by Terri Reed
Stepping into an alcove where she could observe Henry and Cody moving through the obstacles without distracting them, Olivia watched in fascination as the beagle sniffed along the seams of the luggage, the edges of the boxes and around the pallets and would either move along or stop and sit.
A petite blonde wearing the training center uniform would clap when Cody sat, prompting Henry to pull out a toy from his pocket and play tug with Cody for a moment before resuming their activity. Olivia inferred that meant Cody had detected correctly.
Henry glanced up and met her gaze. His eyebrows lifted, then a slow smile curved his mouth as if he were pleased to see her again. An answering pleasure wound through her, making her heart thump with a yearning that made her knees wobbly.
It had been a mistake to search him out when she didn’t have her emotions under control. But there was something about Henry, his vitality and his integrity, that called to her.
And made doing her job that much more difficult.
EIGHT
On the verge of retreating from the training center in a flood of embarrassment at her silly response to Henry, Olivia backed up and ran smack into the veterinarian, Gina.
Gina had Maverick, the runt of Brooke’s litter, in her arms. Brooke was the sweet German shepherd a few of the K-9 officers had rescued from the streets soon after she’d given birth to five puppies. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” Olivia reached out to pet the pup. Gina handed him over. Olivia fumbled to hang on to the little dog. “Oh, okay.”
“He responds well to you,” Gina said.
Snuggling the dog close, Olivia’s heart melted. She liked the sweet little guy. “Do you think one day he’ll be able to train like Cody?”
“Too soon to know yet,” Gina said. “Some dogs you can tell right away and in others it takes a little time to discern what kind of training, if any, they will be able to handle.”
“What Cody’s doing is very specialized, correct?”
“It is. Though there are now more bomb-sniffing dogs being trained all over the country than ever before,” Gina replied. “Cody is checking for chemical vapors that come off the materials of the different obstacles, searching for specific odors that indicate evidence of an explosive device.”
“Vapors? I didn’t realize bombs had vapors.” Olivia remembered the way the beagle had behaved at the boardwalk on Coney Island. “But that makes total sense with the way that Cody had sniffed the air and followed a scent to the garbage can that did explode.”
Gina nodded. “Precisely. Everything gives off an odor. Cody has been trained to deconstruct each scent into its components, picking up on the chemicals he has been trained to detect. Kind of like when you step into an Italian restaurant and you smell that delicious aroma of spaghetti sauce. We know what goes into the sauce, but our noses can’t differentiate between the tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, onion and oregano. But the dog can.”
“That’s amazing.” Olivia cocked her head as she watched the way Henry was tracing the car outline with his hand and Cody’s nose followed. “What are they doing now?”
“Henry is teaching Cody where he wants him to smell.”
When the pair were done and heading out of the training ring, Olivia handed Maverick back to Gina. “Thank you for letting me hold him again.”
“Anytime.” Gina carried the pup away.
There was something so soothing about cuddling with Maverick. Feeling calmer and more like herself, Olivia hurried to catch up to Henry and Cody. They were walking toward the men’s changing room.
Acutely aware of the other officers and trainers in the area, she called, “Detective Roarke,” stopping him in his tracks. “Could I have a moment of your time?”
His gaze bounced to the file folder in her hand, then back to her eyes. “It will have to be after I’m done in the training ring.”
“You and Cody aren’t done?”
“Not exactly.” He handed her Cody’s leash. “Hang on to him for a moment, will you?”
Without waiting for a reply, he opened the men’s room door and disappeared inside.
Sputtering, she had half a mind to follow him inside and tell him she was not his lackey. Not that she minded hanging out with Cody, but still. But Henry wasn’t one of her brothers, who she could boss around.
At last night’s family dinner, her older brothers had given her a hard time for having jammed up their friend. She hated that she had to defend herself, especially when she wouldn’t be in this position if not for their urging. She didn’t like being the bad guy everyone avoided. But having jammed up—police term for launching an official investigation—Henry was her job.
A job that was becoming more than she could tolerate. Especially now that she was expecting a baby. The last thing she wanted was for her child to ever experience the sort of reserved animosity that was regularly flung her way.
Cody lay down at her feet, his paws on her shoe. There was no way she could be mad at the dog, at least. He was such a cutie with his floppy ears and masked face. His brown eyes regarded her with what she assumed was curiosity. The dog probably wondered why his handler had trusted her with him. She wondered the same thing and couldn’t stop the spurt of pleasure crowding her chest.
Several long minutes later, Henry returned wearing a light-colored, padded bite suit and heavy boots. His head stuck out of the top, exposed, but in his hand, he carried a caged helmet.
Olivia chuckled and her earlier ire of having to cool her heels in the hallway dissipated. “You get to be the human chew toy.”
Taking Cody’s leash, he shot her a glance and said wryly, “It would really help if you sped things along.”
A brief stab of guilt provoked her to say, “I’m sorry, Henry, but my investigation will take however long it takes.”
She really needed to do a thorough job that couldn’t be questioned. Her integrity was at stake here in so many ways. She couldn’t be rushed or bulldozed into making a determination, not by Henry, her family or some mysterious assailant. And certainly not her growing feelings for the handsome detective.
