Killing Trail: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery

by Margaret Mizushima

  “Quit fighting and I’ll call him off,” she said, her voice gruff.

  It was hard to tell with Robo still tugging at him, but Mattie thought she felt the fight go out of him. “Robo, out.”

  Robo dropped Brennaman’s arm and the man lay still beneath her. “Guard.”

  Her dog loomed over Brennaman’s head, saliva and blood dripping from his mouth. He couldn’t have looked more terrifying.

  “Stay still or he’ll attack you again. That goes for you too, Tommy.”

  Tommy’s sobs had subsided, but he sounded utterly defeated. “I ain’t goin’ no place.”

  She took the cuffs from her belt, tightening one on Brennaman’s injured arm first, and making him groan. She grabbed the arm Robo had bitten, brought it around to the man’s back, and put the other cuff on that one. Only then did she feel she could take a breath.

  “Don’t move,” she told Brennaman. She stood on shaky legs and patted him down. He carried no other weapons, but she found a roll of duct tape in his jacket pocket. She picked up the gun and put it in a pocket on her belt. Then she picked up the flashlight. “Robo, out.”

  Brennaman lifted his head to watch.

  She used her most authoritative voice. “I said don’t move.”

  He put his head back down on the floor.

  She called Robo to her. Shining the flashlight on his head, she could see that his wound was about an inch long and still bleeding. She stroked the fur at his throat and told him what a good boy he was. She moved the light away from his eyes and then flashed it into them quickly, feeling relief to see his pupils constrict evenly.

  Many times, she’d cursed the weight of her K-9 utility belt, but now she was grateful to know that her supplies were complete. With fingers still trembling from pain and adrenalin, she took out her first aid kit. She placed a sterile gauze pad on Robo’s wound and secured it with elastic tape around his head, forming a compression bandage. The white bandage contrasted with his black fur, making her give him a small smile. “There, that should fix you up until we can get you to a doctor.”

  “What about me?” Tommy said, sounding forlorn. “I think my arm’s broken.”

  Mattie took a deep breath and stood. Pulling a set of plastic tie cuffs from her belt, she said, “Hold your hands together out front, Tommy.”

  He whimpered. “You’re not going to put those on me, are you?”

  “You can steady your arm with your other hand. That’s why I’m not making you put them behind you. Now, do as I say and put them out front.”

  He complied, and she placed the cuffs, trying not to hurt him more than necessary in the process.

  “Now I need to find Sean,” she said.

  “You lost your chance,” Brennaman said from his place, face down on the ground.

  “I don’t need you, John Brennaman.” Mattie took a short length of utility rope from her belt and bound his feet tightly. She made sure his cuffs were secure on his wrists. “I’ll be back to get you later. Tommy, you’re coming with me.”

  “I can’t walk.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with your feet. I need to keep an eye on you. Get up.”

  It took a few more precious moments, but Tommy managed to get to his feet.

  Mattie hoped that Robo would remember the scent they were trailing before they were attacked. She didn’t bother putting his leash on again; her arm was hurting too much to deal with it.

  “Come with me,” she said, taking Robo farther down the tunnel in the direction from which Tommy and Brennaman had come. “Tommy, follow me, but don’t touch me. If you do, this dog will bite you again, do you understand?”

  Tommy followed meekly, indicating that he did.

  A few yards down the tunnel, Mattie said, “Robo, find Sean. Search.”

  Robo put his nose to the ground and moved forward. One more branch in the tunnel system, and he led them into a hollowed-out, open space containing railroad ties, chunks of wood, lumber of various lengths, and some barrels. Robo bounded over to one of the barrels, rising up to place his paws on top. Muffled cries came from inside the closed barrel.

  “Sean,” Mattie cried as she rushed to it and began tearing at the top. “Sean, it’s Mattie. You’re safe now. Robo found you.”

