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  “My gut is telling me they won’t, Jack. Listen, if it wasn’t for your dream and our heading to Atlanta to pick up Cooper, I might agree with you. Cooper has changed all the dynamics here. Tell me I’m wrong, Jack.”

  “I can’t tell you that, Harry, because I agree with you. Cooper is the game changer.”

  “It all comes down to a dog!” Harry said as he pounded out numbers on Jack’s cell phone.

  “That’s pretty much how I see it, too. An hour to go, and maybe Cooper will give us a clue or something.”

  “And if he doesn’t?”

  “Then we fall back and regroup. I’m not a seer, Harry. Why don’t you go into one of your . . . um . . . trances, zone out in your body, find your core, and see if you can see something in the future.”

  Harry simply ignored him as he continued to press the numbers that he now had memorized.

  Jack had no other recourse but to keep his eyes on the road and drive.

  There were a little less than sixty miles to go before they set eyes on the magical dog, Cooper.

  Chapter 2

  The GPS squawked to life, alerting Jack that he was to make a right turn fifty feet ahead in order to proceed to the appointed place. He followed the instructions, slowed down, and took the curve nicely. The robotic voice, which irritated him no end, then instructed him to drive one mile and make a left turn to arrive at his destination.

  “Showtime, Harry. You having any luck?”

  “No. I think I am wearing out the digits. I have to admit, I have never been this frustrated in my whole life. If that dog doesn’t have answers for us, I don’t know what I will do.”

  Jack laughed. “And you think Cooper is going to speak to you? Is that what you’re saying?”

  Harry carefully placed Jack’s cell phone back onto the console. “You know, Jack, sometimes you really are an asshole. No, Cooper is not going to speak to me. I am going to read his mind. It’s called thought transference. You of all people should know that. You had a session or two with that dog, and as I remember it, he spooked the living hell out of you. Go ahead, try to deny it, and I’ll lay you out cold right here.”

  “Testy, testy, Harry. Relax. I see the Holiday Inn up ahead. Looks like snow, doesn’t it?” When there was no response, Jack said, “What’s Julie driving these days, do you know?” Harry shrugged because the question to his mind was too stupid to be worthy of a response. “Okay, okay, be that way. I’ll cruise the parking lot, and you keep your eyes to the right and I’ll keep mine to the left.

  “Hey, here’s a thought, Harry. Call Julie and ask her where she is at this moment. If she’s still driving, we can go into the Holiday Inn and get a cup of coffee and a sandwich. I’m starving. We could get something for Cooper to go, too. I could use a bathroom break, and I also want to call Nikki. Plus, we need to get gas for the return trip.”

  As Jack drove around to the back parking area, Harry was pressing in the digits to Julie Wyatt’s phone. He identified himself and asked where she was. Jack could hear Cooper barking in the background. He clicked off and turned to Jack. “She’s about forty minutes out. She said that she was delayed because of an accident on the interstate. That gives us time to do everything you want to do. Do you want to eat inside or do takeout and eat in the car? If you want to do either one, I can fill up the tank. Your call, Jack.”

  “Okay, what do you want to eat?”

  Harry looked at Jack as though he’d grown a second head. “Tea and sprouts. I’m sure they have a salad bar, and it is lunchtime. I’ll head over to the Shell station at the end of the parking lot and come back for you.”

  “Okay, okay. Don’t you need a bathroom break? How silly of me, I forgot you’re part camel. All right, all right already, I’m going,” Jack bellowed as he sprinted from the car against the wind on a path that would take him to the entrance of the Holiday Inn.

  Jack hit the men’s room, washed his hands, smoothed down his hair, and was in line at the salad bar in the main dining room within minutes. He filled two Styrofoam cartons and asked for hot tea and a coffee for himself. He was back outside within eighteen minutes, just as Harry brought the Beemer to a stop in the same parking space Jack had parked in. He didn’t get out, which meant from here on in Harry was in control of the Beemer. Jack shrugged as he slid into the passenger side. “Damn, it’s cold out there. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so windy. That wind knifes right through you. I got your sprouts and tea.”

