Enforcing the Paw

by Diane Kelly

  After that thought processed, I realized just how much danger Brigit and I were in. This woman had just set fire to a house with a person inside it. She’d have no qualms offing a police officer or a dog, too.

  Fear flooded my immobile body. I was helpless. I couldn’t do anything for myself or my partner.

  Luckily, Brigit had a mind of her own. While I usually found this trait to be annoying, it served both of us well tonight. Rather than await orders from her disabled handler—me—she made her own decision. And that decision was, I’m going to take down the bitch who hurt my partner.

  When Adriana reached toward her with the stun gun, Brigit ducked in the nick of time and grabbed Adriana’s wrist in her teeth, chomping down with all her might. The woman screamed at the top of her lungs and dropped the stun gun onto the patio, where it hit with a loud clack and immediately broke into two pieces among the shards of the food processor. My mind might be rattled, but it was coherent enough to think, There goes the warranty.

  Adriana whipped her arm back and forth, but with an enormous dog like Brigit hanging from it, she couldn’t shake it free. “Let go!” she shrieked. “Let go!”

  Yeah. Not gonna happen.

  Adriana used her free arm to leverage herself to her feet and tried to run, dragging Brigit along with her. As the two wrangled their way down the side of the house, my limbs finally began to cooperate again and I pushed myself up on all fours.

  The sound of sirens coming up the street seemed like the song of angels. Hallelujah!

  Using a garden gnome for leverage, I got to my feet, a little wobbly still, but at least upright again. Thanks, little guy. I yanked my baton from my belt, flicked my wrist, and it opened with its usual decisive SNAP!

  I lumbered after Adriana and Brigit, putting one hand against the outer wall of the house to stabilize myself. I could feel the heat coming from inside. I passed the door that led from the kitchen to the outside. Through the square pane of glass, I saw the café curtains catch fire, the flames eating their way up the fabric.

  As I made my way out of the gate to the front yard, I found Adriana lying facedown on the grass with Brigit sitting on top of her, the woman’s arm still clutched in her teeth. I also found a fire truck pulling to a stop in the street. Frankie leaped out of one side of the cab, while Seth leaped out of the other.

  “Megan?” they cried in unison.

  “Ryan’s inside!” I waved my baton at the house. The fire had breached the ceiling and roof. While it was too dark for me to actually see the smoke billowing out, the fact that a wide swath of the neighborhood and sky were obscured told me there was a lot of it and it was thick. I ran up to Adriana and brought my baton down on the grass next to her face. Whap! “Where is he?” I shrieked. “Where’s Ryan?”

  Her shoulders began to heave with sobs. “Last I saw him”—she gasped for air between sobs—“he was on the kitchen floor.”

  “Did you zap him?”

  “Yes.”

  My mind flicked back to the burning café curtains. It would be nothing short of a miracle if the fire hadn’t killed Ryan yet. Hell, he’d probably already succumbed to smoke inhalation. But there was always a chance, right?

  “He’s in the kitchen!” I hollered to Frankie, who was bolting for the door. “It’s the second room!”

  Two men used a battering ram to break through the locked front door. Bam! Bam! Bam! When the hole was big enough, Frankie ducked through with a mask over her face, disappearing into the cloud of smoke like a magician with a death wish.

  My heart contracted so hard in my chest it threatened to implode. Would this be the last time I’d see my friend alive?

  I wish I knew, because if it was I would beat Adriana to death with my baton right here on her lawn. I wouldn’t even care if a judge ordered the prison wardens to lock me up and throw away the key. It would be worth it.

  While I stood guard over Adriana and Brigit continued to hold her arm in her grip, Seth and the other firefighters scurried about their truck and the yard. In seconds he had a hose in his hand and a steady stream of water aimed into the house. I closed my eyes and prayed it wasn’t too late for Frankie and Ryan. Please, God! Frankie’s a good person and the best human friend I’ve ever had. Don’t take her away. She doesn’t deserve to die! And Ryan … well God, you tell me. I still haven’t figured this all out.

