In the house, Ronald and Elaine stood firm. "You are not going to take our child from us and I don't care how many police officers you have with you. She isn't in any danger. You're just on a personal vendetta," Elaine said.
"Officer, do your duty," Meriweather said. Her expression was dangerous but no more so than that of Steve and Elaine Douglas.
"Yes, officer, are you going to assist this crazy woman in removing a happy child from her home for no reason at all except this... woman... is a publicity-seeking jackass?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Douglas but I have my orders."
"And we're her parents and she is not being mistreated in any way," Elaine stated forcefully.
Her husband was busy calling Steve, using his personal phone number rather than the office number to be certain he got to him immediately. As he was telling Steve what was happening, the officer had drawn his taser from its holster. Ronald made certain that the video was recording everything even while he was speaking. He kept the phone in his hand when he was finished, still capturing the scene.
The officer turned to Meriweather. "Ma'am, apparently I'll have to use a taser to get past this couple. Are you sure that's what you want?"
"I'm damn sure!" Meriweather shouted, losing some control at the prospect of being thwarted, even momentarily.
"What was it you said they're guilty of?"
"It's none of your business. You're just here to enforce this order!"
"On the contrary, ma'am. I'm here in case the parent or parents become violent or refuse to give up their child. I see nothing of the sort here yet. So far, they're just maintaining you are in the wrong and are apparently contacting their attorney. We can wait for a while. The child can't be in any danger from the parents when they're both standing in front of us."
Meriweather's face turned a purplish-red color. "You're bound to have seen that child with a dangerous tiger! Everyone has seen that video!"
"It looked to me as if she was in full control and her father was there with her."
While they were speaking, Elaine had punched her speed dial and gotten Jennie Standifer on the phone. "Jennie! Can you come right over this instant?! That Meriweather woman is here saying she has a court order to take Sammie away from us!"
"I'm leaving now," Jennie said and hung up.
The sergeant had decided that the scene had gone past the point of his pay grade. Now he took out
his
phone and shortly was speaking to his supervisor, a Lieutenant Washington. "Lieutenant, the parents aren't violent in any way but they are blocking access to the rest of the house with their bodies. I'd have to taser them both to get past and to where the girl is. Ms. Meriweather, the CPS Director is insisting that I do so, but--yes, sir, she has the court order but Mr. Douglas has called his attorney. He seems to think it's not quite legal and--sir, I really think I need backup and an ambulance before I proceed with that. I should inform you also that the gentleman has been recording everything going on since she rang the doorbell." There was a long silence while the officer held the phone to his ear, apparently either listening to someone or waiting on someone else to direct him. Finally he nodded his head in response. "I understand, Captain Giles. I'll wait here. Oh, the doorbell is ringing again. I'd better see what it's about."
The policeman turned and opened the door.
"Jennie! Come on in!" Elaine said happily.
"You can't let that woman--"
"That woman is a friend and she can come into our home if I want her to--and I do! Come on, Jennie. No one will harm you."
Jennie pushed past Meriweather and the officer, who by that time was looking a shade befuddled. He didn't know whether he should have let the woman in or not. He had no idea she was an investigative reporter and was also writing a biography of Samantha, not to mention her other clandestine activities.
The sound of sirens became noticeable in the distance while the standoff continued, almost wordlessly now since they were all listening to the outside noises. One siren became louder and louder until an ambulance pulled up to the curb. Two EMTs jumped out and hurried toward the door.
Jennie smiled as they pushed into the hallway. The more the merrier. She took out her phone and began dialing. Before she put it away she had contacted the local television station, the Lufkin newspaper and the
Houston Chronicle
city editor as well as several internet reporters.
