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Chapter One
September
“Where did that dog get off to now?” I muttered, putting my hand on my forehead to block the sun. The question was rhetorical, of course, since I was alone, but I needed to find him sooner rather than later.
I was looking for a German Shepherd with a yellow tennis ball in his mouth, but I couldn’t see a thing. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it, the park was overflowing with people. It was a beautiful fall day, and the people of Bells Pass packed the park for the back-to-school picnic the school district held every year.
"Star!" I called, pushing my wheelchair down the path in the direction I’d thrown the ball. "Star! Return!"
Star had been my service dog for three years, and he'd never run off while playing fetch. I'd removed his vest to give him time to enjoy the day, but that wasn’t unusual. He always got rest time, but what was unusual was him running off. He never left me alone, even when he wasn't wearing his vest. Star knew that even rest time could quickly turn into work time if something unexpected happened.
Apparently, disappearing was the theme today. We were supposed to meet the newly hired social worker for New Beginnings, our low-income housing facility in Bells Pass, during the picnic, but the mysterious Hazel Cane never showed up. Mayor Tottle had headed out to look for her about half an hour ago, but I hadn’t heard from him since. I would be of little help in finding her, though. I’d only seen her picture once when I read her bio online to familiarize myself with her career. They’d kept me out of the hiring process since I was the director of the new housing project and I’d have to work closely with Hazel. I’d fully supported that plan. I wanted to be on even footing with her. I chuckled. Okay, so I’d never be on even footing, but I wanted her to feel like we were a team and not like I was her boss. Had I been on the interview committee, that would likely have happened.
I noticed a familiar face ahead, and I rolled over just as she turned to me. "Irving!" Ivy exclaimed. "Great to see you here today! Are you having fun?"
A smile tipped my lips at her constant enthusiasm about life, even if I wasn’t enthusiastic about anything other than finding my dog. "It's hard not to have fun whenever a large group of Bells Passers congregates. I’m stuffed full of burgers, sweet corn, and that delicious Nightingale Diner blueberry pie."
“You know there will be no pie left by the end of the day!” Ivy glanced around my chair. "Hey, where’s your shadow? He never leaves your side."
"It seems I’ve lost Star," I said with frustration. "We were playing fetch, and he didn't return after the last throw. He's never run off before. I'm nervous there's something wrong."
She motioned with her arms until four other people jogged over to us.
"What's up, Ivy?" Gabe Dennison asked. He was a detective with the Bells Pass police department, and if that weren’t enough, he was also an EMT and the director for the high school madrigal choir, of all things.
"Irving can't find Star."
Gabe turned to me immediately. "Where did you see him last?"
"I took his vest off, so he could have rest time," I explained. "I was throwing his ball, and he didn't return after the last toss. I threw the ball toward the woods to keep him out of the way of everyone, but he could be anywhere by now."
"Has he ever run away before?" Gabe asked.
"No." The one word held a multitude of emotions and revealed the fear I thought I could hide. "He's never not come when I called him before, either. Service dog theft is not an uncommon thing. I have to find him."
“You’re right, but he’s not wearing his vest, so someone would have to know he was a service dog some other way. We have that on our side.” Gabe turned to the group gathered behind him. "Let's fan out across the park. Ask anyone you pass if they've seen a German Shepherd.” He turned back to me. “What should they do if they come across him? Can they touch him?”
“Say, go visit,” I said. "He's not wearing his vest but will still respond to the command. That command means he should come to you so you can pet him. Once he's by you, you can grab his collar. If he still won’t come to you when you say go visit, say, get dressed, followed by, return. He will sit next to you, and you can call me.”
"Everyone got it?" Heads nodded, and everyone took off in different directions. Gabe turned back to me and pointed to his left. "I'm going toward the gazebo through the woods. You follow the path and see if anyone spooks him toward you. You've got my number?"
I held up my cell phone and noticed my hand was shaking. "I do. Call me if you find him."
"We'll find him," he assured me with a shoulder pat before he took off through the woods.
I pushed my chair down the concrete path, calling his name and whistling every few seconds. The park was busy, which made it hard to hear any response he might give me. I hadn't thrown the ball that far, meaning he had gone beyond where he would have found it.
"Star! Return!" I yelled the basic command for a dog to return to his handler. If he could hear me, he would follow that command.
I paused at the path's edge when I heard a bark I recognized immediately. I jammed the wheels forward on my chair and rolled into the parking lot.
"Star! Return!" I yelled, frantically searching for his furry shape among the cars. I didn't want him to get hit as people pulled in and out of the park. When he didn’t follow the command, I knew something was wrong, which I confirmed when Star barked again.
His bark came from my left, near the last row of cars that butts up to the grass. As I rounded the side of the cars, I finally put eyes on my dog. He bounced back and forth between his front feet as he nuzzled someone in the grass.
"Star, return!" I said the command firmly, but he didn’t even turn to address me. I was going to have to bring out the big guns. "Star, look at me."
This time, he turned and made eye contact. His eyes said he was distraught. I rolled closer and realized the person on the ground was a woman who was not responding to Star or me. I grabbed my phone and called Gabe immediately.