  Over the sounds of the fire engine, the forceful spray of the water, and the shouts of the firefighters, another sound came. A sickening sound. A creaking sound.

  CREEEEEAK.

  I watched in horror as the roof caved in, slowly at first and then gaining momentum. BAM! It fell in completely, leaving behind a jagged, gaping hole trimmed with broken two-by-fours, torn pink insulation, and shingles. Dear God! Has Frankie been crushed to death inside?

  My mind went woozy, unable to entertain the thought, and I found myself gulping air in a panic. Uh-uh-uh! The hyperventilation caused my vision to narrow until all I could see was Brigit’s troubled brown eyes watching me. She whimpered, worried.

  “Megan!”

  Hallelujah! Frankie’s voice was like birdsong in spring. Despite my having skipped that Wednesday mass in favor of wine, the Almighty had not only heard my prayer, He’d also answered it. I turned to see Frankie stumbling along the side of the house I’d just stumbled along. Her mask hung down in front of her, no longer on her face. Slanted across her back was a prone Ryan, and sticking out of his back was the long metal handle of the meat fork I’d seen in Adriana’s dish drainer the first time I’d come to her house.

  Yeek.

  After reflexively crossing myself—Catholic rituals die hard—I ordered Brigit to continue to guard Adriana while I rushed over to help Frankie. I reached her just as her strength gave out. She collapsed to the ground with Ryan on top of her. In his hand was the Wonder Woman #1 comic, enclosed in a protective plastic sleeve. Looked like he’d been right about Adriana. She had, in fact, taken his prized comic book.

  “What do I do?” I cried to Frankie. Please don’t make me pull out that meat fork.

  “Get the paramedics over here!” she coughed out.

  I ran back to the front of the house and waved my arms over my head as I shouted to the ambulance crew. “Over here! Over here! We’ve got injuries!”

  Seth turned my way. “Did she find Ryan?”

  “Yes! They’re out!”

  His face and posture relaxed in relief and he closed his eyes for a split second. I had a sneaking suspicion he was silently thanking God, too. These types of emergencies tended to make believers out of even the biggest skeptics.

  In minutes, the paramedics had oxygen masks on both Ryan and Frankie and were loading Ryan into the back of the ambulance. He was unconscious, his clothing was singed, and one leg appeared badly burned and bloody, but at least he was still breathing on his own. There was a chance he could survive. If he did, he was sure to need all kinds of work on the leg, skin grafts and the like, but maybe the doctors could save it.

  Frankie climbed into an ambulance, too. My eyes met hers over her mask and I raised a hand in encouragement and support as the doors of the second ambulance swung shut on her. As the vehicle pulled away from the curb, the driver activated the siren.

  Neighbors had swarmed out of their houses and gathered in a driveway across the street to watch the activity. As I turned back to the house, I noticed the comic book lying on the grass. I ran over and snatched it up before it could be soaked by the hose or trampled by the firefighters.

  Returning to Adriana and Brigit, I ordered Brigit off the woman, but instructed her to continue to stand guard. When Brigit released her hold, blood ran from Adriana’s arm and Brigit’s jowls. It wasn’t Brigit’s fault. If Adriana hadn’t struggled, she wouldn’t have been injured so badly. Before I could wipe the blood from Brigit’s mouth, she licked it off herself. The sight made my stomach seize. Ehhhh.

  I radioed for another ambulance for Adriana, as well as backup that could keep an eye on he
r in the ambulance and hospital until she was released into the custody of the Fort Worth Police Department to be booked and charged. Her bite wounds were deep, but given that she’d just attempted to murder her ex-boyfriend, she had no right to complain.

  Minutes later, Summer and Derek Mackey arrived. Summer pulled her cruiser to the curb across the street and the two of them climbed out.

  Summer, being the sweet person that she was, rushed over, her eyes bright with concern. “My gosh, Megan! What happened here? Are you all right?”

  Derek, living up to his nickname of “the Big Dick,” sauntered up. He eyed me and nudged Adriana with his toe. “Party get out of hand?”

  Both of us chose to ignore him.

