Guard Duty (Texas K-9 Unit)

by Sharon Dunn

  As she looked over at Trevor, the seriousness in his eyes gave her pause. Was he bringing bad news?

  She swept Bethany into her arms. “I didn’t expect to see you both here. I’m not on shift until later.”

  Trevor offered her a quick smile. “I thought I would keep you company.”

  She glanced from McNeal to Trevor. “What’s going on?”

  McNeal rubbed his temple. “I want you to take a few days off.”

  Valerie held Bethany a little tighter. “Why? I’m ready to go back to work. I feel fine...I just got a few bruises and scrapes.” She couldn’t do her part in taking down the syndicate if she was sitting at home.

  “In light of what happened yesterday...” Trevor’s gaze darted from McNeal to Valerie. “He seems to think you might be in too much danger on the streets.”

  “Are you thinking I need to be on desk duty for a while?” She loved doing patrol with Lexi. Sitting at a desk would drive her insane, but at least she would still in some way be helping take down the syndicate.

  McNeal shook his head. “I don’t know. I just know it’s not safe for you to be out on patrol.”

  Valerie gazed at Trevor for a moment. It annoyed her that he wasn’t protesting McNeal’s decision—especially since he of all people knew she could handle herself.

  Valerie clenched her teeth. So she wasn’t even going to get desk duty. What if McNeal decided she couldn’t do her job at all? A couple of days could turn into weeks. She knew they only wanted to keep her safe, but being on patrol was like breathing to her. “I could have died out there yesterday, and I didn’t.”

  “You made incredibly smart choices.” Trevor’s voice tinged with admiration. “I just don’t think the police department fathomed the power and the resources the syndicate would utilize to get at you.”

  Frustration rose to the surface. “If only I could remember who this woman was...where I’ve seen her before.”

  McNeal gripped her forearm. “I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but I have to keep my officers safe.” He turned and headed down the long hallway.

  Valerie’s throat went tight as she watched her captain disappear around a corner. Couldn’t he see that she only wanted to do her job?

  “McNeal said take the day off, so do as he says and enjoy yourself. I’ll keep you company.” Trevor’s voice held a tone of false cheerfulness. He was trying to make her feel better, but why hadn’t he stood up for her more?

  “I guess I have no choice.” Bethany rested her head against Valerie’s neck as if to comfort her. “I’m going to call Slade later so he can clarify whether this is a few days or until the Serpent is in custody.” The prospect of being a prisoner in her home or having to restrict her movements for months frustrated her.

  They stepped out into the sunlight of early morning, and Trevor directed her to his car. She placed the car seat Lucy had brought in the backseat.

  Once they were settled in, Trevor turned to her. “So what’s the plan?”

  “We need to go get Lexi. I was planning on taking her and Bethany to the park this morning, anyway...so we might as well do that.”

  “All right then, let’s go.” Trevor’s effort at trying to sound positive was commendable, but none of it made McNeal’s decision sting any less.

  How long would this go on? If only she could remember the woman’s face more clearly. She had sat down with a police artist twice and attempted to recall the details in the face she’d seen for a split second, but always the image was blurry. They looked through police photographs of women who had a record. Nothing clicked.

  Trevor started his car. “Where am I going?”

  “Same park as where the dog had her pups yesterday.” Valerie laced her hands together and tried to let go of the bad news that had started her day. She looked out the window. It was a beautiful sunny day. The sound of Bethany babbling in the backseat lifted her spirits. She needed to focus on what was right in her life.

  After getting Lexi from the training facility, Trevor pulled into a lot of the park that faced a duck pond. “This all right?”

  She rolled the window down, enjoying the warmth of the morning sun. Maybe by the end of the day McNeal would change his mind. “Let’s go have some fun.”

  Trevor carried the diaper bag while Valerie lifted Bethany out of her car seat. She rubbed noses with the little girl, which caused a squeal of delight. Bethany offered her a smile, revealing a front row of pearl-white teeth. “How could anyone be sad around you, huh?”

