K-9 Blues (Paws & Claws Book 3)

by Ralph Vaughan

  “Safe to cross,” Antony said, mocking the mechanical voice. “Do you need any further proof about how dim companions are?”

  “Yep,” Arnold agreed in a half-hearted way, not wanting to stir any of the old arguments with his partner. “Where would they be without us?”

  The Chula Vista Police Department sits on the southeast corner of Fourth and F, across from the Public Library, on a plot formerly occupied by a large community shopping center, demolished, of course, for the public good. Wide, curving stairs sweep up to the main entrance. Had the two dogs continued up F Street, they could have entered the parking garage through a variety of gaps, some the fault of the architect, others the result of actions either nefarious or expedient. Instead, they veered right.

  They passed through the tiny parking lot intended for visitors and trotted along the angled edge of the building. To their right rose a maze of condominiums, and beyond them was Memorial Park in which they had found Slim Shady, as they had been informed.

  Making sure they were unobserved, Antony and Arnold slipped through an entrance known only to the dogs of the K-9 Unit. It was used whenever the dogs needed to evade the regular police and conduct investigations related to either official CVPD activities or to the separate society of the city’s animal population, though they generally concentrated on canines.

  “You know,” Antony said as they passed into the dim interior, “all that running around gave me quite an…”

  “Yeah, who knew a Whippet could run so…”

  The two police dogs fell silent as the massive form of Sergeant Rex loomed before them. He was a German Shepherd, his black face and black-and-tan body now streaked heavily with gray. His actual age was a closely guarded secret, but the often-whispered jest around the Unit was that the Sergeant was so old he had run with the original Rin-Tin-Tin and dated Lassie. Many times, the powers-that-be had tried to retire the gruff old police dog, but circumstances always arose, usually involving sacrifice and bravery in a life-and-death situation, allowing him to stave off greener pastures for yet another year.

  “Where the blazes have you two been all morning?” Rex shouted.

  “Went out to bring Slim Shady in,” Antony answered.

  “Slim Shady?”

  “Yes, Sergeant,” Arnold answered. “We went out to get him so he could be escorted to the Shelter.”

  “Slim Shady to the Shelter?” Rex countered dubiously. “He is a lost soul already. Why in the name of Anubis would you want to make his life more miserable than it already is? We do not take anyone to the Shelter just for being a stray! Is that what you think good police work is?”

  Antony and Arnold glanced at each other in confusion.

  “You two are the biggest disappointments I have ever known in all my time on the force,” Sergeant Rex snarled. “Considering all I’ve seen, that’s saying a lot.”

  “Wait a moment, Sergeant!” Antony exclaimed. “You have no call to say anything like that about me and Arnold!”

  “We are your best investigators!” Arnold protested.

  “Arnold is right,” Antony said. “Regardless of what you think about us being sent out to take Slim Shady to the Shelter, our record speaks for itself.”

  “Sent?” the Sergeant said. “Who sent you after Slim Shady?”

  “Boris,” Arnold answered.

  Sergeant Rex frowned. “Boris?”

  “That’s right,” Antony confirmed.

  “Boris? The Sulimov?”

  Both officers nodded.

  “Since when does Officer Boris command anyone or anything in this Unit?” the German Shepherd demanded. “Besides, Boris has been out all morning on assignment, sniffing hulls and containers at the marina shipyard, loaned out to the Coast Guard and Homeland Security.”

  “It was early this morning,” Antony explained. “Boris told us Slim Shady had turned into a vicious rogue, that he needed to go to the Shelter for the community’s good.”

  “Slim Shady turning rogue?” Rex sneered. “Have you ever seen a Whippet do anything but tremble?”

  “We were told Slim Shady was a thief and a biter.”

  “By Boris?”

  Both K-9 officers nodded, stunned into an anxious silence.

  “We’ll look into this when Boris returns from his assignment,” the Sergeant said. “If you two are still here.”

  “What do you mean…” Antony started, echoed simultaneously.

