Chichi was growling, low and deep for a pom-a-poo, unlike her indignant growl, reserved for Mable, my landlady. You see, Chichi and Mable don't like each other. Chichi is doing her a favor keeping the narrow strip of lawn fertilized, but Mable doesn't see it that way.
It was just after midnight, with no moon out. A good night to sleep in. Chichi and I had both found a not too lumpy place on Mable's cheap mattress.
Chichi belongs to Monique, my girlfriend who is out of town on a modeling assignment. She models roller derby attire. Her job requires her to visit roller rinks on weekends. Chichi stays with me and accompanies me on whatever case I'm working on at the moment. I'm a Private Investigator and Master Gardener, specializing in plant pathology and heirloom tomatoes.
We were working a case for the couple next door, Herbert and Margaret Holsten, whose prize heirloom tomatoes were disappearing at night just before they turned deep red, the tomatoes not the Holstens, and were at their juiciest and tastiest. Arkansas Travelers, they told me.
On a hunch, I pulled on my Felder Rushing overalls and went outside with Chichi, who began growling deeper and louder. Suddenly she dashed into the tomato garden.
The sound was awful. The thrashing and groaning was almost too much to bear, but thank goodness I could see glimpses of Chichi still fighting.
Suddenly it got quiet, and I could see Chichi dragging something out of the garden toward me. They were both covered in tomato juice, but the creature was limp in her jaws and missing chunks of fur. I made her drop it, took her inside and put her in the shower for a bath. We could check on the creature in the morning.
Next morning the creature was gone. I would not have thought much of it and simply submitted an invoice to the Holstens, but something caught my ear on the morning gardening call in radio show. A chupacabra had been spotted crossing the street near our neighborhood dragging one leg. It smelled slightly sweet, and was covered with red stains. The name La Chupatomate came to mind.
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