Payback (The Canine Handler Book 1)

by Hillegas, Maria

  Once she picked up the subs, she turned her truck toward home. Thoughts of the search and the debriefing clouded her mind. She mulled over the entire last few days. From the call-outs to the searches, to how they ended. For some reason, she felt anxious. But she couldn’t figure out why. There was no reason to. She still found it strange that both search subjects had been from her foster family. That makes no sense.

  She couldn’t help feeling the murders were somehow connected to her and her past. But how? And more importantly, why? Her mind raced in an endless loop. Tired, I’m just tired, she told herself. “Good night’s sleep after we eat will do us all good.”

  After she fed the dogs and ate her sub, Sarah managed to find the energy to throw her soiled uniform into the washer and pick up her mail from the last few days that was stuffed in her mailbox. She rummaged amongst the few bills and solicitations looking for any word from Quantico. Disappointed that she still hadn’t received her appointment letter for her physical and psychological evaluations, she hastily threw the envelopes on the dining room table. What the hell? I should have heard from them by now! She felt like she could cry. Her stretched and tired nerves were showing through.

  The dogs stepped warily around her, not sure what to make of her bad mood. They lay on the cool hardwood floor looking up at her with their deep soulful brown eyes. Confusion and concern showed through their penetrating stares. They weren’t used to Sarah being so moody. The dogs yawned several times—their way of trying to defuse the situation.

  “Sorry, guys, I’m just completely exhausted and I can’t seem to shut down.” Sarah let out a deep sigh and leaned down to the dogs. She slowly petted Sam’s long lean sides. Gunner sat up and leaned against her leg and whined. “Okay, okay, boy. I’ll pet you as well. Sorry I’m in such a shitty mood.”

  Sarah stood up and walked to the back door. The dogs followed. She opened the door, the dogs headed out. Leaning against the screen she spoke to them as they headed down the steps. “Go do your business, guys. Hurry up and make it quick.” She stood by the backdoor watching and waiting. The dogs were worn out as well and didn’t bother to seek out any scents or try to entice her to come out to play. Once their call of nature was taken care of, they headed right back up the steps to their waiting handler.

  The dogs were rewarded with a cookie and praise as they entered the house. She felt bad about being in such an awful frame of mind. She knew it made Sam and Gunner tentative and anxious. She gave them a treat because she felt like she owed it to the dogs to show them her bad mood had nothing to do with them. It made her feel guilty.

  She ran the slicker brush through their double coats to make sure there wasn’t anything hidden in their plush double-coated hair. She made sure they had fresh water after she checked them over from head to toe once more. Now that they were taken care of, it was her turn to shower and get ready for bed.

  Pulling a few well-placed pins from her hair, she carefully lifted her thick mop of copper curls off her head. She placed the hairpiece on its stand, making sure the hair hung just right. Her wig was made from human hair and had been costly. Besides her house and truck, it was her only other big expense. It looked authentic. No one from work or the dog team had ever questioned her hair. She felt it was a justified expenditure. She pulled the adhesive tape from her head

  Looking in the mirror, she laughed. “What a mess,” she mumbled to herself. Her scalp was covered in what looked like fuzzy orange baby sprouts trying their best to be real strands of hair. The skin on her practically bald head was dry and itchy from years of using rubbing alcohol prior to applying her wig cap and hair.

  “Lucky you got a pretty face,” she spoke to the mirror then turned to step into the shower. She had just about grown to accept her condition, but was still trying to learn how to make the best of it. A condition she had to live with didn’t mean anyone else had to accept it. She continued to hold out hope that one day her hair would grow back. What a pipedream. Get over it, girl!

  It was late by the time Sarah was able to crawl into bed. The dogs took up residence on the floor beside her. Lying on the hardwood was cool and comfortable to them with their thick double coats. They preferred its harder surface to their own dog beds. Sarah wished they would stay in the beds she had positioned near the windows, though. She worried about stepping on them when she exited her bed. She thought the padded beds would be better on their joints as well. They were always up first and out of her way and never seemed stiff.

  Sarah closed her eyes. She tried to command her brain to slow down and shut off so she could drift off to sleep. Dreadful thoughts, horrible images from the day continued to replay in her mind. She couldn’t get the smell out of her nostrils. Visions of her foster brother lying dead and mangled in the woods haunted her. Bile rose up in the back of her throat and she choked it down. She wondered what kind of monster could do that to another human being.

  But then again, he had been a beast to live with. Maybe it was karma.

  It appeared he had matured into a piece of shit as an adult as well. He’d always been the monster in the back of her mind, but she had never given him a second thought once she left the foster home. What else had he been involved in later in life? Sarah realized she hadn’t been the only one abused by him growing up in that home. There were others. Could someone from the past be seeking vengeance? Sarah had never stayed in touch with anyone. She had wanted nothing to do with any ties to the system.

  Reflections of Kellee and her personal tragedy, Kellee’s ex-husband Bill, and Dave spun out of control. Lindsey Durham had been 15 years old when she had gone missing. Sarah had been the same age when it happened. Lindsey’s face had been plastered all over the media. So much energy had been invested trying to find Lindsey. Sarah remembered thinking at the time, “Why is she so important? Kids go missing every day from my neighborhood and they don’t get any attention.”

