The Suspense Writers Curse: A Suspicious Mind

I've discovered that it doesn't take much for an ordinary day to turn unsettling. A couple of summers ago, I was reminded of that in a dramatic way.

We live on a rural property. Our house is nestled in trees at the end of a long, curving driveway off a gravel road. Once you're at the house, you can't see the road. Because there is only one house beyond ours, it's rare to hear vehicles growling their way past our property. It would be an understatement to say that we don't get many visitors. At least not of the human variety.

To set the scene, it was the end of a blazing, bright summer's day. Our windows were wide open letting the cool night air banish the heat of the day. One advantage of living in central Alberta is that even at 9:00 p.m. there was at least an hour and a half of daylight left. Still, I had already started my bedtime routine.

The hushed quiet of the evening was abruptly ruptured by loud, sharp barks from our dog Zoey. She was a mutt, part German Shepherd, the rest is anyone's guess. We had learned that when she barked it was a warning for something to stay away.

My mind ran through a list of the usual offenders—a deer, maybe a coyote. The barking continued. My curiosity turned to concern—whatever was out there, it was not retreating. A chill worked its way down my spine. What if it were a pack of coyotes, not the single scout we usually spotted? While images of Zoey surrounded by hungry coyotes pummelled me, I rushed to the bedroom window.

I looked out and spotted the solitary figure of Zoey in the front yard, barking with steely determination. The relief flooding through me stopped when I spotted the police car twenty to thirty feet in front of her.

The fact that I had already donned my pajamas flew from my mind as I ran through the house to the front door. I yelled to my husband, as if I were announcing an invasion, "There's a cop here." I threw open the front door and stepped out onto the porch.

Confusion halted me. Standing by the police car, an officer looked as if he were debating whether it was safe to venture to our door. He glanced from Zoey to our porch several times. Our early warning system had positioned herself squarely between him and the house. She stood her ground, barking madly as if she were repelling a marauding militia.

For a moment, my mind did what mystery writers' minds do best. It leapt to worst-case scenarios.

Had there been an accident?

Was a child missing?

Had something horrible happened in the area?

Was an armed fugitive hiding in our garage?

Then common sense finally elbowed its way into the discussion. Given the hot, dry summer and the record number of wildfires, surely the officer was there to tell us we had to evacuate.

Meanwhile, the officer appeared perfectly calm, but his hand rested on his tactical belt. Fortunately, his bemused smile held my panic at bay.

I called out for Zoey, keeping my voice playful, "Zoey. Hey, pretty girl, come!" There was a hesitation, a quick glance over her shoulder but she ran to me and I managed to corral her into the house.

During the brief conversation that followed, with me still on the porch and him remaining a safe distance away, he explained that he was looking for a group of ATV riders who had been terrorizing the county land behind our property.

I'm still not sure whether I should feel insulted or complimented by the fact that he immediately accepted my claim, as a woman in her sixties standing on a porch in pajamas, I was not one of the ATV terrorists.

That was it.

No emergency.

No secret investigation.

No dramatic twist.

Just a man following up on a complaint while our dog defended our property as if she were the last line of defense before civilization collapsed.

Still, for those few seconds between spotting the cruiser and hearing the explanation, my imagination had already written three chapters.

Sometimes the scariest moments don't come from what happened.

They come from what we think might have happened.

The final outcome?

I got a story idea.

The police officer got his answer.

Zoey got the satisfaction of saving the day.