  Lexi followed dutifully behind as they found a park bench. Valerie pulled a flat beach ball out of Bethany’s bag and blew it up. She rolled it toward Bethany who sat in the grass a few feet from the bench.

  Valerie sat down on the grass beside Bethany, and the dog situated herself close by.

  Trevor paced the length of the bench and then walked a half circle around them. Valerie rolled the ball to Bethany. Trevor stopped and stared at a grove of trees. His posture stiffened.

  Valerie followed the line of his gaze. Her heartbeat kicked up a notch when she saw the man partly shielded by the trees looking in their direction.

  NINE

  Trevor zeroed in on the man in the wooded area. The stranger slipped deeper into the trees and disappeared. Why was he trying to conceal himself?

  Still not willing to let his guard down, Trevor surveyed the park, making a note of every person within a hundred yards of them and watching the comings and goings in the parking lot. Behind the bench, a jogging trail ran along the upward slope of the hill. Though he could keep an eye on the people in front of them, someone could come up over the hill and close in on them without much warning.

  An open park like this was precarious in terms of safety for Valerie. However, she’d had a traumatic day and a disappointing morning. He didn’t want to add to her frustration by telling her she couldn’t take her niece to the park.

  Bethany lifted the beach ball and carried it toward Lexi. The dog nudged the ball with her nose, and Bethany clapped her hands in delight. The Rottweiler wagged her tail. Valerie remained close to Bethany, talking into her ear and pointing. She twisted her long red hair and held it in place before looking over at Trevor.

  That open and honest gaze that she had was enough to make him weak in the knees. She was a beautiful woman. And once the Serpent was caught and this was all over, she would have a beautiful life, a little girl to care for and job she loved. He had seen the worst of humanity in his life and his work. Even as he felt his heart opening to her, he knew they were two very different people.

  A car pulled into the lot, and a large man with black hair got out. Trevor moved a little closer to Valerie. Tension eased when the man opened the back door and two young boys tumbled out.

  As he drew closer, the man only vaguely resembled the assailant from yesterday. The boys both placed sailboats in the pond. The man took a bench on the opposite side of the pond.

  Valerie studied the woods where he had seen the man. Her mouth twitched, and a look of sadness clouded her features for only a moment before she managed a smile. Her efforts at not giving in to despair were deliberate.

  Bethany had just rolled the ball down the hill toward the pond when Trevor noticed the man sitting on a bench on their side of the pond. The same man he had seen hiding in the trees. Valerie and Bethany walked toward the pond with Lexi trailing behind. The ball slipped into the water.

  Trevor hurried down the hill toward Valerie, training his glance toward the man without turning his head. The man wore a jacket that was too heavy for the warm weather and could easily conceal a gun.

  Bethany and Valerie made an utterance of disappointment as the ball rolled into the pond. Valerie commanded Lexi to get the ball. Without hesitation, the dog jumped in the water, but only managed to push the ball toward the center of the pond.

  The man in the coat sat on the bench above them. Trevor glanced up at him. The man’s gaze followed Valerie as she moved closer to the water.

&nbs
p; Lexi got out of the water on the side of the pond, some distance from Valerie and Bethany. The two boys with sailboats cheered and clapped, encouraging the ball to float completely across the water.

  Trevor swooped down the hill. “Why don’t we go for a walk?” He pulled Valerie up by the elbow.

  “But we need to get the ball.” She opened her mouth to protest more and then noticed the man on the bench rising to his feet. “Oh.” Her voice filled with fear.

  She gathered up Bethany. Trevor fell in step behind her, and Lexi took up the rear. When he looked at the bench again, the man was gone. He wouldn’t try to take a shot at them as long as they were in the open and around people, unless he could shield himself from view.

  Trevor placed a protective hand on the middle of Valerie’s back, a move that made Lexi grunt in protest.

  Trevor looked at Lexi and shook his head.

  We’re both trying to do the same job, girl.

  “She doesn’t like it when you touch me.” Valerie kept her voice upbeat, but her gaze darted around at her surroundings.

