Detection Mission (Texas K-9 Unit)

by Margaret Daley

  “Of course. I’m a law-abiding citizen. Contrary to others in town.” Molly took her seat again on the couch. “Why would someone ransack Zoller’s apartment?”

  “To cover up a connection with Zoller? To retrieve something Zoller had? It could be a hundred different reasons, and Zoller isn’t talking.”

  The memory of Zoller’s piercing eyes sent fear through Heidi. Maybe she knew Zoller in her old life. There had to be some connection for her to react so vehemently to his cold, gray eyes. Like a few other instances, she felt it deep down in her gut. “Why do you think Zoller was hired to kill me?”

  “Because of his reaction when I asked him who hired him. He’s protecting someone.”

  The man in her nightmare? Another shudder snaked down her spine.

  “Which means you’ll have to be extra careful. My captain wants Mark and me to keep an eye on you, and if we can’t, to pull in another officer. Right now you’re our best lead to figuring out what’s going on in Sagebrush. Who The Boss is.”

  “The Boss? You think I know who he is?” How? Why? The idea she might alarmed her.

  “Don’t know. But someone wants you dead for some reason. You need protecting.”

  The idea someone like Lee would protect her gave her a sense of security in the midst of all that was going on.

  Lee turned his attention to his landlady. “Molly, this place is as good as any we have, but I don’t want you caught up in the middle of this. We can leave—”

  “Hold it right there, young man.” Molly held up one finger. “First, I can take care of myself. Second, no one has a beef with me. Third, you’ll be here protecting Heidi. Fourth, I care what happens to her.”

  “Okay. I get the point. We’ll secure this place. I’m also going to have Kip stay with you, Heidi. He’s a great watchdog.”

  A vision of a black-and-white border collie wagging his tail when she met him made Heidi smile. She must love dogs. The feeling Kip had produced in her was one of warmth. Was there a dog somewhere waiting for her to return home? “He’s adorable,” she raved, fastening her gaze on the animal now lying at Lee’s feet.

  “And good at his job. He thinks of himself as tough and macho, so don’t say that in front of him again or he’ll get an idea he should act—” Lee dropped his voice to a faint whisper “—adorable.”

  A laugh bubbled up in Heidi, and she got the feeling she hadn’t laughed much in recent years. Maybe she didn’t want to know about her real life.

  “I need to get his water bowl from my apartment, otherwise he’ll try drinking out of the toilet.” Lee stood.

  Heidi rose, too. “I’d like to go with you.”

  One of his eyebrows arched.

  “The more I know the layout of this house the safer I’ll feel,” she offered as the reason she wanted to accompany him.

  “Fine.”

  “That’s my cue to go to bed. It sounds like tomorrow will be a busy day.” Molly made her way toward the short hall that led to the two bedrooms.

  Out in the large foyer of the Victorian home, Heidi stopped Lee’s progress toward the staircase by clasping his arm. She immediately dropped her hand to her side and stepped back. “I can’t put Molly in danger. Tomorrow I should go to a hotel or something.”

  He shook his head. “That’s not necessary. I’ll be back here after work tomorrow to finish up the third-floor apartment so you can move in there tomorrow evening. You’d be safer upstairs than at some hotel. I can control this place better. And, besides, the person is after you, not Molly.”

  “Strangely, I’m comforted by that fact. I don’t want anything to happen to her because of me.”

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to you or Molly. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, but I want to help as much as I can.”

  His declaration reinforced she wasn’t as alone as she’d felt when she’d first awakened in the hospital. “I’m going to help you fix up the apartment tomorrow afternoon. That’s the least I can do.”

  “Only if you promise not to overdo it. Okay?”

  She nodded, her throat jamming with emotions that overwhelmed her at the man’s kindness. The sense she hadn’t received a lot of that lately disturbed her further. But why had she reacted to seeing Lee in a police uniform, especially when she saw his badge? What if she was somehow involved with The Boss whom Lee was looking for? What if she was a criminal? She delved into the dark recesses of her mind and couldn’t answer those questions. She didn’t feel like a criminal, but could she trust her feelings?