  Rex surged forward snarling and snapping. Instantly the two K-9 officers submitted, responding to training and nature.

  “I am sick of hearing you two speak!” the German Shepherd barked. “I can’t believe either of you anymore. I trusted you and all the young pups looked up to you. You betrayed us all!”

  “Sergeant, I don’t know what…”

  Rex cut Antony off with a snarl. “Silence! Heel!”

  The German Shepherd turned and trotted away. He did not look back to make sure the others were following, for he did not want them to see the feelings of hurt and betrayal clouding his vision. He stared ahead, his gaze fixed and stony, his muzzle clamped shut, as if he did not trust himself to speak, or not to bite.

  They were taken to their own kennel area, which they found guarded by two other K-9 officers – Blackie, a young Doberman who was still on probation, and Hector, a German Shepherd who had transferred from the NYPD five years earlier.

  “Stay!” Sergeant Rex ordered tersely.

  The elderly German Shepherd left the four dogs, heading for the administrative center of the Unit.

  “Hey, Blackie, what’s going on?” Arnold asked.

  “You should wait till…” Blackie started to say.

  “Knock it off, Probie!” Hector snapped. “The Sergeant told us not to speak to them.”

  Blackie looked helplessly at Arnold. This was not a job he wanted to do, assisting in the dishonoring of someone he had always admired, someone who had shown him the ropes when he was placed in the K-9 Unit the previous year, but orders were orders. He thought of what was hidden in the kennel area, and he looked away from the dog who had taught him what it meant to be a police officer.

  “What are you two doing at our kennels?” Antony demanded. “Let me through there!”

  The two guards closed in, blocking the Cane Corso’s advance, Hector giving him a cautionary snap.

  “Don’t you dare snap at me!” Antony shouted.

  “Back off, Antony!” the German Shepherd responded. He had never liked Antony, considering him something of a bully. “Don’t make this any worse than it is.”

  Antony tried again to break through to their kennels, but this time it was Arnold who shouldered the big Cane Corso aside.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Antony shouted.

  “You are not going to accomplish anything by acting like that,” Arnold explained. “Blackie and Hector are just following orders

  “They have no right…”

  “They have to do as they are told,” Arnold said. “Discipline. It is what makes us different from other dogs, the glue that binds all of us to the same noble purpose, that separates us from civilians. Isn’t that what you always tell me?”

  “Listen to your partner,” Hector advised.

  “Once we find out what this is all about, we can straighten it out but we have to wait till Sergeant Rex returns,” Arnold said. “I’m sure it’s all some kind of misunderstanding.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Hector sneered. “A big misunderstanding.”

  “Shut up and show some respect, to the badge if not the dog,” Blackie snapped. “Besides, we were ordered not to speak to them.”

  Hector started to argue but fell silent when he saw unexpected resolve in the young Doberman’s eyes.

  “Watch yourself, Probie,” Hector warned, but he stood his post, as he had been ordered.

  At that moment, Sergeant Rex returned, accompanied by Captain Reese, the German Shepherd leader of the K-9 Unit. He had commanded the dogs attached to the various division
for a little more than a year, ever since transferring from a prestigious security post at the San Francisco International Airport.

  All four dogs near the kennels snapped to attention.

  “Let’s get this over with,” Captain Reese said brusquely. “This is not going to be pleasant, but there is no need to stretch it out for any longer than it needs to be. Officers Arnold and Antony, into the kennels, but do not touch anything; Officers Blackie and Hector, you will enter as act as witnesses to these proceedings.”

  Antony and Arnold entered, followed very closely by the two guard dogs.

  “Sergeant Rex, you will wait out here,” Reese said.

  The old German Shepherd frowned. “Sir?”

  “There is no need for your presence.”

  “These are my dogs, sir,” Rex protested. “I am their Sergeant.”

  “I realize that, Sergeant,” the Captain acknowledged. “Can you offer any information not provided by the evidence itself?”

