Free 3 Loosey Goosey by Rae Davies Page B

prison break, but all I saw was Stone, leaning into one of the police cars while a uniformed officer talked into a radio.
    As we slowed to a stop, Stone stood.
    Ben dropped Kiska’s leash and climbed out to meet him.
    Kiska’s ears perked. He didn’t move from his exiled spot, but I could see anticipation building in his eyes. He was waiting, playing it cool...
    I glanced at the goose and back at my dog. The air was thick with possibilities: feather-spewing, malamute-scrambling, total-chaos-creating possibilities.
    My brother had reached Stone. I twisted my lip. There was no way I was missing out on whatever conversation Stone was having with Ben.
    I was, after all, the older sibling. He needed my guidance.
    But then there was Kiska and the goose.
    Which of the troublesome two to leave in my rig? I could, of course, trust Kiska alone, but that would mean appearing in front of Stone carrying a goose dressed like a reject from a Grateful Dead concert.
    I did have some pride. But then again, I wasn’t that sure of Pauline’s toilet habits and climbing back into a vehicle loaded with goose poop was not in my top ten ways to finish off my day.
    Kiska’s eyes flickered, and, sensing the standoff was almost over, I made my decision.
    I grabbed the goose, and jumped out of the car. Kiska moved too, but I beat him. I slammed the door shut just as he moved into place in the front seat.
    Feeling inordinately proud of myself, I gave him a wave.
    Pauline honked but seemed undisturbed. I tucked her under my arm like a feathered, potentially violent football and went to do my sisterly duty.
    As I approached, Stone stopped whatever he was saying. I stroked Pauline’s head and praised her for her exemplary goose behavior.
    Pauline did not seem to appreciate the flattery. In fact, she seemed downright outraged by it.
    With no apparent cause, aside from my slight touch, she hissed loudly. I pulled back my hand, but it wasn’t enough. The goose had been set off. She flapped her wings and honked and did everything within her fowl powers to escape my loving hold.
    When she turned her beak on me, she won. I dropped her like the giant hissing monster that she was and jumped backward three feet.
    She flapped her wings in a self-satisfied manner, stretched her neck, and then, after casting me one last warning glare, she stalked toward the Egg.
    Neither Ben nor Stone nor any of the other officers seemed concerned with her approach. They returned to their discussion, which had been interrupted by her outburst, as if the grand mammy of all dinosaurs hadn’t put them in her sights and wasn’t zooming in for the kill.
    Stone and Ben walked a few feet until they were positioned directly in front of the Egg. The detective pulled something from his pocket and held it out. My brother, trusting fool that he was, took it.
    I started forward, intent on providing my brother with advice on dealing with the annoying detective, namely to share as little as possible and insist on a lawyer.
    Pauline, however, seemed to have different ideas on my role, or perhaps she noticed the animosity in my steps and assumed it was directed at Ben rather than Stone.
    Or perhaps she was just a demon sent directly from hell.
    Whatever the case, she ran toward me, head down and hissing.
    Cornered between her snapping bill and a van filled with vacationers that had just arrived on the scene, pulling in between where I stood and my vehicle, I did the only thing I could: I took off cross country.
    Honking in victorious glee, the goose followed.
    Loose pine needles were everywhere. I scrambled and slipped, I fought my way through low hanging branches and brambles. I jumped over rocks and dashed around logs. I even tramped through run off from the community water spigot, thinking I could erase my scent and sprint to safety.
    But my efforts were wasted. I could hear the flap of her wings, and when I hazarded a glance over my shoulder, I caught a flash of tie dye shirt.
    The goose