  There were a dozen trees the stranger could hide behind.

  Trevor pointed to a gazebo by an ice-cream stand. “Let’s go over there.” The gazebo was in a flat, open area. He would have a full three-sixty view of the park.

  As she sat down in the gazebo, Valerie said, “Maybe we should just go home.” She kept her voice sing-songy for Bethany’s sake, but he picked up on the undercurrent of tension.

  Trevor took a seat opposite them. He wanted her to have at least a few hours where the threat wasn’t foremost in her mind. Couldn’t he at least give her that? “We’ll be fine here. That man could have just been out for a walk.”

  Valerie let out a heavy sigh. Bethany wiggled out of her arms and sat on the wooden floor of the gazebo. She continued to talk to the child in a positive tone, but Trevor saw the pensiveness in her eyes.

  “Come on, I’ll buy you two some ice cream. Isn’t that what people do in parks?”

  “It’s kind of early in the day, but sure,” Valerie shrugged. “Since Bethany can’t eat a whole cone, just ask for a spoon and I’ll give her bites of mine.”

  Trevor stepped out of the gazebo and walked a few feet to the ice-cream stand. “Can I get two vanilla cones?”

  “Coming right up.” The ice cream vendor’s white apron covered his rotund belly. His bald spot glistened in the morning sun.

  Trevor turned to check on Valerie, who had gotten down on her knees to point things out to Bethany as she took in her surroundings. Lexi stood guard outside the gazebo.

  The man handed Trevor an ice-cream cone with a generous scoop. “That’s a nice family you got there.”

  Was that how they looked to the outside world? Just a family enjoying a morning in the park. No one else could see the level of fear Valerie lived with every moment. “Thank you,” Trevor said as he took the second cone from him.

  Trevor resumed his spot on the bench in the gazebo and watched Valerie give Bethany spoons full of ice cream while the little girl held on to Valerie’s leg and bounced. Her mouth opened bird-like every time Valerie tried to get a bite of ice cream for herself.

  “She’s getting more of that than you are.”

  “That’s usually how it works.” Valerie wiped Bethany’s ice-cream-stained face with a paper napkin.

  A chuckle escaped his throat. He couldn’t help it—watching Bethany made him smile. Valerie relaxed, too. She laughed as Bethany tried to grab the spoon to feed herself.

  Trevor’s cell phone rang. “Agent Lewis.”

  The voice that came across the line had a slow Texas drawl. “This is Detective Jackson Worth. I think I may have a sighting on your fugitive.”

  Trevor sat up a little straighter. “Really?”

  “A man matching Derek Murke’s description just checked in to the Rainbow Motel—it’s a fleabag not too far from the industrial district.”

  Trevor’s voice betrayed his excitement. “How did you find out?”

  “I kind of put a bug in the ear of a couple of people in that area I know I can trust. One of them saw a man matching his description going into the hotel.”

  “How long ago did he check in?”

  “I got the call less than an hour ago,” Jackson said.

  “Thanks, I’ll look into it.” Trevor slammed his phone shut. The elation he felt over a new lead faded when he saw the drawn look on Valerie’s face.

  “So sounds like you may have found Murke.” She offered him a faint smile, but her eyes never brightened. “That’s good news.”

  “I’ll take you and Bethany home.” As anxious as he was to see if the lead checked out, he understood her frustration at being put out of commission. He’d never been very good at sitting still and doing nothing if he knew he could put a criminal in jail. She was probably the same way.

  She nodded and bit her lower lip. “I guess I’ll just have to enjoy my day off.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

  They walked back across the park to his car. He drove her back to her place, calling to make sure a police officer would be posted outside her house as soon as possible.

  The officer had just pulled into place when he brought his car to the curb.

  Trevor escorted Valerie and Bethany to her house, then searched both floors and walked around to the fenced backyard before he was satisfied that no one was lying in wait for her.

  As he drove away, Valerie stood at the window.