  With one corner of his mouth tilted up, he gazed down at her. “We’re gonna figure out what’s going on so you’ll be safe.”

  What if I did something wrong? The question begged to be asked, but Heidi couldn’t bring herself to say the words. She wanted to trust Lee. He gave her every reason to trust him, but when she thought of him as a cop, she remained quiet.

  He grazed his fingers across her forehead. “I know you’re worried, but look at it this way—no one tried to kill you until you woke up. That means you know something they want to keep quiet.”

  So all she was to him was a lead he had to protect so he could find out what she knew. That thought shouldn’t upset her, but it did. “I don’t know anything. I don’t know how many times I have to say that to get people to understand that.”

  “But you’re awake and talking. They figure it’s only a matter of time before you do say something.”

  “All I remember is running in the woods.” Her nightmare invaded her conscious mind. “I—I...” She recalled slamming into a man. A tall, muscular man.

  “What, Heidi?” Lee came nearer, laying his hand on her shoulder, his closeness demanding her attention. “What have you remembered?”

  “I was being chased by someone in the woods. Maybe you? Maybe one of those two men you showed me pictures of after I regained consciousness? Maybe someone else? I don’t know, but I do know I collided with a man over six feet tall with a broad, muscular chest.”

  “Do you remember what he looked like?”

  A vague picture began to materialize in her mind. “I remember...”

  FIVE

  “I remember touching his arms and thinking he works out.” Which sent her into a frenzy, trying to get away from the man as fast as she could. Another memory edged its way forward. Heidi had known someone who prided himself on keeping physically fit. The man in the woods? The guy who attacked Lee tonight?

  “That might fit the guy in Zoller’s apartment tonight.”

  “I don’t want anyone hurt because of me.” The past few days overwhelmed her, and tears swelled into her eyes. One slipped down her cheek.

  Lee brushed it away, one hand cradling the side of her head. “The police are going to work as hard as we can to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

  Another tear rolled down her face. Crying seemed foreign to her, and yet she couldn’t stop the flow. Lee wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. The warmth of his embrace seeped into her, and she tried to stop crying. But it was as if all her emotions burst through a tight barrier and exploded from her.

  “I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.”

  His whispered words soothed her troubled soul, and for a few seconds she believed what he said. Then reality hit her. She pushed back from him, swiping her hands across her cheeks. “You can’t do that. You don’t know if you can.”

  He frowned. “You’re right. Let me rephrase what I said... I will do everything humanly possible to keep you safe.” His scowl slowly evolved into a smile. “Let’s get Kip’s bowl.” He held out his hand to her.

  She took it and mounted the stairs to the second floor. After retrieving what he came for from his apartment, Lee started back to Molly’s place.

  “What if Kip doesn’t want to stay with me? What if he doesn’t like me?” Heidi asked as they approached Molly’s.

  Lee chuckled. “I doubt that’ll happen knowing my dog.” When he opened the door,
the dog in question was dancing about the foyer, his tail wagging.

  Kip took one look at Heidi and wiggled his body toward her, nudging her hand with his head.

  “I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem,” Lee said, kneeling next to the border collie.

  Heidi did likewise and received a big, sloppy lick on her cheek.

  * * *

  “That’s about all I can remember about the man who jumped me last night at Zoller’s.” Lee paced behind the woman who was the resident sketch artist for the police. “I know it isn’t much to go on, but maybe someone will recognize him.”

  He watched her put the finishing touches to the drawing of a man with thick eyebrows and a nose that must have been broken several times. He didn’t have a sense of the man’s hair because he’d worn a hoodie that shadowed his features. But in the brief time he’d been able to focus on his attacker’s face, Lee had zeroed in on the nose and eyebrows that were almost a continuous line across.

  “He had dark brown eyes.”

  The sketch artist shaded in the eyes then presented the drawing to Lee. “Anything else?”

