by Laura Scott
Less than an hour later, he and Abernathy were called out for a missing ten-year-old child. Lilliana Chow was late getting home from school, and her mother was desperately worried. Finn didn’t hesitate to take Abernathy with him to head over to the Lindenwood area of Queens.
By the time he fought the never-ending traffic to get there, the little girl had returned home. According to her mother, Lilliana had missed her subway stop and, rather than taking the subway back, had decided to walk.
Finn was glad his and Abernathy’s services weren’t needed and, since he was in the area, decided to take a drive, see if he could find any clues related to the two men who’d attacked Eva.
It was crazy to think he’d be able to pick up the raspy guy from the rather generic sketch that Eva had produced, but it was better than dwelling on the loss of his chief, Jordan Jameson, who’d been found dead with a needle mark in his arm. At first the rumor was suicide, but Finn and the rest of the NYC K-9 Command Unit knew their chief had been murdered. They continued to work together in an effort to crack the case, but the longer it took, the more likely it was that the perp would get away with the crime. A confusing part of the crime was that Jordan’s K-9 partner, a German shepherd named Snapper, had been missing since Jordan’s death.
The K-9 should have stayed with the fallen officer as he was trained to do. Finn had thought Snapper must have been stolen, but there was a recent report of a male German shepherd on the loose in a Queens park, and everyone was looking for him. Had Snapper been stolen and escaped? Finn had no idea, but he couldn’t help wondering if the stolen puppy was related to Jordan’s missing K-9.
Finn returned to headquarters and viewed the subway video for himself, frustrated by the lack of information to be gleaned from the limited view of the street where Eva had been accosted. With few clues to go on, Finn finished his shift and decided to head back toward Forest Hills, telling himself that driving past Pete’s house was on the way home. He lived in Briarwood, in the same house where he’d grown up with his father. His dad had passed away last year from a sudden heart attack. At the time, Finn had half expected his mother to show up to claim her portion of the property, but she never did.
The house was too big for a single guy, but there was a small yard that was good for Abernathy so Finn had decided to stay. He was slowly renovating the place, putting money into updating the bathrooms and, ultimately, the kitchen, with thoughts of one day putting it on the market.
Although he wasn’t sure he was ready to leave his childhood memories behind. Looking back, the good memories outweighed the bad.
Driving slowly past Pete Stalling’s house, he searched for any indication that someone was watching the place. He went around the block twice before he was convinced no one was lurking around.
It was tempting to pull into the driveway, to check in on Eva and Mikey, but he told himself to keep going. It wasn’t like him to get hung up on a woman, and he was irritated with himself that he hadn’t been able to get Eva out of his mind.
She wasn’t like the other women he dated for fun and laughs. She was serious and intense. Stubborn and smart. Courageous and gentle. And so beautiful she took his breath away.
All very good reasons to keep their relationship professional and friendly.
No matter how much he secretly wished for something more.
* * *
The next morning, Eva took Mikey through the routine of getting dressed and his teeth brushed before heading down to the kitchen to make breakfast. Yawning, she made a half pot of coffee. She’d been awake more than she’d slept, thanks to the troubling nightmares, which didn’t bode well for the rest of her day.
When she spilled coffee down her yellow knit top, she headed back upstairs to change. It wasn’t as if she needed fancy clothes working with dogs all day, but she still wanted to look nice. For Finn? Maybe. As she rifled through the items in her small suitcase, she realized she’d underestimated how many times she’d have to change clothes because of being around a three-year-old. Mikey had got jelly smears over one top already the previous day, then there had been the tomato sauce handprint from the spaghetti dinner last night and now the coffee spill. She could do laundry but didn’t have enough yet for a load, so she made a mental note to stop by her place to grab more clothing before picking up Mikey from preschool.
Returning to the kitchen, this time wearing a burnt-orange short-sleeved blouse with her jeans, she made Mikey breakfast. Her nephew loved pancakes, so she whipped up a batch, making half a dozen for them to share. As she set his plate before him and dropped into the seat beside him, she was reminded of how Finn had said grace the day before. It had felt a little awkward watching him pray, yet, at the same time, she was touched by his faith.
She and Malina had been raised to believe in God, but their parents hadn’t attended church on a regular basis and had never prayed before every meal. The little childhood customs had gone away after her mother lost her eyesight, the same way Eva was destined to do. Her parents now lived in Arizona, and she only saw them a few times a year.
After learning about her diagnosis and Malina’s untimely death, she’d begun to doubt that God existed.
“More syrup,” Mikey said, breaking into her thoughts.
“How do you ask nicely?” She reached for the bottle of maple syrup but didn’t pour any onto his pancakes until Mikey responded.
“Please,” Mikey said, stretching for the bottle.
“I’ll help you.” She poured a generous dollop of syrup on his pancakes.
It was at times like this when she struggled the most with her diagnosis. As much as she tried to fight against the bouts of self-pity, the feelings remained buried just below the surface, ready to pop out at the least provocation.
