Blind Trust

by Laura Scott

  “Nope.” Finn tucked the evidence bag into his pocket, his expression reflected his frustration. “There must be somewhere else to search. Why else would Malina have a key?”

  “There’s a storeroom in the back near the kennels,” she offered. “It’s mostly filled with dog food and treats, along with some spare supplies.”

  Finn’s green eyes brightened with excitement. “Show me.”

  She led the way back toward the kennels and opened the supply closet. They never kept it locked since it didn’t house anything of real value, unless you counted the dog food.

  Thinking of that made her worry about Cocoa. Did the stinky guy still have the puppy? Was he taking care of the animal? Feeding him regularly? Was stinky guy aware that puppies needed to be fed twice a day? It was horrible to think that Cocoa might be suffering at the hands of the man who would clearly do anything to get his stolen package back.

  She prayed that Cocoa wasn’t being mistreated and would be returned safe and sound.

  Soon.

  There wasn’t a lot of space in the closet for two people and a K-9 partner, so she stayed back and let Finn perform the search. Abernathy was excited about the supply closet, no doubt smelling the food and treats within. Starting at the top, Finn moved everything around on the shelves, looked into a large box of doggy treats and made his way to the bottom shelves. There was a giant bag of dog food in the corner and she saw him eyeing it speculatively.

  “You’re not planning to dump all the food out, are you?”

  “Yeah, I am.” He hauled the bag toward him, shooing Abernathy out of the way. “The bottom of a bag of dog food would be a great hiding place.”

  “Until the bag is empty,” she argued. Glancing around, she looked for something to use. “You can’t just toss the food on the floor.”

  “Give me a minute to feel around in there.” He shoved his hand into the bag, wiggling it all the way down until his entire arm was encased in brown pellets. A few were knocked onto the floor and quickly gobbled up by Abernathy.

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, her lips curved into a smile. Finn looked ridiculous, and she didn’t for one minute believe that Malina had buried the stolen package in the bottom of a bag of dog food.

  “Can you find something I can use to empty part of the bag?” He glanced over his shoulder, frowning when he noticed her grin. “What’s so funny?”

  “You. This.” She waved a hand. “Give it up, Finn. We don’t have anything to put all this food in. If we did, we wouldn’t keep it in the bag. Besides, you’re not thinking logically. How would Malina get the package to the bottom of the bag in the first place? Look at how you’re struggling, and you’re much stronger than my sister would have been.”

  He didn’t give up for several long minutes. When he finally pulled his arm out from the bag, it was covered in brown crumbs. He tried to brush them off, but without much success, especially since Abernathy eagerly licked them up before he could stop him.

  “Sit,” Finn commanded.

  Abernathy sat, which didn’t prevent him from taking another few licks.

  Eva giggled. “You look ridiculous. There’s a bathroom over there.” She gestured to the staff restroom.

  “Stay,” Finn ordered.

  The yellow Lab’s large brown eyes looked mournful as Finn crossed over to the bathroom. Eva knew she shouldn’t, but she wanted to give Abernathy a treat to reward him for being a good boy.

  Instead, she reached down to scratch the silky spot between his ears.

  When Finn returned he pulled a small doggy treat out of his pocket. Abernathy went still, his gaze locked on Finn. Finn gave him several commands, all of which Abernathy executed perfectly, before rewarding the K-9 with the treat.

  “I like to use toys when training, but figured he was pretty well behaved surrounded by food like that.” Finn shrugged. “He’s a good partner.”

  “You make a good team.” She pushed the bag of dog food back into the corner and closed the door. “I guess that’s it, then.”

  “Yeah.” Finn looked disappointed.

  “It bothers me that you found cocaine in the office,” she said as they made their way back through the center to the front door. “Malina hasn’t been here for at least four months, and we have a cleaning crew that comes in once a week.”

