He was glad they’d be on duty today. Fewer distractions. More like his usual life, the way it used to be.
Not that yesterday wasn’t enjoyable. Who’d have thought he would find therapy dog training so interesting? So captivating?
Or maybe it wasn’t just the idea of therapy dogs, but one particular trainer...
He’d just stepped back into the house when his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket. Well, speak of the devil. Or angel. He swiped it to answer. “Good morning, Elissa. How—”
“Doug,” she interrupted, and her voice sounded choked. What was going on? “Could you please come here to the ranch?”
“Sure. A little later.” But as he listened, he thought he heard...was Elissa crying? “What’s wrong?” he demanded then realized that was no way to help her. “What’s wrong?” he repeated more gently.
“Sorry. I don’t mean to be paranoid or stupid about it...but whoever left that horrible warning about hiring me here? They’ve done it again. Apparently sometime in the middle of the night. And they’re threatening—”
“I’ll be there right away,” Doug said. “Be sure to stay with Amber or Evan or Sonya. Don’t do anything by yourself. And of course keep Peace with you, too.”
“I will.” He could barely make out her soft words.
He wished he were there already, holding her. Soothing her. And taking Hooper on a walk to track whoever had dared to do such a thing.
“Good. Now, don’t worry. We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
“Thanks,” she managed to say, and then Doug hung up, wondering if he’d made a promise he’d be able to keep.
“What’s going on?” Maisie strode down the hall from the kitchen toward him, Griffin at her heels.
“Another warning sign at the K-9 Ranch,” he said. “Someone left it overnight.”
“And none of the dogs barked?”
“Don’t know yet. I’m heading there as soon as I change clothes. Please let Sherm and Kara know where I’m going and why.” Police Chief Andrew Shermovski and Assistant Chief Kara Province would both want to know right away about this latest threat at the Chance K-9 Ranch. They’d both been eager to have the murder that occurred there before solved as quickly as possible, and they now had an ongoing good relationship with the Belotts. His going there right away without checking in at the station would be fine with them.
Maisie, already dressed to go on duty, pulled her own phone out of her pocket. “I’ll call and let them know. Griffin and I are coming with you.”
* * *
Pushing the button to end the call with Doug had been difficult. Having even the distant connection with him had helped Elissa feel a little better.
But just a little.
With Peace still standing at her side, she turned to look at Amber, who was also talking on her phone—remaining near the fence, staring at that miserable sign without touching it. To Elissa, that eyesore closely resembled the last one: block letters on a small rectangular piece of cardboard attached to the fence by string. Last time, Elissa was aware that the Chance Police Department had checked the sign for fingerprints or anything else that would help identify the elements of it—which then could help identify who’d left it. But as far as she knew, they’d found nothing useful.
This time? If she had to live with the fact of another threat relating to her—but directed at her new employer—she really hoped it at least provided an answer.
“I... I just spoke to Doug,” Elissa said, probably unnecessarily, when Amber hung up. She had remained close enough for Amber to have heard the brief conversation if she’d wanted to while also speaking with someone else.
She had also no doubt witnessed Elissa’s near breakdown. But Elissa realized that, to keep her job—to keep her sanity—she needed to gather her resources to try to figure out what to do next to solve this increasingly horrendous situation.
And to protect Amber and her mother, since they’d been the ones to hire her.
Could Doug help? Would he help? Surely, as a local cop, he had reason to get involved again. But Elissa didn’t know how the local PD worked, and whether, even if they did start a new investigation on this sign—which surely they would—they’d assign the same officers to do the work.
Almost immediately, Elissa saw movement from farther down the small lane where her house sat. Evan was striding quickly in their direction, with Bear at his side. Since he was former military and now trained police K-9s, maybe he could figure this out. But he hadn’t with the last threat, apparently leaving the investigation to the local authorities.
Not for the first time Elissa wondered why Evan didn’t live in the main ranch house, or why Amber didn’t live in the employee home where Evan and Bear stayed. They were clearly a couple—but as she’d also wondered before, perhaps Sonya’s living with Amber made their staying together too awkward.
They seemed really, really close. Too bad Doug and she had no chance at that kind of relationship. As nice as he was to her, he was just doing his job. Besides, she didn’t really want to be close to anyone. Not again. And especially not now. She needed to get her life settled without any additional drama.
But life wasn’t letting that happen.
Evan reached them quickly. Like Amber and Elissa, he was dressed informally in jeans and a T-shirt. He immediately joined Amber at the fence, staring at the sign. “When did you first see this?” He put his arm around her and pulled her close.
“When I came out to walk Lucy and Hal.” Amber pointed to the two young shepherds on leashes beside her. “I saw something on the gate and went down there. I thought about trying to get these young dogs to search since they’re starting to learn how, but didn’t want to get in the way of the cops—or Bear.” She paused. “You know, I’m getting really tired of threats around here.”
Elissa certainly understood that. She’s also heard that these fence threats weren’t the only ones her boss had been faced with recently.
“I get it,” Evan said. “Well, let’s try to figure this one out now.” He walked Bear up to the fence, let his dog sniff the area, then said, “Bear, search.”