  “Don’t you ever shut up, Jack?” Harry said, reaching for his food.

  “Sometimes,” Jack said as he speared a fat shrimp from his salad with a plastic fork. “I’ve even been known to talk to myself from time to time. And on occasion, I answer myself. Is that what you want to hear?” He just loved baiting Harry, but all Harry did was shoot him a look that would have caused other mortals to run for cover. Not Jack. “You need to get over yourself, Harry.”

  “I think I will be the one who sheds the most tears when they lower you into the ground,” Harry said in his most menacing tone. Jack laughed. In spite of himself, Harry laughed, too. “Cut me some slack here, Jack. I’m uptight right now.”

  “I know that, Harry. Accept the fact that we don’t have all the answers right now, but we will get them. Until then, we go minute by minute, hour by hour, and hope for the best.”

  They ate in silence, neither man enjoying or even tasting the food they were eating, their thoughts elsewhere entirely. They both looked up when they heard the soft tap of a horn. “They’re here!” Jack said, hopping out of the car, Harry on his heels.

  Julie Wyatt parked her old Range Rover, which had close to two hundred thousand miles on it, one row over and got out of the car. She’d said on more than one occasion that the SUV was perfect for the dogs, and every part that could be replaced had been replaced, so why would she want to trade it in. And besides, the dogs didn’t like change or the smell of a new car. Who could argue with such logic, Jack wondered.

  Both Jack and Harry waited as Julie made her way across the lot to where they were standing. She looked sad, and her eyes were wet as she hugged both men. “I don’t know what to tell you; he was ready to leave. He had everything piled up. I know the signs by now. He’s champing at the bit to get out of the truck. He knew he was coming here about ten miles back, because he unbuckled his seat belt—you know what a whiz he is at that—and hopped into the front seat. What’s going on?”

  “We don’t know. Jack had a dream and . . . I guess I knew subconsciously that something was up,” Harry said, a catch in his voice. He went on to explain about Jun Yu and the phone call. “He’s sending me something that I am to guard with my life. He said something about his son and daughter, Hop and Gan, and my daughter Lily and how he couldn’t get to her even though he tried. I guess it all ties in to Cooper somehow. And Lily. That dog is . . . is . . .”

  “I know, Harry. Someday we all need to sit down and talk about Cooper.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “You guys haven’t . . . seen Cooper in person in a while. He . . . he’s not getting older for some strange reason. He looks the same as the day he came to me after my son died. He just showed up at the door, like he was company. I can’t explain it,” Julie said, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Let me get him before he chews the door off.”

  Harry and Jack watched as Julie sprinted to the Rover and opened the door. Cooper leaped to the ground, then sat on his haunches. He barked a loud, boisterous greeting. Jack and Harry waved because they didn’t know what else to do. They waited.

  Jack took a step to the side so he could better see how this little reunion was going to play out. Harry dropped to his knees and waited for Cooper to come to him. Dog and man eyeballed each other before Cooper put his paws on Harry’s shoulders and somehow managed to nuzzle his neck before he backed off and sat a foot away. Man and dog stared at one another—for six and a half long minutes. An eternity in Jack’s mind.

  Jack risked a glance at Julie, who just flapped her hands in the a
ir, a sign that she didn’t know any more than Jack about what was going on. Tears continued to slide down her cheeks. Jack felt like crying himself for some reason.

  Cooper let loose with two sharp barks, then meandered over to Jack, and Jack later swore that the big dog was grinning at him. Jack leaned down and scratched Cooper’s ears as a thought raced through his mind that Lily was in trouble. Cooper barked again, his signal that Jack was supposed to respond. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. I get it, Cooper.” The dog trotted over to Julie, who was holding a bright purple plastic basket filled to the brim with Cooper’s gear. She set it down and hugged the dog as she wailed for her loss. Cooper barked, rose on his hind legs, and licked at her tears.

  Jack could hear Julie say, “Yeah, I know you’re coming back at some point. I’m okay. I’m okay, Cooper.”

  “You getting all this, Harry?” Jack hissed.

