The Phantom Photograph Read online

  “Do you want me t-to t-talk t-to your mom?” Lana asked with concern. She was worried that Henry was going to be in trouble.

  “No, it’s not that…see, this is her only night off,” Henry explained.

  Henry knew his mom wouldn’t be mad at him for being late; he was afraid of missing a chance to spend some time with her. Henry’s mom worked two jobs to try to make ends meet. An evening off was a rare opportunity for Henry and his mom to have dinner together.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Henry said as he got out of the car, “thanks for the ride!”

  Lana didn’t drive away until she was sure that Henry was safely inside the apartment building.

  Ryan stole glances at Lana as she drove.

  Were her eyes always that green? he thought.

  “T-Tell your m-mom I said hello b-back,” Lana said when she dropped Ryan and Teeny off.

  “Bye, Lana. Thanks for the ride. I’ll come to the shelter tomorrow to check on Grace,” Ryan promised as he got out of the car.

  Again, Lana waited until Ryan and Teeny were inside the house before pulling away from the curb.

  Chapter 15

  Lana lived in a tiny apartment above her parents’ garage. As Lana approached the door, some strange, eerie calls sounded from within.

  Instead of reacting fearfully to these noises, Lana smiled. She opened the door and was greeted by what seemed like a dozen cats, all mewing and rubbing against her legs.

  Lana greeted each cat, petting it and calling it by name. After welcoming Lana, the cats went back to the door, mewing questioningly. They seemed to be searching for something. Some of the cats jumped on the windowsill to peer outside.

  “Sorry kitties… Zena’s not here. She wanted t-to stay at the shelter tonight. There’s a n-new dog that n-needs some extra TLC,” Lana informed the cats, who seemed disappointed.

  Lana rarely stuttered when she was alone with her animals. But even if she did, she knew they didn’t mind. That was one of the reasons Lana enjoyed the company of animals so much. They accepted her just as she was, whether she stuttered or not.

  Lana filled the cats’ food bowls, and started scooping litter. While she worked, she thought about Zena and Grace, and hoped they were resting comfortably at the shelter. Lana smiled as she thought of her faithful old dog, and remembered back to the day she found Zena, over fifteen years ago…

  Lana entered the Specter County College student center and looked around hopefully. She felt a flutter in her stomach when she saw Ethan sitting at a table in the corner with the other members of the soccer team.

  Lana smoothed her chestnut hair and casually walked toward Ethan and his friends, wondering how she might strike up a conversation.

  “So Ethan,” Lana heard one of his friends saying, “That girl in your history class with the green eyes… she’s pretty, huh?”

  Lana froze in place, and her heart skipped a beat.

  “Oh, do you mean L-L-L-L-L-Lana?” Ethan answered in an exaggerated imitation of Lana’s stutter.

  Ethan and his friends burst into laughter; they didn’t realize that Lana was standing nearby.

  Lana felt her cheeks flush, and she quickly turned around. She kept her head down and walked out of the student center. Once outside, Lana kept walking. She walked across the parking lot. She walked off campus. She kept on walking until she realized she was in a rough part of town she didn’t recognize. Lana turned in a circle, looking for a familiar landmark.

  Hearing a scratching noise, Lana turned to see a big, scrawny dog sniffing for scraps near a dumpster. The dog was filthy, and its speckled coat had bald patches where the fur had fallen out. The dog looked up at Lana and their eyes met. The dog had stunning, amber colored eyes. The dog’s beautiful eyes seemed a stark contrast to the rest of the dog’s bedraggled condition.

  Poor thing, Lana thought.

  Lana reached in her bag and took out her lunch. When she’d packed it, she had imagined herself eating it at the student center… with Ethan.

  She crouched down and held the sandwich out to the dog. “H-here you go,” she said.

  The dog didn’t move, but licked its lips and looked hungrily at the sandwich.

  Lana broke off a piece, and tossed it toward the dog. The dog swallowed it whole, and took a step forward, looking for more.

  “You’re v-very hungry, aren’t you girl?” Lana asked the dog.

  Lana continued tossing bits of food to the dog. Each time, the dog came a little closer to Lana, closing the gap between them. When Lana ran out of food, she held her hands out, to show the dog they were empty.

