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and Sam figured they had heard Denise’s scream. A total of seven people arrived, and it was left to Sam to tell them what had happened.
    They immediately went to Denise to console her, though that seemed impossible at the moment.
    Sam felt like he had no role to play there; he clearly was not as close to Denise as the people who had come in. The guy in the suit went over to Denise on the couch and tried unsuccessfully to talk to her. He finally gave his card to one of the neighbors and said something to them that Sam couldn’t hear.
    So Sam decided to leave, wishing he could do more but realizing that he couldn’t. He got his coat from the hall closet and walked out without saying anything to anyone. As he got into his car, he saw that the two cops were leaving as well.
    The mind sometimes works in strange ways. It wasn’t until Sam was halfway home that he realized he was supposed to have been on that plane.

 
     
    “Andy, I’ve got to talk to you.” Through my sleep-induced haze, I recognize that it is Sam’s voice.
    “Sam, what time is it?”
    “Six o’clock. I’m sorry, but I’ve been up all night.”
    The stress in his voice is obvious, and I half sit up on one elbow. I can see Laurie do the same. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
    “I almost died last night.”
    “Where are you?”
    “I’m at your house,” he says.
    This is not making any sense. “What are you talking about? I’m at my house, and I don’t see you anywhere.”
    “I’m in your living room. I didn’t want to ring the bell and wake you up.”
    “I’ll meet you downstairs,” I say. “Thanks for not waking me up.”
    I quickly update Laurie on the phone conversation, throw on some clothes, and go down to find out what’s going on with Sam. He’s sitting on the couch petting Tara, whose head is in his lap.
    “You should lock your door,” he says.
    “Not necessary,” I say, pointing to Tara, who seems annoyed that Sam has momentarily stopped petting her. “I’ve got a vicious guard dog.”
    Laurie comes down, and we go into the kitchen to get coffee. Sam tells us the entire story from the previous evening. It has clearly left him shaken, and I can’t say that I blame him. Just hitting a dog would be enough to freak me out. But after that he had a friend die, and then a kind of near-death experience that would be the emotional icing on my cake.
    I’m not quite sure why Sam is here this early in the morning; maybe he just needs someone to talk to, and he couldn’t wait.
    But that turns out not to be the case. “Andy, that dog saved my life.”
    “In a way.”
    “No, literally. If I hadn’t hit him and stopped, I would have been on that plane.”
    “I guess that’s true.”
    “Where is the dog now?” Laurie asks.
    “At a vet’s office near where it happened.”
    “How badly was he hurt?” I ask.
    “Pretty bad. I’m not sure if he made it.”
    I already have the car keys in my hand. “Only one way to find out.”
    We drive out to where Sam thought the accident had taken place, though he couldn’t be sure that he was right. “They said it was a couple of miles up this road,” he says, so we head in that direction. Sure enough, it’s on the left side, a small place called Williams Animal Hospital. A sign in the window advertises “Low-cost spaying and neutering,” and another reveals that they have a twenty-four-hour emergency staff on the premises. That is no doubt why the police brought the dog here.
    We go inside, and Sam explains to the receptionist that he had hit the dog, and we want to know its status. The young woman agreeably says that she will check with the veterinarian, and we wait while she goes in the back and does so.
    The vet comes out to talk with us. He can’t be more than thirty years old and identifies himself as Dr. Castle. “There was a golden retriever brought in here last night. I assume that’s the dog you’re talking about?”
    “A golden retriever?” I ask, feeling like I just