  “Not as to the evidence,” Rex admitted, “but I know these dogs. I trained them, showed them how to be good police officers.”

  “Considering the situation, Sergeant, I don’t think you should push that argument very hard,” Reese said. “All you can do is offer a statement of character that would not jibe with what the evidence tells us. You won’t be doing them any favor; if anything, you’ll just make it that much harder on them. And you’ll not do yourself any favor either. I like a smooth operation, and I want this to go as smoothly as any other operation under my command.”

  “But, Captain, this is not the same thing,” Rex protested. “We are talking about the futures of these officers.”

  Reese sighed. “You saw the evidence, Sergeant. These dogs have only one future, and you do not want to be part of it.”

  Reese turned and entered the kennels, leaving Rex gaping at his dismissive attitude. The Sergeant could hardly believe what was happening. Sure, he had been upset more the anyone by what had been found, had let himself snap at his two officers, but he had not written off Antony and Arnold, as the Captain apparently had. He and Reese had had their differences over the years, but he had never known him to be so wrong-headed.

  As soon as they entered the kennels, the smell of death hit them like a rolled-up newspaper, Sunday edition, and Arnold instinctively trembled and uttered a sharp short whimper, despite his training and experience. Even Antony, who always did his best to put forth a stern and stoic image, no matter what, was visibly shaken by the coppery scent of sudden death. In their kennel was the savaged corpse of a cat.

  “That was discovered in your kennel this morning.” Reese said.

  “We’ve never seen that before,” Antony said sternly. “We do not know where it came from.”

  “We would never do anything like that,” Arnold claimed as he fought a wave of nausea threatening to empty his stomach. “Never!”

  “Someone must have put it there!” Antony shouted.

  “Of course, you would say that,” Reese replied coolly.

  “You can’t actually think we would do that,” Arnold said. “We are police officers, not savage beasts.”

  “We help all animals, even cats,” Antony explained. “All you have to do is look at our record.”

  “We have always worked well with cats,” Arnold said. “Some of my best friends are…”

  “Protestations get us nowhere,” Reese snapped, silencing the two K-9 officers. “This was not the only evidence discovered in your kennel. A large quantity of meat was found that could only have come from a store, and the only way it could have come from a store was for one or both of you to have stolen it.”

  “Not murderers,” Antony said through clenched teeth. “Not thieves!”

  “Someone must have…”

  “Silence!” the Captain ordered. “As you said earlier, we are all police officers. Obviously you have forgotten what that means, the oath you took, not just the police department oath, but the oath required by the K-9 Unit, the promise to dispense law and justice equally to all creatures, to the protect the weak, to stand as a shield between a cruel world and those unable to defend themselves.”

  “That’s exactly what we do,” Antony maintained. “It’s what we have always done. Look at our…”

  “That record, of which you are so proud, exonerates you from nothing.” Before Antony or Arnold could voice any protest, the lead German Shepherd continued: “Since taking command of this Unit, I have received many complaints about you, Antony, that you are not easy to work with, that you bully others, that you are inflexible.”

  “I follow the rules to the letter,” the Cane Corso replied. “Some dogs like to cut corners because it’s easier, faster, but I don’t allow that. I enforce the law.”

  “Yes, it’s your way or the walkway,” Reese said. “You seem to forget we police a community, not a prison camp, that we need to make allowances for civilians who want nothing more than to live their lives without undue interference.”

  “I have never done anything that broke our rules,” Antony said. “And no dog’s record can match mine in closing investigations.”

  “That has saved you more often than you know,” Reese said, “but not this time. I’ve always suspected that your prickly nature hid a dark heart, and this…” He let his gaze sweep the ransacked kennel. “…this confirms my worst suspicions. You’ve crossed a line that cannot be recrossed…no coming back.”

  “I’m innocent,” Antony maintained.

  The Captain frowned. “You may be many things, Antony, but innocent is not one of them. Our best sniffer examined the body and the meat and its packaging…your scent is all over them.”