  “Yeah, you?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Okay,” Jack bellowed. “Let’s hit the road before the snow comes.” He had no idea whether it was going to snow, but it seemed like the moment called for a comment, and snow was as good as anything else he could come up with.

  Harry picked up the purple basket and settled it on the backseat. “Get in the car, Cooper, and buckle up.” The big dog woofed and did as instructed.

  The threesome hugged one more time. Julie’s eyes were dry now, but her voice was sad. “I love that dog, I really do. He literally saved my sanity. Take care of him and bring him back. I think I’m . . . I’m his home base.”

  “Will do. Drive carefully, Julie,” Harry mumbled. Jack waved, and Cooper barked.

  They were back on the interstate within minutes, the sky dark and dreary.

  Cooper somehow managed to lie down even with the seat belt on. He was sleeping peacefully, and clutched in his paws was a stuffed rabbit that had only one ear and half a tail.

  When Jack couldn’t stand the silence any longer, he blurted, “Any luck?”

  “No. All the calls just go straight to voice mail. It’s Lily. Cooper confirmed it. That’s what Jun Yu was trying to tell me. Something’s happened to Lily. That’s why Cooper is here. Tell me I’m wrong, Jack.”

  Jack let half a second go by before he responded. “I wish I could tell you that, Harry, but I can’t. I more or less surmised that when you said Jun Yu told you on the phone that he got Hop and Gan out but couldn’t find Lily. I don’t know anything about Buddhists, Harry, so help me out here. You said you lived with the monks for years and years. Jun, too. So what could have gone wrong after all this time? What would put those kids in danger?”

  “Ask Cooper,” Harry snapped. “Jeez, I’m sorry, Jack. I don’t know. I can’t even begin to imagine. You were there, you saw how wonderful it was, how peaceful and tranquil and how all those kids, no matter their age, were happy and thriving. Maybe it has something to do with the new Abbot. He’s into tourism and commercialism.

  “Several months ago, Jun Yu did tell me that the monks were convening to discuss the Abbot’s ouster, but then he never said anything more. We need to go there. As soon as possible.” Cooper barked vigorously at that comment.

  “I thought the dog was asleep,” Jack said, looking in the rearview mirror.

  “He just pretends. As far as I know, that dog never sleeps,” Harry whispered. Cooper barked again to show he’d heard Harry’s comment. “See!”

  “And by we I assume you mean all of us, the girls, everyone, right?”

  “How else can we do it? Annie and Dennis are the ones with the Gulfstreams. We’ll need Jack Sparrow to clear the way for us. The paperwork alone could bog us down for months. While yours and mine are up to date, the others have to start from scratch. So, when we get back, are we heading straight for Myra’s or my dojo? I only have enough juice for maybe two more calls at the most. Unless you remembered to bring your charger. Did you?”

  “Well, no, Harry, the charger wasn’t exactly on my mind when I left the house after that dream this morning. Call Yoko and explain things and have her call everyone to meet either at Myra’s farm or at our place, which is just next door across the field.”

  Harry was already pressing the number two button that would connect him with his wife. “Crap, she isn’t answering. She’s probably at the nursery. Christmas trees were supposed to be delivered today. I think. Then again, maybe it’s tomorrow. Yoko never carries her cell phone in her pocket, and she is notorious for leaving it someplace and not being able to find it. For some strange reason, she really hates the cell phone. Sometimes I don’t pay attention to things like that when she’s going on and on.”

  “Call Nikki. She always answers. It’s the lawyer in her.”

  Harry pressed the number one on Jack’s phone. Nikki picked up on the second ring. “Jack said to call everyone for an emergency meeting at Myra’s for six o’clock . . . Shit, Jack, the phone died.”

  “Well, at least you got the gist of it out. Nikki will know what to do.” Cooper barked to show his agreement as he continued to snuggle with his one-eared rabbit with the half tail.

  Neither Harry nor Jack spoke again until Jack took the exit that would take him out to Pinewood. “Forty minutes and we’re home.”

  “You’re home. How the hell am I supposed to get back to the District?”

