Trained to Protect

by Linda O. Johnston

  When they were all seated, Doug decided to start talking before the others asked any questions.

  For the next few minutes, while eating a bowl of crunchy, not-too-sweet cereal with a little bit of milk, he described what had happened, in case they hadn’t heard about Jill Jacobs’s murder.

  Of course they had but still had questions. Elissa kept looking at him in a way that suggested she wanted to know what he was going to say before he said it, but this was far from a time to point any fingers at her.

  “One thing you need to know,” he finally said, “is that some evidence found at the crime scene could implicate Elissa in the murder, although so far we also believe it could have been planted to attempt to frame her. I’d like to believe in Elissa’s innocence and I’m sure you would, too.”

  He nearly bit his tongue at that, especially after aiming a glance at her and seeing the hurt on her face, at least for a moment. It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of her innocence. But he couldn’t do that—yet. Not even here.

  “We absolutely would,” Amber said, scowling at him. Good. Elissa at least had one person on her side—a person who also happened to be her employer.

  “In case anyone wants to hear from me,” Elissa said, “I am innocent.” She punctuated that with a substantial gulp of coffee from her cup, and Doug resisted the urge to get out of his chair beside her and give her a reassuring hug.

  “I figured,” he said. “And since that’s the case, whoever is attempting to frame you might be unhappy that you’re not under arrest yet. You could be in danger. You’ll hopefully be safe here at the ranch—”

  “And we’ll try to keep an eye on her while she’s here,” Amber stated with no hesitation.

  “That’s exactly what I was going to ask. Thanks.”

  “And thank you, too,” Amber said, “for trying to protect our new employee.”

  * * *

  After breakfast, Elissa and Doug played for a while with the young dogs in the den who were being trained as K-9s. They also provided some quality time petting the other dogs in the house, Bear and Lola, while the other people provided attention to Peace and Hooper.

  Soon, though, it was time to say goodbye to Doug and Hooper.

  Just for now? Elissa assumed so. She hoped they would get together again as...what? Lovers? Sure, or at least friends. And hopefully not because some other false evidence showed up and Doug came to arrest her.

  With Peace, she walked Hooper and him to his SUV, still parked in front of her house.

  As he used the remote on his key ring to open the doors, she said in as bright a tone as she could muster, “Thanks for coming...and staying. And for trying to help me.”

  His tone was a whole lot sexier as he returned a grin to her, his smile all but stripping the clothes off her, and said, “And a big thank you to you, too.”

  She couldn’t help smiling back, but neither could she make herself ask what she really wanted to know: when would they see each other again, for whatever reason?

  He seemed to hear her anyway. He drew closer, pressing his large, hard body against hers as he leaned down, apparently oblivious that he was sort of out in public, wearing his uniform, and about to kiss her. “You be careful,” he said. “I’ll check with you often, and you can call me anytime. I know Amber and Evan will be keeping an eye on you, at least somewhat, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be safe.” Before she could reply, he bent and the kiss they shared was reminiscent in heat level to those they had engaged in earlier.

  She felt forlorn when he pulled back. “See you soon, I hope,” was all she could manage to say.

  “Count on it. Oh, and by the way, I’m looking forward to your next class. I’ll be there with Hooper, and I’d imagine Maisie and Griffin will come, too.”

  “That would be great. It’ll be Saturday at ten in the morning,” she reminded him, wondering if that would be the next time she would see him. This was only Thursday.

  Even if it was, she would at least have that to look forward to.

  She stood there waving, Peace at her side, as Doug drove along the narrow lane toward the driveway that led to the road. And then he was gone.

  But when she turned she saw that Amber, Evan and Sonya, and ranch hand Orrin, were all on the ranch house’s front porch, talking. She had nothing in particular to do, so she headed that direction and joined them.

  “Peace and I don’t have another class to give till Saturday, and for right now we’re not going off on any therapy sessions on our own.” She didn’t need to tell them why that would be a bad idea, although she really hoped things would change and they could do so again soon. She continued, “So if any of you have anything we, or either of us, can help with, let me know.”

  She watched as Amber and Evan traded glances—and felt a familiar twinge of envy at the caring emotion she saw there, even though there was nothing particularly emotional happening here and now.

  “Actually, there is something you can help with,” Amber said, turning back to Elissa. “Evan has a class scheduled early this evening for general dog training, and it always helps to have an example to show the students what he’s talking about, in addition to Bear. Care to give a demonstration?”

  “I’d be glad to,” Elissa said, relieved that she would be at least a little busy—and contributing, in a small way, to the success of her kind and understanding employer. “Just tell me the time and Peace and I will be there.”

  Chapter 21

  Saturday morning arrived much quicker than Elissa had anticipated.

  Maybe it was because she had been kept so busy over the past couple of days, thanks to Evan and Amber.

  She had known almost nothing about how cops were trained to work with K-9s. But she had enjoyed watching Evan demonstrate to a few classes of police officers who’d brought their own nearby departments’ dogs some of what he considered to be advanced moves. That included scenting out bad guys and having the dogs attack ranch hand Orrin in a protective suit, acting as what they called an agitator. Orrin helped Evan a lot, and this was one of the most frequent ways.

