Page 6 of Boomerville at Ballymegille

‘It’ll cost thousands to repair all the damage.’

Hattie was shocked at the vindictiveness. The tenants had come with glowing references which she now assumed had been fake. It was all her own fault for not putting the property with a managing agent.

‘I should have checked on it more often,’ Alf said.

‘You weren’t to know.’ Hattie sighed. ‘It’s my fault not yours.’

Ness appeared beside them. She began to wag her tail then shot off and came to a stop beside the garden shed. Scrambling at the ground with her paws, she began to bark.

‘What’s bothering her?’ Hattie looked up.

‘I’ll have a look.’ Alf strode across the ankle-deep grass and tugged at the padlock on the shed door. It fell away and Ness shot inside. Curious, Hattie followed.

As she peered in and her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, Hattie gasped. Ness had begun to whimper and was sniffing in one corner of the room. The shed was bare, save for a ragged blanket, and the stench of animal excrement and urine, which covered the wooden floor, was overpowering. Hattie’s eyes began to smart.

‘What have we got here?’ Alf whispered and, bending down, he tugged at the collar around Ness’s neck and pulled her to one side. ‘Oh my goodness.’ His voice trailed off as he reached out and pulled an object into his arms.

Hattie backed away. She stood in the garden, her heart pounding, as she waited for Alf to come out. ‘What is it?’ she yelled. ‘What have you found?’

Alf appeared in the doorway. His huge hands cradled a filthy bundle of fur and Hattie could see that he was biting down hard on his wind-cracked lips. ‘It’s a puppy.’

‘Dead?’

‘Aye.’

‘Dear lord,’ Hattie gasped. ‘Who would do such a thing?’

‘I don’t know but I’ll string ‘em up when I find ‘em.’ Alf rubbed at the fur with his thumbs and shook his head.

Tears trickled down Hattie’s cheeks. She thought of the animal’s misery and her heart ached with pain. ‘We’d best bury it,’ she said and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. ‘But not here, not where it suffered. We’ll take it to the meadow at Boomerville.’ She thought of the doggy graveyard at the end of the garden in Kirkton Sowerby where Jo’s beloved pets were all lovingly laid to rest.

‘Just a minute…’

Alf stood still, rotating his thumbs across the chest of the puppy, and caressed its head with his fingers. ‘I think its breathing,’ he whispered. He held his ear to the little black nose and a smile spread across his face.

‘Don’t stand there like a dummy.’ Hattie grabbed his arm and within moments had Alf, Ness and puppy seated in the back of her car. She thrust the vehicle into reverse and narrowly avoided a delivery van at the house next door.

‘Try not to kill us all before we save this ‘un’s life,’ Alf exclaimed as he reached for the seat-belt and strapped the dogs in.

‘Hold tight,’ Hattie called out as they careered out of the cul-de-sac. ‘Let’s get the poor thing to the vet!’

* * *

Sergeant Harry Knowlesloved his job and, as a shadowy observer of situations, there was nothing he liked more in his war on crime than to swoop in when least expected to utter the phrase, ‘You’re nicked!’ Not that there was much opportunity for swooping in the market town of Marland. The most serious crimes consisted of an occasional drunk staggering home from the pub or a tourist speeding through the town, but Harry found a crime around every corner and made it his duty to investigate each lost kitten and reprimand anyone dropping litter.

At the station that morning, Harry was busy straightening posters on the noticeboard. In the corner of the room, Constable Derek Jones sat behind a battered old desk. He held a pencil and nibbled at the rubber on the end. A crossword book was open and he studied the clues, frowning with frustration.

‘Nine letters; lake beginning with ‘T’,’ Derek said.

‘Thirlmere,’ Harry replied. ‘Thought you’d get that, you’re slipping.’ Harry raised his eyebrows, Derek was normally an expert when it came to crossword clues, a passion that had won him many a competition.

‘My brain’s going dead with nowt to do.’ Derek filled in the answer then took a biscuit from a half-opened packet.

‘Yes, we could do with some action,’ Harry agreed.

Suddenly,the front door burst open and a woman bustled into the station. She swept up to the front desk and drummed her fingers on the counter. ‘Anyone here?’

Derek ambled to his feet, the buttons of his uniform shirt straining over his paunch. ‘What can we do for you, madam?’

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