By the time the Sergeant's backup arrived, Lieutenant Washington was pulling up behind that patrol car. Shortly afterward, another official vehicle bearing Captain Giles from headquarters, along with his patrolman driver stopped by the curb. Seeing all the ruckus and vehicles, neighbors began arriving at the scene and those in turn drew the simply curious and the voyeuristic thrill-seekers. The number of vehicles and people in front of, around and inside the Douglas home kept increasing, sometimes by one person in a vehicle or on foot and sometimes in bunches. At the moment it seemed as if everyone in Lufkin was determined to be present. Everyone except the object of all the uproar, Samantha Douglas.
Jane Carruthers had been contacted by Jennie but she chose not to be present. While all the controversial excitement was going on at the Douglas home she was busy knocking on the door of Judge Edmonson's home.
***
Samantha paused after exiting the woods near the fenced-off zoo. She wondered where she could find a safe hiding place where that awful Meriweather woman couldn't find her. She thought about Dr. Summers and began following the fence around toward a secondary entrance that service vehicles and some of the employees used. The lone attendant there recognized her.
"Hello Miss Douglas. Where's your Dad or Mom today?"
"They were both busy so I had to come by myself." That was certainly no lie! "I need to see Dr. Summers."
"If you'll wait a moment I'll flag down a lift for you."
"I don't mind walking and Shufus likes to walk, too," she told him. She patted the big dog on the head. "Thanks, though." She passed through and onto the sidewalk, then headed toward the administrative offices. She was hoping that Dr. Summers would still be there although she thought it was unlikely, since it was well past her usual departure time. She found the doors locked and knew Dr. Summers had left. She knew her way around the zoo by this time, though. She headed toward the area where the big cats were kept while smiling impishly. She knew the entrance to the service area wouldn't be locked. Once there, she slipped inside. She passed through two more doors and detoured around a storage area to a final entrance. That one led to the ancillary feeding area for the cats, the one that could not be seen by visitors. It was locked from the outside by a heavy iron bar that fitted into slots. It was raised and lowered with an electric motor. Before doing anything else, she called gently, "Growlfer! Growlfer, it's Sammie! Are you here?"
Shortly the big male tiger came into view. Even though the area was dimly lighted Growlfer could see well. He recognized his friend and began purring. The purring came as an interrupted sound, unlike domestic cats. Tigers purr only when exhaling.
Hello
, it said in tiger vernacular.
"Hi Growlfer. Are the other tigers around?"
Yes.
"I only want to see you right now," Sammie told him. "I'm coming inside and we'll wait right here." She found the door control and punched the combination, which she knew from previous visits. The heavy iron bar raised and she pulled the gate open then closed it behind her. She put her arms around the massive tiger's neck and rubbed her cheek against his.
"Lay down, Growlfer. I need to talk to someone else." Obediently, the big cat stretched out. Samantha pulled out her phone and sat down. She leaned back against his heavily muscled shoulder and speed-dialed her mother. She was answered almost immediately.
"Sammie! Where are you?" her mother asked in a worried voice. It had been more than a half an hour since Ronald had ordered her, in a roundabout fashion, to leave the house.
"I'm with Growlfer at the zoo. You should probably call Dr. Summers but tell her to not make a lot of noise. I'm inside the compound with Growlfer but we're staying right by the gate. Don't worry, he and Shufus will keep any of the other tigers from bothering us. Not that they would, but tell everyone that we'll be fine. Okay?"
"Alright, Sammie. Either me or your father will be there shortly. I'll call Dr. Summers and tell her what's happening."
"Thanks, Mom. Is that Meriweather woman still there?"
Her mother laughed. "There's more people here than I can count, but yes, she's still around. Do you need anything?"
"It would be nice if Dr. Summers or someone would bring a few pounds of hamburger meat when they come. Growlfer loves it and the other tigers will be around pretty soon so bring lots of it."
"Alright. Be careful, now."
"Don't worry, Mom. None of the animals will hurt us."
They probably won't but this is still hard to get used to
, Elaine thought ironically.
I guess this is the end of us avoiding publicity, too. And since there's no way it can be done any more, maybe Ron and I can make it work for us, at least this time.
