Search and Rescue

by Valerie Hansen

  The same went for Ellen’s service dog project. Although the commands differed, the animal’s willingness to listen was just as vital to success. All in all, Sophie had to repeatedly thank God for putting her in this place at this time and letting her do the work for which she was best suited.

  Feeling gratitude, she drove toward the training center. If it weren’t for criminals she’d be out of a job. Nevertheless, it would be awfully nice to have a respite from being shot at. That thought made her smile. Chances were that once Carrie Dunleavy was captured they’d all begin complaining about life being too dull!

  Right now, however, when she was bone weary and in desperate need of a shower and clean clothes, not to mention a chance to wash her hair, Sophie was ready for a little R & R.

  Habit made her check her rearview mirror. There was nobody there who looked dangerous. No black car with dark windows like the one that had been abandoned in the street when she’d cracked her head. No long, evening shadows that might hide rattlesnakes.

  She should have been able to take a deep breath, relax and chill out. Should have. But couldn’t. Evident threats were not the worst kind.

  It was the enemy who remained unseen that always proved the deadliest.

  THIRTEEN

  Now that the two most important people and one dog in his life were away from the street fair, Ryder was better able to concentrate. He’d argued with himself constantly that his capabilities were not affected by the presence of others, but the facts spoke for themselves.

  Well, at least he wasn’t ignoring the special ones in favor of focusing only on his job the way he used to. Yes, it was necessary to prioritize. But it wasn’t always possible to separate earthly responsibility from God-given duty. Take Shane and Gina, for instance. He’d paired them for a reason. They were good together and, if parted, might worry about each other too much.

  His pastor had recently preached that worry was a sin because it showed a lack of faith and trust in divine providence. Perhaps. Probably. Unfortunately, it was also a human trait and he was very human.

  Human enough to fall in love again? Ryder asked himself. Maybe. Although it was also possible that forced proximity was affecting him, making him believe that what he felt for Sophie was love when it was actually deep concern.

  All that was sensible. And logical. So why did his pulse start to speed when he saw her and why did his spirits lift when she smiled? Moreover, why did he feel devastated when he thought he might lose her?

  His cell phone buzzed. “Hayes.”

  “We’ve had a possible sighting of the boys who slashed the blow-up house,” Tristan said. “I didn’t want to use the radio and take a chance of being overheard.”

  “Where?”

  “East end of the square, near where it’s piled up,” he reported. “I guess they’re admiring their handiwork.”

  “Copy. On my way. Keep them in sight but don’t apprehend until I get there.”

  “Affirmative.”

  Wending his way through the thinning crowd, Ryder kept an eye on Phoenix, looking for a reaction. He got a strong one as soon as he stepped off the curb next to the collapsed attraction. The Aussie bristled, his hair sticking up between the straps of his vest.

  As soon as the dog stopped, one front foot in the air like a bird dog, Ryder saw the teens, too.

  They stopped laughing and jostling each other when one of them spotted the dog and pointed. All four boys exchanged glances. Ryder wasn’t close enough to hear what they were saying to each other but their body language was clear.

  He keyed his mic. “Move in. It’s them.”

  The teens scattered as if they were a flock of wild birds and he was a circling hawk. He was glad Phoenix wasn’t trained for apprehension because he wanted to bring these hoodlums down himself.

  One jumped over a stroller, narrowly missing the baby in it, and sped off down the sidewalk, right into Tristan McKeller’s arms. His yellow Lab, Jesse, helped and Tristan had him in custody immediately.

  The second and third suspects went left together. Shane and German shepherd Bella made short work of them.

  That left a blond one for Ryder and Phoenix. The dog was almost as determined as his human partner. Zigzagging through a gathering of old-timers, sitting in lawn chairs and reminiscing, Phoenix followed the fleeing vandal step for step. Ryder released him and cut around to where he thought the kid would end up.

  He was right. And almost too late. Ryder tackled the teen around the legs. Phoenix leaped on top of them both, barking and growling.

  By the time the chief was back on his feet and had his prisoner ready to be handcuffed, the kid was crying like a baby. “I didn’t do nothin’. It was all Sammy and Brad’s idea. Honest.”

  “You got drugs on you?” Ryder asked.

  “No, I swear.”

  “Prove it.”

  Reacting without thinking it through, the boy reached into the pockets of his jeans and came up with a handful of change, dollar bills—and a pocketknife.

  Ryder smiled. “You’re under arrest.” Cuffing him he started to lead him away. “Since you’re a minor, I imagine you’ll want to call your parents.”

  “Hey, we was just foolin’ around. You know. Kids can’t be held for real crimes. They said.”

  He spun the youth and grabbed him by the shoulders to bring them face-to-face. “Who said?”

  “Nobody, man, nobody. I was just tellin’ you. You know?”

  “What I know is that you and your buddies almost killed a bunch of little kids. That’s assault, at the very least. About fifteen separate counts of it. And if I find out that somebody paid you to vandalize the ride, it’ll be even worse.”

  “Hey, it was an accident. We didn’t know it would go down so fast, man. Why are you so mad?”

