Dan shifted uncomfortably, holding his fingers to the eye Jenny had directed her hit towards. "It's your fault. I wouldn't have done it if you had fixed a decent supper." His voice took on a belligerent tone.
Jenny silently walked to the garage and gently laid little Lucky inside of her dad's old car. She drove off, ignoring Dan's angry shout. The veterinarian's office wasn't far away, yet she sped through the few stop signs that obstructed her momentum. Luckily for her, Airedale police hardly ever patrolled the back roads.
When she arrived, the vet was just about to leave. She hailed him quickly and showed him Lucky's knife wound, and the knife laying on the plastic car mat where she had placed it.
"It's a good thing you caught me when you did, Jen. I was just about to go home." He smiled kindly and gathered Lucky in his arms. "Let's take care of the little pup."
The waiting room was empty and the vet offered her a seat. He had known Jenny ever since she had gotten Lucky as a puppy, and he knew a little about her home life.
"This is going to take a while." He shook his head sadly. "Was it that louse, Dan?"
"Yes," Jenny replied woodenly. "He was drunk and he got mad about me not fixing him a decent supper."
"I'll get to Lucky now. After we patch him up, you and me will call the police."
Jenny nodded quietly and collapsed into a chair. All she could think about was the hatred she felt for Dan. Too long had she stood under his oppression. Finally she had the courage and the strength to do something about it. It was finally time. She walked to the bathroom and opened the window. After flushing the toilet, she squeezed out of it and ran to the car.
Once there she realized that the distance between the clinic and her house wasn't that far. She could quickly run that distance easily. The cold air bit her nose and tears ran down her face as the air stung her eyes. By keeping a steady pace and running through pastures, she arrived at her house in all of ten minutes.
When she entered the garage she noticed Dan's diesel truck was still there. She smiled as a plan began to form in her mind. The garage didn't have any windows and was completely void of junk because there was no room with three vehicles that were usually parked inside. A perfect chamber for her plan.
Jenny pulled on her brown leather gloves and crawled into her truck. Dan had been foolish enough to leave his keys in the ignition. She turned the key, bringing the engine to life. After she carefully slipped out, she locked both doors and slammed them shut. There was no way he was getting into the truck.
Dan weaved into the doorway that joined the garage to the house. "Wh-what the heck are you doing?" He mumbled in a disjointed effort to get his words out.
"I told you to leave when you had the chance. Now you're gonna be mighty sorry you didn't take my advice." Jenny smiled wickedly as she eyed Dan's inebriated condition. He was going to make it so easy for her. So very easy.
Dan stumbled down the steps, barely keeping himself upright. "What are you going to do, Stupid? You can't do anything to me!"
Jenny put both hands on his chest and shoved him as hard as she could. He flew backwards into the truck and slid to the floor. He smiled and muttered, "Yeah, you are stupid," before he passed out. She smiled and looked down at his unconscious form. "I'm not exactly the stupid girl you thought I was." She locked the adjoining door to the house from the inside of the garage as she left. Already poisonous carbon monoxide filled the garage in a choking cloud.
"Happy Birthday, Dan," she laughed with an evil grin stretched from ear to ear.
She took off back to the veterinarian clinic using her short cut and crawled back into the bathroom window. Blowing her nose, she rubbed her eyes until they were red and swollen.
Leaving the bathroom, she picked up a magazine and plopped down into a chair. The vet smiled as he entered the waiting room.
"Your little dog is going to be all right. He'll have to stay overnight for observation; nevertheless, he's doing great."
Jenny gave a relieved smile and hugged the magazine close to her, picturing her little friend safe and sound. "Thank you! I really appreciate you taking care of him even after closing time."
"Jenny, I've known you since you were five. Don't worry about it. If you want, you can wait until Lucky comes out of the anesthesia, and then we'll contact the police."
Jenny jumped up and hugged him, and ran into the small operating room. Lucky lay still, a bare shaved spot with ugly black stitches marking his wound. Her heart leaped in fear when he showed no sign of movement. But then a small stub tail began to wiggle, and Jenny kissed the small black nose. "Don't worry, honey. Everything is going to be fine." She gently massaged his fuzzy muzzle, and kissed him once again. "I have to go home now, sweetie. I'll be back tomorrow and then we'll both go home." Lucky whined his understanding and Jenny returned to the waiting room.
The veterinarian made the call to the police and Jenny went to the police station to file a report. When she finally left, she had established an iron-clad alibi and couldn't stop smiling. She couldn't wait to formally hear of Dan's passing.
The police escorted Jenny to her house in order to question and arrest Dan. Jenny waled into the house and led the police to the living room. She noticed the police looking at the piles of beer cans.
"Dan! Where are you?" She called out, keeping back the smile that wanted to appear. She knew where Dan was.
"Miss, maybe he left. What kind of vehicle does he drive?" One of the policemen inquired gently.
"It's a brown junky Ford diesel. But he was totally smashed and I don't know if he could handle driving." Jenny tried to look concerned.
"Well, let's take a look at the garage," suggested another police officer. "Maybe he's there."
Jenny nodded and led the way to the garage. When the officers tried to open the door they found it was locked. Confusion was etched on Jenny's face. "I don't understand. This door is never locked. We usually keep the outside garage door locked. Never this one."
The officer looked at each other and nodded their heads in a silent code of agreement. "Maybe it's best you stay here, Miss. We don't know what we'll find in there."
A look of fear crossed her features. "What do you mean? Do you think--?"
One officer gently guided her aside. "We're going to break down the door. You need to stand back."
Jenny stepped back as meekly as she could, looking horrified that the mere situation the officers were insinuating could happen.
"Poor girl," whispered one young officer. "I'm going to hate to break this to her if we find what I think we're going to find."
The door flung open as the officers kicked it in. Instantly the exhaust filled the entry way, causing the officers and Jenny to gasp for air. One of the officers ran into the garage and broke the truck window to turn the diesel off, while the other one opened the garage door with the wall remote. The older officer bent over Dan and shook his head wearily.
"He's gone."
Jenny screamed and ran into the living room where she sank to her knees and shook violently. The young officer draped a lap quilt over her shoulders and tried to comfort her. If only they realized, Jenny thought to herself. She couldn't stop shaking as excitement flowed through her body. The officer who comforted her was really handsome and she enjoyed the close proximity they shared.
"Apparent suicide. He was so drunk that he probably went through some alcohol-fuelled depression. It looks as if he locked the doors of the truck and garage so it would be hard for any one to stop him." They turned to Jenny. "We called your Mom at her workplace. When she gets home, tell her we need her to fill out some paper work."
"Yes, sir," she whispered, as if in shock.
After the policemen and coroner left, Jenny went into the kitchen and sat down. When her mother came in the door she calmly told her the news.
Her mother sat still for a while. "It's about time. What took you so long?"
Jenny frowned. "I didn't marry the loser. You were supposed to handle him. He tried to kill my dog. Actually, it was perfect timing...an appropriate birthday gift."
They grinned at each other and her mother smiled. "For once you did something right. What are you going to do now?"
Jenny grinned slyly. "I figure I have some overdue shopping to work on."
Agnes snickered quietly. "Yeah, now you can stop being a good little girl in jumpers and I can start spending the louse's inheritance."
"Who would have thought lazy old Dan could be worth so much money?" They both giggled and went into the living room to watch the late movie, singing "Happy Birthday" all the way.
THE END
(By the way, I think this was a creative writing assignment and I was trying to explore the vengeance concept. I do not approve of any kind of violence or murder. I'm really a sweetie with a devilish imagination.)
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