  “Sorry. N-no more,” she said, as the dog licked the crumbs from her fingers.

  Lana didn’t want to leave the dog there, all alone amongst the garbage, but she needed to find her way home.

  “Well, g-good luck,” she said to the dog.

  Lana started walking back the way she had come… or so she thought. Since she had been looking down, nothing looked familiar to her. She spotted a man standing on the sidewalk up ahead.

  Maybe he can give me directions, she thought.

  Lana picked up her pace, and when she approached the man she asked, “C-c-can you p-p-p-point m-m-me in the d-direction of M-M-M-Maple Street?”

  The man looked at Lana a moment; then he grinned. “I’m sorry, which street?” he asked.

  “M-M-M-M-Maple Street,” Lana repeated.

  “Which street?” he asked again, cupping his hand around his ear.

  Lana’s face turned red. “M-M-M-M-M-Maple St-Street.” It was obvious that the man was mocking her. And when Lana felt self-conscious about her stutter, it became even harder for her to speak.

  The man scratched his head as if he were thinking. “I don’t know any M-M-M-Maple Street, but I do know a Maple Street.” He gave Lana a jeering smile. “Tell me again what street you need?”

  Lana was starting to panic, but before she could decide what to do, she heard a low growl and saw the man’s eyes grow wide with fear.

  The dog from the dumpster had come up beside Lana, and was growling at the man. The filthy fur on the dog’s neck was bristling, and the dog’s amber eyes were narrowed in a menacing stare.

  The man took a step back. “Sorry lady… I was just havin’ some fun… so tell your mangy mutt to back off.” The dog growled again. “Maple Street’s that way,” he added. As he pointed, Lana noticed with satisfaction that the man’s hand trembled.

  Lana walked past the man, who looked nervously at the dog as they went by. She walked quickly, wanting to get as far away from the man as she could. The dog with the amber colored eyes walked beside her.

  “Thank you,” she said to the dog. “What’s your n-name?” she asked.

  The dog looked questioningly at Lana.

  “Well… you n-need a good n-name,” Lana mused as they continued on their way. Lana thought of a TV show about a warrior princess. The princess was brave and loyal, like the dog with the amber eyes.

  Perfect, she thought.

  “C’mon, Zena, let’s g-go home,” Lana said. The dog answered by pushing her chocolate-brown snout into Lana’s hand.

  Lana scooped cat litter in her tiny apartment and sighed. The memory of what Ethan did was still painful, even after all these years.

  She finished cleaning the litter boxes and sat down. Several cats jumped on her lap, demanding attention. Lana absently stroked the cats and turned on the TV.

  A newscaster was saying, “Police are still searching for three antique coins stolen from the Museum of Human History following an explosion. Dental remains found at the site of the explosion have been positively identified as belonging to a missing museum guard, now presumed dead…”

  *****

  Back at All Paws Animal Shelter, Grace laid on her blanket, shivering and exhausted. Zena hesitantly stepped onto the blanket with her, and after a little nosing and sniffing, curled around the little brown dog. Soon, Grace stopped shivering, warmed by the
big dog’s body. Eventually, Grace dozed off. While Grace slept, Zena gently licked the little dog’s sore, injured paws.

  Chapter 16

  Henry’s mother stood at the stove in their tiny kitchen.

  “So, no one knows where she might have come from?” she called loudly to her son. Music blared through the thin walls from a neighboring apartment.

  “Nope,” Henry answered, shaking his head. When his mom leaned over him to spoon macaroni onto his plate, Henry smelled the familiar aroma of coffee and donuts that forever clung to his mother’s work uniform.

  Henry took a big bite of pasta. “She was wearing a collar, but no tags,” he said around a mouthful. He swallowed before adding, “She was really scared at first, but now she trusts me. She has curly fur, long droopy ears, and the biggest brown eyes ever. You should see how cute she is, mom… you would love her... I wish we could adopt her.”

  Kate sat down across the small kitchen table and looked at her son. How she wished she could say yes. Henry didn’t have many friends his age. A dog would be good company for him, she thought.

  Kate sighed. “I wish we could adopt her, too... But Henry, we can barely pay the bills as it is; it just wouldn’t be fair to adopt a dog that we can’t afford to take care of. What if she gets sick?” she asked.

