Every Last Breath

by Gaffney, Jessica

  Everything looked blurry as they left the house. “Don’t worry Ms. Burke. Everyone at the station will be working on this case.”

  Maggie winced, that wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear. The snow had gathered on the curbside and the street plows were in full affect. It reminded her of the day she got Vala. Finding the kennel was quite a feat. It all started with an internet search for guard dogs.

  The first site included photos of German shepherd puppies, expensive ones at that. Though cute, no one caught her eye. Each site had its own handler and breeder but so far no one had the edge she was looking for.

  Her search seemed vain until she read about a local handler who trained dogs for the Denver Police Department; there was even a female judge who had a canine as a personal protection dog. Maggie called the judge’s office and asked for a referral. She called that trainer, and was put in touch with Klaus.

  After leaving four phone messages, she decided to visit the compound herself, which is exactly what she did.

  Two days later she pulled off the road and followed the signs to the K9 School. The property was spread out and an old home stood tall and center. She looked around at the unkempt lawn and wire fences— it was not what she was expecting.

  She clutched the computer print out as if it were gold. This was the place. Five kennels stood alongside the driveway, the dogs all watched her as she exited the car. There was not a single bark or anxious behavior. They just sat and watched, like they were on guard.

  She went into the building marked office. When the door pushed back a man wearing a tattered sweatshirt and cut off sweat pants sat in a cloud of cigar smoke.

  Maggie spoke first, “I’m looking for Klaus, Officer Carmike from the Denver K9 unit sent me.”

  He smiled and replied, “I am Klaus.”

  She moved closer and held out her hand. He stared back at her. “Is there something I can do for you?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact there is. I am interested in your training. I need a dog.”

  “What do you mean you need a dog?”

  She went on to explain her relationship with Jack.

  Klaus put out his cigar and leaned forward. “I am sorry to hear that, but my dogs are not pets. And they cost more than a car.”

  “I understand. I’m willing to pay.” Maggie looked around. “It looks like you could use some help around here.” He stood up and took a baseball hat off the wall. “Follow me.”

  They sat at the office table as he explained the program the training, and its purpose. He had police dogs that were trained for narcotics, explosives and cadavers, and he trained handlers to do the same.

  “Now I don’t sell puppies here, but we train them. There is an extensive test used to determine a dog’s ability to protect, in German it is called Schutzund. My dogs all have passed this test.”

  Maggie had done her reading. A dog trained with verbal commands and hand signs were not what she needed. The Schutzund training did more, it taught the dog to think on its own. That’s what she needed.

  “Have you selected your puppy yet?”

  “No, do I need to?”

  “Well, if you want a guard dog, you are going to need a dog.”

  Maggie smirked, “Of course. Do you have any dogs that are available?”

  Klaus looked at her but kept walking.

  Klaus led her to a kennel with eight stalls, much like a barn. “I work with the dog for two months, and then you come for five weeks. It’s every day, so you will need to take off from work.”

  “I’m a book agent, so that’s no problem.”

  “What price range can you afford for the dog?”

  “I was hoping under seven thousand.”

  Klaus said nothing but he raised his eye brows. “I have female dog, I trained her for a client who recently passed away. She was a guard dog, and the family returned her after the father passed away. I can retrain her for that price.”

  Maggie wanted to hug the man. Seven thousand dollars was all she had to her name. But it was worth it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  It was hard to stop the tapes from playing over in her mind. Ten years ago Maggie met Jack at a college party. And a decade later she was hiding for her life!

  When the sun came up, Maggie woke with a crick in her neck. She felt the warmth of a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw the house mother standing beside Eli; his face was wet from tears. “Mommy. I didn’t know where you were.”

  She blinked harder as it all came back. She was at the shelter and must have fallen asleep at the computer. Maggie scooped Eli up in her arms. “Come here baby.”

  She cradled his head with her hand and made eye contact with the woman. She whispered, “Thank you,” and let Eli’s little body melt into hers. “Mommy didn’t mean to scare you.”

  The hall was bustling as lines began to form for the bathrooms. Maggie weaved through the women assisting their little ones and preparing for work. The kitchen was only open for breakfast for a short time, and if she wanted to feed Eli, they had to be there in time.

  Maggie retrieved two bagels from the basket and was about to spread cream cheese on Eli’s when Detective Barron appeared. “Maggie. I need to speak with you.”

  The director stood behind him, nodded politely. Then she reached for Eli. “Here sweetheart, why don’t you let Mommy talk and I will help you with that.”

  Maggie’s anxiety was suffocating. She followed Detective Barron outside, with each step her heart beat increased. She prayed Vala was okay. She prayed they caught him.

  With the sun in her eyes, she listened intently to the detective. “There was a break at the house last night. We have a body that needs to be identified.”

  “What happened?”

  “The perpetrator came in through the patio door by your son’s room. From the looks of it, your guard dog was ready. She sustained multiple stab wounds but the victim did not make it.”

  Maggie began to shake. This is what she wanted. This is what she was waiting for. The ground seemed to open up and swallow her. Time stopped as a barrage of thoughts swirled inside her. “Was it Jack?”