  No one gave a damn about the kids that were dumped in foster care. She didn’t know Kellee back then and didn’t remember her story until a few months after she had joined the canine search and rescue organization. One of her teammates mentioned it during routine dog training. Sarah still didn’t understand the weight Lindsey’s search carried until she put it all together today—when she finally realized who Kellee’s husband had been. Just the fact that he had been part of a police department would warrant much interest in his daughter’s case.

  Sarah was having a hard time shutting off her brain and going to sleep. She wondered how Dave made out at the crime scene. How he had dealt with the whole situation. Sarah pondered the thought he might call to check on her, but he never did. Even a text would have been nice. Of course, she could call or text him as well. Not wanting to push the issue, she still wasn’t sure where the two of them stood. She thought there could be something more. But she was still leery either way. She valued his friendship and hoped for more in one way, but feared getting close to anyone. She also didn’t know how he would perceive her physical shortcomings.

  Her heart and mind continued to race. She felt like the room was spinning. Late into the night, completely exhausted, she was finally able to slow her thoughts down enough to fall into a deep and fitful sleep. Her brain conveyed dreams that were dark, torturous memories of the past trying to link themselves to the present. Her nightmares morphed into dramatic scenes of being chased by vicious four-legged devil creatures with fire red eyes. Out of breath, she felt as if she couldn’t stop running. Apparitions of scarred and dirty hands grasped for her from shadows cast just inches from her body as she continued to flee. It was as though she were trying to escape not just from something dark and twisted, but from someone evil and demented. They were reaching for her…

  Chapter 29

  Eva

  Eva had viewed her handiwork with captive interest. She had taken time to make sure all the details were perfect. Just the way she had planned. She hadn’t rushed any of her efforts. There had been no need. Everything was laid out perfectly
. Eva fashioned herself as an artist and this was one of her masterpieces. She commended herself for having patience and staying the course, sticking to an agenda. She was satisfied—like she had filled a void in her life which had been empty.

  He never recognized who she was, or if he did, he never let on. It had been dusk when they first met up, darkness falling fast before they entered the woods. Maybe the dimming light cast shadows, or her overall appearance had changed. With short dark hair, her body thin and more fit—she didn’t look the same as she did as a teen.

  He had been so easy to persuade. Almost too easy. She’d thought he would’ve disputed her in some way. She liked to be considered. A little deliberation. It added challenge, an obstacle that made her use her wits. Show a little leg and tit, they were all the same. She had hoped for at least some sort of discussion after they had smoked weed. All worries went out the window after that.

  He had been so easy to lure off the marked trail and deep into the forest. It felt like it was meant to be. Predestined. That she was doing the right thing. He was getting what was due to him, even though his actions in his prior life had not been his choice. It didn’t matter to Eva, this poor excuse for a human being had caused great pain to others. He needed to pay. It was the only way for him to be redeemed, Eva justified. It would set him free as well.

  Her interactions with him as a teenager were always abusive and violent encounters. She stood in for others who couldn’t take the agonizing and harrowing confrontations. Although he didn’t orchestrate the abuse, he was actually a tool in the whole situation; it was still his body that carried out most of the mistreatment and cruelty. He never refused or backed down when he was told to conduct the abuse. Somewhere deep inside of him, he enjoyed it. At least to a point. A primal lust lured him to do as he was told. Or just the fact that he would get his ass taken care of, literally, she thought, if he didn’t do what he was told. He really had no choice in the matter; he was a pawn that the foster parents used.

  Eva had become a master manipulator, even with him. When they were all still in high school, Eva had told him there was a beautiful young girl in one of her classes who liked him. She told him the girl’s name and that she was always asking about him. That she liked guys with a bad-boy attitude and reputation. At first, he didn’t pay attention to what Eva told him until she pointed the girl out to him one day.

  The young girl was gorgeous, smart, but a bit spoiled, an elitist. She had it all. Well-off parents, an only child. She was given everything. She was the type of person Eva couldn’t stand and usually steered clear of. The girl flaunted her good looks and entitlement without a care. It was her normal behavior. Really, she wouldn’t have anything to do with the trash from the foster home, but that didn’t matter to Eva. It only mattered what Dwight believed.

  Eva had managed to get him to listen to her after repeatedly dropping hints. The power of a perfectly dropped word in the right setting at the right time. She didn’t push it. The bait had to be prepared just right and used to lure him at just the right moment. He started to ask questions about the girl. He started to think he could actually be normal after how he had been raised within the confines of his dysfunctional foster family home.

  Eva laughed internally when he started to chase the bait. She had expertly crafted the situation so he would be made a fool. What she didn’t anticipate was his reaction. Eva never counted on what Dwight would do when the girl rebutted his attempts to interact with her… that he would take it as far as he did.

  When the girl unsurprisingly refuted his attempts—called him white trash and asked where he ever got the idea she had the time for someone like him—he became infuriated. Eva was fascinated with his reaction. It fueled her confidence that she had power over others. That she could influence anyone to do what she wanted—whether for pure enjoyment or for her benefit.