  “Best sniffer?” Antony muttered, his gaze clouding, his head sinking as the enormity of the situation began to dawn on him.

  “Officer Boris,” Reese said.

  “Sir, you can’t believe that Jackal half-breed!” Antony cried. “He is probably the one framing us!”

  “Name calling and purist bigotry does not help your case,” the German Shepherd said coolly. “Officer Boris examined evidence at my request, but he had nothing to do with its discovery.”

  “Then who…”

  “That is not germane to the case,” Reese interjected. “No doubt you thought your reputation would keep others away from your stash. It’s your bad luck one of the officers, doing nothing more sinister than trying to improve his sniffing abilities, happened to catch an odd scent and reported it to me. The search of your kennel was conducted under Sergeant Rex’s supervision. Are you going to claim he is also involved in some sort of conspiracy as well?”

  “No, I…”

  “Good, because Sergeant Rex was your only advocate,” Reese interrupted. “I thought it rather telling that no one else was willing to step forward and defend you. Now, before you claim this was just an isolated incident…”

  “I’m telling you it never happened at all!” Antony growled. “It is nothing but a frame!”

  “Why would anyone do that, Officer Antony?” Reese asked. “Why would anyone do such a savage thing and try to implicate you as the culprit? The other K-9 officers refuse to work with you – it seems only Arnold can put up with your imperious ways – but who would harbor so much hatred, and why?”

  After a long silence, Antony said softly: “I don’t know.”

  Reese nodded. “To continue. Rather than an isolated incident revealed by pure chance, I think this is an established pattern of behavior uncovered because of your arrogance, your assumption we would never suspect the great Officer Antony of any wrongdoing. If an officer had not been practicing sniffing skills, you would have returned from wherever you two vanished this morning and cleared up the evidence, with no one being the wiser.”

  “We were out picking up Slim Shady,” Arnold explained.

  “Yes, Sergeant Rex told me that,” Reese replied. “I find that as incredible as he does.”

  “It’s true,” Antony protested, but his voice was low and he did not gaz
e at the Captain as he spoke. His world was breaking asunder and crushing him beneath its weight. “It’s true.”

  “Boris sent us out,” Arnold added.

  Reese shook his head dismissively. “Let’s put aside your claim of a grand conspiracy. It’s just not believable. Conspiracies never are. Even you cannot give me a good reason why any dog would go through all this trouble.”

  Unable to refute the Captain’s assertion, Antony and Arnold held silent, certain now of what was coming next.

  “For Officer Antony, there is no other outcome than being stripped of his rank and expelled from the K-9 Unit,” Reese said. “But I am no so sure about you, Officer Arnold.”

  Arnold lifted his head in surprise.

  Antony, beyond hearing or feeling, still gazed downward, his muzzle almost touching the concrete floor.

  “Most of the other officers tell me you are affable, easygoing and not difficult at all to work with,” Reese continued. “I do not know whether your were truly ignorant of your partner’s dark nature, chose to ignore it, took an active part in it, or were too afraid of him to say anything. It’s no secret you let him play the part of the team’s alpha when, by age and experience, it should be your role. While your partner’s nature is now crystal clear, yours remains murky. Still, I am willing to take a chance with you.”

  “What do you mean, sir?” Arnold asked.

  “Denounce your partner, separate yourself from him, and I will give you another chance to prove yourself,” Reese explained. “You will be back on probation, but you will still be a K-9 officer.”

  Arnold looked at his partner.

  “Make up your mind, Officer Arnold,” Reese urged. “I will not make this offer twice.”

  “Do it, Arnold,” Antony whispered, throat tight with emotion.

  “But I know you’re innocent,” Arnold hissed softly.

  “Guilt or innocence doesn’t matter now,” Antony replied. “I am done for. Whoever did this has put me beyond hope or redemption, but you still have a chance. Save yourself!”

  “Your answer, Officer Arnold,” Reese demanded. “Give it now before these witnesses.”