  Pain shot through her arm as she used both hands to work off the wire rim that bound the barrel shut. When she finally got the lid off, she shone the light inside. Sean peered up, blinking in the light, a strip of duct tape over his mouth, his face dirty and tear streaked. His hands and feet were also bound with duct tape. A chill passed through her as she realized this child was never meant to be found in the mine. She and Tommy wouldn’t have been left alive to be found either.

  Reaching into the barrel, she gently worked the tape off Sean’s mouth. His nose was stuffy from crying, and she could tell his ability to breathe was compromised. He sobbed as she pulled off the tape. She wanted to pick him up but lacked the strength in her right arm to lift him. “I’m going to tip the barrel so we can get you out, okay, Sean?”

  Glancing over at Tommy while she did it, she asked him, “Did you put him in here?”

  Tommy had a frown on his face that seemed genuine. “Brennaman told me to leave, go back outside. Then I got lost and was trying to get back here when you found me. He must’ve put Sean in the barrel after I left.”

  Mattie was able to help Sean wiggle out of the barrel, and she quickly unbound his hands and feet. He placed his arms around Robo and clung to him. Robo looked proud to lend a crying shoulder. Mattie gently patted Sean’s back.

  After a few moments, Sean leaned away from Robo and studied him. “Why is Robo wearing a headband?”

  Mattie almost chuckled with relief. “It’s a bandage. He got a bump on the head, so be careful with him.”

  “Oh, poor Robo,” the child said. Then he glared at Tommy. “Tommy’s mean.”

  “Yes, he is. That’s not a good way to be, is it?”

  Then Mattie took the time to tidy up the business of arresting Tommy. She had a feeling that Tommy wanted to spill everything he had on Brennaman, and she wanted to be sure that what he had to say could be used against the principal—and even against himself if that’s the way things turned out.

  She stood and took a deep breath. “Tommy O’Malley, you’re under arrest for kidnapping and the reckless endangerment of a child, threatening the life of a K-9, and transporting narcotics. Other charges may be added after our investigation.”

  “Oh, man, you don’t want to do this. I’ve got information you can use.”

  She slipped her Miranda card from her pocket and read him his rights. Then she asked, “What information are you talking about, Tommy?”

  “Like how Brennaman told me he killed Mike,” Tommy said, with a nod toward the tunnel they’d come from. “He said Mike didn’t want to use his dogs anymore and planned to rat him out. Brennaman threatened to kill me, too.”

  “So you felt frightened for your life?”

  “Damn right I did.”

  “Be sure and mention your fear to the detective when she questions you. Maybe she’ll go easy on you.” She wanted to reassure him in hopes he’d keep answering her questions. “Did you call Brennaman?”

  “I thought he’d know what to do.”

  “And the mine was his idea?”

  Tommy hesitated, and for a moment, she thought he’d clam up, but he kept talking. “Brennaman thought it would scare Sean. Keep him quiet.”

  Mattie nodded. She’d learned enough for now; she’d leave his interrogation up to Stella. “Let’s get out of here. Sean, you stay in front of me. We’ll let Robo lead the way. You stay behind me, Tommy, and remember, no touching.”

  It didn’t take long to get back to Brennaman. It seemed like he’d given up, and he said nothing when Mattie put him under arrest for the murders of Grace Hartman and Mike Chadron; the transportation of narcotics; and threatening the lives of a child, a police officer, and a K-9. She read him his rights and untied his feet. He
managed to stand, and she took him by the arm to escort him out of the tunnel, Robo leading the way.

  When they reached the open room inside the mine, they encountered her backup—Ken Brody and the rookie Johnson. Their flashlights shone brightly. She’d never been so glad to see these guys in her life. Even Brody.

  Brody’s flashlight moved over them all, pausing first on Robo and then on Mattie. “You okay, Cobb?”

  “We’ve been better. Glad to see you guys. I have John Brennaman here under arrest for multiple charges, including two murders, and Tommy O’Malley under arrest for transporting narcotics, among other things.”

  Brody and Johnson took charge of the two captives. With Robo and Mattie leading the way, it took only a few minutes to travel through the rest of the mine.

  Once outside, Brody spoke again. “Johnson, load these two in our vehicle.”

