Tiger by the Tail (13 page)

“You don’t have to be afraid of Buddha,” Nick said.

“Buddha?” Mom questioned.

“That’s the tiger’s name. Sarah wasn’t afraid last night when she was in the cage.”

“When she
what?
” Mom snapped.

“When she went into the cage,” Nick repeated.

“It just gets worse and worse,” Mom said, shaking her head. She turned to me. “Sarah, how could you do something like that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, that’s not surprising. You just haven’t been thinking lately. But going into a tiger’s cage?”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized.

“Tomorrow, first thing, I’m going to call the mayor and let him know I totally support his efforts to control those animals,” she said.

“The mayor can’t really do anything, can he? He can’t make Mr. McCurdy give up his animals, can he?” I asked.

“He might be able to. It all depends on what the local bylaws say. In some places it’s against the law to own exotic animals.”

“But you have to understand that those aren’t just animals to Mr. McCurdy. They’re more like his children,” I said emphatically.

“Animals are animals. You’d know that if you were raised on a farm.”

I wanted to say something, to defend Mr. McCurdy, but I didn’t. I just stood there and took it.

It had been a long week. We were allowed out of the house but the only place we knew, or wanted to go, Mr. McCurdy’s, was off limits. Nick suggested, a couple of times, that we just wander over during the day. It wasn’t like Mom would notice. She was buried so deep in her work on that big deal that she was often gone before we got up, and didn’t come home until we were in bed. Even when she was home her mind was someplace else. This made it uncomfortable for everybody, but it didn’t seem like we had anything to talk about anyway. Even my brother seemed quiet. For years I’d wanted him to shut up once in a while, but now I wanted a little more conversation from him.

At least having Erin over to babysit us wasn’t so bad now. She was able to keep us updated on what was happening with Mr. McCurdy. She and her friends had been over there every day. Erin told us some inspectors had been up to the farm. At first Mr. McCurdy had tossed them off his property but they’d come back with the police and they checked everything out, including the stable. There was also a newspaper reporter who came to interview Mr. McCurdy. Erin said that didn’t go over too well and Mr. McCurdy threatened to feed
the reporter to the tiger before he tossed him off his property too.

That probably explained Wednesday’s paper. The first thing that jumped out was a full-colour picture of Buddha, standing up on his back legs, his front paws pressed against the bars. The rest of the page had more articles, quoting the mayor, both his opponents in the upcoming election, a tiger expert and some animal activists who wanted the animals returned to the wild. I thought it was stupid to think about “returning” animals to someplace they’d never been.

From the kitchen I heard the phone ring. I kept my nose buried in my book. After all it wasn’t like the phone would be for me. The noise stopped mid-ring and I figured Nick had answered it. I looked at my watch. It was almost five o’clock.

Mom would be home soon.

Nick popped in through the swinging door. “It’s for you.”

“Me? Is it Erin?”

“Who else? She sounded really … strange … you know, even stranger than usual.”

I rushed to the phone. “Hello, Erin, is anything wrong?”

“They’re coming to get the animals!”

“Who’s coming?”

“The animal control people and the police,” she
answered.

“How do you know?”

“My mother has a friend who works at the police station,” Erin answered.

“When are they coming?”

“Soon, in about an hour or two. That’s why I’m calling. We’re going to go out and try to stop them. All of us. We could use some help. Can you and Nick come?”

“I … I’d like to come, but I don’t know if we can …” I stammered.

“Okay, Sarah, try and make it. It would mean a lot if you could, especially to Mr. McCurdy. I know your family just moved here but he talks as if he’s known you forever. And, I think he’s pretty sad about getting you and Nick in trouble with your Mom.”

“We’ll try,” I lied. “You’d better get going before it’s too late.”

I put the phone down as Nick came back into the room. “Well?”

“Nothing, she just wanted to talk.”

I walked into the kitchen. It was time to check on supper. I’d put in a pot roast and needed to peel potatoes and carrots to go along with it. My brother trailed behind me and started to set the table. I wasn’t sure how long it would last, but all week he’d been helping, without asking.