  To Summer, I said, “I spotted Ryan Downey leaving his apartment and followed him here. Before I could get to the door the house went up in flames. Adriana ran out with a stun gun and zapped me.”

  “Ha!” Derek barked, slapping his thigh in delight. “You got shocked? Hoo-ah! That’s some poetic justice right there.” He skewered me with his glare. “Doesn’t feel so good, does it, Luz?”

  I supposed I deserved that. Getting zapped by the stun gun had been no fun at all, and the Taser I’d used on Derek packed even more punch. But just because I deserved his verbal spanking didn’t mean I would take it graciously. “Shut up, Derek.”

  He merely cackled in response. Adriana had made his day.

  I gestured to the woman. “She’s got some bite wounds that’ll need treatment. One of you will need to accompany her in the ambulance and keep watch on her at the hospital until she’s released into custody.”

  “I’ll do it,” Mackey said.

  His offer didn’t surprise me. He was a brave guy, but he was also a lazy one. He’d probably much rather sit around a hospital drinking sodas and playing games on his phone than patrolling the streets of Fort Worth.

  He looked down at Adriana. “Let’s move, Little Match Girl.”

  When he made no move to help her up, she used her good arm to push herself up to a stand. As she turned to walk to the ambulance, she took one last look at the house.

  I couldn’t help myself. “Say good-bye to your security deposit.”

  She sent me a heated glower that packed nearly as many volts as her stun gun. Seemed eye contact was no problem for her now. I only hoped that she didn’t spend her time in jail plotting vengeance against me and Brigit.

  When the last of the flames fizzled, Adriana’s house stood smoldering, a huge black hole in the roof, its front door smashed in, and its floors flooded. Evidently alerted by a neighbor, the owner of the house drove up and climbed out of his car to assess the damage.

  “My goodness!” The gray-haired man shook his head in disbelief. “What the hell happened here?”

  “A bad breakup,” I said, “some stalking, a little bit of arson, and a whole lot of attempted murder.”

  * * *

  The next few days brought many developments and some information that finally helped us see things clearly.

  Adriana was treated for the bite wounds and prescribed an antibiotic to prevent infection. A physical therapist ran her through some tests and determined Brigit’s bite had resulted in no permanent injury, though Adriana would likely have bite scars for the rest of her life, a little souvenir from the night she’d gone bat-shit. Perhaps they’d serve as a constant reminder not to cross a K-9 or her partner.

  She was released into the custody of the Fort Worth PD and charged with a variety of offenses ranging from attempted murder and battery to arson and stalking. The judge denied bail and ordered Adriana to undergo therapy to treat her mental health issues.

  After a psychological evaluation and consultation with her defense attorney, Adriana determined it was in her best interests to come clean and hope that her diagnosis as one who suffered from a personality disorder might get her a reduced sentence. At the behest of both her attorney and her therapist, she admitted that she’d attacked Ryan at his truck weeks ago, causing the scratch marks on his neck. Her claims that he’d been into kinky sex were made up. Though he had a healthy sexual appetite, his desires were not the things pornos were made of.

  She admitted that she’d stolen the brick and shoes from Ryan’s front porch, and had used them to break her window and fake the footprint on her patio. She also admitted that she’d been the woman with the gift bag and balloons who’d tried to gain access to Ryan’s apartment. She’d seen Danielle’s picture on Ryan’s Facebook page, and had dressed to look like her in the hopes it would throw off suspicion if the plan didn’t work. She’d hoped to get inside and wait for Ryan to come home, then attempt a reconciliation. A stupid plan, at best. What man would want to reconcile with a woman who’d snuck into his house uninvited and disguised? How could he ever trust her?

  She admitted that she’d placed the GPS units on both his car and her own. She’d placed the one on his car first so that she could track his comings and goings. She then realized that she’d look guilty if the device were found on his car, so she’d placed one on her own as well, to confuse the issue. She said she’d been surprised I’d thought to look for the devices. She hadn’t thought I was all that smart. Grr. I showed her, didn’t I?