Henry and Cody walked ahead of her into the training ring, where K-9 Officer Lani Jameson, and her large German shepherd, Snapper, waited. Lani was dressed in her uniform and the dog had on a flak vest with the words K-9 Police emblazoned across the back.
Olivia followed the pair. “Is it normal for officers to wear full gear when training?”
Henry paused as if surprised to see her inside the arena. “Yes. Especially for the dog.”
The K-9 trainer who’d been in the ring earlier with Henry and Cody hurried over to take Cody’s leash. “Who is that?” she whispered, nodding toward Olivia.
“Hi, Hannah,” Henry said. “Olivia, this is Hannah O’Leary, one of the trainers and very protective of the center. Hannah, this is Lieutenant Olivia Vance of Internal Affairs.”
Hannah’s green eyes widened. Her mouth made a perfect o. “You definitely don’t want to be in the ring for this, Lieutenant—for safety.”
Frowning at the dire warning, Olivia moved out of the large circular arena to the spectator’s area with Hannah and Cody.
“How’s Snapper doing?” Olivia asked Hannah, eyeing the beautiful German shepherd who sat at attention in the ring next to Lani.
Last year the entire NYPD had been looking for Snapper, who’d gone missing after his handler and partner, Jordan Jameson, chief of the NYC K-9 Command Unit in Queens, was found murdered in a park. It had taken months for the dog to be reunited with the unit and Olivia had cheered along with everyone else when Snapper was found. When Lani transferred to the Brooklyn K-9 Unit, Snapper had been paired with her to keep the beloved police dog in the family, since Lani was married to one of Jordan’s brothers, who’d become chief of the Queens unit. Olivia had seen pictures of the dog in the paper, but the images hadn’t done the majestic she
pherd justice. He looked fierce and capable of taking down an elephant, not at all cute like Cody.
Olivia held her breath as Henry put the caged mask on. Lani gave the thumbs-up sign, prompting Henry to run toward Lani and Snapper aggressively.
Lani unhooked Snapper’s leash and gave the attack command. The dog was on Henry in a flash, his powerful jaws latching on to the padded arm of Henry’s bite suit. Henry and the dog seemed to dance as Henry tried to shake the K-9 off. Lani gave another command and Snapper immediately released his hold on Henry’s arm and hurried back to her side.
Olivia slapped a hand over her racing heart. She’d seen demonstrations of the K-9 officers, but it was different knowing the person in the bite suit. And realizing that the thick padding was the only thing keeping the dog’s sharp teeth and powerful jaw from breaking Henry’s skin or bones had her stomach knotting. They went through the exercise several times with Henry baiting the pair and then running away or grabbing at Lani. Each time, Snapper did his job and defended his K-9 handler with a ferociousness that was startling to observe.
Finally, Lani leashed up the panting shepherd and they headed out of the arena to a row of water bowls. Hannah opened the ring door to let Cody loose. The beagle raced across the ring then bit at Henry’s padded ankles. Olivia turned to Hannah. “Is that normal for Cody?”
“All the dogs recognize the bite suit as training time,” she replied.
Henry fell to the ground, his deep laughter echoing off the walls, as Cody’s pink tongue darted in and out of the caged helmet’s faceguard. That was the cutest thing Olivia had ever seen.
Hannah chuckled. “But obviously it’s playtime for Cody.”
Then another trainer brought out the pretty former-stray shepherd, Brooke, and her puppies, and let them loose in the arena. Henry slapped his hands on the matted floor and the puppies raced to his side, crawling over him and gnawing at him, their happy, yapping barks filling the room. The littlest puppy, Maverick, only made it a few feet before plopping down on his belly. The sight of the puppies with Henry was so cute Olivia took out her phone and snapped off several photos. She was sure Riley would appreciate the pictures.
Suddenly there was a cacophony of noise, as all of the dogs in the training center grew agitated. Barking and growling echoed off the walls and down the halls. The puppies’ yipping turned to piercing panic. Cody howled like he was dying. Snapper and Brooke growled and barked aggressively at the air.
Unnerved by the sounds, Olivia covered her belly with her hand. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Hannah answered. “But something’s got the dogs spooked.”
Just then, a red haze flowed out of the air ducts, filling the ring and the halls.
“It’s some kind of gas!” Olivia shouted to be heard over the ruckus the dogs were making.
“Everyone out!” commanded Henry as he scooped up the puppies in one arm. Olivia darted out and picked up Maverick, holding him close to her chest. His little body shook uncontrollably.
Hannah raced to the kennel room along with Lani, Henry and Olivia not far behind, where they leashed up the dogs and ushered them all outside just as the fire alarms sounded.
“We have to be careful,” Henry said at the exit. He handed the puppies off to the trainer. “This could be a ruse to get us out in the open.”
Olivia’s heart sank. “You think the bomber will change tactics and start shooting? Or plant a bomb nearby?”
“Hard to say.” Henry opened the door with caution. “Let me step out first.”
Adjusting Maverick in her arms, Olivia met Lani’s grim gaze. Henry could be stepping into the line of fire.
Please, Lord, keep him safe.