  * * *

  Unable to reach McNeal by phone, Valerie spent the afternoon cleaning her already clean kitchen. McNeal owed her an answer as to how long her exile would go on. What she feared most was that he would ask her to take a permanent leave of absence until the Serpent was behind bars.

  By late afternoon, she had worked off some of her frustration. Fatigue set in as she lay Bethany down for a nap. The physical trauma of yesterday’s confrontation was catching up with her.

  Before lying down to rest, she checked to see the officer parked outside. The afternoon sky had darkened with the promise of rain. Always a welcome event in southwest Texas.

  Bethany lay in her bed on her tummy. Her cheeks rosy and her downy hair sticking out at all angles. She had seemed fussier than usual before her nap. Valerie stroked the toddler’s back and then lay down herself to sleep.

  She awoke hours later to the sound of Bethany’s crying. Wind rattled the glass panes, and the sky had grown dark.

  Bethany’s cry sounded different than her usual I’m-awake-please-hold-me cry. Valerie sat up and threw back the covers. Bethany wasn’t standing up in her crib. Instead, she continued to lie on her tummy rubbing her face against the blankets.

  Lexi whined from the door where she’d been standing watch.

  When she gathered the toddler into her arms, the heat of the little body stunned her. Her cheeks were even redder and her forehead was hot. Valerie tried to soothe the little girl.

  “You got some teeth coming in? Is that what’s going on?” When she opened Bethany’s mouth, the gums didn’t look swollen. Maybe it was something more serious.

  Valerie stared at the ceiling as she fought against the onslaught of anxious thoughts. Bethany had seemed fine this afternoon. But Lucy had said she was fussy the night before. Maybe it hadn’t just been about being away from familiar surroundings.

  Bethany rested her chin on Valerie’s shoulder and continued to fuss and cry, wiggling and writhing in Valerie’s arms. Her little body stiffening in pain. “You poor thing.”

  Worry spread through her as she made her way downstairs to the kitchen to find the children’s fever reducer. Bethany cried louder when Valerie put her in the playpen, so she could root through the drawer where she kept baby medicine, ointments and bandages.

  When she opened the bottle of fever reducer, it was empty. How could she have been so forgetful to not pick up more? What kind of mom was she to let her baby be in pain like this?

  Bethany’s crying became more inten
se. She touched Bethany’s hot cheek and then put the thermometer in her ear. She read the digital numbers. 101. Not good.

  She needed to get Bethany’s fever down so she would sleep. She paced the floor and then picked up the phone and dialed Mrs. Witherspoon’s number. The phone rang five times before the answering machine came on. Lucy wasn’t answering her phone, either.

  She grabbed the empty medicine bottle, slipped into her coat and raced outside, tapping on the window of the officer on duty.

  “I need you to do something for me. My little girl is sick. I need to get her some more of this.” She showed him the bottle.

  “Ma’am, I’m not supposed to leave my post.”

  “Please, it will take you twenty minutes at the most. There’s an all-night drugstore ten blocks away. It would be more dangerous if I went out myself, and I don’t want to take my little girl out in this rain.”

  The officer stared at the bottle of medicine.

  “Please, for my little girl. She’ll have a miserable night if I don’t break her fever.”

  He nodded. “Okay, but don’t tell my supervisor I did this.”

  She watched his two red taillights distorted by the rain as he drove away, and then ran back inside where Bethany continued to cry. Lexi paced and whined by Bethany’s playpen. The dog licked Bethany’s fingers, something she had never done before. Lexi’s concern for Bethany indicated that she was bonding to the little girl.

  Valerie stroked the Rottweiler’s head and ears. “I know you want to make it better, don’t you?”

  She swept Bethany up and walked back and forth the length of the kitchen floor while bouncing Bethany and singing to her. The little girl stiffened in her arms and tugged at her ear. Her cheeks flushed a deep red from the fever.

  Valerie felt like her heart had tied itself into knots. The worst thing in the world was seeing your child in pain. Bethany stopped wailing for a moment and stared up at Valerie with her wide blue eyes.

  She pressed her face against Bethany’s hot cheek and could almost feel the child’s pain.