  “No, even on the surveillance tapes a lot of his face was hidden by the hoodie. Thanks.” Lee took the paper from her and headed to Lorna’s desk. “Can you have this reproduced and passed around to everyone? He’s the guy who attacked me at Zoller’s apartment last night. Is Zoller’s lawyer here yet?”

  “Yes, about ten minutes ago. They’re in the interview room waiting for you.” The secretary reached for a piece of paper in a folder and gave it to him. “This just came in about the car you found yesterday in the Lost Woods. One set of fingerprints was identified—our Jane Doe’s on the steering wheel, various places like the stick-to-shift gears and the driver’s-side door inside and out. There are some others, but they’re still trying to match them.”

  He remembered the police taking her fingerprints in hopes of identifying her. Nothing had turned up. “Anything else with the car?”

  “Not yet. It’s only been a day. They’re still running some tests.”

  “Thanks, Lorna. You’re a jewel.” Lee made his way toward the interview room.

  He relished another round with Zoller. He needed answers, and hoped with Zoller’s lawyer’s advice that he would receive some. When he entered the room, the two men ended their quiet conversation. Zoller slouched back in his chair while his lawyer, Walter Smithe, straightened and looked at Lee.

  “When I went to search your apartment last night, I was attacked. Someone ransacked your place. What were they looking for?”

  Zoller shrugged. “How should I know? Did you ask your attacker?”

  A cocky edge leaked into Zoller’s words and attitude, inflaming Lee’s anger. He shoved it down. He didn’t need to lose his control. “He escaped, but not for long. Then he can join you in your cell.”

  Zoller slanted a glance toward his lawyer who shook his head. “Can’t help you. I wasn’t there.”

  “Did you have a search warrant, Detective?”

  Lee produced it for the lawyer. “We do everything by the book. I wouldn’t want him walking on a technicality when we have him solid for attempted murder.”

  The man slid the warrant back to Lee. “My client doesn’t have anything else to say to you. He’s willing to admit to assault against the patient, but there was no intent to kill her.”

  “Not according to her.” Lee wished he could also charge his suspect with attempted murder of the patient who had his life support system unplugged, but there was no evidence linking Zoller to that—at least right now.

  “It’s his word against hers. Up until yesterday, Mr. Zoller has been a model citizen. The woman insulted him, and he overreacted. I’ll be talking with the DA. This interview is over.”

  Lee ground his teeth and pushed to his feet. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll cooperate with the police.”

  Zoller dropped his gaze. “You heard Mr. Smithe. Your Jane Doe isn’t the woman she claims. She provoked me.” The man lifted his chin and stabbed Lee with a hard glare.

  Unless he could convince Zoller to disclose who hired him and whatever else he knew, he had reached a dead end until he located his attacker from last night. Someone had to talk. This uncanny reticence worried him.

  Lee left the interview room and told the officer to return the prisoner to his cell, then he headed back into the main room. Slade stood at Lorna’s desk, looking at the sketch he’d given the K-9 Unit’s secretary.

  His captain peered up when he approached. “I haven’t seen anyone who looks like this. Circulate the sketch. Maybe someone else has.”

  “Captain, I need another officer to watch Heidi when Mark or I am not available. After last night I don’t think she should be without full-time police protection until I find the person who hired Zoller.”

  “Is he talking?”

  “No. He lawyered up.”

  Slade grimaced. “Who’s representing him?”

  “Walter Smithe.”

  “Oh, great. How does a custodian have the money to afford Walter?”

  “Maybe The Boss hired Zoller to kill Heidi.”

  “Possibly. I don’t get the impression he dirties his hands with the small stuff. But who knows? We don’t know much about our Jane Doe or for that matter, the man behind the crime syndicate.”

  Lee swallowed back the words to defend Heidi. The captain was right. They didn’t know anything about Heidi and her possible involvement in what was going on in Sagebrush. But his attacker last night might know. He intended to focus his attention on finding that man.

  “Who do you want on the roster to help you and Mark?”

