Detection Mission (Texas K-9 Unit)

by Margaret Daley

  “That’s okay. She’s in need.”

  “Thanks—I knew I could count on you. She feels alone.”

  “I can imagine.” Molly set her hand on her hip. “Well, maybe not really. I’m who I am because of my memories. It would be awful not to remember anything.”

  “Some people might like a clean slate.”

  “A do over? As far as the Lord is concerned, every day is a new beginning in His eyes. He forgives and forgets.”

  Lee shifted under the intensity of Molly’s gaze.

  “Let what Alexa did go, Lee.”

  “She wasn’t who she appeared to be. I’m a cop. I’m trained to read people. She had me totally fooled.”

  “The only one you’re hurting is yourself.”

  “How am I supposed to just forgive and forget?” he ground out. “She slept with another man and is having his baby. We were talking about getting married the whole time she was seeing this guy—a fellow cop.”

  “At least Dan works on a different shift.”

  “Yeah, but we still run into each other.” Lee glanced at the clock over the stove. “I’ve got to go. Work calls.”

  “You might have a hard time pulling Kip away from Eliza this morning. They’ve been playing and chasing each other around the backyard.”

  “I think Kip has his eye on the Malinois. They both like to herd and try to with each other.”

  When he stepped outside, he spied the two dogs lying together under a maple tree. Kip saw him, jumped up and hurried toward him. Eliza, Mark’s dog, raced toward him, too. She looked similar to a small-size German shepherd with tan fur and a black muzzle. He greeted Kip in his usual manner, then patted Eliza.

  “Gotta leave your girlfriend, Kip. We’ve got a job. We’re heading for the Lost Woods. Captain wants us to start a grid search of it, see if we can find any more bodies. Several people are missing.”

  Kip rubbed up against Eliza, yelped once then loped toward the gate. With one last glance at Eliza, her head tilted, her ears perked forward, Kip barked again as though to tell him to get moving. There were times he felt the dogs they worked with understood every word they said to them. As they were all highly trained and intelligent, he wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

  “Sorry, girl, gotta take him to work,” Lee said before jogging toward his dog.

  In the driveway he opened the back of his SUV for Kip. “We have to make a quick stop at headquarters, then to work.”

  Kip lay down, putting his head between his two stretched out legs, his tail wagging.

  “I figured you’d go for that. See all your buddies.”

  Ten minutes later, Lee snapped a leash on Kip and they entered through the back of the one-story red brick police station where the K-9 Unit was housed. Lorna Danfield, the secretary for the K-9 Unit, sat at her desk near Captain Slade McNeal’s office.

  When Lee covered the distance to her, Kip planted himself right next to her chair and waited for her to acknowledge him. She finished a call then turned to lavish attention on Kip. He loved it and always liked spending time with her.

  “Is the captain in his office?” Lee asked while his partner enjoyed Lorna’s pampering.

  “Yes, he’s expecting you. I’ll take care of Kip while you go inside.”

  He started to leave, rotated back and said, “Thanks for the suggestion about renovating Molly’s third floor for our Jane Doe. I mean for Heidi.”

  “She remembered her name?”

  “No, but she has a locket with that name in it so that’s what she’s decided to call herself.”

  “That poor dear. I’ll have to pay her a visit once she settles in at Molly’s.”

  “I haven’t asked her to move in yet. I will today after work. She may have other plans.”

  “Where’s the young lady going to go? She doesn’t know who she is or know anyone.” Kip bumped Lorna’s hand, and she scratched behind his ears.

  “True, but she might not appreciate a stranger coming in and planning her life.”

  “Or she’ll appreciate it because she doesn’t know what her options are right now.” The secretary nodded at Lee. Go see the captain. I hear you’re gonna have a busy couple of days.”

  “Yeah, a thousand-acre wooded area will take some time to cover properly. With the discovery of Ned Adams’s body, Captain thinks there could be others out there. With all that has happened lately connected to the Lost Woods, it could very likely be a burial ground for those others like Pauly Keevers and a couple of low-level criminals like Adams.”