  “Because one of those kids was my daughter,” Ryder said, reminding himself to behave professionally when what he wanted to do was turn this would-be thug over his knee then and there. Granted, he hadn’t been a perfect citizen while growing up but he’d never endangered any lives. And he’d certainly never have done someone else’s dirty work for any amount of money. That was the difference.

  When he recalled the sight of Sophie, stuck half in and half out of the weighty apparatus, it made his blood boil. And the image of Lily, trapped inside, would be with him for the rest of his life. He knew that as surely as he knew his own name.

  Anger is unproductive, Ryder kept insisting. Nevertheless, he was still riled when he turned his prisoner over to Shane, Tristan and the others.

  “The booths will be closing soon and there shouldn’t be any foot traffic until tonight when they have the hometown concert and street dance. I’ll transport these prisoners to the lockup while the rest of you finish here. We’ll regroup at the station at seven.”

  Nodding to James he added, “Since your girlfriend, Madison, is still hanging around looking for news for the Gazette, you can be the last to leave.”

  James Harrison nodded. “What about the booths for overnight? Most of the vendors are leaving their stuff right here.”

  “They say they have their own after-hours patrol,” Ryder answered. “Personally, that suits me fine. Has anybody seen Sophie since I sent her to the training center to put Titus up and take a break?”

  Each, in turn, answered in the negative. Ryder wasn’t too worried. After all, they had Stan in custody and now the idiotic vandals were also out of commission. That left only Carrie Dunleavy and no matter how many old-timers and other locals he had asked, nobody had seen hide nor hair of her.

  “Tell you what. Tristan, you’re probably more than ready to go visit Ariel and that new baby. You take our prisoners to the station and I’ll go to the training center. When you’ve locked them up you can go. I’ll take care of the paperwork when I get there later.”<
br />
  “Yes, sir. Thanks. My sister, Mia, has been staying with Ariel but I need to check for myself.”

  “Understood.”

  Ryder certainly did understand. Although he had not ordered Sophie to come back to the square by a certain time, he’d expected her by now. Or sooner. She was the kind of person who always wanted to be in the thick of things.

  He headed for his car with Phoenix at his side, not running but not dawdling, either. With each step his anxiety built.

  By the time he was on the road back to the station, all he could think of was making sure that Sophie was all right. It would have helped if scenarios of danger and harm had not kept popping into his fertile mind.

  If the following day of the street fair was half as troubling as this first day had been, he was going to need a long rest afterward. Preferably one that did not include nightmares of the former police department secretary. Carrie had been so clever, so unassuming, so good an actress, that everyone, Chief Earl Jones included, had never suspected her evil, manipulative side.

  Chances were, that was the characteristic which would eventually bring her downfall. She’d wanted him enough to kill to get him. When that plan had failed she’d transferred her fatal fantasies to two other blond officers, murdering them in turn when they’d cluelessly ignored her. There had not been anything Carrie wouldn’t try in the past. Her makeshift shrine to unrequited love had demonstrated that.

  Nothing had changed. She might not be here yet but she would be. It was a given. And when she reappeared, Ryder and his officers were going to catch her.

  They had to.

  * * *

  Sophie had showered and changed into the clean clothes she’d left in her locker at the training center. The cargo shorts and faded T-shirt were fine for kennel work but not up to the standards she felt would properly represent the K-9 Unit, so she didn’t go back to the fair. Instead, she busied herself by cleaning pens, exercising pups by letting them play in the fenced yard and getting the evening meal ready for all her furry charges.

  “This stuff actually smells good,” she told the two German shepherds and three golden retrievers vying for position at her feet. “I must be really hungry.”

  Their response to her light conversational tone was to wiggle and jump and pant as if she were about to present them with the tastiest meal they’d ever enjoyed.

  Sophie glanced at the wall clock. “It’s half an hour early but I guess you guys can eat.” Holding stainless steel bowls high she led the way to their nighttime quarters and edged the gate open with her foot. “Okay. Everybody in.”

  The eager pups not only entered, they sat for her. Well, almost. Their hind legs were bent but their rears were barely planted. “Is that the best sit you can do?” she asked, emphasizing the command.

  Coming close and holding the position for a few seconds was good enough for dogs this young and excitable. Sophie was quick with the food reward and command to eat so they wouldn’t lose control.

  She was grinning as she closed and latched the door to their kennels. Puppies were always fed first because they had such a hard time settling down if they thought they might miss a meal.

  A metal door clanked somewhere in the building. At least she thought it did. With so much barking and yipping around her she wasn’t sure.

  “This roof could collapse and I probably wouldn’t hear it,” she mused, still smiling. Many of the runs for older working dogs were empty because those K-9s were still out with their handlers. She fed some half-grown dogs she was testing for suitability, then went back for more food.

  “It’s just you and me, Titus,” she told the old Lab as she passed his run. “So, what shall we have for supper? I’d like a steak, myself.”

  His otter-like tail thumped on the floor. Now that she was finished with the more rambunctious dogs, she opened his gate and let him walk with her into the kitchen area. “What does the chief feed you at home? I imagine it’s not all kibble. You are probably spoiled rotten.”