Henry stood in the open, slowly turning around as if baiting a sniper to take the shot. Then he was waving for Olivia and the others to leave the training center. Thankful to realize they wouldn’t be picked off like the ducks in shooting gallery at Coney Island, she hurried outside.
Hannah set the puppies down on the grass. Henry quickly stripped out of his bite suit, leaving him in shorts and a K-9 unit T-shirt, before herding the active puppies, keeping them on the grass. Even Cody joined in, nudging a stray pup with his nose until the little dog turned around and headed away from the asphalt of the parking lot. The tender care Henry gave to the puppies and the other dogs made Olivia’s insides turn to mush.
The ding of an incoming text chimed from Henry’s pocket and made the hairs on Olivia’s arm stand up. There was no reason for the dread suddenly stiffening her muscles with tension. Still, she hurried to his side and read the text along with him.
I can get you, anytime, anywhere.
Olivia couldn’t believe what she was reading. “How did this maniac get to the air ducts?”
Henry’s jaw worked. He shook his head. “I don’t know. But I will find out.”
She wanted to soothe away his upset over the disturbing text. But she didn’t know how. The urgency to wrap up this case pressed down on her, but there were still so many questions she needed answered. It didn’t help that the more time she spent with Henry, the more she was convinced he was truly a kind and caring man. The kind of man she once had hoped her own husband would be. The kind of man she wanted in her future.
She forced her thoughts away from what she couldn’t change. Instead she focused on the fact that she was well on her way to caring for this handsome officer.
A fact that would most likely be her downfall.
* * *
Henry clutched his phone in a tight fist. Anger at the suspect for putting the dogs and everyone else in the training center at risk burned through him like a flare.
Olivia put her hand on his bare forearm. “No one was injured, and the dogs are safe as far as we can tell. The gas didn’t seem to be toxic.”
Taking comfort from her touch, he let some of the tension go. “Praise God for that.”
“You acted quickly.”
Her amber-colored eyes were soft and full of something that made it difficult to look away. “So did you.”
Blinking, she turned away and squeezed his arm. “There’s the fire chief talking to Sergeant Sutherland.”
Indeed, his boss and the chief were consulting. They needed to know about the text. Henry glanced around to see more officers had poured out of the K-9 unit and were now helping to corral the puppies and the working dogs.
He looked at Olivia. “Can you take charge of Cody?” The dog knew her and liked her. So did he. His stomach clenched. Had he lost his mind?
Her mouth curved. “Of course. Thank you for asking this time.”
Grimacing, he said, “Sorry about that.”
“You’re forgiven.”
Relief flooded him and loosened his muscles a little more. Thankfully she wasn’t mad at him for his earlier heavy-handedness. Henry jogged over to the fire chief and Gavin and showed the two men the text.
The chief’s eyebrows rose. “Not just a prank?”
“Prank?” Henry drew back, offended by the term. “This guy filled the whole training center with red smoke. Who knows what kind of damage that could have done.”
“According to the fire chief, the gas was nontoxic,” Gavin said. He scrubbed a hand over his face, his aggravation showing in his eyes.
“We found a couple of homemade smoke bombs in the air vents,” the fire chief said. “When the air conditioning kicked on, it ignited them. They were made with a concoction of potassium nitrate, sugar and food coloring. Anyone with a computer could learn how to make one.”
“We’ll be sure to make those vents inaccessible going forward,” Gavin said. “And look for other vulnerable areas around both the training center and the station house.”
The chief nodded. “That would be wise.”
For Henry, that the texting bomber hadn’t wanted to hurt the dogs didn’t excuse the p
anic the smoke had caused. Setting off the smoke bombs had been a warning to him, just as the text had been. He remembered the message delivered to Olivia in the museum. Her attacker had said she needed to find Henry guilty. “I really need to talk to Davey Carrell.”
“You’re not going anywhere near that young man,” Gavin said. “Bradley and Tyler have interviewed him. He claims not to know who’s harassing you.”
Henry had full confidence that his friend and colleague Bradley along with Tyler Walker, another K-9 handler, had put pressure on Davey, but that didn’t mean Davey had told them the truth. The kid was lying about his injuries. Unfortunately, Henry had no way to prove it.
“It’s more than harassment, Sarge,” Henry bit out. “Olivia was assaulted and almost run down. And Riley was too close to the boardwalk bomb for my comfort. Now this. A clear warning from the suspect.”
Gavin stroked his chin. “I’m aware. As you requested, a patrol officer is keeping tabs on Riley. And as for Lieutenant Vance, her father has someone guarding her place at night and she’s been instructed to stick close to the station while conducting her investigation. One of her brothers will be escorting her back and forth. However, you shouldn’t be spending time with the lieutenant away from the station.”
Henry was glad to hear precautions were in place to guard his sister and Olivia. And though he agreed keeping his distance from the attractive investigator was the best thing for them both, the thought didn’t settle well in his gut. She’d already been targeted. The perpetrator had a bead on her. Henry doubted the perp would leave her alone just because Henry wasn’t around her, which meant she was still vulnerable. Despite being a trained officer and fully capable of protecting herself, she was in danger because of him. He had to do what he could to mitigate the threat.