We were sitting on a bench at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley.
Junior was on a leash and sniffing near the bench. Whenever a jogger came by, he huddled between my legs and sometimes lost control of his bladder. Heidi Mann was sitting next to me. She was wearing big sunglasses, unflattering shorts and a Dodger baseball cap. Although I couldn’t see her eyes, I knew she was following Junior’s every move. I had spent the past fifteen minutes catching her up to date. The story had naturally come around to Junior and his captivity.
Now we were sitting quietly, and Heidi had a renewed interest in Junior who was now sniffing the hell out of a big, lumpy bird crap.
“ How are his paws?” she finally asked.
“ Mostly healed. Same with his muzzle.”
“ How’s he eating?”
“ Normally enough. Big healthy craps, too, if that’s any indication.”
She smiled. Her first smile. “Good to know.”
“ He’s scared of strangers, especially men, and as you might have noticed, it took him a little while to warm up, even to you.”
“ Do you blame him?”
“ Not one bit.”
“ He might have issues for the rest of his life.”
“ I have no doubt,” I said.
“ But you won’t get rid of him?”
“ Never,” I said.
“ You are my hero.”
“ I’m definitely his hero. I’m also Cindy’s hero, too.”
“ Your girlfriend?”
“ Yes.”
“ You mention her a lot.”
“ I think about her a lot, too.”
She nodded and looked away. “I know the feeling.”
We were quiet. I watched Junior move on to another, slightly older bird crap, before jerking his head up and growling. I jerked my head up, too. About halfway through the park, or about a half a mile away, a man was jogging alone. Yeah, he was going to have issues.
“ Did you really name him after yourself?” she asked.
“ It’s a good name,” I said. “But he goes by Junior.”
“ I hate them,” she said.
I wasn’t sure which them she was referring to. The drug bosses who killed her boyfriend, or the shark hunters who were going to use Junior as bait? Either way, we were silent for another five minutes before she turned and faced me. She took off her sunglasses. Her eyes were red and raw.
“ I think we’re going to terminate your employment,” she said.
“ Figured you would.”
“ It was different when I thought the killers were…”
“ The shark hunters?” I offered.
“ It was easier to hate them.” She took in a lot of air, nearly broke down, but didn’t. Close call. “I knew Mitch was up to something, though.”
“ You didn’t know about the drugs?”
“ I knew something wasn’t right. Let me put it this way, I’m not surprised. Often he would come to our meetings talking about a big donation he had secured from a wealthy client. The money always went to the organization, so I didn’t worry about it too much. Now I know where the money was coming from.”
“ He picked the wrong guys to steal from.”
“ Even though the money was going to a good cause.”
“ Drug kingpins probably don’t see it that way,” I said. “For them, it’s just business as usual.”
“ It’s weird knowing his killer is out there somewhere,” she said.
“ I could look for him,” I said.
“ And find what?” she said. “A shooter who was doing his job, ordered by a guy doing his job.”
“ Mitch knew the risks,” I said.
“ But he did it anyway.”
“ All for the little guys,” I said.
She laughed a little, which surprised me. “It’s hard to love a shark,” she said. “But we do. Me and people like Mitch. As dangerous as they are, they are still helpless against man.”
“ Little guys with big teeth.”
She turned away and appeared to be looking down at Junior…but with those big shades she could have been looking anywhere. “He was a good man. We lost a hero. A stupid hero, granted, but a hero.”
Junior spied a bee and snapped at it. The bee escaped and for the first time, I think, my little guy might have looked happy.