  Plus, Elissa had helped to arrange which student and their dog was up next and what exercise they would engage in. Highly interesting and enjoyable.

  She’d had fun working with the ranch’s K-9s even more—German shepherds Lucy, Rex and Hal—who stayed mostly in the den when not outside in the area within the chain-link enclosure inside the large plank fence surrounding the ranch. In training here for months, the three shepherds knew basic commands, and Evan was working to familiarize them with even more of what the visiting K-9s already knew.

  Elissa regretted that she couldn’t visit Florence again in the hospital with Peace. But it was safer to stay here. And she would at least be able to give her therapy dog class soon.

  Besides, she remained busy in other ways.

  She completed her list of people she didn’t always get along with, as well as her computer search for information about them, and emailed it to Doug to pass along to his station’s computer guy. No one stood out as a particular problem, though.

  Much more fun, she even got to play the role of a handler a few times and loved it. Not that she intended to get involved with training K-9s other than here. But she hoped Doug would let her work with Hooper at least a little.

  Doug. He had called her a couple of times on Thursday after he’d left and come to take her out to dinner that evening, which had evolved into further time together... But he hadn’t stayed overnight. There was a major investigation that Maisie and he and their K-9s had to dig into on Friday, pretty much all day. Even so, he had managed to call her several times then, too, asked if she was okay and if she was hanging out with the people they trusted at the ranch. She’d been able to say yes with certainty. She had even managed to sound calm and neutral when talking with him, hoping not to bring to mind—too much—all the fun they had
engaged in when alone together.

  She didn’t know when that would happen again. If ever.

  But now it was nearing nine o’clock. Her remaining students were scheduled to arrive soon, and she was outside with Peace for a walk on the ranch’s grounds—after again having had breakfast in the main house with Amber, Evan and Sonya.

  They were definitely wonderful people, and were keeping their promise to Doug to keep an eye on her.

  So close an eye on her that she relished this moment walking alone outside with her dog. Of course she’d told them where she’d intended to go—to the area enclosed by chain-link fencing since the ranch’s K-9 students were inside the house. That was where she would hold her class.

  Assuming her students showed up—any of them.

  “We’ll see,” she said softly to Peace, who was busy sniffing bushes off the side of the narrow road leading to her house. From there, Elissa could look down on the fenced area in question. She intended to have each student, in turn, act as a hospital patient needing the kind of therapy only a loving dog could provide. They would all additionally take turns being the therapy dog handler on duty.

  Her remaining students. She had spoken with each of them over the last two days. Paul and Kim had called her after hearing what had happened to Jill. Elissa’d been the one to call Jim. Yes, he’d heard but didn’t know what to say. As long as the class was being held on Saturday, he’d planned to attend—and ask any questions then.

  All of them had sounded rattled. And concerned. And had asked whether Elissa believed the murder had anything to do with her training Jill to become a therapy dog handler.

  In some ways, Elissa worried that the answer was yes. Maybe anyone associated with her was in danger.

  She had merely told the students to be careful, but that she didn’t believe Jill’s attack had anything to do with this class.

  With her? That was another story, but she didn’t mention it to them.

  “Guess we’d better go inside and get ready,” Elissa said to Peace and then gave the command, “Come.” Of course her smart and obedient dog did so, remaining leashed at her side as she turned toward their house. That’s when she saw a car pull off the road below and onto the driveway: a black SUV with a light on top that wasn’t lit now, but it confirmed who was arriving. Doug. And maybe Maisie with him.

  Instead of going to her home, Elissa walked to the main ranch house to wait. In moments, Peace was able to greet his friends Hooper and Griffin, since both officers and their dogs got out of the SUV.

  “Thanks for coming,” Elissa said as, side by side, they faced her—dressed in their uniforms and looking all cop. Even Doug looked all professional, his handsome sexiness not hidden but certainly not at the forefront of his appearance. Maisie, who resembled a feminine version of her brother, seemed even friendlier than he did at the moment.

  Was there something Doug hadn’t told her?

  Was she going to be taken into custody this day?

  Apparently not at the moment, at least, since they both approached her, even as another car started up the driveway. Amber and the others in the house must have heard the cars since they came out onto the porch. After saying hi to Elissa, Doug and Maisie joined them.

  In a minute, Elissa greeted Kim, with Barker. And shortly thereafter, the other two students also arrived.

  The three of them seemed uncomfortable standing there with their dogs at the base of the ranch’s porch. They glanced at each other, then away, as if all were uneasy even trying to speak about the loss of their barely known classmate.

  Elissa realized it was up to her to address this very sad, very frightening, elephant on the ranch.

  “Before we get started,” she said, facing them as Peace sat on the dry turf at her side, “I know you’re all aware of what happened to our other student, Jill Jacobs. We’ve all briefly discussed it, plus the media has provided some information and updates.” The three students nodded at her, still without looking much at the others.

