Rock Harbor Search and Rescue

by Colleen Coble

  Brandon Genrich.

  “What a crummy week.” Emily flopped on the sofa beside Olivia and reached for her history flash cards. If only her stitches would heal as quickly as her shoulder had. “I’m tired of my arm hurting. And I especially wish I’d never asked my parents what was wrong. Now every time the phone rings, I think it’s going to be my mother calling to say she’s out of prison.”

  Naomi had fixed the girls a snack of cheese sticks and a vegetable tray before taking Timmy and Matthew outside to play. She’d seemed excited about the highlighting of the Kitchigami Search-and-Rescue Training Center.

  Emily fanned out her history cards, then reached for a cheese stick.

  “Don’t worry about your mom’s parole,” Olivia said. “You know your dad won’t let her near you.”

  “I wish I could be certain.”

  “Did you tell Timmy?”

  Emily nodded. “He was pretty upset, and I don’t blame him. He has nightmares about her. Poor kid.” Best not to say anything about her nightmares. “And we still aren’t any closer to figuring out who took Mrs. Dancer’s necklace. All we’ve managed to do is eliminate suspects.”

  A car door slammed outside.

  “Dad must be home a little early.”

  Timmy shouted, and Matthew yelled for their dad. It was always chaos when their dad got home.

  Emily shuddered. “Maybe we’d better go to my room.”

  She shut her book, and Olivia grabbed the tray of snacks. Emily hopped up as she heard the sound of the front door opening.

  “Em?” her dad called from the entry.

  “I’m in the living room,” she hollered back.

  “Come outside a minute. I have something to show you.” He sounded excited.

  Emily shrugged and put her book back on the coffee table. “I wonder what’s going on?” She and Olivia went to join her dad on the porch. It wasn’t often she heard that note in her father’s voice. He was usually laid-back.

  No one was on the porch when they stepped outside in the crisp fall air. The scent of turning leaves hung in the air. “What’s up, Dad?”

  Her dad was by the porch with the rest of the family. Bree and Samson were there as well. Naomi stood with her back to the door and both of Emily’s brothers were in front of her. They seemed to be looking at something she was holding. Samson had his front paws on Naomi’s leg.

  “What’s going on, Dad?” Emily couldn’t see what Naomi had in her arms.

  His smile grew bigger. “Naomi and I have something for you. You’ve had a rough few weeks, and we wanted to do something to cheer you up.”

  Her heart thumped. A present for her? What could it be? A new iPod? Or maybe even a laptop? She dismissed that idea. Her dad didn’t have the money to buy an expensive laptop.

  “Turn around, Naomi,” her dad said.

  When Naomi turned around, she was smiling hugely. A golden brown fur ball was in her arms.

  Emily gaped, unsure of what she was seeing. “Daddy!” she squealed. “Is this my puppy?” She leaped toward Naomi and hesitantly touched the top of the puppy’s head. “He’s so soft.”

  Naomi deposited the soft, warm body into Emily’s arms. Emily kissed the top of his head. “He’s adorable. I thought you weren’t going to let me have him!”

  “Emily, I owe you an apology. I’m not proud that I didn’t automatically believe you when you said you weren’t lying. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. You’re my daughter, and you’ve never lied to me before. I know you didn’t steal that necklace. And you would have had the money to pay for him if this necklace business hadn’t happened. I’m sorry.” Her father’s eyes crinkled when he smiled again. “I’m really proud of what a responsible young woman you are becoming. What are you going to call him?”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Emily said, tears welling up in her eyes. It felt really good to know her dad was on her side. She gave him a quick hug, trying not to squish her new puppy in the process. “I guess I’d better decide on a name. I haven’t thought much about it because I thought it would be ages before I got him.” She studied the soft golden fur and bright eyes. “How about Sherlock? He’s going to be a great search dog, just like Sherlock was a great detective.”

  “I love it!” Olivia rubbed the puppy’s head.

  “He was ready for his new home,” Bree said. “I haven’t had much time to spend with him, and all his siblings are gone. He needs a little pampering.”

