by Dale Mayer
The guy behind the counter grinned at him. “We’re on high alert this morning. Everybody’s taken off to check out insurgents, who may or may not have attacked a small group of villagers,” he explained.
Parker nodded. “Been there, done that,” he said, not surprised. “I presume they went out in waves?”
“They’re all over the place,” he said. “You know that, as soon as you decide to wait until later to eat, you’ll turn around and have two hundred men in here, loading up, and you won’t be able to get back to the food for hours.”
“I was just coming for coffee. How many hours until food?” Parker asked, checking his watch, trying to mentally calculate the time difference.
“Two hours,” the guy replied.
Parker nodded, grabbed a large cup of coffee and a muffin, and walked back to his barracks. He could have sat at a table, but it felt odd. He felt odd. He was still one of them, and yet, in a way not one of them. He’d already handed in his notice. He was here to take his brother home, and then he was almost done.
Ten days. Five of them were for his brother, and yet, how could he explain that to anybody?
He sent a text to Badger. Here. Arrived. No sign of dog.
Thanks for the update. And that was it.
What was he supposed to say? They all knew he was here for a tough reason and might start working for Badger, potentially, when he was done. At least Parker had told Badger that he was available to help if Badger needed anything—yet Parker hadn’t decided on a specific direction for himself right now. According to Badger there was always room for another guy at the place, but the Titanium Corp was in New Mexico. Parker was based out of California. Who knew where the hell he’d end up?
He finished his coffee and muffin, tossed away his trash. One thing you were taught to do when you were in the military was to keep your area clean. He headed over to shipping and receiving. As he stepped inside, he smiled at the supply clerk. “I’m here to check on the whereabouts of the dog that went missing.”
Her face stiffened. “I can’t tell you very much,” she said cautiously. “I was told the investigation was closed.”
“But the dog hasn’t been found, correct?”
“It was seen in town, but I don’t know what happened beyond that,” she replied curtly. “If it is found, it’ll be shipped back stateside. I have standing orders to do that, but until I have the dog …”
“So, did it go missing here, or did it go missing at the air base?”
“At the air base,” she replied, looking at him strangely. “It was a really nice dog too.”
“Are you thinking maybe somebody took it?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time things go missing,” she muttered.
Considering where she worked, he nodded. “Who was the one taking the dog to the base?”
She clicked over to the computer file, brought it up, printed off a page and was about to hand it to him. “I need ID first though.”
He looked at her in surprise and pulled out his ID card.
She nodded. “Okay. You’re the only one cleared for this information.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Commander Cross called about it,” she said with a half smile. “The K9 War Dogs division has been shut down, but you’re still checking into a few of his cases, correct?”
He nodded. “At least I can do something worthwhile the last few days before I’m done.”
“Are you leaving?” she asked in surprise, her tone almost envious.
“Yes,” he said. “I have ten days left. I actually came here to escort my brother’s body home, but, while here, I’m looking into Samson’s disappearance.” He turned with a half wave, grabbed the paper and walked out.
“There you are.”
Parker heard and looked up to see his friend Cam.
They shook hands and slapped each other on the back in a half hug.
Parker grinned and said, “I checked the barracks for you, but you weren’t there.”
“Nah. I was over with the vehicles,” he said.
“What do you know about Gorman?” Parker asked.
“What do you want with Gorman?”
“I’m looking into the dog that disappeared.”
“That was bizarre,” Cam said. “Not that I heard very much about it, just that a dog went missing. Why you?”
“I was asked to,” he said with a smile. That was one of the things about the military—there were a lot of secrets, and nobody really expected you to tell them the truth about anything because, more often than not, you couldn’t.
“Gorman Manga was on that run with one of his friends, but I can’t remember his name. Gorman, actually both of them, are away from the base though. I think they are on leave in Germany,” Cam said, frowning.
“His name’s really Gorman Manga?”
“Yes,” he said with a laugh. “He didn’t appreciate it much either.”
“Do you know him well enough to ask him about the dog?”
“Sure.” Cam pulled out his phone and asked, “What do you want to know?”