  “If any dog can find a dead body, it’ll be Kip.”

  He winked. “You’re just partial, but I agree with you.”

  Lee knocked on his captain’s door then stuck his head into the office. “You wanted to see me?”

  “Yes, I know you heard Pauly Keevers is missing. No one has seen him in the last three days. Normally with someone like Keevers I wouldn’t be overly concerned. He’s been known to go off drinking and disappear for days. I hope that’s the case here.”

  “But you don’t think it is?”

  Slade shook his head. “I wanted to emphasize how important it is we find Pauly. The chatter in the criminal community is that he was killed for talking to the police. Now no one is talking. With Adams’s body found in the Lost Woods, people are wondering who else is out there. Adams wasn’t a snitch but he worked for Charles Ritter.”

  “The lawyer who was arrested for being involved in the murder of Eva Billows’s parents?”

  “That very one. I’m sending Austin and Justice with you to search the woods. Austin has something of Pauly’s that he’ll give Justice to track him while you look for any other buried bodies. Austin has already checked Pauly’s hangouts in town yesterday afternoon. As I said, no one has seen the man in several days. Justice had his scent leaving Pauly’s apartment but lost it at the street.”

  “Maybe he got into a car.”

  “Pauly doesn’t own one so it was someone else’s. Where did they go? We owe Pauly. He gave us our first big lead about what’s going on with Rio’s kidnapping and my dad’s beating.”

  “Just so you know, I’m asking our Jane Doe—who will be going by Heidi—to stay at Molly’s boarding house. That way I can keep an eye on her and maybe help her remember what happened to her.” He exhaled slowly. “It could be connected to this case. She was there that day Brady was found. What did she see? We still think there’s another guy out there involved in the kidnapping.”

  “Good thinking. Let me know if she agrees.” The captain picked up his pen and scribbled something on the paper in front of him.

  “I’m asking a couple of guys from the unit to help me fix up Molly’s third floor for Heidi over the next few nights. You’re invited. Six tonight. I’ll supply the pizzas.”

  “I’ll be there. Give me something else to think about other than this case, my missing dog and my dad still in a coma. At least Heidi came out of hers. Maybe that means Dad will soon.”

  When he left the captain’s office, he peered at Kip and knew how he’d feel if anything happened to his dog. They were partners. He’d feel the loss. At least Slade had Rio’s sire to fill in the gap. But that still wasn’t the same.

  * * *

  Using the grid pattern, Lee followed Kip, on a long leash, in the Lost Woods. So far, nothing. Austin and his bloodhound Justice hadn’t found anything, either. He paused for a few seconds to get his bearings and scanned the tall trees that shaded the forest floor as if it were late afternoon. Up ahead a ray of sunlight streamed through the foliage as though pinpointing one spot.

  His cell rang. He pulled it off his belt and answered, “Calloway here.”

  “I found a wrecked car on the outskirts of the woods on the north side by the highway,” Austin said, then gave him the coordinates.

  “I’m not far. I’ll be right there.” Lee hung up and noted his position on his GPS, then set out in a jog toward the area.

  Ten minutes later, he arrived at the dark green
Buick sedan, which was partially covered by branches and greenery. The front end was smashed. One tire was shredded as though there had been a blowout. The air bag in the driver’s seat had gone off, lying limp now, a fine white powder all over the place. From the small ditch it was halfway lodged in, the car sat at a thirty-degree angle.

  “Someone tried to hide it.” Detective Austin Black came around from the other side.

  “That’s what it looks like to me. Have you called in the license number?”

  “Yeah. It’s registered to a William Peterson from San Antonio. Where is he? Was it a stolen car? Captain is sending out a couple of crime-scene techs to process it, maybe they’ll be able to pull some fingerprints. Then we can tow it to the police impound.” Austin hesitated. “He wants us to continue our search. Do you think this was one of the kidnappers’s cars? That this Peterson is involved in the crime syndicate?”