  Henry looked down at his plate. Grace is already sick, he thought, a lump coming to his throat.

  “I know, mom. It’s ok.” He sighed. “It’s just… I think she’s special, and I really want her to get a good home,” he said.

  “I really hope she gets one, too,” Henry’s mother said.

  Chapter 17

  Sam and Rodney returned to their hotel. They were exhausted after hours of searching for the little brown dog.

  “She can’t have gotten that far on foot,” Sam said. “Someone must have picked her up.”

  Rodney sighed. He was tired from running, bruised from falling, and covered with bird droppings. Sam still hadn’t forgiven him for allowing the dog, with the coins inside her, to get away.

  Sam made it clear that he didn’t believe Rodney’s story; that the dog’s leash had unhooked by itself, or that supernatural forces had foiled Rodney’s attempts to catch the dog. Rodney and Sam had spent most of the day arguing about this, and Rodney was infuriated. He knew what he saw.

  Although they were tired, Sam was determined to keep looking. He wanted to find the dog before Stan, the coin thief, discovered that they’d lost her. A major blunder like that could ruin Sam’s reputation as a smuggler.

  Sam’s phone rang; it was Stan.

  Sam took a deep breath before answering. “Hello.”

  “It’s me,” Stan said. “Are the coins ready yet?”

  “We need more time,” Sam explained.

  “Listen Sam, Rich Nickelson is breathing down my neck. He’s not a patient man,” Stan said.

  “Okay boss, just one more day,” Sam promised.

  Stan grunted. “Just remember what I’m paying you for,” he growled before hanging up the phone.

  Sam put his phone away and turned to Rodney.

  “This is all your fault, you know,” he said, poking Rodney in the chest.

  Sam opened the hotel phone book again and said, “Listen up, Rodney, here’s the plan. Tomorrow we’ll canvas these neighborhoods,” Sam pointed at a map in the phone book, “and we’ll go back to the pound, just in case someone brought the dog in overnight. And if that doesn’t work, there’s just one more shelter we didn’t try.” He flipped through the pages of the phone book.

  “Here it is, All Paws Animal Shelter.”

  Chapter 18

  The next morning, Lana went to the animal shelter early to check on the sick little dog. She walked in the clinic to find Zena and Grace snuggled together on the blanket.

  “You t-took good c-care of her, didn’t you, Zena?” Lana asked the old hound, who greeted Lana by pushing her fuzzy grey muzzle into her hand.

  The little brown dog lifted her head, but didn’t try to get up.

  “How are you, G-Grace?” Lana asked the ailing little dog. Grace whined and put her chin back down on her paws. Lana wondered what time Ryan was coming.

  Lana noticed Henry waiting outside the shelter door. He waved goodbye to his mom when Lana let him in. He was barely inside before he began peppering Lana with questions about Grace.

  “How’s Grace? Did she eat anything? Did she make poop or pee?” Henry asked breathlessly.

  “Good m-morning Henry. Um…the s-same, and no, no and n-no,” she answered.

  Henry knelt on the blanket beside Grace. The little dog seemed to perk up when she saw the boy; she swished her tail and gave his hand a lick.

  “Hey, Grace. I was worried about you,” Henry said as he stroked the little dog.

  “Zena and Grace were sharing the b-blanket when I c-came in,” Lana told Henry.

  “Awww… how cute!” Henry said, petting Grace’s ears. “What time is Ryan coming today?” he asked.

  “I d-don’t know. C-could you c-call him for m-me?” Lana asked.

  “Sure,” Henry said and he walked to the phone.

  Because of her stutter, Lana hated making phone calls. If she couldn’t talk fast enough, people would sometimes just hang up on her.

  I’ll bet Ryan would never do that, Lana thought as she let the shelter dogs outside.

  Henry walked back from the phone. “Ryan will be here soon. Sal and Phyllis are going to water exercise class, and they said they’ll drop him and off on their way to the senior center,” he informed Lana.

  Lana smoothed her chestnut hair, and looked down at her faded jeans and tee- shirt. She suddenly wished she’d chosen something more attractive to wear.

  “Well, I guess I should g-get b-busy around here,” Lana said. “I’ll start with the c-cats. D-d-do you want t-to see if Grace is h-hungry?”