  “I’ll give it to him.” Emily felt something warm on her hand and grimaced when she realized he’d wet on her. “Uh-oh, looks like he got a little excited.” She hugged him again. “But I’ll wash.”

  Timmy danced around her. “Can I hold him?”

  Naomi shook her head. “Now, Timmy, your sister just got him. There will be plenty of time for you to hold him later. Let’s let Emily enjoy her first night without being pestered.”

  Emily shot her a thankful grin. “Can we get him a collar?”

  Her dad produced a blue collar from his pocket. “Already taken care of. I got one in your favorite color.” He fastened it around the dog’s neck. “Very handsome, Sherlock.”

  The bright blue strap had a star on it, and it appeared to be good-quality leather. She didn’t even want to think about how much money they’d spent on the puppy.

  She handed the dog to Timmy and threw her arms around her dad again, then hugged Naomi as well. “You guys are the best! Now I have to get him trained so he can be as good as Charley and Samson someday.”

  Samson’s ears flicked up at the mention of his name. He touched Sherlock’s nose as if he was making sure the little ball of fur was up to his standards.

  Emily took her dog back and patted Samson’s head. “I know there’s no dog like you, boy, but I’ll work hard and make you proud of him.”

  And she’d work hard to find who stole Mrs. Dancer’s necklace to make sure her dad stayed proud of her.

  EIGHTEEN

  “Isn’t he so smart?” Emily asked Olivia as she beamed down at Sherlock, who’d taken to being walked on a leash very well.

  They reached the corner of Cottage Avenue and Houghton Street, and took a left toward Emily’s dad’s hardware store. The wind picked up, and the smell of the lake carried over the air. The weather forecaster said a front might move through tonight, bringing rain, but that everything should clear up tomorrow midmorning and stay clear through the surfing championship on Saturday.

  “Emily! Emily!”

  Olivia nudged her, bringing her from her thoughts. Emily spun to see Brandon sprinting in her direction. Her breathing hiccupped, but she couldn’t help but think of him in that picture of Inetta’s. What had he been doing at Mrs. Dancer’s?

  “Hey.” He drew to a stop in front of her.

  “Hi, Brandon.” Her tongue felt thicker than usual. “Uh, do you know Olivia? Olivia Webster.”

  He smiled and shook Olivia’s hand. “Brandon Genrich, nice to meet you.” He turned his attention to the puppy. “Is this your dog?”

  “Yeah. I just got him.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Sherlock.”

  “Like the detective?” He grinned. “That’s cool.”

  “Yeah.” She couldn’t bring herself to ask him about the picture. What was she supposed to do, just blurt it out?

  “I think I just saw a picture of you.” Olivia helped her out.

  “You did?” Brandon smiled. “Doing what?”

  “You were just in a shot the newspaper took of Mary Dancer.”

  He nodded. “That’s my aunt. My mom’s sister.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Emily said. “I mean, not that I should or anything, but I just didn’t.” Oh, she sounded so lame. She bent to rub Sherlock’s silky coat. That made her feel better.

  “Yeah. I help her out in her shop sometimes. Sweeping the floor. Cleaning out cases.”

  Emily’s chest tightened as she straightened. “So that’s why you believe in the Windigo? You’re
Ojibwa?”

  Under his darker complexion, he blushed. “Well, sure. We all know there are things we can’t explain in the woods.”

  Heat snaked up the back of Emily’s neck. “I don’t think there are monsters in the woods.”

  “I do.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “It pays to be careful, Emily. All of us should be on our toes.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the community center. “Well, I’d better get back to helping Mr. Zinn with moving some boxes, then head home. I have to help my uncle with preparations for the sweat lodge.”

  “S-sure,” Emily stammered.

  “I’ll see you around.” Brandon smiled at Olivia. “You too, Olivia.”

  “See you around.”

  He flashed another of his shining smiles at Emily, then jogged back across the street.

  “Wow, he is cute,” Olivia breathed. “I’ve never been this close to him before.”

  Emily giggled. “I know, right?” She nudged her best friend. “Hey, he’s not Charles.”

  Olivia blushed. “I’ve got to get home. I told Mom I’d help with dinner, so we’d better hurry.”

