Killing Trail: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery

by Margaret Mizushima

  “Dispatch, this is K-9 One.”

  There was no response except for static. The hillside must be blocking her signal.

  “Dispatch, this is K-9 One at the Powderhorn mine. I have a visual on two vehicles and need backup. Do you copy?”

  Nothing but static.

  “Shit!”

  For a split second, Mattie considered turning to drive a half mile back to try to make her transmission but decided against it. Sean was inside that mine with an older brother who meant him harm.

  She drove up and parked close to the two vehicles. Getting out cautiously, she strained to see in the darkness. Taking her flashlight, she approached slowly, splaying the beam over the first vehicle, a gray Jeep Cherokee. As she directed her light toward the other vehicle, a chill flowed from her scalp down her spine.

  The second vehicle was Brennaman’s 4Runner.

  Chapter 28

  Two kids were in the mine with a killer. Mattie couldn’t wait for backup; she needed to get to those kids now. She sprinted to her cruiser and started pulling her gear out of the trunk. Robo whined and shifted to the front of the cage, his weight causing the vehicle to bounce.

  “Come, Robo,” Mattie called, not bothering to open a door in back for him.

  Robo bolted from his platform, over the front seat, and out the door. He sat at Mattie’s feet while she put on his tracking harness. She poured a half cup of water into his bowl. This was not the time to get in a hurry and skip procedure. She needed Robo’s nose to be as sharp as possible if they were going into the darkness to track those kids.

  Finding Sean was her first priority, so she decided to get his scent from the passenger seat of the Jeep. From there, Robo might be able to trail him. After leading Robo to the vehicle, she opened the door on the passenger side. In a smooth transition, he sniffed the seat, moved his nose to the door panel, and dropped into a sit, telling Mattie he’d discovered the scent of some form of dope.

  Oh, man! She remembered Robo acting so squirrely when the Jeep had driven past last night. Her own ignorance and inexperience had made her ignore her partner’s signals. She didn’t have time to moan over it now. She stepped to the back and took note of the license plate in case the vehicle was gone when she emerged from the mine.

  She patted the seat and told him, “Scent this.”

  After sniffing the seat, Robo put his nose to the ground and moved to the mine’s entrance. Mattie followed, pulling her flashlight from her utility belt, flipping it on when they entered the mine and the darkness consumed her.

  The tunnel walls were constructed of hard rock. Wooden beams, spaced approximately every twenty feet, supported the sides and ceiling. The main tunnel quickly narrowed from a diameter of about ten feet at the opening to only six feet high by four feet wide. After fifty yards or so, they came to the tunnel’s first branch. Without hesitation, Robo followed the left one, nose to the ground.

  The darkness deepened, and Mattie felt claustrophobic. She fought the tight feeling in her chest as her flashlight illuminated the tunnel ahead, showing that it narrowed down even more, forcing her to crouch to make her way through. So far, the floor of this particular shaft was dry, and it angled upward, giving her hope that it would stay that way. Soon the tunnel took a slight turn to the right and started a steep descent, leveling out into what appeared to be an open room.

  Robo showed no sign of pause, and Mattie didn’t want to slow his momentum, so she quickly splayed her flashlight’s beam around the cavern, taking stock while she tried to watch her footing. The ceiling was about thirty feet high and she guessed the space to be around fifty feet in diameter.

  The air felt dense and dank, and she doubted there was another exit to this tunnel anywhere close. She battled her growing sense of suffocation as she turned her flashlight and her attention back to Robo.

  Once the flashlight lit his glossy back, Mattie noticed that his hackles were raised, causing the same reaction on her own neck. What if Brennaman was ahead? What if he heard them coming and set up an ambush? She stayed close to Robo and continued to move forward.

  After the space narrowed, it branched again. The tunnel that Robo chose took a steep angle downward to a smaller shaft. Here, the walls were rough, and rocky prominences poked out in several places forcing Mattie to duck to avoid bumping her head. Below, the footing grew damp and slippery. When it became muddy, it gave her a clear view of three different sets of footprints, two large and one small. The small ones looked so vulnerable, it made her chest ache.