As I finished the last potato I heard the sound of a car driving up. I looked out the window and saw Mom’s car. She pulled to a stop and got out. She saw me looking at her through the window and gave me a little wave and a half-hearted smile. I was struck by how tired she looked.

“Something smells good,” she said as she came in.

“Thanks,” I replied, without turning around from the sink.

Mom sat down at the kitchen table, heaving her heavy briefcase on top of it with a loud thump. “Sarah, Nicholas, come on over and sit down. I have to tell you something.”

The last time she sat us down like this, she told us we were moving. The time before that, she told us Dad was leaving. We sat down with the length of the table between us.

“I know this is going to be hard for both of you to accept, but I thought it was best that you hear it from me,” she began.

I had the same feeling in my stomach as I did when I first looked over my shoulder and saw Buddha staring at me out of the darkness. Then, at least, I could run away. Now there was no place to go.

“It’s about Mr. McCurdy and his animals,” she said.

“What about them?” Nick questioned.

“I want you to know it’s possible that the animals may be removed … that he’ll have to give them up.”

“Give them up! Mr. McCurdy will never give up his animals!” Nick protested.

“He won’t have a choice. I just wanted you to know that it could happen.”

“Tonight,” I said in a whisper.

“What?” Nick asked.

“Tonight. It’s happening tonight, and you know it’s happening, don’t you?” I said, pointing at my mother. She looked away in a guilty manner. She
did
know.

“You know, don’t you?” I accused her.

I got up from the table. “The roast will be ready at six-thirty. You should put the vegetables into the pan about an hour before that,” I said as I walked over to the coat rack and grabbed my coat.

“Sarah, what are you doing?” Mom asked.

“I’m going out … to a friend’s place … because he needs my help,” I answered.

“You’re not going anywhere. Sit right back down, now!” she insisted.

“No,” I answered quietly.

“What do you mean no?” she demanded

“No, as in the opposite of yes,” I answered. I saw Nick break into a grin.

“Don’t you dare talk to your mother like that!”

“My mother? My mother? You’re right, I never would talk to my mother like that. My mother is somebody who used to always offer help to people who needed it!
Are you my mother?” I questioned.

“What sort of ridiculous question is that?” she demanded.

“I don’t know, I guess it’s just the usual sort of ridiculous question.” I bent down and started to lace up my shoes. “How about answering a question for me. How did you know they were taking his animals tonight?”

“I don’t have to answer your questions, young lady!”

“No you don’t, but my mother always answered my questions,” I said as I finished lacing up my first shoe.

“Okay, fine. Fine, I’ll tell you! I know because the mayor and I have been talking. He sought my legal opinion.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“I told him they could take the animals and hold them at least until the court says that they can’t.”

“So you said it was okay for them to kidnap the animals at least until a judge makes you give them back.” I finished tying the second shoe and stood up to leave.

“You’ve made a mess of everything,” I said to my mother. “You drag us across the country and stop acting like our mother because you’re too busy spending half your time being ‘super lawyer’ and the other half acting like some sort of over-aged, irresponsible teenager. I’m tired of being the only one who is responsible. I’m tired of having to be the parent in this family. Ever since Dad
left it’s been like I’ve been living with a stranger instead of a mother. At least he sends us a postcard or an email sometimes. I haven’t heard from my mother in over a year, and to tell you the truth, I miss her even more than I miss him. I’ve got to get going. I have a friend who needs my help.”

I walked over to the door, opened it and stepped out.

“Young lady you come back here!” she yelled.

I turned and thought about going back. I knew how mad she was and that I’d be punished, but I also knew I’d been face to face — eyeball to eyeball — with a tiger, and there wasn’t much that my mother, or anybody else, could do to compare with that. She could punish me but she couldn’t stop me from doing what was right.

I slammed the door as hard as I could throw it. I heard a crash as it hit the door frame, followed almost instantly by the sound of smashing glass. One of the panels of glass had shattered, leaving only a few jagged shards. I took a few steps backwards and my mother’s face appeared, framed by the broken pane. She wore a look of shock. I turned and walked away.

I only got partway across the field when I heard Nick yelling after me. I stopped and waited for him to catch up.

