Page 4 of Rise of the Melody
“I’ve got some calls to make and things to do. I think I’ll close the shop an hour early today. Please….” She eyed the dog, then me. “Be careful. If he barks, run immediately.”
I laughed and she glared hard. “Run because of a bark?”
“I’m not messing about, Letty! Swear you’ll run.”
“Okay, I will.” My aunt often had these intuitive moments. I’d learned not to question them because her hunches were always right.
She bustled away into her back room, swishing through the beads with a rustle ofclinks, and I knew she must have been discombobulated because she didn’t even make our afternoon tea. It was a staple every single day after school. I hoped she would be okay.
“Come on, boy,” I said. “Let’s go to the corner drug store and get you a leash and collar. I’ll take you up to the apartment.” He was probably hungry, and I was dying to get this stupid dress off. I’d need to find something to feed him—eggs maybe?—and take a few pictures to post online. Our landlord would go berserk and charge us if he caught sight of the dog, so I hoped its owner was found soon.
The hound followed me outside, all the way to the store, and back to the side door with narrow stairs leading up to our apartments. I felt safe with the dog at my side. For the first time ever I didn’t look back and forth to make sure nobody was hiding or acting shady nearby. I didn’t even have my safety whistle in my hand.
What a strange afternoon. I mean, the dog was awesome, but my aunt’s reaction to him had been over-the-top. She’d been stressing me out about a lot of things lately. I sighed as we walked. Tomorrow was a new day. I already couldn’t wait to go to bed tonight and put it all behind me.
Chapter2
Hair Crime
Iwoke up the next morning overheated but so comfortable. I couldn’t remember snuggling with anybody or anything in my entire life, but here I was pressed against this warm, firm, furry thing in my twin bed. Blinking, I raised my head and saw the dog and I were at a diagonal, his straight legs sticking off the bed.
The dog groaned and stretched, then pressed even harder into my side, pushing me into the wall. Wait, what was he doing on the bed? I didn’t remember him climbing up. I’d checked him over for fleas and ticks yesterday, and thankfully he was clean, but still.
What had Aunt Lorna said when she saw him yesterday? CooShee? Probably some old Gaelic curse word I’d never heard her say before.
“CooShee?” I tried out the word for myself.
The dog raised his head and looked at me. I smiled at the sight of his fur pressed upward on his sleeping side. “Let’s take you out and check online to see if your owner has claimed you.”
I went into the bathroom and dressed quickly in a black baby doll dress and thigh-high black stockings with my boots. When I opened my phone to check, there were absolutely no people claiming to own the dog, but dozens of comments on his size and people trying to guess his breed.
“Oh, look,” I said. “A few people have said they’re willing to take you if your owner doesn’t come forward.”
A quick, deep growl sounded from the dog’s throat, and I swear he turned his head and gave me a mean side-eye. It was the first sound I’d heard him make. I snorted with amusement. Sometimes it felt like he could understand me. I scratched behind his shaggy ear and patted his back so he’d move out of the doorway. “Come on, let’s go outside.” Maybe we would see Aunt Lorna. She took long walks every morning before heading to the shop.
Before leaving I checked my lipstick and eyeliner. I clicked on the leash and grabbed my oversized black sunglasses, then led him down the narrow stairs. We walked several blocks down to the small park, ignoring stares and people craning their necks, even taking pictures. From the corner of my eye I saw a squirrel dash from the ground toward a tree, and the dog yanked away from me.
“CooShee!” I called, but there was no stopping him. He moved quick and with a grace I didn’t think possible for such a huge creature. I gasped and covered my mouth as he snatched the squirrel mid-run up the tree, shook his head violently, and gave a greatcrunch. “No!” I covered my face but could still hear two more sickening crunches. Then some lip smacking.
“Oh, my God!” said someone behind me. I turned to see a guy videoing the whole thing on his phone. Oh, great. I ran over and grasped the useless leash tightly until the guy stopped and left.
“CooShee, come on,” I urged as he licked his paw now. “That was disgusting. We have to go.” Poor little tree rat. The dog seemed quite satisfied with himself, trotting next to me with his head up.
“I was going to feed you, you know,” I mumbled. “Savage.”
On the walk back to the apartment I thought about yesterday with Mr. Goneley and a sick feeling overcame me. I couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t a coincidence that he’d acted so strangely when I’d had that peculiar feeling go through me while singing…. I shook my head.
I needed to get back so I could work my shift at Moonlight Apothecary. Aunt Lorna’s local supplier had given her containers of fresh cut cannabis varieties, which she would dry and process in her back room. “The lab,” I called it. She made her own homemade gummy mixture with cute molds in the shape of leaves and flowers. Yep, it was CBD gummy day. She did mild mixtures to help people relax and sleep, and full-blown edibles to help people…not sleep. Medicinal and recreational. Her skills ran the gamut. We couldn’t keep them on the shelves longer than two days.
I tried to leave CooShee in the apartment, but he wasn’t having it. He was glued to my side and literally threw himself into the door crack every time I tried to close it. Aunt Lorna was going to hate this, but the dog was coming to work with me.
“You have to relax,” I told him as we went down the stairs. “I mean it. Lay by my side and don’t move. No scaring customers or I’ll put you in the back room.”
I walked into the store and Aunt Lorna’s eyes widened. “Absolutely not!” she whisper-yelled as CooShee pushed in right behind me. Customers turned and gaped. The cats hissed and ran, knocking over a display of crystals. I cringed as she rushed over to fix it.
“He’ll be so good!” I promised, moving toward the register. Just as I told him to do, he lay at my feet and let out a little huff. “See?” I smiled at Aunt Lorna, who stared at him with distrust before shaking her head, defeated.
“We need to talk after work,” she said quietly, not meeting my eye.
