Scene 28


Grounds of the Grant Estate


I got up off the ground as Grant fled. “Toucan, Loon, follow him!” I called out. “Wren, to me!”

The two gentlemen took off in pursuit of Grant. Ms. Wren quickly joined our associates and me. “Ms. Wren, you and Ms. Thrush stay here with Ms. Ritchgarl. Ms. Raven, you’re with me. Ms. Wren we need firearms.”

Ms. Wren quickly handed Ms. Raven and I each a pistol. We had not taken firearms into the manor, as we felt the need for stealth was greater than the need for firearms.

“Where are the security men?” I asked Ms. Wren.

“We got a call for assistance from Ms. Starling. Apparently, there were more minions than we expected. The three men went to try and flank the guards.”

“Okay, inform Ms. Starling of our situation. Ms. Raven, let’s go.”

As we broke through the bushes we heard a sharp scream, almost girl-like in pitch. Running towards the sound, we came across Mr. Loon and Mr. Toucan. They were both laughing so hard they could barely retain their footing. The screaming was coming from a clump of bushes just ahead of them.

“What’s going on?” I demanded. “Where’s Grant?”

Through his laughter, Mr. Loon barely got out the words “Over there.” He was pointing to the bushes where the screaming originated.

I stepped forward cautiously, my pistol at the ready. When I pushed the bushes aside, I too almost fell over with laughter.

There, lying on the ground was Grant. He was screaming as though he were about to be eaten alive.

Standing over Grant was the shaggy bulk of Wompet. Wompet had his muzzle buried in Grant’s crotch. Looking closer, I could see that Wompet had sunk his teeth into Grant’s sporran. The large dog was growling.

From the intensity of Grant’s screams, you would have thought that Wompet had bitten off something important. “EEK!!! Get him off! Get him off!”

I walked over to stand over Grant. “What’s the matter, Grant? Don’t you like our dog? You know, I wouldn’t struggle too much. He likes to fight with his prey.”

I didn’t think that Grant’s eyes could get any wider, but they did. He also quit struggling, now in fear of his life.

I knelt down and picked up Grant’s gun, which he had dropped in his encounter with the large dog. I tossed the gun to Ms. Raven and turned back to Grant.

“So, Grant, do you give up? Should I call off the dog?”

“Yes! Yes!” he pleaded. “Anything you say.”

I had to chuckle a bit as I went to Wompet and grabbed his collar. “Good boy,” I said as I tugged gently on the collar. “Let him go boy.”

Wompet released his hold and turned to face me. He leaned his head against me to receive his reward of a scratch behind the ear.

Grant quickly scrambled out from beneath the dog, only to be stopped by Ms. Raven, who held him at gunpoint.

I keyed my headset. “Ms. Wren, bring everyone over to my location. We have Grant in custody.”

“So, you caught him?” she asked.

“I can’t take credit for this one,” I answered. “The whole catch was by Wompet.

Wompet, hearing his name, leaned in to be scratched again.