“Did Mom let you come?” I questioned.

“Not really. A few seconds after you ran out of one door, she disappeared through the other, upstairs to her room. I left.”

“I guess I really upset her. Maybe I shouldn’t have said some of the things I said.”

“Maybe … but I guess most of it’s true. Are they really going to take the animals tonight?”

“Yes, and we’re going to try to stop them from taking Buddha and Laura and Calvin away from Mr. McCurdy,” I answered as we climbed the fence that divided our properties.

“Stop who?”

“The animal control people and the police and the mayor and I don’t know who else.”

“But, Sarah, how are the two of us supposed to stop them? What are we supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, but we won’t be alone. We’ll have help.”

“Help? From who?” he questioned.

“Erin and her friends.”

“Oh, great! That makes me feel so much better,” he said, shaking his head.

Coming up to the barn, I poked my head into the stable. Buddha was sitting in his pen but nobody else was anywhere to be seen. We walked up to the house. I knocked on the door. There was no answer. I heard my name being called.

“SARAH!”

I turned around and saw Erin running up the driveway, waving her arms. Nick and I ran to meet her.

“Fantastic, and you brought Nick too,” Erin exclaimed. “Come on down this way, we’re all out by the road.”

As we started down the lane, puffs of exhaust fumes rose into the air and an engine noise got louder as we moved closer. Rounding a curve, a backhoe moved to block the way, Mr. McCurdy at the controls, with Calvin sitting beside him. The shovel was tearing away at the surface of the driveway.

We walked up and peered past the backhoe. There was a sizeable hole, deep enough and wide enough to swallow a car, where the driveway used to be. The dirt that had been removed to make the hole was piled on the side. Just past the mound I could see a group of teenagers, six of them, standing in front of a car.

Erin tapped me on the shoulder and motioned for us to follow her. We scampered down the ditch and
made our way around the backhoe. As we passed by, Mr. McCurdy caught sight of us. He broke into a huge grin, waved and then continued to work. Erin brought us over to her friends. They yelled out greetings and tried to talk to us, but I couldn’t make out much over the noise of the engine.

A stack of signs leaned against the car. One read “A MAN’S HOME IS HIS CASTLE!” The one beside it read, “A MAN’S BEST FRIEND IS HIS TIGER.” Nick picked up a third one. It said, “LEAVE THE ANIMALS ALONE.” Holding onto it by the stick attached at the bottom, my brother lifted it over his head.

The noise from the backhoe gurgled and then died away. I was just starting to turn around when a police car pulled into the driveway. It was followed by a second police car and then a van. They all squealed to a stop. The van had large lettering on the side that read “ANIMAL CONTROL.” Farther away, still on the road, I saw other vehicles come to a stop. There were two more police cars, as well as an expensive-looking black car and a small van. All at once the doors on all the vehicles opened and people started to move forward. A few I recognized: the captain, the chief and Officer Sinopoli.

Nick and Erin grabbed the signs and we all scrambled down the ditch and came up beside the backhoe. They handed the signs out so that everybody except me, Mr.
McCurdy and Calvin had one in hand. Across the hole in the driveway, the police fanned out and came to a stop. The chief was flanked by the captain, and a short, chubby balding man. The chief motioned for the officers to move forward, and two started to scramble down the ditch.

“Stop right there!” Mr. McCurdy ordered.

The officers stopped in their tracks and looked back to the captain for directions.

“These men are following a court order!” the captain yelled back. “Let me come over and we can talk about it!”

Mr. McCurdy turned to me. “What do you think, Sarah? Should we let him come on over?”

“I don’t think we have any choice.”

He nodded. “Okay, but just you.”

The captain motioned for the two officers to come back while he climbed down into the hole and then up the other side.

“I hope you believe me when I say I’m sorry this is happening,” the captain began. “But we have come to ensure that you allow the animal control people to take your animals.”

“They have no right to take my animals! None of you has any right to even come on to my property!”

“I’m afraid we do.” The captain reached into his jacket pocket, produced some papers and handed them
to Mr. McCurdy. “We have a court order allowing us to do both.”