Elissa was fascinated to see the way the German shepherd obeyed by sniffing the fence, then the ground around it as if whoever had done this has left a unique and identifiable scent. Bear headed toward the driveway—just as a black police SUV drove up the incline and parked at the top.
Doug and Maisie got out immediately, and soon had Hooper and Griffin leashed beside them.
Bear, meanwhile, kept on the move at street level with his scenting rather than going up the driveway to greet the newly arrived dogs and people. Elissa had heard he’d been trained to find explosives as a military K-9. That might not help to determine who’d left that sign.
Doug and Maisie came down the hill with their dogs and joined Elissa and Amber where they watched Evan work with Bear. “We’ll observe for a few minutes and then get our dogs to search, too,” Doug said. He had drawn up close to Elissa but didn’t touch her. She had an urge to reach over and hug him, to hide her face on his chest while she cried—but she wouldn’t allow herself to show the angst she felt inside.
“Sounds good,” she said. “Thanks to you both for coming. Will there be an official investigation by the Chance PD?”
“We’ll make sure of it.” Maisie smiled grimly at Elissa. “Any ideas about when and how this happened?”
Elissa shook her head. “I haven’t a clue.”
Doug looked to Amber. “How about you? Did Lola or any of the youngsters bark at any time last night?”
Elissa had wondered that, too, and was glad Doug asked.
“Not in any unusual way that would signify a prowler,” Amber replied. “We often play a game of fetch just before bedtime to tire them out after their final walk of the night.”
“We let them bark then for fun sometimes.�
� Sonya had just joined them from the top of the driveway and now also stared at the fence. “Where did that come from?”
“That’s what we hope to find out,” her daughter said.
“Hey, cops,” Evan called from the other side of the driveway entry where Bear was pulling on his leash as if he wanted to walk along the road. “Let’s get your dogs working, too.”
Neither Doug nor Maisie hesitated while they had Hooper and Griffin start out much as Bear had done—and they, too, appeared to alert on some kind of scent near the sign that led them toward where Bear was, as if wanting to go down the road.
Elissa kept watching, fascinated, keeping Peace near her.
Were all three dogs telling them that someone had parked a car some distance away and walked to the driveway last night—probably after dark? Maybe the person had come when Amber was playing with the dogs in her house so barking wouldn’t be a giveaway as to their presence. Or they’d been so quiet that the dogs hadn’t noticed. There was, after all, a distance between the gate and the ranch house at the top of the long driveway.
Too easy? Maybe. But even if all the dogs did now smell the scent of the person who’d posted the sign, that wasn’t an identification of who it was. And other people could have walked along the road recently, too.
All three handlers soon relieved their dogs of their duty.
Then Doug, Maisie and Evan all led their dogs back up the driveway. “Well, no surprise, but it seems fairly clear how the suspect got here,” Maisie said. “Too bad we don’t know more.”
“Yeah,” Doug said, and the look he leveled on Elissa appeared both concerned and angry. He was undoubtedly the kind of cop who wanted answers. Fast.
The fact that he seemed to give a damn about what was happening around her made Elissa feel a little better, sure—but she still worried about what was to come.
Maisie went to her car and returned with a large plastic bag and some rubber gloves. Doug and Maisie walked back down the slope with their dogs, then placed the sign in the bag, and Maisie took it to transport to the police station for a forensics exam.
Which would probably yield no more than the last time. Elissa figured that would be the case. Same person, same way of dealing with the sign, so why would they be any closer to being identified?
When they were done, at Amber’s invitation, everyone went into the ranch house. Sonya brewed fresh coffee, and they all sat at the kitchen table with the dogs near them—but their conversation felt stilted. Amber was clearly worried, and Evan was concerned about her and her mother. Doug and Maisie were friendly enough but now acted distant. Professional. Watching all the people around them as if studying them for answers.
Elissa understood—but she wished on some level that she could get Doug to join her at her house so they could just talk. But soon he would say goodbye and most likely head back to his station. Without Elissa. Without answers. Without—
“Are you teaching any classes today, Elissa?” Doug asked, aiming an unemotional glance at her.
“No, we’d planned on the next one for Wednesday, and this is only Tuesday.”
“Good,” Doug said. “Right now, I’d like for you to accompany Maisie and me to the police station.”
Chapter 13
Doug sat nearly motionless in the driver’s seat of his police vehicle, driving them quickly, but cautiously, to town.
Well, motionless except for his head, which turned enough to ensure safe driving—and to steal glances at the woman beside him. Elissa sat in the passenger seat. She held her body stiff while she stared out the window. She looked nervous.
And she wasn’t talking much at all.
Maisie had graciously volunteered to sit in the back with Hooper and Griffin. Or maybe she’d just wanted to eavesdrop on what he and Elissa discussed.
Which so far was nearly nothing. Not even any questions—not even from him, though he had plenty. But his inquiries could wait till they were at the station—and within the scope of the official investigation.