  The reassurance that they were on the right track gave Mattie a rush. She resisted the urge to praise Robo. She needed to proceed as quietly as possible. Sweat prickled her skin, and she trained her eyes on Robo, trying to read his body language. Their survival depended on it.

  The tunnel walls looked less and less stable as they probed deeper inside the mine. Shale sloughed from the side when she brushed against it. She wondered why Brennaman and Tommy would come into an area of the mine so obviously at risk for collapse.

  Her flashlight dimmed, and she fought a rising panic. When had she last changed the batteries? She couldn’t recall.

  Could Robo’s nose carry them along in pitch darkness? Could she control her panic, or should she turn back and wait for backup and a fresh light?

  While she considered what to do, Robo led them to another fork in the tunnel. Down the right branch, she spotted a light in the distance. She turned off her own. The other bobbed for a brief moment and then disappeared.

  Mattie stopped in midtread, but Robo pulled against his lead, trying to tug her along behind him. She felt frozen in place, her eyes staring into the black void in front of her. Fear sucked the strength from her legs.

  Her mind filled with questions. What was the footing like up ahead? Who was down there? Did Brennaman know she was coming? Should she turn her light back on or try to follow Robo without it?

  Shortening Robo’s lead, she took a few hesitant steps so that she could come up beside him. She placed her hand on his back and noted that his hair still bristled. Terror threatened to immobilize her.

  Forcing herself to move, she kept her flashlight off and stayed in the dark. She whispered, “Search.”

  Crouching to protect her head from the low ceiling, Mattie inched her way down the tunnel, holding onto Robo’s tracking harness. She kept him as close as possible, letting him lead her in the darkness. She focused on staying with Robo and finding Sean, and she tried to forget her fear of suffocating.

  She lost all sense of direction and placed her trust in her dog. They crept down the tunnel for what seemed like hours.

  Suddenly a light reappeared in the distance, and Mattie realized it was coming toward her now. Her adrenalin surged, and her muscles tightened. She started to draw her service weapon but realized she couldn’t risk using it. A shot might bring the mine shaft down around them. She froze and held tightly to Robo’s harness. “Wait,” she whispered.

  He took a step forward but stopped when she held him back.

  She strained to see who was behind the light. It was directed at the tunnel floor, and she couldn’t distinguish anything. She hoped that the person didn’t know she and Robo were there. The element of surprise could make all the difference inside this close, dark place.

  Crouching beside Robo, making herself as small as possible, Mattie waited until the light threatened to reveal them. Robo’s muscles bunched, ready to spring.

  With her heart pounding, Mattie shouted, “Police! Stop and put your hands on your head!”

  The light whirled, and its bearer ran away. Mattie could see only one figure backlit by the light. And it wasn’t small enough to be Sean.

  Mattie unclipped Robo’s leash. “Stop or I’ll send the dog.”

  The person scrambled faster down the tunnel.

  “Robo, take him.”

  This was the drill Robo had been waiting for since their run-in with Patrick O’Malley. His toenails scratched the rocky floor in the tunnel as he
launched himself after the fugitive. In awe, Mattie watched him become a silent dark shadow.

  Robo didn’t bark a warning; he didn’t growl. He hit the runner in silence, slammed his body into the runner’s back, and clamped his jaws on the arm that held the flashlight. The force from Robo’s momentum and his crushing bite brought the figure to the floor. His flashlight hit the ground and its beam went out, pitching them all into utter darkness.

  The person screamed.

  Flipping on her own weak light, Mattie rushed down the tunnel, pulling plastic tie cuffs from her utility belt while she ran. When she closed in, she could tell it was Tommy.

  Robo was doing exactly what he’d been trained to do: bite and hold. Haunches in the air, he used his tremendous strength to pull on Tommy’s arm, dragging him across the rough tunnel floor. There was no weapon in sight.

  Tommy screamed the whole time.

  In combat position, Mattie crouched near him, ready to use physical force herself if necessary. “Robo, out!”

  Robo released Tommy’s arm and backed off a few steps.

  “Guard!”

