Why Not Murder

50. Carry On

50. Carry On

Dog linked the Laymuir residence security cameras to the power provided by the off-grid electrical system he had set up. He found a box of obsolete webcams in the basement which Hudson had used in a surveillance system he had engineered before hiring a security company. Dog stationed the webcams along the border fence so that the entire boundary of the residence could be viewed from any of the household computers. Mainstream internet service was not needed for his security system to work. In addition, he linked all the security cameras around the residence to his system wirelessly so that if the security company showed up unexpectedly, they would not find any of it. All of Winnie's drone bees were restocked with sleeping medication. They surveilled the forest surrounding the residence up to a kilometer away. Dog created new drone flies to add to the surveillance fleet. Then he proceeded to train everyone in the household how to use the system. Winnie wrote a letter to put it in writing that she was firing the current security company and she would get Tara to initiate a law suit against them.

It became noticeable to Dog, who informed the others, that Day was pregnant. Night was the only suspect for father. This prompted the idea of getting more watch dogs as further precaution in case of another ambush. Conrad and Jim knew of a reputable dog kennel and training school where they went one afternoon and returned with four German Sheppard puppies about three months old and their aging mother who wouldn't have any more litters and so was therefore added to the purchase for free. The new dogs were welcomed by Day and Night because the mother-dog was in fact Night's mother. Day had been a stray that Dog found about a year after he acquired Night. Day and the dog which the police had killed when they came to take Dog into custody, had been prowling in the forest around Dog's home and he began to feed them. In return they gave him unwavering loyalty. Dog suspected that the dog who had been killed and Day had run away from an owner who ill-treated them.

Another precaution taken was to stock pile food, water and anything that could serve as a weapon. Defensive and offensive tactics were designed so that in case of attack the household would have plans ready to put into action and act together as an organized armed unit. Conrad was elected the commander to yell out orders if and when the time came. A code was created and learned by them all so that the attackers would not know what they were yelling to each other.

All of these precautions eased their anxiety and their lives settled into a new routine. Without mainstream internet they did not have any idea what was going on in the fight against terrorism. Winnie was looking better but she still could not move her legs, neither had any sensation returned. She stayed in her quarters. Meals were brought to her. The others dropped in on her often to see how she was. Winnie was depressed. She wondered if she would ever walk again. The others were optimistic but that had no effect on her mood. Her painting improved exponentially in contrast. She could see that and felt it as she was working. The others saw the difference too. The colour harmony was richer and the compositions, unexpected and interesting. She began a group portrait of the household that by now also included Dog and discovered she had a talent for portraits, capturing the likeness immediately. Her perception and rendering of reality were enhanced.

Winnie's nightmares were increasing but without any screaming and never waking the others up. The sleeping arrangement for Hilda and Gwen continued the same for the sake of habit and Winnie preferred it this way. Now when Winnie woke from a nightmare, she would toss and turn a minute or two and then realize she was awake and the danger was over. As before, the nightmare was of her pursuing grown-up Gwen with intent to kill her. Sometimes she was armed, sometimes not, but the intention was always there. The new development was that behind Winnie, there was someone else pursuing Winnie and who was shooting at her so that she would feel many times during the same nightmare the scrapping away of the skin on her back as a bullet would traverse the surface of her body, just as it had actually happened during the ambush. This was the moment of awakening. The one thing that alleviated her fright was that she would remember and dwell on how she was running in the nightmare. She could run there but not in the waking world.