Desperate Rescue by Barbara Phinney

“Lois was pretty upset. She called the police immediately because she knew her nephew was working. He answered the call.”
    They stood in one corner. A whistle dangled around Paul’s neck, while Eli held the stopwatch. The two men had decided on two five-minute scrimmages, junior youth against the senior youth. It looked as if the juniors were going to win but, frankly, Eli wasn’t watching the timer in his hand. He scanned the gym for Kaylee and found her across the floor, ducking the small white ball as it whipped past her. She barely escaped being sandwiched between two boys as they fought for possession.
    “Big dog?” he asked Paul.
    “Not really. I remember when I first visited Lois. He was just an average-sized brown mutt with an annoying high-pitched bark. He was okay once he got to sniff you, but overall, I’d say he was just a chicken in a dog’s body.”
    “Does this sort of thing happen a lot here?”
    Paul shook his head. “I’ve never heard of it, and I’ve lived here for almost a decade.”
    “That dog was upset last night. Kaylee said Lois doesn’t always hear it.”
    “I’m not surprised. She cranks her TV up because she’s half-deaf. Won’t admit it, though. Jim Reading phoned me, thinking Lois might appreciate a visit after what happened. When I called her this afternoon, she said she thought a bear might have wandered into the village.”
    Eli shook his head. “Black bears are apt to leave a potent smell wherever they go. I don’t remember smelling that last night.”
    Paul lifted his whistle, then stopped. “How do you know about bears?”
    “I’m from rural New York state. Where we lived, we had black bears. Last night, there was no garbage out and most bears would have headed toward downtown to search through the restaurant’s garbage there. Were there any reports of a bear?”
    Shaking his head, Paul blew his whistle at some in-fraction. After a moment, the play resumed and he returned to stand beside Eli. “Actually, you’re right to be suspicious. The police think it’s foul play. Someone, not something, killed that dog.”
    “To shut it up?”
    “My thoughts exactly.” Paul blew the whistle again and shouted out that the time had expired. Eli hadn’t even thought to look down at the stopwatch in his palm.
    To shut the dog up? Cold rippled down his back. He leaned slightly toward the pastor. “Did you tell Kaylee?”
    “No. We were so busy picking up the kids and getting ready for youth group.” Paul’s expression turned intense. “And I told Lois not to, either. At least not right away. She doesn’t need the worry. But this is a small town. She’s bound to find out.”
    Not if he had something to do with it, Eli vowed. He should check out Kaylee’s backyard, anyway. Noah was good at hiding in difficult places, but Eli hadn’t spent all that time working with the police without picking up a few tricks himself. If Noah had been in her backyard, he would find evidence of it. Noah was a good outdoorsman, knowing how to hide his presence, but Eli was good, too.
    “Do you know something about this?”
    He looked up at Paul’s frown. “No. After Kaylee locked up and we started walking, we heard a dog cry out and then there was nothing. We didn’t know whose dog it was.”
    Paul shook his head. “As soon as my wife found out, she decided to keep our dog in. She thinks it was a burglar.”
    Eli said nothing.
    The rest of the evening was wild, chaotic and typically teen-oriented. Finally, near nine o’clock, the teens had all headed home. By nine-thirty, with Kaylee and Eli to help, the gym, kitchen and lounge were all tidied up.
    Paul killed the lights to the gym as they all left. “Thanks, you two. I don’t know what I would have done if I had to look after these kids alone. Will I see you both at church on Sunday?”
    “Yes,” Eli answered automatically. Then, catching a glimpse of Kaylee’s tired, doelike expression as she walked past him, contrition