Elaine put her phone away after notifying Dr. Summers. She faced the still growing crowd that was pushing into the hall and forcing her and Ronald back into the living room as they crowded forward. She whispered to her husband and they began admitting anyone identifying themselves as reporters into the main part of the house, regardless of what type of media they represented. When space began running short, Ronald let out a piercing whistle. "Attention everyone! Let me have your attention! That CPS woman has been threatening to take our daughter away from us for some time now, for no reason at all except that I believe she might be... well, best I not say what I think of her. At any rate, Samantha, our daughter, was told by us to leave the house the instant that lady appeared and told us they were taking her away from us. Illegally, according to our attorney, who has just arrived. Samantha is not and never has been in any danger whatsoever. Right now she is at the zoo visiting with one of her animal friends, Growlfer."
"What kind of animals is that?" several reporters who hadn't followed the previous story about Samantha and the tiger asked.
"It's a big male tiger and Growlfer is his name. Right now he's prepared to protect Sammie and her dog from the CPS and Shufus is prepared to protect her as well."
"What kind of animal is a Shufus?" voices wanted to know.
Elaine laughed. "Shufus is Sammie's dog. He's a very large German Shepherd and is extremely protective of her. Otherwise he's the most gentle animal on earth. When she goes anywhere with Shufus, we never worry about her. That's why she was told to leave without us. Shufus went with her."
More questions followed but they quickly dwindled as the reporters, the police and other assorted officials began an exodus, all of them headed for the zoo without even knowing how to gain entrance after closing time.
Someone didn't get the word about closing time, Samantha decided. In fact, she thought a whole lot of people hadn't. She listened as the sound of sirens came closer. For a few moments she had thought they might not be connected with her. As they neared and the noise grew louder, she realized that the vehicles were coming to the zoo.
She felt Growlfer shifting his weight, getting ready to meet whatever was making that shrill, irritating noise. There was another sound, too, faint at first but she soon identified it as the thumping of helicopter blades.
Probably a news helicopter
, she thought. To Shufus and Growlfer she said, "None of those noises will harm you. Just stay here with me."
Both animals twitched their ears as if the sounds irritated them. She was relieved when the sirens died away. They were the worst and vexed the animals the most. The thumping of helicopter blades continued above them, becoming fainter then louder as it circled.
They're probably trying to spot me
, she thought, but knew they wouldn't be able to.
At least until the police find me,
she thought. At first she wondered how they knew she was at the zoo but soon decided that they couldn't know for sure unless someone told them. She knew her mother wouldn't, not unless there was a good reason for her to.
Fortunately, Dr. Summers arrived first by coming through the service entrance while all the others were stopped at the main gate and had to wait there for the night-duty guard to let them in. The veterinarian also knew exactly where to find Samantha. She would almost certainly be with Growlfer. It caused her a bit of worry since if she was with him, the other two tigers would have access to her as well.
Samantha blinked as brighter lights came on. She looked up and saw the veterinarian standing on the other side of the gate. She was shaking her head in a rueful fashion but she was also smiling.
"Sammie, we're going to have a lot of company soon. I know Growlfer won't hurt you but are you safe from the other cats?"
"Growlfer and Shufus will protect me if they have to but I don't think they will. I've talked to the other tigers at least a couple of times and Shufus was with me then. What are all the sirens for?"
"They are for you, young lady. You have half of Lufkin awake and following the news and the ones who aren't following the news are making it."
She wasn't far wrong. The Lufkin television station, internet and newspaper stringers, several news helicopters and numerous police patrol cars carrying officers and their superiors, all the way up to the Police Chief herself, Margaret Donnart, were all converging on the zoo. At the same time, judges were being awakened, attorneys were busy trying to figure out how they could get themselves involved and politicians were thinking of the best way to get themselves in front of cameras, recorders and reporters. The Mayor had been notified and was on the way with his aides. The CPS Director in Austin was interrupted at a late dinner and told that his Branch Director in Lufkin was causing a furor in the city by attempting to have a young teenager taken from her family.