“How the dog went missing. Apparently it was crated. Did the entire crate get picked up and moved? Is he sure it was latched? Did he sell it or …”
Cam’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay.” He walked over a few steps to make the call. Parker moved in closer so he could hear the conversation. Cam ended the call and turned to Parker. “We caught him still awake. The dog was crated. The team turned away, loading up everything else. The dog would go up front with them. When they finished loading all the gear and went back to the trolley where the dog was, the front gate was open, and the crate was empty.”
“And he never saw anybody hanging around the place?”
Cam shook his head. “He says not. It was him and two other guys loading, and the ground crew.”
“I wonder why this dog.”
“Or any dog for that matter,” Cam said. “He may have gone in another shipment. Or the door may have come open, and he escaped on his own.”
“Maybe. I guess those are possibilities. As long as the paperwork was still in order.”
“If any of the ground crew were responsible for the lapse, and they catch the dog, I’m sure they would ship him back over again and worry about the paperwork later.”
“Pretty sloppy though,” Parker said. “If they get caught, they get shit for the way they handled it.”
“It’s just a delayed shipment. Hardly a big deal for anybody except the dog.”
“In this case, the dog was going to an adopted family,” Parker said. “I wonder if that has something to do with it.”
“I don’t know,” Cam said. “Anything is possible. When are you leaving again?”
“Day after tomorrow,” Parker replied. “After the short ceremony for Jeremy and Jerry tomorrow, then we fly back with them in the evening.”
Cam’s face dropped. “That was a shit deal,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”
“Me too,” Parker said. “If it isn’t my brother, it’d be somebody’s else kin for sure.”
Cam nodded. “But you’re almost done. I can’t believe that. No second thoughts?”
Parker shook his head. “No second thoughts. Jerry’s and Jeremy’s deaths were the last straw. I’m tired of all the dying.”
“Gotcha. You still need plans for the future,” Cam said.
“No. I don’t,” Parker said. “I really don’t.”
They talked a little more while they walked. Parker looked at one of the names on the manifest in front of him for the dog and said, “What about this other guy, Manfred? Tobey Manfred.”
“Tobey’s a good guy. He’s over in Germany with Gorman.”
“Okay. And it’s only the dog that was lost. Correct?”
“I can ask Gorman if anything else went missing, but I think it was just the dog.” He sent a text this time. As they walked, Cam said, “It’s almost time for food. We have to get there early. Otherwise, you know what happens.”
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br /> “Sure. Let’s go eat. I had coffee and a muffin, but that’s been an hour already.”
“By the time we get back there and get into line and get through the line, it’ll be grub-eating time,” Cam said.
They turned around and headed back through the camp base to the cafeteria. Parker greeted several men he knew as he walked up the line, but only Cam he knew well enough to visit with.
When they were done eating, he looked up, surprised to see Sandy in the middle of the room, searching for a place to sit. He motioned to her. She smiled and walked over. “Hey. Fancy meeting you here. Mind if I join you?”
“No. Not at all,” he said. He introduced her to Cam and explained why she was there.
Cam offered his condolences. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
She nodded. “It’s tough. You don’t want to tell anybody why you are here because, after a while, they just don’t know what to say.”
Cam stood, smiled at them and said, “I’ll check in with you later, Parker. I’ve got meetings to go to.” And he strode off.
Sandy smiled at Parker. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to chase him away.”
“You didn’t,” he said. “It feels odd to be here, doesn’t it? Like we’re a guest but not quite.”
“I was just thinking that as well,” she said. “I did a couple tours over here, and now that I’m back for this short time, it feels like I don’t really belong. I don’t have places to go or people to see.”
“Neither do I,” he said with perfect understanding. “I wish we could go back tonight.”
She leaned forward. “Me too,” she said. “When they said we’d fly in tonight on the military plane and then we’d leave several days later, I was like, why can’t we do this trip faster? This isn’t a trip I want to prolong. I’m good to have it all done in one day. This is tough enough. We still have the funerals to go through at home.”
“I know,” he said. “That’ll be a whole other level of hell. On top of that, … I’m leaving the military. I only have ten days left.”
She slowly put her fork down. “Don’t tell me your brother was the last straw?”
He nodded. “A big part of it but there were other reasons too. Why?” And then he knew. “You too?”
“Yes. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time though,” she confessed. “My brother was the one who kept me in all these years. He was such a strong believer, and I am too. Coronado has been good for me, but I was thinking it was time to go into the private sector.”