  Robo crouched, eager to attack again. His tail waved slightly and his teeth were bared in a scary grin. Mattie could tell he was having a great time.

  “Put your hands on your head. Now! If you make one move toward me, this dog will attack.”

  Tommy put up his hands. “Keep that monster away from me! Son of a bitch!”

  “Tommy, do you have any weapons?”

  “What? No! What are you talking about?”

  “Stand up and put your hands on your head. I’ll warn you again, don’t make a single move toward me. This dog can’t wait to get another piece of you.”

  She flicked the light onto Robo, who had his eyes pinned on Tommy. The kid complied.

  “Now, turn around and place your hands on the tunnel wall. I’m going to pat you down.”

  “Shit!”

  “Do it!”

  Tommy turned away from her, hands on his head. With his back toward her, he moved his hands to the wall and leaned on it.

  Mattie asked, “Where’s Sean?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Where’s Brennaman?”

  “I don’t know. He took him.”

  “He took Sean?”

  “Yeah.”

  With her boot, Mattie tapped the inside of his feet. “Spread ’em.”

  After he assumed the correct position, Mattie started to search him. At the front pocket of his baggy pants, she felt a solid rectangular object. She slipped her hand inside and drew out a pocketknife. She said, “Tommy, I’m disappointed. You lied to me.”

  “What? That’s just a pocketknife, man, not a weapon.”

  She slipped the knife into her own pocket and continued patting down his legs. At his right calf, she felt something hard and bulky. “What’s this?” she asked, squatting down to pull up his pant leg.

  The light glinted off a large knife strapped to his calf.

  “I think we might agree that this would qualify as a weapon,” Mattie said, reaching for it.

  Tommy twisted, leaned over her, and grabbed her wrist in a viselike grip.

  Robo needed no command. He snarled and leaped, snapping up Tommy’s arm in his terrible jaws.

  Tommy dropped Mattie’s wrist and screamed. Robo weighed almost ninety pounds, and he used every ounce to pull Tommy down. The kid fell to his knees while Robo tugged harder, stretching him out. Mattie decided to let Robo hold him while she took the knife.

  She crouched to reach for it. Suddenly, movement at the edge of the shadow made her look. Brennaman rushed out of the darkness, crouching, with a two-by-four raised as high as the tunnel would allow. In the moment it took to register that he meant to hit her with it, Mattie raised her arm to shield her head. The club smashed into her arm. The shock of the blow turned her forearm numb. Then pain ripped its way up her arm.

  The only light in the tunnel went out as her flashlight hit the ground. Mattie’s world tilted. She dropped to the floor to get her bearings. Her mind cracked open and memory flooded her senses. A child—quivering in the darkness. A creaking door—the sour smell of booze. Fear. Pain.

  Robo’s growls filled the darkness. Mattie heard a loud thud. Robo yelped. Silence.

  Rage replaced her helplessness, infused her with power so raw it brought her to her feet. Brennaman had hurt Robo. Her partner needed her. She decided to use her baton instead of her Taser. No way would she risk a misfire in the darkness and hit Robo. She grabbed the baton, pressed the button, and heard the snick as it extended to its full length, automatically locking into place.

  A click sounded from several feet away, and Brennaman’s flashlight lit the tunnel. The light blinded her for a moment. She raised her injured arm to block it from her eyes and scanned the area. Tommy was still on the floor to her left, rising up on one elbow. And just beyond Brennaman . . . Robo. Her partner lay inert, the hair on his head wet and matted. Blood.

  She crouched, lowering her right arm from her face, keeping her left low with the baton hidden beside her leg.

  “Give it up, Mattie Lu,” Brennaman said, his voice sounding like he was pleased with himself. He’d put down the club, and now he held a dark, snub-nosed revolver.

  Tommy sat up, cradling the arm that Robo bit. “That black son of a bitch bit me,” he said.

  Mattie stared hard at Robo and saw his ribcage lift. He was still breathing. Not daring to look at him any longer and wanting to divert the other’s attention from him, she asked the first thing that popped into her mind. “Where’s Sean?”

