to cats. In fact, if you’re using Rex’s old doghouse, I probably shouldn’t sleep there either as you’ll get cat hair in your fur and track it inside.”

“I have a heated cat house over at my place. We don’t actually have cats or dogs, but my mom provides refuge for stray animals. She puts table scraps out nightly and she has an automatic waterer and heated water dish so it won’t freeze. She usually leaves the automatic waterer running until it freezes overnight. It’s all off to the side of the front step.”

“Yup, I know, dog! I appreciate the heated cat house too, but the pad is not as comfortable as the one in your doghouse. There also has been no food over at your place since you went missing.”

“I would imagine my mom is having a difficult time with my disappearance, let alone the accusation of rape.” Jake said as he opened the door.

He then went inside and drug his food dish outside. Luckily, the dish had a lip on it that he could bite and pick up. It definitely wouldn’t have worked if it was one of those round-edged metal dishes.

Larry heartily dug into the kibble, confirming that it actually wasn’t all that bad. As a cat, he sucked at catching food too, so he had several houses he frequented to scrounge dog food, cat food or table scraps. Jake’s house had been his go-to.