  Or was this how Heidi ended up in the woods that day? “Maybe, but if so, why would he leave it here in light of what went down in the woods a couple of weeks ago? It could have just been abandoned by Peterson. It looks pretty damaged, and it’s an old car. He might have decided to walk away from it.” As he said that to Austin, Lee kept picturing Heidi pushing open the driver’s door that was still ajar, then stumbling out. Disoriented. Hurting from the wreck. That would explain her injuries. “Maybe our mystery woman is connected to this car.” But why would she attempt to hide it?

  “That thought already occurred to me, and the captain is looking into it.”

  “If she’s tied to this car and Peterson, I’d love to be able to tell Heidi some good news,” Lee said. “At least give her a name and some facts about her life. Maybe be able to contact family and friends.”

  “She’s going by Heidi?”

  Lee nodded at his teammate. “Yeah, she didn’t want to use Jane Doe.”

  “I don’t blame her. So she hasn’t remembered anything?”

  “No. Do you see any evidence in the car?” Lee approached the vehicle, careful not to disturb any footprints. But with the dense leafage on the ground, he didn’t see any.

  “Not from the passenger’s side.”

  Lee peered inside from the open driver’s door and spied a cloth stuffed between the seats. After donning gloves, he reached in and pulled out a bloodied cloth. “Whose blood?”

  “Maybe William Peterson?”

  Or Heidi? Did a car wreck cause her injuries? It fit. Lee took out an evidence bag and dropped the cloth in it, then pulled out his cell and called the captain to report the development.

  Will the name William Peterson mean anything to Heidi?

  “You staying until the crime-scene techs show up?” Lee asked Austin.

  “Yeah. No use both of us standing around waiting. But I thought it might be a good idea to have Kip check this area in light of the car being found. Something might have gone down here.”

  “I agree. We’ll work our way out from here, then resume our search where we left off when you called.”

  An hour later, Lee determined the area surrounding the car was clear of any dead bodies and trekked deeper into the woods to the last place Kip and he had searched. He gave his dog a long lead on his leash and Kip went to work, nose to ground. As the border collie went back and forth through the forest, Lee kept thinking about the car Austin had found and couldn’t help wondering if it was connected to Heidi. As soon as possible, he would delve into William Peterson’s life and see if Heidi and Peterson knew each other, because even if she didn’t remember who he was, there could be a link between the two.

  * * *

  As the door to her hospital room opened, Heidi tensed, scrunching the sheet up in her hands. Nurse Gail entered with her medicine she needed to take. Heidi drew in a composing breath, causing pain to stab through her chest. One of her ribs had been cracked and was healing, but it still hurt her when she inhaled too deeply. The list of her injuries from minor to major only confirmed something bad had gone down right before the police found her.

  “Hi, how are you this afternoon? The earlier shift told me the doctor is releasing you if your lab work comes back okay.” Gail gave her the little cup with her pills in it, then poured her some water and handed that to her.

  “Yes, that’s what he said to me, but...” What am I going to do? Where am I going?

  “But? Are you concerned about not being well enough to leave?”

  “No.” She’d examined the dark recesses of her mind until she had a headache. “I’m not sure what to do next.”

  “I can understand that, but officer Calloway called earlier when you were down in X-ray to see if you were going to be discharged today.”

  “He did?”

  “Sorry I didn’t get the message to you sooner. This has been a busy afternoon. He’s coming right after work. He has a place for you to stay, at least temporarily.”

  In the darkness that surrounded her, there was a ray of light. “He mentioned he would ask around.”

  “When Lee says he’s going to do something, he does.”

  Maybe they were in a relationship. Gail was an attractive redhead about Lee’s age. “You’ve known him long?”

  “We went to school together. He’s a good friend of my husband, Harry. He’s a trainer at the K-9 Training Center next to the police headquarters. Harry got Lee interested in becoming a K-9 officer. He was a natural. Lee is like Harry. They’re big animal lovers.”

  Did she have a pet in her other life? Was it left alone because she wasn’t there to take care of it? “I remember hearing barking in the woods.”