Elissa hadn’t objected when Doug had essentially given her an order to come along. She’d even offered to drive herself to the station so he wouldn’t have to get her back to the ranch, but he didn’t want her alone at the moment. Maybe ever. Not with the strange, different kinds of threats being aimed at and around her.
She had chosen to leave Peace at her house—and Evan and Amber had promised to check on her often. “I think she’ll be safer there,” Elissa had said somewhat vaguely.
Did she anticipate the threats against her would increase into something worse at the police station? Or, perhaps, that others would consider her guilty of something that could lead to her being detained at the station for some long period of time?
She didn’t elaborate.
In a short while, Doug pulled into his space behind the station. “Here we are,” he said unnecessarily.
“Yes, here we are.” Elissa didn’t sound thrilled about it. “Could you tell me a little more about what I can expect?”
“There may be others besides Maisie and me who have questions about those signs left at the ranch—and we should also make sure our investigators know about the additional things going on with you.” Doug glanced behind them where Maisie was getting out of the car, with Griffin leashed beside her. Doug also exited but went around to the passenger side first to help Elissa out.
Instead she got out herself—and looked up at the rear of the station. If he read her expression correctly, she felt doomed. Or at least resigned. To what?
To the investigation, at least. But was there more?
He needed to know—especially because his urge to protect her might be way out of line. But right now, he didn’t think so.
By the time he got Hooper out of the back, Elissa had followed Maisie through the rear door of the station. Several other uniformed cops approached from different parts of the parking lot. Doug accelerated his pace and Hooper’s.
Sure, he knew those other guys. They were legit. Even so, not knowing where the threats to Elissa came from, he didn’t want anyone to come between him and her, at least not now.
Inside, Maisie, with Griffin remaining beside her, and Elissa behind her, approached Ed, the uniformed officer on duty behind the reception desk. She must have explained why they were there, since she turned slightly to gesture toward Elissa. Ed, nodding, picked up the desk phone receiver—evidently calling to inform the assistant chief of their arrival. Kara had indicated previously that she wanted further information, which was one reason Doug had told Elissa to join them at the station that morning.
Doug, Hooper at his side, immediately joined them. Elissa’s gaze roved through the station’s large entrance lobby, probably taking in the few groups of civilians talking among themselves or with a police officer or two. Her eyes were troubled, but even when he made a slight movement to attract her attention she didn’t look at him. He felt an urge to comfort her, to tell her everything would be all right. But he had no genuine sense yet that it would be. Even though he would do all he could to get this situation figured out.
“Okay, she’s expecting you,” Ed said to Maisie, who nodded.
“Thanks.” She must have known Doug was there since she turned and gestured toward the hall to the station’s administration area. “Let’s go.”
Only then did Elissa’s gaze seem to focus—on Maisie, not on him. She nodded.
Doug followed them toward the main hallway, Hooper with him. They quickly passed the groups of people he figured Elissa had been observing for the few minutes they were there, then entered the hall and walked down it nearly to the end.
As they reached the office, Maisie knocked on the wooden door. Kara called, “Come in,” and Maisie pushed the door open, gesturing for Elissa to precede her inside.
“Hello, Elissa,” Kara said. “I’m Assistant Chief Kara Province. Thank you for comin
g.” The assistant chief rose from behind her desk and offered her hand for a shake. There seemed to be fewer piles of paper on it than usual today, but her laptop remained on the small table beside her tall desk chair.
“Hi,” Elissa said. Despite her demeanor a minute ago, her voice sounded strong. “Thank you for inviting me here. I really want to figure out what’s going on, and I’m hoping you can help me.”
Doug found himself impressed with her attitude. Was it real—or was she just assuming it to try to impress the assistant chief?
“I hope we can, too.” Kara aimed a glance with slightly raised eyebrows first toward Maisie then toward him. He elevated his brows a bit, too, but without otherwise changing his mild expression. It would be interesting to hear how Kara played this game. “All of you, please have a seat. But before we begin—” She lifted her phone receiver, pressed a few buttons then talked briefly before putting it back down again. “I’m having a detective join us.”
Which was fine with Doug. Maisie and he were detectives of sorts, too—but with constant assistants who helped stop or solve crimes with the use of their noses and ears.
All of them sat—including Hooper and Griffin on the floor beside their respective handlers.
In a minute, another knock sounded at the door, and Detective Vince Vanderhoff, one of the department’s senior detectives, entered before Kara could invite him in.
Vince was moderate height, with a receding hairline of brown hair over a narrow face overpowered by large glasses. He wore a suit, as usual. “Hi,” he said first to Kara, who introduced him to Elissa and asked him to sit, as well. Her office had more chairs in it today than usual, so she had been clearly anticipating this meeting.
“Elissa,” Kara began after settling herself once more behind her desk. “You may be aware that I’ve discussed your situation with Officers Doug and Maisie Murran. I’ve also mentioned it to Detective Vanderhoff. We’re concerned about you since you’ve apparently just moved to Chance, and we’re particularly concerned about what’s going on at the Chance K-9 Ranch. Why don’t you describe it all, to make sure we’re on the same page?”
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