by Makenzi Fisk
Allie nodded. “Doppler. It’s perfect.” It made sense, but not necessarily for the reasons Jimmy was so meticulously explaining. The pup could read her reaction to energy. Her feelings waxed or waned with her proximity to the source. The more intensely she reacted, the more he did. “Good job Jimmy.” She stepped in his path and forced the duo to alter course.
“Auntie Allie,” he complained. “You’re in the way.” His eyes popped open and he crouched beside the dog. Doppler sniffed between his fingers when he flattened the grass at his feet. “He found them!” He held up two wedding rings, joined by a pink ribbon.
“Yay.” Erin took the rings. “About that dog-sitting job…”
“I’ll do it! If you drop me off at grandma and grandpa’s, I’ll take good care of him until you get back.”
“Deal.” Erin picked up the puppy and scratched him behind his huge ears. He wagged his tail.
Allie put her hand on the dog’s head. “Doppler, you be a good dog for Jimmy.”
A YEAR LATER
Allie handed Erin the last bag and she shoved it across the tailgate of her truck. She slammed it shut. They stood close, foreheads touching.
“FBI training is only a few months.” Erin kissed her nose. “You can come visit on my breaks.”
“Why don’t you just marry her and get it over with?” Wiggly one-year-old on his shoulder, Zimmerman wrapped an arm around her in an awkward embrace.
“Maybe I will,” Erin quipped and Allie’s face flushed.
“You’re going to be a G-man… uh, G-woman. That sounds weird.” Zimmerman bounced his squirming son. “We’ll sure miss you at the station. All the guys will.”
“Good luck. Kick some butt.” Gina joined in for the group hug, and the baby dropped a soggy cracker down Erin’s collar.
“I hope my godson will be able to say my name when I get back.” She shook the treat out the bottom of her shirt and wiped the goo from her neck.
“I’ll work on that.” Allie took the baby and whirled him in a circle. He giggled, his mouth open and curly hair bobbing.
They stood at the end of the driveway while Erin drove away. A solid line. Together.
A USPS letter carrier clanged the mailbox behind them and the baby cried. The mailman continued on his way, but a dark shadow lingered at the edge of Allie’s mind. She waited until Erin’s truck disappeared before retrieving the mail.
The first item was a brown-wrapped box from her foster mom. Allie guessed that it contained a brand new Swiss Army knife. Just like the one she’d lost when they’d saved the little boy from the submerged van. Her foster mom had been so proud of her when Erin had told her about the incident. Allie smiled.
She reached into the mailbox for the other item, and cold fingers squeezed her chest. It was a plain rumpled envelope. Allie smoothed the crease over the return address. Manitoba Department of Justice, Winnipeg Youth Centre. Erin’s name was scrawled in pencil across the front, with an erroneous address that had defied logic when it was delivered here.
Gina and Zimmerman flanked her on the porch step.
She held up the envelope.
“Open it,” Gina said.
Allie tore the flap and pulled out a single sheet of folded paper. She read the words and pain seared the jagged scar on her abdomen. The letter, in Lily’s teenage scribble, drifted from her fingers to the ground.
I’M COMING BACK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Makenzi Fisk grew up in a small town in Northwestern Ontario.
She spent much of her youth outdoors, surrounded by
the rugged landscape of the Canadian Shield.
Moving west, she became a police officer with experience in patrols, covert operations, plainclothes investigation, communications and forensic identification. Within the policing environment, she transitioned to internet and graphic design. She now works for herself.
In her novels, Makenzi draws on her knowledge of the outdoors, policing and technology to create vivid worlds where crime, untamed wilderness and intuition blend. Her characters are competent women who solve crime using skill and a little intuition.
Currently Makenzi resides in Calgary with her partner,
their daughter, and assorted furry companions.
Website: makenzifisk.com
Books in the Intuition series:
Book One: Just Intuition
Book Two: Burning Intuition
Next in the series:
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
DEDICATION
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33: TWO MONTHS LATER
CHAPTER 34
A YEAR LATER
ABOUT THE AUTHOR