  “You do? That’s good. It was probably the K-9 Unit searching for Brady. By the time Lee found you, the kid had been rescued.” Gail lifted the tray of medication she had. “I need to make my rounds.”

  Heidi scanned the almost-bare hospital room with no flowers or cards. It hammered home how alone she truly was. Even sitting in bed, she had little to think about other than trying to remember and meeting a dark screen. It would be good to get out of here and try to build some kind of life for herself while she waited for her memory to return. If it returned.

  The least she could do was try to make herself presentable to one of the few people she knew. Maybe she should dress. She went to the closet and checked its contents. A set of clothes was hanging up. They must be hers, but she didn’t remember them—buying them or wearing them.

  Inside the bathroom, she quickly donned the jeans, which fit her perfectly, and the gray fleece sweatshirt. The small amount of energy she expended dressing herself tired her out. Apparently she wasn’t going to bounce back as fast as she wished.

  When she came out of the bathroom, she glimpsed a movement out of the corner of her eye right before a beefy hand covered her mouth and nose.

  “The third time is the charm. Good thing I’m a patient man.”

  The deep voice of the custodian penetrated her panic-filled mind.

  THREE

  Lee ascended the stairs to the hospital’s second floor two at a time. He’d hoped to be here earlier, but Austin and he had stayed a little longer in the Lost Woods because reporting the wrecked car had delayed their search. But almost a third of the area had been covered, making for a long day. They didn’t find anything other than the Buick, which might or might not be linked to the kidnapping. To Heidi.

  No scent of Pauly in the forest or another grave, however, had been found. He counted that a good day. Pauly could still be alive, passed out drunk somewhere they hadn’t looked.

  He caught sight of a custodian going into Heidi’s room at the other end of the hall. Several staff members rushed toward him, passed him and went into a patient’s room nearby. A code blue sounded over the intercom. A nurse hurried with a cart. Lee stepped out of the way and slowed his pace.

  * * *

  I won’t be a victim, screamed through Heidi’s mind as she twisted and pummeled her attacker. That managed to increase the constriction about her. Finally she went limp, dead weight, which threw of
f the custodian. He stumbled forward, still holding her, but the hand about her mouth slipped.

  “Help. Help,” she yelled.

  His hand clamped again over her mouth. “You’ll pay for that.”

  The door crashed open, and Lee charged into the room, his gun drawn. “Let her go. Now.” He aimed his weapon at the man’s head.

  “I could snap her neck.”

  “And you’ll be a dead man. Is that what you want? Right now you’ll be charged with assault. If you hurt her, you’ll be dead.”

  Through her haze of terror she heard the man’s heavy breathing. She felt his sweat drip on her, the roughness of his hand. The scent of his body odor as though he hadn’t showered recently assailed her, gagging her.

  The hammering of her heart thundered through her mind. She focused totally on Lee before her, a fierce expression on his face, his feet braced apart, both hands on the gun, steady, pointed toward her attacker. Seeing Lee dressed in a uniform accelerated her fear even more as though she’d faced a police officer before with a gun aimed toward her. Was she a criminal?

  Slowly the man released his grip on her. She closed her eyes for a few seconds. When he dropped his hand from her mouth, she hastened away from her attacker—away from Lee. She collapsed against her bed, clutching the sheets.

  Lee hurried to the assailant, put him up against the wall and handcuffed him. Then he reached into his pocket, withdrew his cell and placed a call to the police station. Taking her attacker by the arm, Lee pulled him to the chair nearby and shoved him down.

  “Stay put,” Lee said to the six-foot man then approached her. “Are you all right?” His gaze skimmed over her briefly before he returned his full attention to his suspect.

  “Yes.” The word came out on a shaky breath. She glanced down at her hands trembling and sat on the bed, tucking them under her legs.

  “I have a patrol officer coming to take this man in. Once he leaves, I want to do some checking here about—” he flicked his gaze to the name badge on the guy’s custodian uniform “—Gus Zoller.”