Survivors Will Be Shot Again by Bill Crider Page B

the remote back on the coffee table, she said, “I called my sister. I can stay with her, but I’m worried about the boys. I can shut them up in the barn for a day or so, I guess, but they need to be let out every day.”
    â€œI’ll check on them for you,” Rhodes said. “I can give them some food and water if it’s safe.”
    Joyce laid the coat across the back of the couch. “That would be kind of you. The boys won’t bother you. Come on outside and I’ll introduce you.”
    Rhodes wasn’t so sure that was a good idea, but he knew he had to pay another visit to the house. He set the suitcase down and followed Joyce outside. The dogs came out from under the porch in a hurry, but Joyce calmed them.
    â€œYou boys sit where you are and behave yourselves. This is the sheriff, and he’s going to look after you for me.”
    The dogs stood in front of the porch giving Rhodes the stink eye. They didn’t appear ready to be friends, but at least they weren’t growling. Rhodes figured it was up to him to give them a chance to get to know him. He squatted down on the porch, not facing the dogs and not looking at them. Joyce stepped off the porch and patted the dogs on the head.
    â€œWhich one is which?” Rhodes asked, still not looking at the dogs.
    â€œGus-Gus has the big black spot on his head,” Joyce said. “Jackie’s a little bigger, and there’s no spot there. They’re good boys, aren’t you good boys, yes, you are.”
    When she’d patted the dogs and rubbed their sides, one of them moved over to the porch for a better look at Rhodes. The other followed. They moved around a little, looking at him from different angles. Gus-Gus approached him and sniffed at his leg. Jackie followed and sniffed as well. Rhodes thought they might have caught the scent of his own dogs, Speedo and Yancey. He’d played with them that morning, and their scents would linger, at least for dogs. Dogs could smell things no human could detect.
    After the dogs had sniffed for a few seconds, they seemed satisfied that Rhodes wasn’t an enemy. He risked extending his hand, palm down, and Gus-Gus licked it. Rhodes gave him a light pat. Gus-Gus didn’t mind, and then Jackie moved him out of the way so he could get a pat, too. Before long, Rhodes was sitting on the porch, and the two dogs were treating him as an old friend.
    While they got acquainted, Joyce went back inside the house. In a minute or so, Rhodes heard the back door slam, and Joyce walked across the backyard to the barn. She was carrying a sack of Old Roy dog food, and Gus-Gus and Jackie deserted Rhodes to follow her. They went off at a run and beat her to the barn. Rhodes went along after them, passing a well on the way. A frame over the well held a rope and pulley for drawing water, but there was also a pump. Rhodes figured the pump carried water to the house. The well reminded Rhodes of the one at Billy Bacon’s place, the one that had been kicked almost to pieces. Someone didn’t like Bacon, all right.
    The big barn door was closed, but there was a regular-sized door next to it. That one was open, and Joyce went through it, the dogs at her heels. Rhodes was only a short way behind them. The inside of the barn wasn’t entirely dark, thanks to a few holes in the roof. It was much bigger and airier than Billy’s older one. The dogs would be comfortable enough there for a day or so. Joyce poured some dog food into a big pan that sat near another empty pan and a galvanized bucket. Rhodes picked up the bucket and said he’d get the water.
    It had been a long time since Rhodes had drawn water from a well. He pitched the bucket into the well and the rope followed it down. When he heard a splash, Rhodes waited a while for the bucket to fill, then hauled it back up, the pulley squeaking a little. It could’ve used some oil. The bucket reached the top, and Rhodes swung it