  Brennaman smiled. “Oh, he’s still alive, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

  “Where is he?”

  Brennaman used his head to gesture to the tunnel behind him. “I left him back there. We’ll join him in a moment.”

  “You know that if you shoot me, you’ll bring this mine down on yourself.”

  “I don’t think I care about that. Better to die here than in prison. But if you cooperate, you might be able to save yourself and the kids. The kids seem important to you, Mattie, if I read you right.”

  “Of course they are,” she said, hoping to keep him talking. “Are you one who killed Grace?”

  “Oh, Mattie. You think you’ve figured things out.”

  “Did you?”

  He dropped the smile and his expression turned fierce, the flashlight casting dark shadows across the planes and hollows of his face. “Grace should have never been there. Her death was on Mike Chadron.”

  “But you shot her.”

  “Quit trying to get a confession out of me,” he said, his tone mocking. “You won’t be able to; you’re not that smart.”

  Tommy started to get to his feet.

  “Stay there for a minute, Tommy,” Brennaman told him. He directed his gaze back at Mattie. “Don’t you want to hear my plan for how you can walk out of here with both of these kids?”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Robo’s ear twitch. She suppressed the joy that lifted her spirit and focused on trying to hold Brennaman’s attention. “Sure. What’s your plan?”

  “Your vehicle’s out front, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “You come with me to the end of this tunnel where Sean is. I leave you and the kids tied up, leave your patrol car out front so the others know where to look for you, and have time to get way the hell out of Dodge.”

  Again, movement from Robo. She needed to keep Tommy’s attention, too. “Tommy, why did you bring Sean to the mine?”

  “He asked for it. He was going to tell you about the drugs. I had to scare him into keeping his mouth shut.”

  “Did you know Mr. Brennaman would be here?”

  “Sure. We planned to meet up.”

  “Did you know that he’s a killer? That you were bringing Sean into a dangerous situation?” she asked him. She flexed the hand on her injured arm, testing to see if she could grip. Though it set up shock waves of pain,
she was relieved to find that she could make a fist.

  Tommy shrugged. “I figured he killed Mike. Didn’t know and don’t care about Grace.”

  “Shut up, Tommy,” Brennaman said with a sly smile on his lips. “Well, Mattie Lu, what do you think?”

  “I think you’re a murdering coward who gets his jollies from harming children, but that’s probably not what you were asking about.” She paused briefly. If she could get him to turn away, even for a moment, she could use her baton on him. “Yeah, I’ll go with you to where you left Sean.”

  A scrabbling sound from Robo turned everyone’s attention his way. He’d evidently pawed the floor of the mine in an attempt to stand. Even as they watched, he tried again, this time managing to rise up enough to lie chest down. He shook his head, spattering drops of blood on the rock around him.

  Brennaman shouted at Tommy. “Take out that dog! Use your knife. Slit his throat.”

  Tommy tugged up his pants leg and reached for his knife. Mattie slammed the baton down on his arm, hearing the smack when it hit. He yelped and pulled his arm away. With her injured hand, she grabbed the knife and turned to take on Brennaman.

  Robo launched himself off the floor, hitting Brennaman from the side. He buried his teeth into the arm that held the gun. The weapon flew, and Mattie heard the heavy clunk of metal skidding across the rock floor. Brennaman shouted in pain and lifted his flashlight to strike Robo. Eerie shadows flitted across the rock walls of the tunnel. Mattie sprang, drawing back her baton and slamming it onto Brennaman’s wrist. The flashlight fell to the floor and rolled, stopping against the wall.

  Brennaman fell to his knees, screaming at Tommy. “Get the gun!”

  “Stay where you are, Tommy. I’ll take out your other arm if you move.”

  Tommy stayed put, sheltering his injury, sobbing with pain.

  By this time, Robo had pulled Brennaman down and was dragging him across the floor toward the gun. Mattie jumped into the middle of the man’s back, stopping his momentum, feeling satisfied as the air went out of him. She straddled him, grabbed his injured left arm and pulled it to his back, causing him to scream out. Her own arm hurt like fury and seemed to have only half its strength, but she could still use it.