  “I’ll take Sean with me,” Mattie said.

  Brody turned to Mattie. “How did you find these guys?”

  “Robo tracked them.”

  “Shit.” In the moonlight, Mattie could see he was looking at Robo with begrudging respect. Then he looked back at her. “I don’t know how you could stand going into those old tunnels by yourself. That place gives me the creeps.”

  Finally, something they could agree on. “Me too, Brody. But I wasn’t by myself; I had my partner with me.”

  Chapter 29

  Cole flipped on the front light and unlocked his clinic door so that Mattie and Robo could come in when they arrived. It was after midnight, and her call had wakened him from a sound and much needed sleep. After apologizing for the late call, she’d told him that Robo had been hit on the head hard enough to knock him unconscious, and he had a gash on his head that needed stitching. A compression bandage she’d applied seemed to have stopped the bleeding, and Cole might have decided to wait until morning to suture it, but he was concerned enough about the head injury that he wanted to examine Robo tonight.

  He went to the exam room to prepare but soon heard Mattie drive up to the clinic. He was shocked when he saw her. Pain and exhaustion pinched her face, and a ragged abrasion and deep purple bruise covered the top part of her forearm. Compared to Mattie, Robo looked jaunty as he trotted through the door beside her, compression bandage adorning his head, tail waving.

  “Good God, Mattie. What happened to you?”

  She tried to hide her pain and rearranged her facial expression to neutral. “Robo and I tangled with John Brennaman.”

  “What?”

  “We arrested him for the murder of both Grace Hartman and Mike Chadron tonight. He’s at the station being interrogated. This is still confidential, of course, but I wanted you to know.”

  Cole was flummoxed, but he felt pressed to help her rather than keep her standing here in the lobby asking her questions. “Come in here to the treatment room,” he said, opening the door for her. “Have you done anything to take care of that arm yet?”

  “No, I was in a hurry to bring Robo to you.”

  “You’ve done some good first aid for him. Let me do some for you before we get to Robo. Come over here to the sink. We need to wash that wound.”

  She followed him to the sink with Robo sticking close to her side. Cole hooked a rolling stool with his foot and brought it over. “Sit on this,” he told her.

  He turned on warm water, checked the temperature, and then extended a hand. She let him take her arm, sucking in her breath quietly when he gently palpated the bruised area. Robo pinned his eyes on Cole, looking worried.

  “You need to see Dr. McGinnis in the morning,” he told her.

  “He’s taking care of my prisoners right now.”

  “Your prisoners? More than one?”

  “Yeah. I arrested two actually. Not both for murder, though. That was all Brennaman.”

  Cole bathed the abrasion on her arm, using an antiseptic wash and letting the warm water flow over it. As he worked, he realized what she meant. “Don’t tell me you were fighting two people at once.”

  “Okay, I won’t.”

  She was a great deal shorter than he, and as she sat huddled on the stool, she looked small and vulnerable. “Was there anyone else there to help you?”

  She gazed up at him, a trace of amusement on her face. “Sure—Robo. We managed okay.”

  “Oh, yeah, you both look swell.”

  “You should see the other guys.”

  He imagined her being attacked by two men, and he didn’t like her flippant answer. “Weren’t there other officers who could have been there?”

  “Sometimes you have to act alone.”

  He shook his head and focused on his task. At least it was something he could control. After patting her arm dry, he applied antibiotic ointment and some sterile gauze and wrapped her arm with several layers of paper towels. “Hold this while I get some ice. Did you take anything for pain yet?”

  “No.”

  “I’ve got some Tylenol in my desk drawer. I’ll get that, too.”

  After she took the pain reliever, he placed an ice pack over the bruised area and wrapped an elastic bandage over the whole thing to hold it. He hoped she felt better. “There. Now we’ll look at Robo. Since he’s been watching like he doesn’t trust me one bit, I wonder if you’d be able to take that bandage off him so I can take a look.”

  “Sure.”