  “Maybe they’re not a very good cleaning crew.” Finn relocked the front door and headed toward the SUV. “Clearly, your boss is overpaying for their services.”

  “Maybe.” She’d never noticed the lack of cleaning before now. And since the white powder was in the office, where Malina had often sat to do the books, she thought it was odd that Wade Yost hadn’t noticed the mess. Normally her boss didn’t tolerate mediocrity.

  It was likely he’d been distracted with the center being broken into and Cocoa being dognapped. A thorough cleaning job wasn’t high on his list of priorities.

  “Which hotel?” Finn asked once they were seated in the SUV.

  She wrinkled her nose. “I’d rather just go back to my place. I’m sure it’s safe enough. No one would expect to find me there tonight. And by tomorrow, you’ll have the stinky guy in custody.”

  “Eva.” Finn let out an exasperated sigh. “We already discussed this. I’d feel better if you stayed in a hotel.”

  She pursed her lips, then turned in her seat to face him. “Finn, with my vision issues it’s hard for me to be in a strange place, especially at night. I’d really rather be surrounded by my own things in a room where I know exactly where the furniture is located.”

  He drew his hand over his face in a resigned gesture. “Okay, fine. I’ll drive you to your place.”

  She narrowed her gaze, distrustful of how easily he’d capitulated. But he didn’t say anything more, simply turning right and taking the familiar route to the small house she shared with her two college roommates.

  Finn carried in her duffel bag, then insisted on searching through the house with Abernathy to make sure no one was hiding inside. She unpacked her things, noticing that one of her roommates had swept up the broken glass on the floor of her bedroom.

  “I could sleep on your sofa,” Finn offered when she joined him in the living room.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m not entirely sure whether or not Alecia or Julie are working tonight. I think they’re still staying at the hotel, but if for some reason they come home unexpectedly, they’ll be shocked to see you.”

  Finn didn’t look happy as he shrugged. “Okay, that’s fine. Sleep well, Eva. Come, Abernathy.”

  The yellow Lab trotted over to Finn’s side. Eva walked them to the door and stood in the doorway, watching as they headed toward Finn’s car.

  “Bye,” she said before shutting the door and locking it. She walked back into the living room, feeling vulnerable and alone.

  She pulled out her phone to call Finn, ready to ask him to come back and sleep on the sofa. She stopped herself and slipped the device back into her pocket.

  Leaning on Finn the way she had over the past few days had to stop. She needed to be independent. Finn had watched the rearview mirror like a hawk, so there was no way they could have been followed. No one knew she was home.

  Staying here was perfectly safe.

  And maybe if she told herself that over and over again, she’d be able to shake off the sense of unease long enough to believe it.

  * * *

  Finn drove his SUV around the block, looking for a sign of someone who might be watching Eva’s place. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, and no one resembling the sketch she’d made of the stinky guy.

  No matter how safe Eva likely was there, he couldn’t bring himself to leave. If anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.

  He made a second loop around the block before pulling into the driveway and parking his vehic
le in front of the two-story house. The light was still on in Eva’s room, but the rest of the place was dark. He waited, wondering if she’d look out to find him sitting there, half expecting her to come out to confront him, but she didn’t.

  After cracking the windows open on either side to let the fresh air circulate through the interior of the SUV, he put his seat as far back as it could go and tried to relax.

  Sitting in the car wasn’t remotely comfortable because he couldn’t stretch his long legs all the way out, but he’d been in worse situations, so he made the best of it. He yawned and shifted in his seat. With the windows open, he should hear the sounds of traffic going by and, hopefully, would also hear if anyone tried to approach the place. Thankfully, Abernathy’s keen hearing would alert Finn to anything he might miss.

  He stared at the house wondering how he’d ended up here. Somehow, he’d instinctively known she’d pull something like this. Eva was stubborn, especially when it came to maintaining her independence, and while he admired that about her, at times like this he found it frustrating.

