Public Enemy Zero

25

Rookman spent the rest of the night using his guest to covertly offer Mitchell helpful advice. Mitch paid close attention. When it was time to leave, he put the radio away and gathered all of his belongings together. In total darkness, he carefully climbed down the attic ladder and raised it back into place. Being extra cautious, he fished the applesauce containers from the trashcan and placed them into his bag to throw away someplace else. He threw them back out when he realized the mysterious car in the garage was probably going to be a bigger tip-off that somebody was there than a few empty containers of Mott’s.

He’d heard the police car roll by three more times, roughly an hour apart. The last time was ten minutes before. He knew he couldn’t count on that being a reliable estimate, but it gave him an idea when he should avoid the street entirely.

After doing a last pass through the house, Mitchell carefully slid open the sliding glass door enough for him to pass through. He then pushed it back into place and gave it a tilt to lock it into position.

He looked up at the moon. It was half full. He couldn’t decide if he’d prefer no moon so he wouldn’t be seen or a full moon so he could see where he was going.

There was a tall wooden fence between the house he was at and the house in back of him. He looked over the fence and could see into the darkened living room. There was a light coming in from the hallway. It looked like somebody was living there.

Mitchell climbed over the fence at the far left corner away from the part of the house with activity in it. He kept his body down low and moved along the left fence to the front portion of the backyard. He popped his head over the fence and looked.

The street was empty except a few cars parked in driveways. His plan was to cross the street and move to the next backyard. Mitchell was getting ready to climb over when something touched his leg. He froze in panic. Something touched it again.

Mitchell looked down and saw something shaggy beneath him. He hoped it was a friendly dog and not a confused raccoon. He knelt down and gave the furry thing a pet. He heard happy panting.

“What’s going on boy?” he whispered, not knowing if it was a boy or a girl. He was just happy to know that not all members of the animal kingdom were out to get him.

Mitchell squatted down to give the dog a scratch around the ears. He felt a tongue lick his face. He gave the dog a few more scratches, figuring it was a good idea to win over the locals best he could.

The dog gave him another lick and then marched off into the backyard to go about important dog business. Mitchell looked back over the fence for a spot to drop his bag. An alarm went off inside his head.

Three doors down across the street there was a car with a spotlight attached above the driver’s side door. The car was facing the street. Unmarked cop car.

Inside he could see the glow of what looked like a computer. Definitely a surveillance car. Mitchell felt like he owed the dog a French kiss.

If there was one unmarked surveillance car, there could be others. His idea of just walking out of the neighborhood looked less plausible. They were waiting for him to show up, effectively trapping him there.

He looked back toward the house he just came from. He knew he couldn’t stay. He couldn’t take the chance that they would start going door to door tomorrow and peek into people’s garages. It had to be tonight.

For a moment, he allowed himself the fantasy of busting through the garage door in the tiny compact and tearing off down the street, blowing by the cops. Then he went back to reality. He could try to steal a car from a house he was near. That was if he magically figured out how to hot-wire a car in the next five minutes.

He could try to break into a house and steal keys to a car, but with a cop around the corner, one 911 call from a frightened homeowner would have him caught before he turned the ignition. He needed a better strategy.

That strategy came back over and licked his ankle. Good idea, stupid idea, it was the only idea. Mitchell went back into the yard and looked for a piece of rope. He almost walked right into a clothesline while looking at the ground.

Keeping an eye on the living room, he took down the clothesline and rolled most of it up. His furry friend came over to help. Mitchell tied one end to the dog’s collar. The mere thought of a walk sent the animal into ecstasy. It began prancing around his feet. Mitchell had to give him a soft shush to not wake its owner.

Mitchell went around the other side of the house and found a latch to the gate. He carefully opened it and left it slightly ajar. He passed what he was sure was the bedroom window. Through curtains he could see a flickering television and hear snoring.

Before he stepped in front of the house and in plain view of the cop, Mitchell made one last adjustment. He pulled the blazer from his backpack and put it on with the backpack under his arm. He put the golf cap on, too. From a distance, he hoped, he just looked like another retiree out walking the dog.

He leaned over and gave his accomplice a pat on the head. His hope was to step out to the sidewalk and go in the opposite direction of the police car without notice. Worst-case scenario, the cop would see an old guy out walking his dog at night.

Mitchell took another step and heard a click. He was surrounded by light. He almost dropped the leash and bolted down the street. Then he realized that it was just a floodlight on the corner of the house with a motion sensor.

He resisted the urge to look over at the cop car. He was already a few feet in front of the house. There was no way he wasn’t in plain sight. Mitchell leaned down and gave Mr. Barks a pat on the head.

Mr. Barks? He had no idea where that name came from.

Acting as if this was his normal routine, Mitchell and Mr. Barks walked out to the sidewalk and headed away from the cop car. He tried not to walk too fast. Mr. Barks made that easy by stopping to smell everything.

When the dog stopped to take a leak, Mitchell panicked that the dog might go number two and the cop would get out of the car to give them a citation. It was a million silly things that filled his mind. He pushed the thought out and just tried to focus on making it to the development’s exit.

They reached the end of the street with no sound of doors opening or tires squealing. That was encouraging. He had two more streets to go before he came to the entrance. Mitchell was convinced there would be at least one more car near there waiting to see if he drove in.

Mitchell reached the end of the last street, and sure enough, there was another unmarked car waiting inside the entrance parked on the grass behind a hedge. It was the only thing separating him and Mr. Barks from freedom. There was another entrance he could try, but he was certain that one had a car waiting there, too. It had to be this one.

Mitchell took a step forward. Mr. Barks began to pull at the rope. He thought the walk was over. He was ready to go home.

“Not yet, buddy.” He kept walking and the dog followed after.

The sidewalk wrapped around the entrance and onto another sidewalk that ran along the main road in front of the complex. He remembered a convenience store and a strip mall located off to one side, near where he was going.

If he played it casually enough, the cop in the car would just assume he was taking a walk down to the store with the dog. He assumed they were looking for someone driving a stolen car or walking in on foot. But that was only an assumption, one that could get him killed.

Mitchell kept walking on the sidewalk with Mr. Barks trotting alongside him. It would take him on a path directly across from where the cop car was parked. He could already see the glow from the computer screen inside. He imagined his face was on it in full color.

Trying to stay casual, he gave the car a quick glance while keeping the hat low and rounded the corner opposite where it was parked. His ears tried to pick out every single detail. There was nothing to indicate the car was moving. Mitchell kept walking, and he and Mr. Barks rounded the entrance and came to the sidewalk along the main street. Car headlights came around a corner and moved in his direction.

Mitchell shielded his eyes from the light while Mr. Barks did his part to blend in by taking another leak. A real method actor, thought Mitchell.

As the car passed, Mitchell could see that it was a police squad car. It kept going behind him and pulled into the complex. Mitchell tried to keep the same pace and not avoid breaking out into a run. He walked several more blocks on the sidewalk. Mr. Barks stopped more frequently and looked back.

Mitchell had to figure out what to do with the dog. He couldn’t let him go just yet. If the dog ran back into the development, there was the chance one of the cops would notice and wonder what happened to the owner.

Mr. Barks let out a soft whimper as he looked back toward the development.

“Sorry, buddy. You volunteered to be my hostage.”