I take a load off?”
My heart beat once, twice, my nerves on edge as this stranger plopped next to me before I could answer.
“Howdy,” I choked out, hoping he might accept me if I spoke his language.
“I don’t want to alarm you,” he said, even though it was already too late. “But if you just give me a few minutes, I think I can help you out of your little dilemma.”
“My dilemma?” I said.
“First, let’s exchange pleasantries as society demands,” he said, sticking out his hand. “I’m James O’Sullivan, and I’m as pleased as an elderly highway-crossing armadillo to meet you.”
I shook his hand, no longer sure I spoke his language because I had no idea what he’d just said.
“Jed,” I offered.
“I can tell you’re nervous, and I don’t blame you, seeing a man appearing out the darkness like a greased possum coming out of knee-high corn.”
“What?”
“Let’s not stand on formalities. No need to call me Mr. O’Sullivan—”
I wasn’t going to.
“—‘cause most people call me Spike. Because I prefer it. Wish I had a story to go with it, but I don’t. Just like the name. Spike. Short and sweet. Just like me.”
Unlike getting to the point , I thought.
“But let’s get down to particulars, because you seem to be as jumpy as a bullfrog at a cricket race, if you know what I mean.”
I didn’t.
“What would you say if I told you a way you could get your chupacabra back?”
As desperate as I was, I knew the best thing to do was stand up and walk away. But I didn’t.
“Go on.”
Chapter Ten
“Let me get this straight,” Luke said. “This stranger comes out of nowhere, says he can get you your dog back, tells you how to break into doggy prison, and you just let him go with a, ‘Thanks, podner.’ Really?”
“Why didn’t you ask that before we broke into doggy prison?” I spat. “You didn’t need much convincing.”
That was true. Dad was in the shower when I got back to the hotel, giving me plenty of time to tell Luke about the plan to spring Tread.
“I really liked the idea of going all secret agent, to tell you the truth. Until this.”
We faced the iron bars keeping us from the ring of keys, one of those keys able to get us into Kennel 206, where Tread waited. But we still had to get past the padlock.
Luke readjusted his grip on my arm, the one he’d ripped out a few minutes ago.
“Two arms are better than one,” he said. “But maybe not in this case. I really thought I could reach the keys this way. But now maybe we need to leave. Your cowboy friend led us astray, podner.”
Spike had offered the only chance I had of saving Tread. He’d handed me a solid plan, complete with a map. Luke and I had entered through an unlocked window and filled our arms with treats from the first closet on the right. We then threw treats into each kennel, as Spike had suggested, to keep the inmates quiet.
It had all been perfect until now. Spike had neglected to mention the iron bars that stood between a successful jailbreak and us.
“If you had doubts, why did you agree to join me?” I said.
“I loved the idea of sneaking out, but even that wasn’t much fun. Your dad wasn’t much of a challenge.”
That was true. With the hum of the air conditioner masking our escape, Dad didn’t even stir as we slipped out of the hotel room.
“You also promised me your fries for the rest of our stay in Mexico,” Luke continued. “A suitable payment for breaking and entering. But why are you here? What’s your excuse?”
“Desperation,” I snapped back. “You don’t have to be here. I do. You heard my dad when we left the customs office. We’d stay here one more day, and if we couldn’t get Tread, we had to leave because of Dad’s job.”
“He also said we could call every day, and when they released Tread, we’d come and get him.”
“Come on, Luke, you know Tread is never going to be released. His tail fell off! They know he’s not your
My heart beat once, twice, my nerves on edge as this stranger plopped next to me before I could answer.
“Howdy,” I choked out, hoping he might accept me if I spoke his language.
“I don’t want to alarm you,” he said, even though it was already too late. “But if you just give me a few minutes, I think I can help you out of your little dilemma.”
“My dilemma?” I said.
“First, let’s exchange pleasantries as society demands,” he said, sticking out his hand. “I’m James O’Sullivan, and I’m as pleased as an elderly highway-crossing armadillo to meet you.”
I shook his hand, no longer sure I spoke his language because I had no idea what he’d just said.
“Jed,” I offered.
“I can tell you’re nervous, and I don’t blame you, seeing a man appearing out the darkness like a greased possum coming out of knee-high corn.”
“What?”
“Let’s not stand on formalities. No need to call me Mr. O’Sullivan—”
I wasn’t going to.
“—‘cause most people call me Spike. Because I prefer it. Wish I had a story to go with it, but I don’t. Just like the name. Spike. Short and sweet. Just like me.”
Unlike getting to the point , I thought.
“But let’s get down to particulars, because you seem to be as jumpy as a bullfrog at a cricket race, if you know what I mean.”
I didn’t.
“What would you say if I told you a way you could get your chupacabra back?”
As desperate as I was, I knew the best thing to do was stand up and walk away. But I didn’t.
“Go on.”
Chapter Ten
“Let me get this straight,” Luke said. “This stranger comes out of nowhere, says he can get you your dog back, tells you how to break into doggy prison, and you just let him go with a, ‘Thanks, podner.’ Really?”
“Why didn’t you ask that before we broke into doggy prison?” I spat. “You didn’t need much convincing.”
That was true. Dad was in the shower when I got back to the hotel, giving me plenty of time to tell Luke about the plan to spring Tread.
“I really liked the idea of going all secret agent, to tell you the truth. Until this.”
We faced the iron bars keeping us from the ring of keys, one of those keys able to get us into Kennel 206, where Tread waited. But we still had to get past the padlock.
Luke readjusted his grip on my arm, the one he’d ripped out a few minutes ago.
“Two arms are better than one,” he said. “But maybe not in this case. I really thought I could reach the keys this way. But now maybe we need to leave. Your cowboy friend led us astray, podner.”
Spike had offered the only chance I had of saving Tread. He’d handed me a solid plan, complete with a map. Luke and I had entered through an unlocked window and filled our arms with treats from the first closet on the right. We then threw treats into each kennel, as Spike had suggested, to keep the inmates quiet.
It had all been perfect until now. Spike had neglected to mention the iron bars that stood between a successful jailbreak and us.
“If you had doubts, why did you agree to join me?” I said.
“I loved the idea of sneaking out, but even that wasn’t much fun. Your dad wasn’t much of a challenge.”
That was true. With the hum of the air conditioner masking our escape, Dad didn’t even stir as we slipped out of the hotel room.
“You also promised me your fries for the rest of our stay in Mexico,” Luke continued. “A suitable payment for breaking and entering. But why are you here? What’s your excuse?”
“Desperation,” I snapped back. “You don’t have to be here. I do. You heard my dad when we left the customs office. We’d stay here one more day, and if we couldn’t get Tread, we had to leave because of Dad’s job.”
“He also said we could call every day, and when they released Tread, we’d come and get him.”
“Come on, Luke, you know Tread is never going to be released. His tail fell off! They know he’s not your
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