A knock at the door made her heart jump crazily in her chest. Shaking her head at her foolishness, Eva peered through the window to see Finn and Abernathy standing there, and she unlocked the door.
“Hey.” Finn greeted her with a broad smile. “I’m a little early. For some reason traffic wasn’t as bad as usual.”
“That’s fine, come on in.” She opened the door wider, giving them room to enter. “We’re eating breakfast. There might be an extra pancake or two if you’re hungry.”
“I already ate, but I wouldn’t say no to a cup of coffee.”
She laughed at the hopeful expression on his face. “Of course, there’s plenty.”
“Hi, Officer Finn,” Mikey said, waving his fork. The little boy peered down from his perch at the table. “Did you bring Abe?”
“Sure did.” Finn gestured to the boy and Abernathy eagerly gave him sloppy kisses. Or maybe, Eva thought, he was simply licking the sticky syrup off him.
“Thanks,” Finn said when she handed him a mug filled with coffee, then returned to finish her pancakes.
“No news on yesterday’s events?” She studiously avoided using Cocoa’s name, so Mikey wouldn’t ask once again what happened to the puppy.
“I’m afraid not.” Finn’s smile faded. “But don’t worry. We’re keeping an eye on things.”
Fifteen minutes later, using Mikey’s car seat so they could return the borrowed one, they arrived at the preschool. Peggy was grateful to have the car seat back, and Mikey waved happily before running over to play with the others.
After ten minutes, they were on their way to the training center.
“I’ll come inside with you,” Finn said. “I need to pick up the video your boss promised me anyway.”
She nodded and led the way inside the center. Finn and Abernathy followed close behind.
“Wade? Officer Gallagher is here.”
Her boss came out of his office with a harried expression on his face. “Did you find Cocoa?”
“Not yet, but I’d like to view the video you have from over the past week or so, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh,
yeah, almost forgot.” Wade disappeared into his office, returning a few minutes later with a disk. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” Finn took the disk and glanced at her. “I’ll see you later. Stay safe, Eva, okay? And call if you need anything.”
“I will.” She quickly turned and went to the kennel to begin training another puppy, a black Lab named George. George was a week younger than Cocoa, and needed more work than Cocoa had. Young puppies were left at the training center until they were twelve weeks old, then were fostered out with a trainer for a full year. After the first year, the dog would be paired with an owner, and the training continued at the center until both trainer and owner were adjusted to each other.
She couldn’t help wondering why Cocoa had been targeted instead of George or any of the other dogs. They had several that were about to be paired with their future owners, which made them more valuable than a young pup.
The rest of her day went by without any issues. She even went across the street to a little bodega for lunch. At two thirty in the afternoon, she went to find her boss.
“I need to leave a little early today.”
“Uh?” He looked distracted, and it occurred to her that he’d made it in earlier than she had, which was highly unusual. “Oh, sure, that’s fine.”
“Thanks.” She turned to leave, then glanced back at him. “Is something bothering you?”
He looked startled but then waved a hand. “No. I mean, other than Cocoa being gone. I’ve been fielding phone calls about it all day.”
“Sorry to hear that.” She sensed there was more going on than he was telling her but let it go. She was a trainer and preferred working with the dogs rather than the business side of things. Malina hadn’t been as much of a dog lover but had enjoyed doing the books. Malina had talked about going back to school to take bookkeeping classes, but after learning about her diagnosis, she’d abandoned that dream.
Now her sister was gone.
Eva shook off the painful memories. “Bye, Wade. See you tomorrow.”
“Uh-huh.” Wade was already back at work, shuffling papers.
Heading into the sunshine, Eva decided to walk home. She’d been thrilled when Alecia had invited her to move into her new place, as the location was close to her work. It also wasn’t far from Mercy Medical Center, where Alecia and Julie worked as nurses. Her thoughts returned to Finn, and she wondered what he was doing today, then chastised herself for caring. If he had news about Cocoa or the two men who’d assaulted her, he’d tell her. No sense making up excuses to call him.
The home she shared with her roommates was a narrow two-story building. Feeling safe in the bright daylight, she went up to the front door and used her key to unlock it. Eva had dropped out of nursing school when her sister had been diagnosed, fearing she had the same genetic disorder. And she was right. She’d switched to training guide dogs and loved it. Thankfully, she had a knack with puppies and it was something she might be able to do years from now, even after losing her eyesight.
Currently, Eva had trouble seeing at night and in dim lighting and had already noticed some limitations in her peripheral vision. As the months went on, she knew the loss of peripheral vision would continue to grow more and more noticeable until she could only see straight ahead through a round circle. Eventually the circle would narrow to a pinpoint where she might only be able to see light and dark.
Her eye doctor told her there was a potential treatment that could slow the vision loss but couldn’t cure it completely. She had to go back to see him in another month to find out if she’d qualify.
“Hey, Eva, what are you doing here?” Alecia looked surprised when Eva entered the kitchen. “I thought you were staying at your brother-in-law’s for the week, taking care of your nephew?”
