There, in the threshold of the door, stood a stunning German shepherd; with dark attentive ears and a methodical tail, slowly swaying back and forth.
“Come here, boy.” Jane invited sweetly to the German shepherd, holding out her hand. “Is that you, Trooper?”
The magnificent hound cocked his head to one side, before taking another bold step forward to greet her with a happy pant.
“Are you lost?” she asked, pulling him gently into the kitchen; but the dog wouldn’t budge, and held his ground. He stood firmly in the doorway, with an expectant expression.
As Jane moved towards him, he turned around and bounded away from the door, then stopped to turn about.
“What do you want?” she inquired. The dog merely stared at her, and she realized; he wants her to follow him!
Jane turned suddenly around, sending her wild hair twirling as she dashed to the nearby table to pull out a piece of paper. She wrote hastily a note to her chums, making a mistake and scrawling through it quickly, as she wrote her letter. She put to paper that she had found Trooper, or rather he had found her; and she’s following him out into the woods, hopefully to be back by nightfall.
Slipping into her shoes at the door, she departed the cabin; clothed in her towel jacket, and her detective bag forgotten in a kitchen chair. There was nothing more important to her at that moment, than to follow that mysterious animal, wherever he wished to go. Clues are clues; and Jane’s nose could detect them from a mile away.
On they went, through the clustered trees and overgrown foliage. Jane could barely keep up with her dusty coated companion, as she trotted along close behind over the uneven terrain. She chided herself for not having worn something more suitable, that wouldn’t snag on every twig she brushed by.
The sun had begun to set, and Jane strained her eyes as she peered into the darkness. The dog, presumably Trooper; had slowed up too, realizing his trailing friend wasn’t as quick footed as he was. Then Jane sensed a change in his countenance; the hair on the back of his neck had risen up, and he stepped cautiously over the dry forest floor. Something about the surroundings felt familiar to Jane too, and she realized within a few seconds; what it was.
Trooper had led her to the elderly cabin that was sinking into decrepitude; the very same one she had stumbled upon in her frightful journey just the other night.
It looked more deserted than it had before; and leaving Trooper behind her, she crept slowly to the back window. Peering in through the murky, fogged pane; she saw the back of a man’s head. His hair was un-brushed, the back of his rumpled shirt had an obvious grease stain; and the most alarming element of the whole situation, were the old frazzled ropes that bound him to the chair.
Jane looked closer, and she saw he wasn’t only bound to the chair, but his hands were tied too; and his feet as well. He had been gagged, and Jane felt a chill run down her spine as her eyes fell upon another burly character in the corner of the room, laying cards out on the table in rows.
Jane retreated to the shadows, and spoke softly to Trooper.
“Do you know that man?” she asked him, and the dog’s stance remained as still as a statue. It dawned on her then, and she spoke her thoughts aloud:
“The man inside, must be Zack! Don’t worry, little fella; we’ll get your master back for you.”
Zack was in trouble, if he had taken those photos or not, he was still in need of help; and Jane trusted the instincts of animals. She had been stooping over to condole with Trooper, when she stood up and heard a voice from behind her. It was a man, and he was addressing – her!