  “Women,” he said to Abernathy. “Sure, I like to have fun. Normally it takes only two dates for me to know it’s time to move on. Yet here we are. I’m telling you, I have no clue why I’m letting this woman get under my skin.”

  Abernathy yawned and then, as if in agreement, shook his head, making his ears flap.

  Finn thought about their fruitless search of the guide dog training center. He’d thought for sure that he’d find the package hidden in there somewhere. Why else would Malina have kept a key to the place?

  The shiny brand-new key nagged at him. Obviously, Malina had got it made just prior to being let go. Had she known Wade Yost was onto her drug use? She must have suspected the hammer was coming down or she wouldn’t have had time to get the key made. He had to believe Yost would have taken the key from her after firing her. And again, why had she bothered? Was it possible she’d had the package hidden in the training center for a short time? Maybe as a temporary hiding place? It clearly wasn’t there now.

  Unless Wade Yost had found it. As soon as the thought popped into his head, Finn disregarded it. Yost would have notified the authorities about something like that.

  Eva might be right in concluding that Malina had used the drugs or spent the money that they were relentlessly searching for. Their best chance of cracking this case open was to convince Roach to talk in exchange for a lighter sentence.

  Coming across the small dusting of white powder had been interesting. He’d have it matched to the other samples they’d found, but he wasn’t sure that information would add much to the investigation. Malina was the common denominator between three of the four locations where they’d recovered the drugs. The house she shared with Pete, the locker at The Fitness Club and now the training center. Matching them to the drugs they’d found in the apartment Roach was using would connect the drug dealer to Malina, which wasn’t necessarily a surprise, either. Not if Malina had stolen the package from them.

  Roach was small-time. No way was he in charge of the entire operation. Zach mentioned something about the kingpin being known as Uno, whatever that stood for.

  Finn turned his thoughts back to Grant Ulrich, the owner of The Fitness Club and the furniture store across from the LaGuardia airport. That was a key connection and he made a mental note to talk to the DA tomorrow about his requirements related to Roach’s deal. Finding Cocoa was a top priority, but so was obtaining the name and identity of the leader in charge of the drug ring.

  So far, the bit of background he’d dug up on Ulrich hadn’t provided any clues that might be used against him. No sudden influx of cash or outgoing cash or any other red flags in his bank account. But he hadn’t been able to get into the books related to the two businesses. Finn planned to dig deeper into The Fitness Club and the furniture store first thing in the morning. After he dropped off the latest bit of evidence he’d found at the training center.

  The window of Eva’s bedroom went dark. Finn glanced at his watch and realized it was nearing midnight. He decided to take Abernathy out one last time. The K-9 sniffed around Eva’s house for what seemed like an eternity before doing his business. Back inside the SUV, Finn relaxed against his reclined seat, ready to settle in for the night.

  Sleep didn’t come easy. He could blame it on the fact that sleeping in a car was never restful, but the real reason was that his mind was overwhelmed with thoughts of Eva.

  Pete had interrupted their kiss and Finn wished he’d kissed her earlier. Okay, sure, logically he shouldn’t have kissed her at all, but his common sense had apparently taken a long hike up a steep mountain.

  Tomorrow. He’d get back on track tomorrow. Breaking Roach was key. Once they had the stinky guy in custody and Cocoa back with Eva where he belonged, life would get back to normal.

  It occurred to him that after spending these past four days with Eva, he wasn’t so sure what normal would feel like. Letting her go wasn’t going to be as easy as it had been to move on from the other women he’d dated.

  In fact, he and Eva hadn’t even gone out on a date. Unless you counted dinner at Griffin’s, which had ended abruptly with Mikey’s kidnapping.

  He’d told her not to underestimate him with regard to her diagnosis, but that wasn’t what would ultimately keep them apart. Despite the fact that Luke Hathaway and Zach Jameson had both recently got engaged, he was convinced that marrying a cop was a proven path to unhappiness. A relationship like that wasn’t for him.