  Emily led Sherlock at a fast pace alongside her best friend, but her mind stayed on Brandon. Mary Dancer was his aunt. She believed Emily had taken her necklace and had all but flat-out accused her to the sheriff. But Brandon believed in her.

  Wow.

  Emily rushed into the house, the puppy’s paws skidding on the wood floor. She flung herself to her knees and laughed when he nibbled on her chin. “Good boy,” she crooned.

  Naomi came from the kitchen with a towel in her hands and Matthew hanging on to her jeans. “He was so rambunctious all day. I think he missed you. Taking him for walks on a leash is really good for him.”

  “I just love him so much. Thank you again, Naomi. For everything.” Tears filled her eyes, and Emily had to blink not to cry. She stood, holding her puppy against her chest.

  Naomi smiled and gave her a quick hug. Sherlock protested the confinement by nipping at Emily’s chin again.

  She laughed, the unshed tears disappearing. “Is he hungry?”

  “I doubt it. I was bad and gave him a few pieces of meat from the roast I’m fixing before you took him out.”

  Emily kissed the top of his head and set him back on the floor. “Would you help me start training him—just until I can get the money to put him in the school?”

  Naomi’s eyes softened. “Of course, honey. We can start with basic stuff, but you’ll need to get him in school to get used to the different aspects of a search.” She glanced back into the kitchen. “We’ve got a few minutes. Let’s go outside. Matthew, you want to hide from the puppy?”

  Emily’s little brother giggled and nodded. “He won’t find me!”

  “I’ll grab a paper bag and one of Matthew’s dirty socks.”

  Naomi was so terrific. Emily took Matthew’s hand and led him out to the porch. She left the puppy on the porch and pointed out some good hiding spots. “Don’t let me see where you hide.”

  Emily turned to avoid seeing where he was hiding as Naomi came onto the porch with a sack in her hand. She opened the sack. “Let him sniff it,” Naomi said.

  Emily put the puppy on the porch floor and held him still while Naomi held the open bag under the puppy’s nose. Sherlock sniffed around the bag but didn’t put his nose inside. “Here, inside the bag.” Naomi opened the mouth of the sack wider and thrust his nose against the sock. The pup sniffed eagerly.

  “I’m ready,” Matthew called, his voice over near the swing set.

  Emily carried Sherlock down the steps and set him in the yard. “Find Matthew, boy.” She offered him another whiff of the sock. Better him than her. Matthew’s dirty socks did not smell good!

  He took off toward the woods at the side of the property. “Not that way,” she called, laughing. “This is hard.”

  “He’ll get the hang of it,” Naomi said. “Everything smells new and exciting right now.” She shaded her eyes with her hand. “Looks like Mason is here.”

  Emily’s gut tightened at the news. What was the sheriff doing? The white SUV had the sheriff emblem on it, so this wasn’t a social call. Sherlock ran to meet this new playmate, and Sheriff Kaleva paused to rumple the puppy’s fur.

  He looked up and saw Emily watching him. “Afternoon, Em. I thought you’d be home by now. You and Naomi got a minute?”

  “Sure,” Naomi said. “Come on in and I’ll pour you some coffee, Mason.”

  “I wouldn’t say no.”

  “Em, would you fetch Matthew?”

  The sheriff followed Naomi to the house with Sherlock chasing his boots. Emily was only too glad to go get her baby brother. The longer she could delay being hauled off to jail, the better.

  Her mouth was dry when she grabbed a protesting Matthew and herded him inside. She found the sheriff and Naomi in the kitchen at the table with cups of coffee. They fell silent when she and Matthew entered. Not a good sign. Emily felt sick as she sat in the chair beside Naomi. Surely she wouldn’t let the sheriff take her?

  “Matthew, go watch cartoons with Timmy,” Naomi said. “Timmy has some snacks.”

  “Okay.” Matthew grinned and ran off toward the distant voice of Donald Duck.

  Emily put her hands on the table. She might as well get this over with. “Are you going to arrest me?”

  “Emily, the very idea!” Naomi said. “Of course not.”

  Sheriff Kaleva cleared his throat. “I wanted to see if you’ve heard anything around town about the theft. A little birdie told me you’d been poking into things.”