“I am, but I need more clothes.” She eyed Alecia’s scrubs and then glanced at her watch. “I was expecting you to be at work.”
“I’m on my way, running late as usual.” Alecia rolled her eyes and sighed. “I think my boss is getting tired of me, but we’re so short staffed she always ends up letting me off the hook.”
Eva smiled, knowing Alecia’s tardiness all too well. She and Julie had waited many times for Alecia to show when they’d made plans. “Don’t let me keep you,” she said, heading over to the stairs leading up to her second-floor bedroom. “I’ll only be here a few minutes anyway.”
“Okay, see you!” Alecia picked up her stethoscope and dashed out the door.
Eva went to her closet, pulled out a small bag and began packing a few more items, especially tops. Hopefully by the weekend, she’d get some laundry done.
A sudden crash echoed through the room, followed by a distinct thud. Her heart thumped wildly as she instinctively ducked down beside the bed. What was that? A gunshot? She pulled out her phone, intending to dial 911 when she noticed the large object sitting in the center of her hardwood floor, between the window and the bed.
What in the world? Crawling on her hands and knees, she peered closer at what she could now see was a large rock with paper wrapped around it.
Her mouth went dry as she recognized the picture of Cocoa on the paper with a crude threat written beneath.
“If you want to see the dog alive, find the package your sister stole from us.”
Her sister? A package? Eva’s thoughts whirled as she called Finn’s cell number to report what had happened, unable to deny Cocoa’s disappearance was linked in some way to Malina.
FIVE
Finn pulled up in front of Eva’s place ten minutes after her call. It had helped that he’d already been on his way back to the training center to talk to her about the video. There was a brief image of a man lurking near the edge of camera range, and he hoped she might be able to identify the guy as one of the attackers.
He let Abernathy out of the SUV and took the K-9 with him as he quickly headed inside the house. He’d barely knocked at the door when it swung open. Eva stood there, trembling, so he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her.
“Oh, Finn, it’s awful.” Her voice was muffled against his chest and her tear-streaked cheeks tugged at his heart. “Thankfully, my two roommates were gone when this happened, but Alecia had left barely five minutes before the incident. What if one of them had been hurt?”
“It’s okay, you’re safe now.” She felt good in his arms, and he wanted to continue holding her and offering comfort but needed to focus on this most recent threat. “Ready to show me the crime scene?” Eva had been so upset when she’d called that he’d had trouble understanding what she meant about a rock and a threat against Cocoa.
She pulled away from him, subtly swiping at the dampness on her face. “Yes. It happened in my room.”
Finn followed her up the stairs to her second-floor bedroom, decorated with cheerful yellow paint on the walls and frilly white curtains. His gaze zeroed in on the broken window, and then at the rock on the floor surrounded by bits of broken glass.
“Stay back,” he warned. “Abernathy, sit.”
The yellow Lab sat beside Eva as if guarding her. Finn didn’t want his K-9 to walk over the shards of glass glittering on the hardwood floor.
He pulled a large evidence bag from his pocket and picked up the rock carefully, noticing it was big and heavy enough to leave a dent in the hardwood floor. He wrapped the edges of the bag around it to preserve it. There was a chance he’d be able to lift fingerprints, either from the rock or the paper itself.
Examining it further through the clear plastic evidence bag, he could see what Eva had meant by a threat against Cocoa. The note beneath the dog’s picture said clearly that if she wanted to see the dog alive, she needed to find the package her sister had stolen.
Stepping carefully around the broken glass, he approached the shattered window. It faced the tiny backyard, which wasn’t fenced in. It was empty now except for two garbage cans, on
e tipped over on its side. He could easily imagine someone throwing the rock from there. Eva’s room was on the second floor, so not too high. The bigger question was how the perp had identified Eva’s window. Being followed to the house was one thing, but knowing the specific window that belonged to her bedroom rather than her roommates? That was something different.
Or had it simply been a coincidence?
Most cops didn’t believe in coincidences, and Finn was no exception. Sure, they happened on occasion but not often.
His instincts had been right all along. Whatever Malina had got involved with before her death had caused Cocoa’s dognapping and three assaults—if you counted the rock incident—against Eva.
He backed away from the window and turned to look at her. “Do you have any idea what package they’re talking about?”
She shook her head vehemently. “No! Absolutely not.”
Her response was exactly what he’d expected, but this time he wasn’t going to let it go. “I need you to think back to the time before Malina’s death. Did you ever see her with a package? Did she carry a large purse? Or did you sense something was amiss?”
“No!” She lifted a shaky hand and pushed her hair behind her ear. Again he had the crazy urge to pull her into his arms to comfort her. “She had a medium-sized purse, not a large bag. I promise, Finn, I’m not lying about this. I want Cocoa back just as much as you do. If I knew anything I’d tell you.”
“What about money?” Finn asked, stepping closer. “Did she seem to have enough? Or was she always broke?”
“I never had the impression she was broke or had more money than she should.” He could sense the frustration in her tone but ignored it.
“Eva, I have to ask. Is there any way your sister could have been involved in something illegal?”