  Henry’s face lit up. “Sure! Do you have any canned dog food? I’ll bet she’ll like that!” he said enthusiastically.

  “We received some d-dog food d-donations yesterday. They’re in the st-storage room. Why d-don’t you look there?” Lana suggested.

  Henry went to the storage room and selected a can of dog food from the pile of donations. He chose it because the can’s label showed a picture of a happy looking brown dog that reminded him of Grace.

  He emptied the contents into a bowl and put the can in the recycling bin.

  “Here you go, Grace,” he said, putting the bowl down in front of her. Grace lifted her head to sniff the food, and then put her chin down with a big doggie sigh.

  Henry’s face fell. “What’s the matter? Don’t you want to try it?” Henry pushed the bowl closer to the little dog.

  Grace ignored it, and sighed again. “C’mon Grace, you’ve gotta eat something,” he pleaded.

  Chapter 19

  “Are we ready to go?” Sal asked.

  “I just need my bag,” Phyllis and Ryan answered in unison.

  Sal chuckled. Like mother, like son… he thought, as Ryan shouldered his medical kit and Phyllis heaved her purse onto her walker. Teeny jumped on top, and they were about to leave, when Phyllis suddenly exclaimed, “Oh, wait… I’ll be right back.” She hurried into the guest room, and returned with her favorite photo.

  “Okay, I’m ready now,” she said, placing the picture on top of her giant purse.

  On the way to the shelter, Ryan told Sal and his mother about the little dog that Teeny and Henry had found, and how anxious he was to see how she was doing.

  “I hope she’s okay,” Phyllis said as they pulled up to the shelter. Ryan nodded and waved as he got out of the car.

  Sal and Phyllis continued driving to the Specter County Senior Center, where they participated in a water exercise class. The Senior Center pool was where Sal had first met Phyllis, along with Ernest and Betty. For Sal, it was love at first sight; but it had taken many years for him to find the courage to tell Phyllis how he felt about her. It was only after Ernes
t and Betty died, and Sal’s realization of how fleeting life really was, that he finally opened his heart to Phyllis… only to find that she had been patiently waiting for him all along.

  How many more years could we have had together, had I not wasted all that time? Sal thought, looking at the woman he loved.

  Phyllis looked back at him and smiled. “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

  “Oh nothing…” he said, patting her knee. He parked the car and they slowly made their way across the Senior Center parking lot.

  Near the building, a homeless man, dressed in rags, rummaged through a dumpster. The man was transferring some bottles and cans from the dumpster to an old shopping cart, when Teeny suddenly jumped off Phyllis’ walker, and ran over to him, barking.

  “Teeny! Come back here,” Phyllis called.

  The tiny dog wagged his tail and pranced around the man; who bent down to pet him. “Well, hello, doggie,” Peter said.

  “Teeny, come back here!” Phyllis called again, a note of fear in her voice.

  “Don’t worry, lady… I won’t hurt your little doggie,” he promised. He picked up the tiny dog and carried him over to Phyllis. “Cute little thing, isn’t he?” Peter commented, as Teeny licked his dirty face. He reached over Phyllis’ walker to hand Teeny back to her.

  “Um, thank you,” Phyllis said, wrinkling her nose. The homeless man smelled as if he’d not bathed in a long time.

  “You’re welc…” Peter stopped mid-word, staring speechlessly at the photo on top of Phyllis’ purse. He recognized one of the men in the picture; which was unexpected, to be sure… but what really shocked Peter was how the man appeared to be waving at him.

  Sal hovered protectively as Phyllis hunched over her purse. Peter realized he was staring at her bag. They’re probably afraid I’m going to steal it, he thought.

  “Don’t worry, lady; I’m not going to steal your bag,” he assured her. “It’s just… I know your friend in the picture there, and I was …surprised to see him.” Peter didn’t mention how he’d seen Ernest waving; he was afraid they would think he was homeless and crazy.

  “You knew Ernest?” Sal asked.

  “Yeah, a nice guy… that Ernest.” Peter paused. “He’d always stop to talk to me and… well, he always made me feel like I was still just a regular guy, ya know?”

  People acted differently around Peter since he’d become homeless; most ignored him completely, while others treated him with fear, hatred, or pity.