Mr. McCurdy dropped the papers without looking at them, and with his heel, ground them into the dirt. “That’s what I think of your papers. All I know is a man has the right to defend himself and his property.”

Without warning, Mr. McCurdy reached into the backhoe and pulled out Nana’s shotgun. I gasped and stepped back.

“Come on, Mr. McCurdy, let’s not make this any worse,” the captain said calmly.

“I don’t see how it can be any worse,” Mr. McCurdy replied.

“It could get worse by you getting hurt or one of us, or one of these kids,” he said, gesturing to us spread out beside him. The captain turned from Mr. McCurdy to his officers. “Everybody take it easy! Put down your guns!” he yelled.

I looked over and was shocked to see the other police officers were no longer just standing there but were crouched down, their weapons drawn and aimed at Mr. McCurdy. In answer to the captain’s order they lowered their guns. The captain turned back around.

“Please put down the gun, Mr. McCurdy.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mother push through the crowd of officers. I saw her talking with the
chief and the little man, all of them using their hands to make points. I looked over at Mr. McCurdy and the captain and was amazed to see that they too had stopped and were staring across at my mother.

“Captain! Mrs. Fraser will be coming over to talk with Mr. McCurdy,” the little man yelled.

My mother, assisted by an officer, tottered down the hole, moving precariously on her high heels.

“Who is that fella?” Mr. McCurdy asked.

“That’s the mayor,” the captain answered. “I wonder why he wants Mrs. Fraser to come over?”

“She’s here to take us home,” I said bitterly as she reached our side of the hole.

“Hello, I’m Ellen Fraser,” she said as she offered her hand to the captain and they shook.

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Could I see the orders you served Mr. McCurdy?” she asked.

The captain bent down and picked up the papers. He tried to straighten them out and then brushed them off on his shirt sleeve, handing them to my mother. She looked at the first page, nodding her head slowly, and proceeded through the second and third pages as we all looked on in silence.

“They all look in order,” she finally proclaimed.

“Big surprise!” I snapped.

“Sarah, never take that tone with your mother,” Mr.
McCurdy scolded.

“That’s all right,” Mom said quietly. She looked at the captain. “Can I have a moment with Mr. McCurdy, privately, and perhaps we can resolve all this peacefully.”

“Certainly,” the captain observed, and walked a few steps away.

“Let’s talk,” my mother said to Mr. McCurdy. She walked away from where the captain stood, stopping behind the backhoe. Mr. McCurdy walked over to her.

I followed after and I folded my arms across my chest. “Whatever you’re going to say to him, I’m going to hear it too,” I said defiantly.

“Fine. Maybe your brother should hear it too. Nicholas, come!” she said, gesturing to him. He trotted over.

“Okay, what would you like to say?” Mr. McCurdy asked.

“I want to start by telling you that all the papers are in order. They have the right to come onto your property and seize the animals …”

“Yeah, thanks to your help!” I interrupted.

“Sarah! Mind your tongue. When you’re rude like that it’s embarrassing,” Mr. McCurdy said.

“But, I was just —”

“I know what you’re doing, but it’s wrong to interrupt your mom, so just listen,” Mr. McCurdy said. He gently put a hand on my shoulder.

“Despite the fact they can legally take your animals, I think with a good lawyer you can get them back. But it’ll take some time.”

“How much time?” Mr. McCurdy asked.

“Months, maybe even a year,” Mom answered.

“We don’t have time like that. Besides, I don’t have money for a lawyer.”

“I understand what you’re saying. There’s no choice. I’m afraid your animals have to leave the farm,” she said calmly.

“There’s got to be something you can do,” my brother exclaimed.

Mom looked at Nick and then at me. “Sarah, Nicholas, you two have to go home right now.”

“I’m not going anywhere!” I snarled. “I don’t have a home!”

“Sarah!” Mr. McCurdy said.

“Let me finish,” Mom said, and looked directly into my eyes. “You two have to go home now and take Mr. McCurdy and his animals over to our farm.”

“What?”

“The animals have to leave the farm, right now, and you have to lead them away, across the fields, to safety, on our property. The court orders only allow them to search for and seize exotic animals found on Mr. McCurdy’s property. Once the animals are on our land, they’re safe.”

