Next in the Springer Spaniel Mystery Series:

A Ghostly Tail

Stay tuned for the second tail in the Springer Spaniel Mystery series, “A Ghostly Tail” where Scout and his friends persuade a ghost dog bully that all is well and there’s no reason for him to scare others.

Chapter 1 – Tuesday, A Week Earlier

“Psst!” said the rosemary bush.

Scout, a fluffy black and white Springer Spaniel, sat on his back steps.  It was nighttime and he was visiting the back yard before he went to bed. Sitting on the back steps was peaceful and he liked to reflect on the day’s events.

The rosemary bush again said, “Psst!”  It grew under the kitchen window, a giant, fragrant bush, larger than Scout.  Now it shook its spines briefly.

“Hello,” said Scout.  The rosemary bush had never said “Psst!” before, but that didn’t mean it didn’t have something to say.  He thought he should be polite.  He wondered what the rosemary bush was going to say to him.

“Psst!  It’s me, Chisolm!”  A fat possum waddled out from under the bush.  Scout could smell him, all fresh and Christmassy.  Scout also liked to run through the bush to obtain that fresh smell.

“Chisolm!” said Scout.  He was pleased to see Chisolm.  They’d spent all day yesterday in the storm drains and sewers searching for (and rescuing) Ike and Clyde, the lost Boston Terriers of Smith Street.

“Hello – I just wanted to be sure y’all made it home.”

“We did!  Ike and Clyde were so pleased to get home and be with their people.  The storm drains and sewers were kind of scary.”

“Well, I love it down there.  I find it quite pleasant.”  Chisolm wasn’t bothered, just surprised others might find the tunnels scary.

“Oh – and I have a present for you.”  Scout had hidden a piece of chocolate on the back steps.

“Chocolate! Oh, thank you,” said Chisolm.  “Would you like some?”

“No thank you,” said Scout.  “I had a taste earlier.”

The two friends sat in the yard in the moonlight. They reminisced about their busy while Chisolm devoured his chocolate.

Scout asked, “Chisolm, what are moules?”  Chisolm had mentioned wanting to have some moules earlier that day when they were in the Market area.

Suddenly, a dog’s face appeared in the next-door neighbor’s kitchen window… a large wolf-like face.

“What’s that dog over there?” ask Chisolm.

“What dog?” asked Scout.

“There, in that carriage house window,” Chisolm pointed at the house that bordered the west side of the yard.

“I don’t know,” said Scout.  “Our neighbors don’t have a dog.  Maybe he’s visiting?”

Just then, the wolfish face disappeared.  Scout thought the face had a transparent quality to it.  The thought gave him an eerie feeling.

Chisolm, as usual, was rambling on about food.  “Moules is a French word for mussels, a shellfish, much like a clam or an oyster.  You boil them up and add some curry and garlic broth.  Then, when you eat the moules, you use a crunchy French bread to soak up the sauce.  I find it quite filling.  I often can’t eat French onion soup and moules in one sitting.”

But Scout was thinking about the unfriendly face in the window next door.

Later that night, as Scout was sleeping in the second floor hall, he heard barking coming from next-door.  He looked out the hall’s French doors.  They faced a window of the other house.  The wolf face appeared and made mean faces at him.  He could hear the beast barking: “You there!  You’re nothing but a dumb fluffy housedog!  You better watch out!”

Then it disappeared.