“Not too many people go into the private sector,” he said with half a laugh.
“Which is also why I wasn’t so sure I wanted to go back into that, but I know some people that maybe I can work with. A couple private hospitals.”
“Right,” he said. “I do know somebody connected to a private hospital, but I don’t know if they’re looking for employees.”
“This is my last official job. Then I don’t know what …” she said with a note of bitterness. She put her knife and fork down, pinched the bridge of her nose, whispering, “I’m sorry.”
He grasped her other hand in his and said, “Don’t. Don’t apologize. We both lost somebody who matters to us. This process is difficult enough. We can’t try to hide our feelings. We have to acknowledge them and carry on.”
She gave him a half smile. “I don’t even want food, but, in the back of my head, I keep hearing a voice that says, You need your strength. Eat.”
He agreed. “I can’t see any reason to argue with that common sense. I ate a whole plate of food, and I don’t even know what it was.”
She nodded and took several bites. She looked like she was feeling better. She lifted her head from her focus on the plate and said, “Did you ever learn anything about the dog?”
“I spoke to someone. A couple of someones. While they were loading the luggage, somebody opened the hatch and let the dog out,” he said. “Other than that, I don’t know.”
“Right. So, any cameras? Anybody have any idea who was hanging around at the time?”
“I need to go to the air base and talk to the ground crew,” he said. “The men who took the dog to the air base are on leave in Germany. Although, according to this statement, they both said they saw the dog there.”
“Any chance they’re lying?” she asked in a low tone, looking around to make sure nobody heard them.
He felt a start of surprise. “That’s an interesting thought. I hadn’t really considered it, but they are both backing up the same story. I guess it depends what the ground crew says.”
“Depends on which ground crew. You may have to go there a couple times.”
He glanced at his watch and said, “I thought I’d go tonight. The ceremony is at noon, and then we leave.” He looked at the food left on her plate. “You did well.”
“I feel like puking,” she admitted.
“Maybe some fresh air will help. You want to drive with me to the air base again?”
She nodded. “Sure. Why not? It’s not like I’ve got anything here to do. We’re both at loose ends, so, if we go together, we might achieve something.”
“Maybe one of our last good deeds while we’re in the military is to find this dog,” he said.
“The dog has already been decommissioned, hasn’t it?”
“Yes. If that’s what they call it,” he said. “He was supposed to go to a foster family in California.”
“We’re heading back to California, so, if that’s the case, maybe we can take him back with us?”
“Maybe,” he said. “The trouble is, we might get attached and not want to give him up.”
“If you find it and rescue it, I’m sure you’ll get priority on keeping it,” she said, laughing.
He grinned. “I’m not sure I’m ready for a dog. I don’t have a job after ten days from now.”
“Join the club,” she said, laughing. They got up from the table, and she looped her arm through his. “We’re both at very new stages in our lives.”
“Right.” He nodded. He would add, and decided not to, that, in order to have their new starts, they first had to close the door on their old life. And unfortunately, they would both be closing the door without their brothers.
This concludes Book 5 of The K9 Files: Lucas.
Read about Parker: The K9 Files, Book 6
The K9 Files: Parker (Book #6)
Heading back to Iraq was never in Parker’s plans …
But, when his brother is killed in action, he makes the journey to bring his brother back home to his final resting place.
When one of the K9 War Dogs disappears at the military airport in transit, and all attempts to locate him fails, Parker agrees to investigate during the few days he’s there.
Sandy is making the same journey as Parker—both of their brothers were killed in the same incident. Both brothers had been the best of friends, but this is the first time she’s met Parker. From that initial moment, she realizes something odd is happening in his world. When they find a K9 dog in a rebel stronghold, she’s sucked into a much more dangerous trip than one of compassion and grief.
There’s a reason why the first investigation didn’t turn up anything. … As Parker rattles cages and shakes up a ring of thieves, the bodies start dropping, one by one.
Book 6 is available now!
To find out more visit Dale Mayer’s website.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Lucas: The K9 Files, Book 5! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.
Dear reader,
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Cheers,
Dale Mayer
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About the Author
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).
She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
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LUCAS: THE K9 FILES, BOOK 5
Dale Mayer
Valley Publishing Ltd.
Copyright © 2019
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