  Jack looked at his old and dearest friend. Was Harry losing it? “Duh. With your wife, of course. Unless she hitched a ride with Alexis or Kathryn. But knowing that you and Cooper are going to be there, I assume she is savvy enough to figure it all out on her own. Don’t you think, Harry?” Not bothering to wait for a response, Jack continued. “Listen, Harry, you need to look sharp here. I can’t do it all. I need you to be the down-and-dirty guy you always pretend to be. You know our rule. We kick ass and take names later. Now, are you part of the problem or part of the solution?” He waited for what he was sure was going to be a surly response delivered in a way only Harry Wong could deliver it.

  “I hear you, Jack. You’re right. I’m just worried about my daughter.”

  In the backseat, Cooper let loose with a series of soft woofs.

  “See, even the dog is telling you he’s on it. Keep it together, Harry.”

  “Okay, Jack.”

  Jack felt his stomach muscles cramp up. He hated it when Harry was nice and agreeable, because he never knew what Harry would do next.

  “Five miles out,” Jack said. “See that mile marker.” Cooper barked to show he saw it.

  Harry laughed. “I really need to know who Cooper came back as. You know they say sometimes people die and come back as someone else or an animal. That kind of thing.”

  “And you know this how?” Jack asked.

  “I know it because that goddamn dog is not of this world, and don’t even think of trying to tell me that he is. See, you don’t hear him barking, do you? That means I’m right. We are in the presence of . . . of . . . something.”

  “I am not going there, Harry. I am never ever going there, so just shut the hell up.”

  The moment Jack turned on his turn signal, Cooper unbuckled his seat belt. He leaned forward and nuzzled Jack’s neck and ear. Jack went from relaxed to downright rigid.

  “He’s in a good position to sink those canines into your carotid artery or your jugular. You know that, right?” Harry said.

  Cooper threw his head back and barked, then resumed the same position. Jack could feel the dog’s warm, wet breath on his neck. “Rub my neck, Coop. Dig those paws into my shoulder blades. Ahhhh, that feels good. Good boy.”

  “You’re an asshole, Jack,” Harry said as he opened the car door before Jack could put the car in park. He sprinted across the courtyard to Myra’s kitchen door, where she was waiting with one of Charles’s jackets over her shoulders.

  “Where’s Yoko?”

  “She couldn’t make it, Harry. She called and said something came up and for you to head home as soon as you got here. She said to hurry. What’s wrong? What happened?” Instead of responding, Harry ran back
to the car.

  “Jack, I need you to lend me your car. Yoko isn’t here. She told Myra to have me come home right away. Stay, Cooper,” Harry said, but he might as well have saved his breath. Cooper was already in the passenger seat and buckled up.

  Jack tossed his keys to Harry. “You want me to come with you?”

  “No. I’m going to speed, and I don’t need you yelling at me. I’ll call you. Here,” he said, handing Jack his cell phone. “You need to charge this. I’ll call you after I get home.”

  His mouth open, his eyes glazed, Jack watched Harry burn rubber as he backed out the Beemer and tore down the road to the gate, which was standing open.

  “What the hell . . .”

  They were all there suddenly, throwing questions at him as Nikki led him into the warm, fragrant kitchen.

  “Talk to us!” Annie and Myra said at the same moment.

  Chapter 3

  Harry hadn’t lied to Jack. He drove like a bat out of hell, Cooper growling his displeasure the entire time. Harry ignored him as he grumbled that he was in a hurry. Cooper growled louder. Twice, police cars pulled him over, but he flashed his special gold badge and was rewarded the second time around with a police escort to his dojo. He mumbled a quick word of thanks to the police officer, who simply stared at Harry and the dog while scratching his head and wondering who this off-beat character with the special shield was. The purple basket of dog toys and gear that he could see through the open car door mystified him even more. Maybe the dog was some kind of movie star. Yeah, he had heard that they were filming in town for some movie. He relished the idea that he would have something juicy to talk about when he returned to the precinct. Too bad it was a dog and not someone like Lindsay Lohan.

  Minutes later, man and dog raced through the dojo to the stairs leading to the second floor. Harry shouted Yoko’s name every step of the way, Cooper barking shrilly to announce their arrival.