  Elissa glanced up at Doug and Maisie on the porch. “I’m sure none of you is surprised that the Chance PD is giving their investigation high priority.” Both Doug and Maisie nodded as the students looked up at them. “I gather there’s nothing they can talk about publicly right now, but I’ve seen that they’re looking into a number of possibilities.” Like whether I could be the killer. But she wasn’t about to mention that—although she figured they all knew she was a suspect.

  “Now,” she finished, “let’s go ahead and start today’s lesson. I’d like to dedicate all our wonderful efforts to Jill as well as our combined wishes that she could be with us today and through the entire class.”

  “Hear, hear,” Kim said, and the youngest of the students made a gesture to her Dobie. In response, Barker did exactly as his name implied: barked, as if he agreed with his owner.

  Jim Curtis just nodded and his Lab mix Bandit sat at his side, leaning against his leg as if he recognized some emotion on his master’s part.

  Paul Wilson looked at Elissa, shaking his head while holding Ollie, his French bulldog. “Good idea,” he said. “But this is so sad.”

  “I agree,” Elissa said then heaved a big sigh.

  “Do you know where her dog Astro is?” Kim asked.

  “No, but I wish I did,” Elissa said, glancing toward the porch.

  “Jill’s parents came up from Ventura to help deal with the situation,” Maisie said. “They’re taking Astro home with them, or at least, that’s what I heard.”

  “Oh, good.” Elissa felt relieved. Even though she didn’t know Jill’s family, surely they would take good care of her dog in her memory. “So...please follow Peace and me to the exercise area and we’ll begin our lesson.”

  Their minds might remain filled with thoughts of their missing classmate, but life had to continue.

  Elissa just wished that she knew what Doug, who’d remained so remote and silent, was thinking.

  * * *

  So far, Doug admired Elissa’s attitude and her approach to her students regarding their deceased classmate.

  She had addressed the situation in a way that would hopefully keep the others thinking about their own safety. Since no one knew the motive for Jill Jacobs’s homicide, it remained unclear whether anyone else was in danger.

  But she had also given them reason to continue with their classes—and to be cautious with their lives.

  Now, with Maisie beside him and their dogs accompanying them, too, he followed the group off the porch and down the hillside to the fenced class area. He’d said hello to Amber, Sonya and Evan, and they, too, headed in that direction.

  Everyone should now behave as if things were normal. Or so he believed.

  And in fact the class did seem to go well. At the beginning, Elissa had the students demonstrate how their dogs were learning the basic commands. Then, one by one, she had them each pretend to be a patient in a hospital or nursing home, while someone else’s dog provided therapy.

  She told Paul to act as if he had been in a bad car accident with a beloved family member injured, too—and had Kim’s dog Barker nuzzle him where he sat on a folding chair Evan had brought out for the class.

  Next, Paul’s dog Ollie helped to cheer up Jim, who was ostensibly a patient in a long-term-care facility with no family around—although Ollie seemed a bit energetic to help a supposed senior. If that kept up, he might not qualify as a therapy dog, the way Elissa had described it.

  And finally, Jim’s dog Bandit was instructed to help Kim as a hospitalized new stroke patient who had a good chance to get better if her mindset improved. Doug enjoyed listening when Elissa described how, similarly to this exercise, Peace had helped hospital patient Florence, who had been mostly unresponsive, to react.

  All seemed to do well. Elissa also seemed pleased.

  A good class.

  He was gl
ad he was watching it.

  He was glad he was watching sexy and skilled Elissa.

  Now, if only he, or his fellow cops, could find the killer and get Elissa off the hook.

  Assuming she was, in fact, innocent.

  * * *

  The class appeared to go well, or so Elissa thought as she observed her students chatting in the enclosed instruction area after the last exercise while their dogs traded sniffs once more. At least she hoped so.

  She had a sense that the different therapy dog aspects of the class were extremely important that day. The new handlers themselves were in need of therapy dog assistance, thanks to the sudden and terrible loss of their class member.

  They helped each other. She helped them, too—and at the same time received some degree of therapy herself.

  Of course she could have relied on her wonderful Peace for that. Had relied on her. But the extra help was useful, too.

  It also didn’t hurt having Doug—and Maisie—here with their dogs. They participated in the class, too, with both dogs doing everything they were told and then some.

  Same went for the two K-9 cops.

  And Elissa had felt Doug’s gaze on her nearly all the time.

  Her bosses observed the entire class, as well, standing just outside the gate to the practice area. They smiled and clapped and cheered now and then when one of the dogs did exactly as directed by his or her owner.

  Elissa dared to allow herself to feel...well, happy. Somewhat. And, possibly, free of all the suspicions against her while she worked there.

  They would undoubtedly return later, and she would have to deal with them. But so be it.

  “So what do you think?”

  She turned quickly to face Doug. She had been concentrating so much on observing her remaining three students that she hadn’t noticed Hooper and him move away from the inside of the gate area where he’d stood with Maisie and Griffin, near where Amber, Evan and Sonya stood outside. And now he’d joined her.