  Imagining a future without Eva caused his heart to ache for what he’d never have, so he did his best to push those thoughts aside. Instead, he concentrated on watching the cars going by on the street in front of Eva’s house.

  Despite his efforts to stay alert, Finn must have dozed off, because Abernathy’s whine woke him up.

  “Huh?” He rubbed the grit from his eyes and glanced back at his K-9 partner. “What is it, boy?”

  Abernathy had his nose pressed up against the side window of the SUV. A chill snaked down Finn’s spine, and he peered through the darkness trying to figure out what had caught Abernathy’s attention.

  Yellow Labs normally weren’t as protective as German shepherds, but remembering how Abernathy had latched onto Roach’s leg, preventing him from escaping the window, made Finn take the dog’s whining seriously.

  He couldn’t see anything suspicious. There was no sign of movement from anywhere near the house from what he could tell. Was it possible that Abernathy had seen a chipmunk or squirrel?

  Unwilling to ignore his partner’s alert, he pushed open the driver’s-side door and went around to the back, intending to let Abernathy out.

  The dog gave several sharp barks. Finn instinctively turned, lifting his arm to protect his head, but a second too late. Something hard slammed into his temple. Pain reverberated through his neck and skull, and then there was only darkness.

  FIFTEEN

  A muffled thud woke Eva from a restless slumber. She lay in her bed for several long seconds, straining to listen. Just when she thought the noise had been nothing more than a neighbor coming home late, she heard it again, louder.

  She sat upright in bed, her gaze raking through the darkness of her room.

  Someone was inside the house!

  For a moment she considered the possibility that one of her roommates had decided to come home after a late shift at the hospital, having got fed up with staying at the hotel. Still, she sensed something was wrong. Sliding silently from her bed, she thought about what she might use as a weapon. Grabbing the ceramic lamp off her bedside table, she pulled the cord from the socket, then plastered herself against the wall, holding it ready. If the noise was from her roommates, they wouldn’t bother coming to her room.

  She held her breath and waited. There was no point in trying to see through the darkness. Her eyes wouldn’t help her now. Instead, she focused on t
he room layout that was etched in her memory.

  Should she try to get out through the one window that wasn’t boarded up? It was a long drop to the ground, but it might be worth breaking a leg or worse in order to escape from the intruder.

  Heart pounding with fear, she decided there wasn’t enough time to get out through the window. Inching along the wall toward the doorway of her bedroom, she mentally prepared herself for the worst. Where was Finn? She never should have refused his offer to sleep on the sofa. Her heightened senses made it easy to track the sound of the intruder moving up the stairs to the second floor.

  Maybe she should have grabbed her phone instead, but it was too late now.

  Dear Lord, help me! Keep me safe in Your care!

  The scent of sweat made her wrinkle her nose. She lifted the lamp over her head. When she thought the stinky guy was in the doorway, she brought the lamp down hard against him.

  Stinky made a grunting noise, but her aim must have been off, because he didn’t go down. The lamp did, though, crashing against the hardwood floor and breaking into pieces. She heard him fumbling in the darkness and made a break for it.

  She darted for the opposite side of the room to the window that wasn’t boarded up. As she yanked the sash upward, the stinky guy grabbed her roughly from behind, turning and shoving her hard up against the wall.

  “No! Let me go!” She screamed and struggled against him, kicking and punching, hoping and praying someone might hear the scuffle. If not her roommates, who were still at the hotel, then maybe a neighbor? Someone out with their dog? Anyone?

  Stinky leaned his forearm against her throat, pressing hard. She grabbed at it with both hands, desperate to free herself, realizing in some dim recess of her mind that it was the same arm she’d scratched with her keys the day he stole Cocoa. It was no use. His strength was enough to silence her screams, making her gasp for air.

  “Where’s the package?” The hint of Southern twang in his tone was more pronounced with his anger.