  “We can’t tell. He was marred to badly for us to know yet.”

  “Is Vala hurt?”

  “Her wounds are deep but she made it through the night.”

  “Can we see her?”

  “Yes, but I would leave the boy here.”

  Maggie composed herself and returned to the room. She called Claire and asked her to watch Eli. Before she knew it, Eli was at the door with clean hands and face. She stooped down, holding back the tears. “Hey handsome, do you want to go for a ride in the police car again?”

  He nodded and gave her a hug.

  She let his little arms soothe her fears. Right now that‘s all she could handle. There would be blood at the house and lots of questioning so Eli needed to stay safe and he needed to be with family, Claire was the closest thing she had this side of the Mississippi.

  Maggie slid into the cop car and crossed her arms tight. There would never be another day like this one.

  The drive was silent as they headed to her home. Her mind spun in wonder. What would she tell Eli? Would Vala be all right?

  When Eli was safe with Claire, the tears started to well up in Maggie’s eyes. She let them fall to her lap as they drove toward Cascade. No one in town would know the connection between the crime and her ex husband, it would all be speculative. She needed that. How would she and Eli ever move on with their lives if the truth got out?

  Ben had called a few times while she left the Springs. She didn’t have the heart to talk to him.

  Detective Brant caught her reflection in the rearview mirror. “We will need to brief you as to what happened. Is that something you can handle?”

  Maggie rubbed the top of her legs and wiped her eyes. “Yes.”

  We staged an officer at your home last night. The intention was to lure Jack out of the woods and get him on a breaking and entering char
ge with a weapon. Your dog however, took matters into her own hands.

  “He was coming to take Eli?”

  “There was no car at the scene Maggie. He had no exit plan. Best we know, he followed our agent back to your house. We placed a woman in your room, to make it look like you were home. He waited 45 minutes after the lights went out, timing it perfectly with the natural sleep state.”

  “Was he armed?”

  The detective leaned forward. “We found spilled bottle of chlorophyll in the room, and he had a knife.”

  “How did he gain entrance to my home?”

  “He broke through the glass panel of the deck door.”

  Maggie shuttered. “He really was coming for Eli.”

  Jack fed off the element of surprise. “Then what happened?”

  “The officer was in the bathroom when the man entered the home. Vala took him down.”

  Maggie could feel his eyes on her as she covered her face. Vala had done her job; she put her life on the line to save her and Eli. And now hers hung in the balance.

  “Can I see her?”

  “Once this clears up, you certainly can.”

  When the cruiser turned into her neighborhood, Maggie’s anxiety rose, almost choking her like the python it was. She held her breath as the car rounded the corner as they climbed the hill. There were police cars all over the street, two news vans, reporters spread across the lawn.

  “We are not interviewing, don’t make eye contact.”

  Maggie agreed.

  Detective Brant pulled into the driveway and ushered Maggie into the garage. She closed her eyes and breathed in deep.

  The house spread out before her as if she were not welcome. The area was taped off and officers stood outside the house, mainly studying the side deck and the point of entry. She absorbed every detail.

  When she entered the house a policeman with a camera stepped out of the bedroom. Maggie looked at Detective Brant. “Where did he die?”

  He suffered some sever cuts to his head and arm upon entry. But from what we can tell, he never left Eli’s bedroom.”

  The words stung. With hot watery eyes she raised her head and stared at the detective. “Are you telling me that Jack died in my son’s room?

  “Yes.”

  Her world started to spiral. What the hell was wrong with Jack? Until now his demonic behavior had been hidden from the world. What was she dealing with? Was he as sick as those teen shooters who slaughter innocent kids? What would she tell Eli if he had killed Vala?

  She stood there, as the police meandered through her home, the investigators needed to interview her. But Maggie’s mind was solely captured on one thing. Vala.

  Maggie was ready to leave the house and attend to Vala but she was too weary to drive. She called Ben.

  Her knight in shining armor arrived, standing outside like the rest of the spectators. When Maggie left the house, she shuffled her way toward him and into a magnificent hug. She felt her body blend into his as those loving arms made all her stress melt away.

  Maggie couldn’t stop thinking about Vala on their way to the hospital. The blood on the wall in Eli’s room was smeared six feet wide. The stain on the carpet soaked through the pad. It was enough to break her heart. How could Jack want to kill the mother of his child, or even worse, kill his son?

  She had no choice but to look at facts. Jack traveled half way across the country to hunt her down. He carried no identification, preplanning to harm her and not get caught. He built a hideout somewhere; no local motel had ever seen him. And after the entire ruckus, he hurt the one being that held her life in the highest regard. Vala.

  Maggie popped the car door open before Ben had stopped the car. She rushed inside and interrupted the receptionist. “I’m here to see my dog Vala. She was brought it last night after a stab wound.”

  The woman’s ear was glued to a phone. She backed up her chair and covered the receiver. “I’ll bring you back in one second.”

  Ben came in behind her, “Is everything all right?”

  “Yeah, they are taking us to see her.”