  Panting so that his mouth resembled a smile, he gazed up at her and wagged his tail. “Uh-huh. I thought so. I’ll give you a few treats to tide you over until your handler gets here. I’m sure he has something wonderful at home to eat.” She thumped his broad back with the flat of her hand. “You don’t look as if you’ve missed many meals.”

  “Woof.”

  “Exactly,” Sophie joked, behaving as if he were agreeing with her. “The chief is a good guy. You should be thankful you ended up with him.”

  And so am I, Sophie thought.

  She was scratching the mild-mannered yellow Lab’s ears when he suddenly stopped panting. The fur at his ruff stood up, making him appear lion-like.

  Sophie wished she’d closed the door from the runs because the constant noise was drowning out less prominent sounds. She stood still and strained to listen.

  “I don’t hear anything, Titus,” she whispered. “Are you sure?”

  A growl rumbled. What she couldn’t hear, she felt as a vibration beneath her touch on his back.

  “Okay. I believe you.” Reaching for her holstered gun she realized she had taken the belt off when she’d showered and changed. That meant it was still upstairs in the break room, the apartment that had once belonged to her predecessor, another of Carrie’s victims.

  Thoughts of Carrie were enough to get Sophie moving. “Titus, heel,” she whispered, knowing the well-seasoned dog would obey without fail.

  Keeping her back to the walls as much as possible, Sophie inched into the office space, then down a short hallway to the stairs leading to the unoccupied apartment. Even if that was where the bothersome noises had originated, she needed to reach her gun. Laying it aside was a rookie move, one Sophie was not proud of.

  Each step brought her closer to her goal. She would have donned the uncomfortable bulletproof vest if it had not also been discarded with her dirty clothes.

  Titus paced her most of the way, then stepped ahead at the last moment. Sophie reached to stop him and missed his collar.

  The sound of a slamming door came from below. The dog hesitated. Cocked his head to listen. Then he left her, turned and galloped back down the stairs.

  Sophie didn’t know what to do. If there was a menace in the break room she needed to see about it. If Ryder or one of the other K-9 officers had just come in, however, it would be foolish to investigate by herself.

  That would mean she’d have to admit to leaving her sidearm unattended, she realized. But this was not the time for pride over prudence. Wheeling, she followed Titus.

  * * *

  Ryder dropped Phoenix’s leash and let him drag it while he greeted his faithful old Lab. When he looked up and spotted Sophie he didn’t know whether to hug her or chastise her.

  “Where have you been?”

  “Here. Why?”

  “I’ve been trying to call your cell for the last hour.”

  “Ah, well, that’s a long story. When I came back to change, I took off my holster and vest and left them with the phone. I was just about to go upstairs to get them.”

  “Well, go.” He could tell by the way she was shifting from one foot to the other that something else was up. “What’s wrong?”

  “Titus acted as if he’d heard somebody up there. We were about to see when you came and he forgot about everything else.”

  “It’s not like him to abandon a search.”

  “He wasn’t wearing his working harness so he probably figured it wasn’t important. That, or he really is losing his edge.”

  “Maybe a little of both,” Ryder said. He drew his gun. “You stay down here with the dogs. I’ll go check it out.”

  “I left my stuff on the little table by the bathroom door,” Sophie said. “Sorry.”

  “You’re not supposed to have to defend yourself in h
ere. Where’s Benny Sims?”

  “It’s still too early for him to be on guard duty.”

  There had been a time when they hadn’t felt the need for any extra protection, Ryder remembered with chagrin. Those were the days.

  As he started for the stairway, he was totally alert. Each step was calculated, controlled. Using a two-handed approach he whipped around the corner into the upper rooms.

  They were deserted. There was a lingering scent of flowery shampoo, undoubtedly a result of Sophie’s earlier presence, but no prowler. No menace. Nothing out of place except the equipment she had left behind.

  Ryder holstered his gun and picked up hers, handling it carefully. He was turning to go back down when he heard Titus and Phoenix begin to bark.

  Sophie screamed.

  A door slammed. Echoed.

  Ryder sailed downstairs, his boots barely touching the wooden steps.

  “Sophie!”

  FOURTEEN

  She flew straight to Ryder as soon as he reappeared in the stairwell. Though he did slip one arm around her waist he kept his gun hand clear. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know.” It was embarrassing to have screeched like a dog that had tried to eat a beehive, but her nerves had been so on edge lately she was glad that was all she’d done. “You went upstairs, then the dogs started to bark and something crashed into me.”

  “Did you get a look at whatever it was?”

  “No. As soon as I hit the floor my so-called bodyguards were all over me.”

  “I should have left Phoenix in harness. Titus is the one who really surprises me. I thought he had more sense.”

  “Dogs can get senile. We don’t usually notice it because they don’t talk, but they may forget things.”

  “Like chasing the bad guys instead of licking the victims?”

  Sophie huffed. “Yeah. Something like that. I suppose, if they were really worried about me, they’d have given chase.”