  The young girl ended up dead in the woods, left behind for the animals and bugs to discover. Her body broken and desecrated. Left in the cold to be discovered by the farmer and his dog several months later. He had crossed over to the red zone. He had to live with something he had done of his own accord. He was truly a monster now.

  But the strangest part of all of it, Eva thought, was Sarah was indirectly and directly linked to what happened to Lindsey as well. Even though it was Eva’s words, and Sarah had no conscious knowledge of what had transpired, she was still forever linked to the events which unfolded and caused Lindsey’s brutal death. Ironic for her to be best buddies with the girl’s mother now. Eva sniggered at how absurd the whole situation had become. Weird how things work out. No one will ever know, though. She had kept it a secret from Sarah to protect her. And planned to keep it that way.

  Chapter 30

  Dave

  When Dave finally managed to leave the site, it was well after dark. He was happy to turn the responsibility of the murder scene over to Lieutenant Langenberg when she arrived. Chain of command had to be followed. Never leave the scene unsecured. Someone of authority had to take charge of the area at all times. Of course the medical examiner took complete control of the situation from the lieutenant immediately after that. When the ME shows up, the crime scene always becomes her—and her office personnel’s—full responsibility.

  Since Lieutenant Langenberg wasn’t needed anymore, she and most of her troopers left the area before dusk and returned to base. When Dave finally left, the crime scene investigators and ME were still on scene and would be for several more hours. They had brought extra help from the lab: generators and field lights to illuminate the area. The lieutenant ended up staying at base camp for several hours to debrief searchers and coordinate the movement of personnel back and forth between base and the incident scene. She kept Dave on hand to help out where needed. He reluctantly agreed, but Bella was in the truck and Sarah was on his mind.

  Bella had spent almost the entire day and late into the evening in her crate. Dave felt guilty that she had to endure the confines of her crate for such a long stretch of time. The life of a working canine. Giving her a quick bathroom break, he refilled her water bowl and threw a couple dog treats into her dog box before lifting her back up into it. He couldn’t wait to get her home and let her out to run and stretch, but he had one more stop to make.

  Headquarters was on the way home, a place where Bella enjoyed full rights as a trooper, and her freedom. They both needed dinner as well. He was famished. Couple bottles of water and granola bars didn’t go very far after he had spent hours hiking through the woods searching just to turn around and spend hours at the scene helping out.

  He pondered the known facts regarding the two Codorus murders as he headed out of the darkened park roads. He mulled over all the events surrounding them. There had never been homicides like this in the area. Surely they were looking at a serial killer. A serial killer? Really? The sound itself had an air of awe. The FBI would still have to link the cases together to confirm they were related.

  It was difficult to believe this type of case in the small town area of Codorus. High profile. It meant more prestigious and weighted agencies such as the FBI would be involved. This case was going to occupy many people and many hours in the near future.

  Dave and the rest of the agencies assumed the male organ that was found on the boat had to belong to the second victim. It hadn’t been verified or confirmed yet, but it was anybody’s bet. They still needed to run DNA to confirm. Even though they had access to a DNA lab, it still took several days to run and then to search the system looking for matches. At best, you could have a two-day turnaround. But since “the agency” —the FBI—was involved, it would push the lab to get results right away.

  After leaving the search area on his way to the interstate, Dave swung by the drive-through of a fast food restaurant. Once he picked up food, he headed to headquarters so he could finish filling out his police report. He would pass right by the office on his way home.

  Maybe the coroner’s report would be in from the drowned victim
and the flesh they had found on the boat. I’d like to get my hands on both of those reports tonight if I can. Even though the FBI would be taking the reins on these cases now, Dave would be stuck in the middle of the investigation. He would be the lead trooper from start to finish since he was already deep into it between attending both searches and finding the second victim.

  Dave pulled into Troop H’s large back lot and parked his SUV under a street lamp. Bella started to whine as soon as he pulled into the barracks. She knew where she was. A few squad cars dotted the lot. Aside from those, the area was quiet, deserted from the day shift and administration employees whose vehicles usually filled the entire space during normal business hours.

  Dave had papers strewn all across the front seat of his vehicle. “Hang on,girl, just give me a minute to get all my paperwork together.”

  Bella’s whimpers and whine turned into a full-fledged howl. She added volume that was deafening within the confines of the vehicle.

  “Okay, okay! Just like every other woman out there, Bella! You have to have your way!” he teased her. But you know you’re worth it to me, whatever you want.

  Dave stuffed all of his paperwork into a backpack as quickly as he could. Making sure he had everything, he exited the SUV and walked around to the rear to open the hatch and drop the tailgate. Dave grabbed her long leather leash, opened the door partway on her dog box and slipped the leash in, snapping it to her flat collar. Opening the dog box all the way, he allowed Bella to jump out on her own. She wasn’t used to taking orders or commands like Sam or Gunner, just suggestions. She pretty much ran the relationship.

  “There. Is that better, girl?” Dave questioned the dog. She wagged her long slick tail in response and then her nose went to the tarmac. If she could talk, she would’ve been able to tell you everyone who had gone through the lot within the last few days… and what direction they had gone in.