  She also admitted to stealing Ryan’s Wonder Woman #1 comic book and using it to lure him to her house the night of the fire. She’d phoned him from an untraceable burner phone and told him if he wanted it back he needed to come to her house immediately or she was going to put the comic in her food processor and julienne the busty superheroine on maximum speed until Wonder Woman was nothing more than red, white, and blue confetti.

  Ryan was less forthcoming, but an electronic device we recovered told the tale he wouldn’t. After seeing the story of Adriana and Ryan on the news, a call came in from one of Interstellar Communications’ customers who’d recently had Ryan at their house to install new service. When they’d gone to use their new promotional tablet, they’d been surprised to discover a photo of a pretty young Latina woman on the device. Being an older couple with no great knowledge of electronics, they’d assumed the photo was a placeholder or sample, akin to the glossy paper photos placed in physical frames at stores. But when they’d seen Adriana’s and Ryan’s pictures on the evening news, they recognized Ryan as their installer and Adriana as the woman in the photo on their tablet.

  Ryan had evidently used the promotional tablet, his technical know-how, and Adriana’s credentials to remotely log in to the rehab center’s Wi-Fi and upload the profile of Adriana to Kinky Cowtown. While he’d wiped the remote login from the browser history and deleted the remote desktop app, he’d forgotten about the picture. Dumbass. Still, I could hardly blame him for pulling the stunt. Few people wouldn’t consider retribution against someone who had tried to frame them the way Adriana had tried to frame Ryan, and had tried to get access to their home to do who knows what. The assistant district attorney evidently felt the same way, that Adriana had got what she had coming to her, and declined to file charges against Ryan. A judge also revoked the protective order Adriana had gotten against him.

  Ryan was treated for smoke inhalation and burns. Luckily for him, the meat fork had missed all of his vital organs. Once the fire had been fully extinguished, another gun was found on the floor of Adriana’s kitchen. He’d brought it with him when coming to retrieve his comic book. But, again, it was hard to blame him for feeling the need to protect himself. His former lover had indeed become a crazy ex-girlfriend.

  The investigation was finally over and the case was closed. Though I wished we could have figured things out sooner, I knew both Adriana and Ryan had been careful and crafty so as to not be discovered. Detective Bustamente said any stalking case that didn’t end with a dead body was a victory, and congratulated me on saving Ryan’s life. He also insisted I take that vacation I’d been dreaming about.

  He didn’t have to tell me twice.

  FORTY-TWO

  VACATION

  Brigit

  The dog wasn�
�t quite sure where Megan had taken them. The sign they’d passed that read WELCOME TO GALVESTON ISLAND meant nothing to her. She couldn’t read. She only knew that the place smelled like fish and salt and had big water that crashed onto the sand and that she was having a ball! A beach ball!

  While Megan and Seth lay baking in the sun, Brigit and Blast ran up and down the beach chasing the seagulls. The dog knew her chances of catching one of the birds was small, but she didn’t care. It was still fun. What wasn’t fun was the crab who’d pinched her nose when she’d gone to sniff him. She’d swung her snout and flung that nasty creature right back into the bay.

  Another day, she and Blast found a dead fish in the dunes. It smelled disgustingly wonderful, so they took turns rolling on it. Megan and Seth didn’t even make them take baths afterward, just encouraged them to romp in the waves, which the dogs had fun doing anyway.

  They even went for a ride on a boat. At first, Brigit and Blast slid around the deck as the boat pitched from side to side, but eventually they got their sea legs—all four of them.

  When Megan and Seth packed up all their things and loaded Brigit and Blast into the backseat of Seth’s car, Brigit knew the vacation was over. As the motion of the car moving up the highway lulled her to sleep, Brigit wondered what lay ahead for them when they returned to work. Would they get to play chase? Take down a bad guy?

  The only thing she knew for sure is that a new adventure always awaited them.

  Look for these other tails of romance and K-9 suspense from Diane Kelly

  PAW ENFORCEMENT

  PAW AND ORDER

  UPHOLDING THE PAW

  (an e-original novella)

  LAYING DOWN THE PAW

  AGAINST THE PAW

  ABOVE THE PAW