  He didn’t seem too mad about it, so Emily gave a cautious nod. “We had a few suspects we’ve checked out.”

  “We?” Naomi asked, frowning.

  “Me and Olivia. Well, Timmy and Dave too.” She didn’t want to accuse the sheriff of not investigating so she shut up.

  “And what have you found out?” he prodded. “What suspects?”

  She couldn’t tell him about her uncle, not with Naomi sitting right there. “Malia Spencer for one. But it’s not her. A-and, well, Mrs. Cooper. But she’s clean too.”

  Naomi gave a start. “Lucy? Good heavens, Emily, why would you suspect her?”

  Emily’s face burned, and she looked away from the shock in Naomi’s face. “Well, she kind of needs the money, right?” She straightened. “And speaking of money, Mrs. Dancer has offered a five-hundred-dollar reward for the necklace’s return.”

  “She must really want it back,” the sheriff said. “I wish I’d been able to find it already.” His piercing gaze landed on Emily. “For more reasons than one.”

  Emily held on to the compassion in his face. Maybe he wanted her to be innocent. She managed a smile. “Then there’s Mrs. Dancer herself. Until she offered the reward, I’d thought she might have done it for the attention. You know, like people who claim to have won the lottery so they can get lots of interviews. Publicity could only help her business. But she’s not going to offer a reward if she took it herself.”

  “True,” the sheriff said, his lips twitching. “Is that it?”

  “I guess so,” she said. Other than her uncle, Mr. Lancaster, and Valerie. They weren’t cleared yet.

  Because if Uncle Greg wasn’t here to be with his sister because of a divorce or marriage problems, why was he here?

  She glanced at Naomi and wished she could voice her suspicions, but there was no way she was going to accuse Naomi’s brother right in front of her.

  At least not unless she had evidence.

  NINETEEN

  Emily eyed the familiar blue car as Naomi maneuvered the SUV into a parking space. Inetta was already here. She licked her lips and swallowed. Why had she ever agreed to this interview?

  Carrying Sherlock, Emily followed Naomi and Charley to join the dogs and people in the yard with Bree and Inetta. With any luck, there would be better people to interview than her. Her puppy squirmed to be let down, so she put him on the ground and he ran to t
ouch noses with Samson.

  Bree was dressed in jeans and a green sweater that looked great with her reddish hair and green eyes. Her smile broadened when Sherlock came over to lick her shoe. “I think he remembers me. Naomi tells me you’ve been doing some preliminary training with him.”

  Emily’s face burned when everyone turned to look at her. “A little. He doesn’t understand it yet.”

  “The other dogs will train him better than you can.” Bree began to organize the collection of people and dogs.

  Inetta stepped over to talk to Emily. “Thanks for helping me get this interview. I think my readers will be very interested, and one of the bigger papers might even pick it up.” Her eyes were shining. “I’ll get to see dogs being trained from puppies right up to seeing the master Samson at work.”

  “He’s pretty awesome. Charley too,” Emily said. “Uh, if you want to interview Naomi first, go ahead.”

  Inetta took out her pen and paper. “Let’s start with you, Emily. What made you want to do search and rescue? It’s not a normal activity for a teenager.”

  “I’ve been around it since my dad married Naomi, and when Timmy and I were lost in the woods, Samson found us. I knew right then I wanted to be part of something that awesome. I like helping people.” She blushed at how silly her words sounded, but Inetta just smiled and nodded. Maybe she didn’t sound as stupid as she felt. “That’s why I’ve got to find that necklace. I’ll get the money I gave to Mrs. Dancer back, and it will pay for my puppy, Sherlock’s, training.”

  Bree approached and heard her words. “You know I wouldn’t charge you to train Sherlock, Em.”

  “You know my dad. He won’t let you train him if I don’t pay for it. And really, he’s right. When you pay for something, you value it more.”

  Bree patted her shoulder. “You’re turning into quite the young lady, honey. I’m proud of you.” She glanced at Inetta. “We’re ready to start the training.”

  “My photographer is set up and ready. I can’t wait.” Inetta followed her.

  “Let’s go!” Bree shouted.