“But, but …” I stammered.

“But won’t they just get more papers to take them from our property?” Nick asked.

“It’s Friday, the courts have closed and they won’t be open until Monday morning, and I’ll be there as soon as the doors open to file an injunction stopping them from taking the animals away.”

“But, Mom, what about your big business deal? What about your firm?” I asked.

“They can survive without me for a morning. Mr. McCurdy needs a good lawyer to help him. Maybe I’d forgotten how to be a good mother but I’m still a good lawyer.”

“Mom, you don’t have to say …”

“Yes, I do,” she interrupted. “Yes I do.”

“And Mr. McCurdy can keep his animals?” Nick asked.

“I don’t know, but at least we can try,” she said, and turned to Mr. McCurdy, “If you want me to.”

“I’d be much obliged if you did,” Mr. McCurdy said. “What do we do now?”

“You and the kids take the animals off your property and over to our place.”

“Where at our place?” I asked.

“The barn or even the house. Put something in Nick’s room. It’s so messy that even if the police had a court order to search they’d never find them,” she said, and smiled.

Mr. McCurdy broke into a laugh and the captain turned around. Mr. McCurdy covered his mouth.

“You can move them, can’t you?” Mom asked.

“With a little help from your kids,” Mr. McCurdy answered.

“I want to stay here,” I said. “Can you do it with Nick and Erin and maybe one of the others?”

“I can. I just need a little time,” Mr. McCurdy answered.

“Get going and we’ll stall as long as we can,” my mother said.

Mr. McCurdy handed my mother the rifle. “Be careful. It’s loaded.”

He called Calvin, who hopped off the backhoe and came over to him. The two of them started to move up the driveway and toward the house. As Mom walked over to the captain, I slipped over to Erin.

“Erin,” I said quietly. “You and Michelle have to get up to the house.”

“No way, we’re staying here!” she objected.

“Mr. McCurdy needs your help. He’s moving the animals.”

“Wow!” Erin exclaimed.

Over her shoulder, I saw the captain turn away from my mother and look directly at us. He was now holding the rifle. I guess my mother had passed it over to him.

“Be quiet,” I said softly. “Get Michelle and just go
up to the house. Okay?” I walked over to hear what was going on between my mother and the captain.

“I’m sure things can end without anybody getting hurt. I think it’s a real vote of confidence that he turned over the rifle. I don’t think he’ll face any criminal charges for holding the rifle. He didn’t actually threaten anybody,” Mom said.

“I think we’re both in agreement on that point. You seem to be repeating yourself.” He turned to me. “Where are your friends going?”

“I think they have to go to the washroom.” I was surprised by how quickly and convincingly those words popped out of my mouth.

“And Mr. McCurdy and your brother and the monkey, did they all have to use the washroom as well?”

My mother turned around and scanned the area. “I didn’t even notice they weren’t here. I would imagine Mr. McCurdy is getting things ready to turn over the animals. Probably he just wants a few minutes, in private, to say good-bye to his animals. We can’t deny him a few minutes, but if you want I’ll send Sarah up to the house to check on them?”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” the captain said, “but I have one question of my own.”

“Well, perhaps we can answer it,” my mother replied, hoping to delay things a little bit longer.

“How much time do you need?” the captain asked.

“How much time do we need for what?”

“How much time do you need to get the animals away?” he asked.

“I don’t understand,” Mom said, trying to act confused.

“I’m sure you do. I’ve never tried to move a tiger, but I’ve seen it done … once before. I figure it’ll take ten or fifteen minutes so why don’t we just stand here and pretend to talk and argue for the next, oh, twenty-five minutes. Will that be enough time?”

They both looked at me. “That’ll be long enough. Thank you,” I said.

“You’re welcome,” the captain replied.

“But why are you doing this? Why are you helping?” Mom asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe I just like the old man or maybe I just don’t like big people pushing around little people. That’s why I became a cop in the first place. Why are you doing it is an even better question.”

Mom chuckled and shook her head slowly “I became a lawyer for almost the same reasons you became a police officer. I don’t like seeing people pushed around.”