  “That’s good Maggie. She’s still alive.”

  The woman hung up and walked around the counter. “She’s a fighter that one.”

  Maggie pushed up her sleeves. “I know.”

  “Let me just check with the doctor and then I will get you back there.”

  “Yes,” Maggie cried desperately.

  Weaving through the back hall the woman updated Maggie. “She made it through the night but she was still in critical condition earlier today.”

  “If you don’t mind I would rather not know the details of her injuries. I just want to know if she will recover.”

  “We can’t promise anything. But it looks good. It’s up to her how that leg heals.”

  Maggie was thankful. They let her view Vala from the doorway, the dog was asleep and drugged but she was there and Maggie was able to breathe. Her girl was alive, purely by God’s grace. It was a miracle; the whole scenario, finding Vala, getting her, training her, and using those skills to protect her and Eli. How could she not thank God?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Eli stacked the little jelly packets up as high as he could, while waiting for his dinner. The diner was busy as usual and Maggie presumed no one in the Springs would recognize them from the fiasco up the mountain.

  Word in the diner was abuzz with the topic of a killer on the loose. Police had ensured that Maggie and her son be left out of the media, since there was no tie to them and the intruder. Without intent, without identification, there was no story.

  Claire went to the house to retrieve clothes for Eli. Maggie made it clear she was not ready to go back to the house. After dinner, the threesome watched a movie. Eli fell asleep between Ben and Maggie on the couch, the perfect safe place.

  When Ben got ready to leave, Maggie felt a tug in her heart. She didn’t want him to leave; she needed the security he offered.

  “Why don’t you go home with Ben? I’ve got Eli. He’s no problem.”

  Ben smiled, “It’s all right by me.”

  Maggie looked at both of them, “Thank you both, for everything.”

  Her thoughts were still scrambled. She slipped on her coat and headed out to the dark night, but with Ben, it brought no fear.

  Turning into the neighborhood felt strange. Maggie took Ben’s hand. She’d be sleeping down the street from the fatal accident, one she planned for that had now come true. The events, as violent as they were, gave her proof that her suspicions were justified, that it was not her paranoia but her reaction and preparation because of the threat of another. For Maggie, that “other” just happened to be her ex-husband.

  Maggie was awake when everyone else was asleep. She was used to being alone at night but this time her surroundings were unfamiliar. She lay awake, not sure if the anxiety would subside or not. The shadows on the wall seemed to lurk above her. She heard noises, unfamiliar noises that startled her.

  Even with Jack gone she still had patterns and beliefs that would take time to subside. She needed to put him out of her mind, and off her lips. But how do you do that with the father of your son? How could she erase the damage?

  Without identifying the body, Maggie would never know if the intruder was Jack. And leaving that up to fate was something she was not about to do. She wanted proof it was Jack. She wanted to see his cold stiff corpse. She wanted to put an end to her terror.

  Maggie closed her eyes before the coroner unzipped the body bag. Jack’s body lay cold on a table, though to her it still seemed like some sick joke. She waited for him to sit up and talk to her like some necromancy fool. His humor had no end and his evil grew deeper each year. Now it took him down. She identified him by his tattoos and the wicked grin on his face that seemed to haunt her even from his death. The lacerations on his head and arms were no different than the severe bruising that accompanied his tournaments and training. He was happiest when he was bleeding. It seemed like J
ack had been bleeding his whole life.

  In a strange way the emptiness inside left as she recognized the body.

  Maggie walked back to her car as if she had wings. Her future would be free from the madness Jack had thrust upon her. The struggle was over. It was finally over.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Ben cradled Vala as if she were his child. Maggie stood at the hatchback and opened the door for what would be the last time. Ben placed the dog in the back, her breathing slow and calm. The tears fell harder as Maggie collapsed into the front seat. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing Vala. Backing away pulled at her heart. Suffocated by memories that she’d forever hold dear, Maggie closed her eyes as they drove to the vet’s office. This would be the hardest goodbye she’d ever had to say.

  For days prior, Vala existed solely on meds that left her incontinent and lethargic. She would not recover— she simply existed. Her presence in the house was more of a quiet observer, and a constant reminder of the beauty that once was. Unable to lift up her head, Eli had stayed by the dog. He didn’t understand that she was dying or that she would be leaving the family. Maggie showed him pictures of local puppies and told him that Vala got sick and needed to live with the doctor to keep her safe.

  Maggie’s voice was riddled with guilt and sadness as her little boy hugged her tight. “It’s okay mommy. Love will make her all better.”

  She couldn’t look at her without crying. Her eyes had been red and there were only hours left. Vala fought hard. She had recovered from the incident, enough to live another year.

  As they drove up the mountain Maggie looked for the turn off that she took to work. Klaus had come to say goodbye. Vala was nestled in the corner when her trainer came by. With tired, heavy, lethargic eyes, her quiet spirit was soothed by his visit. And that was it.

  The veterinarian invited them during lunch, so the office would be quiet and still. Ben placed the dog on the floor and sat beside Maggie, holding her hand.