  “Valerie. I think Heidi could use a woman about her age to protect her.”

  “Fine. She may be able to help her remember. With the two attempts connected to Heidi, I agree we need to have someone around at all times. How’s Molly with all this?”

  “Mad at whoever is doing this to Heidi. Molly has taken her under her wing. Did you know Molly has a gun and says she can shoot, very well?”

  Slade chuckled. “Yep, I’ve seen her on the shooting range.”

  “Why am I the last person to know that my landlady is a gun-toting woman?”

  “I’ll let Valerie know. She’ll need to start filling in for you tomorrow because I need Kip’s expertise to finish the search of the Lost Woods. You and Austin have over two-thirds of the area left. Pauly Keevers is still missing, and I’m concerned he’s buried out there like Ned Adams.”

  “With Adams dead and Keevers missing, no wonder no one is talking. I’ll get with Austin and we’ll start first thing tomorrow.” He raked a hand through his hair. “The rest of today I’ll be at Molly’s. I’m finishing the apartment upstairs so Heidi can move in tomorrow after the floor dries.”

  “She’s going to stay in the apartment by herself?”

  “No. Kip will be with her at night while I’m guarding the one way up to the apartment.”

  Slade eyed Lee. “It sounds like this is personal.”

  “It is. Someone attacked me, and I don’t take kindly to that. That was the man’s first mistake. I’ll find him.”

  Lee left the police station with a copy of the sketch to show Heidi and Molly. He panned the street, eager to return to Molly’s boarding house. Mark was there, but his dedication to Heidi wasn’t the same. He felt better when he was protecting her himself.

  Halfway to his SUV his cell rang. He answered it, surprised it was Gail at the hospital. “What’s going on?”

  “When housekeeping was cleaning the room Heidi was in, the woman saw something that looked odd,” his friend replied. “She came and got me. I think it’s a bug and I don’t mean the insect kind. I didn’t touch it, and neither did the lady from housekeeping.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Lee climbed into his car and headed for the hospital. A bug? Interesting.

  When he arrived at the nurses’ station on the second floor, Gail finished writing
something in a chart then came from behind the counter.

  “It looks like something I’ve seen on T.V.,” she said as she walked toward the room Heidi had stayed in the day before. “What I’m going to show you isn’t something the hospital has in the rooms.”

  Inside, Gail bent over and pointed to a small black box attached to the underside of the bed.

  After putting on gloves, Lee scooted under the listening device, disconnected it from its power source and carefully removed it, then placed it in an evidence bag.

  Gail wrote on a pad, Is it safe to talk?

  “It was a room transmitter and hooked into the electricity used to power the bed. I essentially turned it off. I’ll swing by the station and have it checked out. It could explain why all of a sudden Zoller was trying to kill Heidi. He probably planted it. When she woke from the coma, he must have been afraid she would start remembering and tried to silence her.” A sudden thought came to Lee. “Is Patrick McNeal still in the same room?”

  “Yes.” Her eyes widened. “You don’t think his room is bugged, too?”

  “I’m checking.”

  Lee made his way down the hallway and within two minutes found a similar listening device in his captain’s father’s room. As Lee rose from under the bed, his gaze latched on to Slade’s dad. All evidence of his severe beating had healed, but Patrick still hadn’t regained consciousness and the doctors feared permanent brain damage.

  “Someone was keeping tabs on both of them.” What he didn’t say to Gail was the implications of how desperate someone was.

  * * *

  After what happened to Lee the night before, Heidi had gotten little sleep. Every time she fell into a deep slumber and the nightmare began, she yanked herself awake and paced the bedroom in Molly’s apartment. Once she’d paused at the window and parted the curtains to look outside. Dark shadows littered the area around Molly’s place, and she could easily imagine someone lurking in their depths, watching.

  The window in the bedroom she’d stayed the night before was only four feet from the ground. She folded her arms across her chest and inspected the newly finished apartment on the third floor—thirty feet to the ground from the few windows in the place. Would that be far enough up to keep her safe?