  Cole noticed that she could use her hand and move her arm, so he doubted it had a complete fracture. But it might have a greenstick fracture or a deep bone bruise, neither of which should be overlooked. She needed to take care of it. He hoped she’d take it seriously and not let her tough-girl attitude get in the way.

  Once Robo’s bandage came off, he could see a one-inch laceration with glistening white fascia underneath. The wound still seeped, but for the most part, Mattie’s compression bandage had staunched the blood flow. He checked pupil dilation and was satisfied to see that Robo’s pupils were equally responsive.

  “Now, hold his head as still as you can while I check his visual tracking,” he told Mattie. Using a dog treat, he watched Robo track it back and forth with no obvious problems. “Can I give this to him now?”

  “Sure.”

  Robo took the treat from him with no suspicion or sulking. He was evidently more comfortable with Cole working on him than on Mattie. Protective of his owner—not unusual, but something to be aware of with a large, aggressive dog like this one.

  “I can suture that laceration with some stainless steel surgical staples, and it will only take a few minutes. But first I need to block it with a local and clean it up. We need to muzzle him before I do all that.”

  “Sure,” she said. “But let me put it on him, okay?”

  “My thought exactly.”

  Mattie slipped on the red nylon muzzle with no hesitation or problem, and Cole could tell that she’d done it before. Robo didn’t struggle, but his eyebrows puckered with worry. Cole watched Mattie soothe him with soft murmurs and stroking.

  He drew a local numbing agent into a syringe and showed Mattie how to hold Robo still. “The first one feels like a hornet sting, but it works instantly, and he won’t really feel the rest. I don’t want to use any general anesthesia on him after that head injury, and we shouldn’t need it anyway.”

  Robo flinched, but Mattie continued to reassure him. After Cole finished blocking the scalp area, she said, “We have to go back to work if you think it’s safe for Robo.”

  Cole was surprised. “He’s fit enough, but are you?”

  “I won’t have to do much. They’re getting a search warrant for Brennaman’s house. We want to search it tonight.”

  He began gently cleaning the scalp wound. “I’m blown away! I have all kinds of questions, but I hesitate to ask them. Maybe you could just tell me what you can.”

  “I started to suspect Brennaman when I remembered how Robo bristled when he first met him. Then I remembered how Belle carried on when he was here in your yard. We all thought she was greeting Mr. Hartm
an, but when I remembered it, I realized that wasn’t exactly a friendly bark. I put that together with what we learned about scent memory in K-9 Academy. Robo would have picked up his scent at the crime scene. He knew who put Grace in that grave.”

  Cole shuddered but continued to work on Robo. “Good God. Belle was the only thing that kept him from my kids.”

  “A dog’s the best deterrent to an intruder.” She paused, apparently sorting through what she could say next. “Before we could do anything else, I got a call on a domestic disturbance and a child kidnapping that led me to the Powderhorn mine. When I got there, John Brennaman’s vehicle was parked out front. I knew I had two kids in that mine with a suspected killer, so I had to go in.”

  That shocked him. “No, you didn’t. You could have waited for them to come out.”

  “I was certain that he’d killed Grace. I couldn’t stand by and wait for him to kill those kids and come out alone.”

  “He could have killed you and Robo.”

  Mattie shrugged. “It’s our job. To protect and serve.”

  Cole wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He’d come to respect and care about this woman during the stress-filled past few days, but he’d never stopped to think about how dangerous her job was. He remained silent while he assessed Robo’s laceration, decided the margins were clean, and picked up the stapler. He clipped a neat row of staples along the wound and finished up quickly with a sterile gauze patch that he wrapped into place with an elastic bandage. Though the dog’s brow remained puckered, he tolerated the procedure without flinching. He knew that Robo hadn’t felt a thing.

  He noticed that Mattie’s face was filled with tension. “He’s going to be fine. Scalp wounds heal fast since there’s such a good blood supply. Let me know if he starts scratching at it or rubs the bandage off. We should take it off in a couple days anyway to check it. You could do that or you can bring him back in for me to take a look, whichever you’re most comfortable with.”