Killing Trail: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery

by Margaret Mizushima

  Taking Robo with her, she went to the back door and eased outside. Cement patio, lawn but no fencing, a few flower beds and shrubs. Without her needing to direct him, Robo sniffed at the door, his hackles rose, and he followed an invisible trail out into the yard.

  He must know which scent doesn’t belong.

  Mattie went with him, breaking into a jog as he trotted toward the lane, nose to the ground. At the top of the lane, he stopped, circled a few times to sniff the area, and then he sat and looked up at her. Clearly he’d lost the scent trail.

  Here’s where the guy parked.

  No neighbors to question, hard to say if anyone drove past and noticed a parked car. They probably thought nothing of it even if they did see one.

  Mattie and Robo returned to the house. The Walkers met them out on the front porch, and she told Cole what little she’d discovered. “I wish I had more,” she said.

  “Maybe this is unrelated,” he said, and Mattie understood that he meant unrelated to Grace’s killing. “Maybe it was just an interrupted burglary.”

  “Maybe.” But doubt made her probe her mind for that niggling thought she’d had back at the station during briefing.

  “You girls can ride ambulatory with me this afternoon.”

  “Can Belle come, too?” Sophie asked.

  “Sure. Go inside and pack a backpack with some books and snacks. Make sure you take a few water bottles.” As the girls went inside, Cole called, “Angela, grab your cell phone.”

  It was enough to help her make the connection. “The cell phone.”

  “What?”

  Her heartbeat quickened. “Grace’s cell phone is missing. Her killer probably took it to see who she’d been calling lately. Maybe it was him. Maybe he was looking for something or evidence that Angela might know something.”

  “But she doesn’t.”

  “He doesn’t know that.”

  Cole looked stricken.

  “There could be other kids in danger,” she said. “Hold on a minute. Let me make a call.” She swiped to her contact list and pressed a button. Cole went into the house, leaving Mattie alone on the porch.

  “Yes, Mattie?” Stella answered.

  Mattie explained her concern. “We need to check Grace’s cell phone records and notify some parents.”

  “I’ve already ordered the records. I’ll put a STAT on it,” Stella said.

  “Sounds good. I’ll be back at the station soon.” She disconnected the call.

  Cole came out of the house; determination had replaced the distress on his face. “I asked Angie to write down a list of Grace’s friends, anyone she might have been talking to on her phone.”

  “That’s a good idea. It takes a while to get the phone records.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Let’s find this monster.”

  “We will. We’re making progress. And we’re having Mike’s dogs brought back to Timber Creek. Will you examine them for us and make sure they’re healthy?”

  “Sure. But you realize I can’t tell if they were used as mules, right?”

  “Yes. We want to be thorough and not overlook the dogs’ needs if any of them were damaged in any way.”

  “All right. I’ll put it on the schedule for tomorrow.”

  He extended his hand, confusing Mattie. She hadn’t said anything about leaving. But she extended her own as if to shake hands.

  “I owe you a debt of gratitude,” he said, clasping her hand between both of his.

  “You owe me nothing.”

  His dark eyes held onto hers, and she felt a sinking sensation. Warmth spread from her chest into her face. His hands felt calloused and strong, and that surprised her. She would have expected softer hands for a doctor. But then some of his patients were much larger and tougher than humans. Embarrassed beyond words, Mattie tried to pull away, but he held fast.

  “These kids are all I have,” he said. “I appreciate your concern for their safety. And I appreciate what you’re doing to preserve this community and our way of life. I hope we can all get back to normal again soon.”

  The front door opened, and he released her hand. She took a step back. The kids came through the door, carrying their things, and Angela handed her the list.

  Mattie cleared her throat and tried for normalcy. “Thanks, Angie. I’d better get back to the station with this. We have some phone calls to make.”

  “Thanks for coming so fast,” Angela said.

  Sophie came close and reached up to give her a hug. As Mattie bent to accept it, she caught the sweet scent of the girl’s shampoo. She took in a breath as she held the child close for a moment.

  “You girls keep my cell phone number handy,” Mattie said after the hug. “I want you to call me directly anytime you’re afraid, day or night. Okay?”

  They agreed.

  “Thanks again, Mattie,” Cole said as she turned to leave. Sophie echoed his words in a soft voice.

  Robo followed her, and it felt good to have the routine of loading him into the cruiser and getting into her own seat. She still felt flustered by Cole’s warm demonstration of gratitude. Not wanting to dwell on it, she turned her mind to her main purpose.

  “Robo, we’ve got to find this guy before he hurts anyone else, right?”

  He looked into her eyes and panted.

  She’d take that as a yes.

  Chapter 25

  Mattie and Stella were heading toward the O’Malley trailer, but after driving a few blocks, Mattie pulled over and parked at the curb. Her concerns about Brody kept gnawing at her. True, he wasn’t the one who tried to break into the Walkers’ home, but still, there were some indications that he could be involved with this crime in some way. It was time to speak up about her suspicions and let the chips fall where they may.

  “I need to talk to you about something in private,” she said, “before we interview the O’Malleys.”

  Stella turned to her, curiosity on her face. “What’s that?”

  “Yesterday, when I asked Tommy O’Malley if he knew anything about drug running through town, he said I needed to talk to Deputy Brody about that. When I asked why he’d say such a thing, he told me that Brody spent time in the park with Mike Chadron and his dogs this summer. This causes concern about two things: one, that Tommy knows something about Mike being involved with drug running, and two, that he suspects Deputy Brody is mixed up in it.”

  Stella pursed her lips.

  “Tommy also told me that he saw Brody hanging out with kids at the end of the school year. He thought Brody might know Grace.”

  “Did Brody identify the body when she was found?”

  “No. None of us appeared to know who she was at that time.”

  “This is serious shit, Mattie.”

  “Tell me about it.” She paused. “There’s more.”

  “Damn, girl. Give it to me.”

  “Yesterday, when you briefed us on the case at noon, I was sitting behind Brody. When you reviewed the evidence, I noticed him getting more and more agitated, his neck got red, and he acted like he couldn’t wait to get out of the room.”

  “Maybe he just had gas.”

  Mattie appreciated the detective’s attempt at levity, but she shook her head. “It all started when I mentioned the hot springs crowd as possible suspects.”

  Stella pursed her lips again and shrugged. Mattie could tell she was as yet unconvinced.

  “Last night I couldn’t sleep, so I took Robo for a jog along the highway. I happened to go past Brody’s house and the car I mentioned was parked there, the one that belongs to Adrienne Howard. As you heard in our meeting today, Brody vehemently denies that neither she nor any of the hot springs crowd is involved in our case.”

  “Maybe they’re not. They are only persons of interest at this point.”

  “Yeah, I know. But what if they’re involved with drug running? And I also saw Brody flush when the sheriff asked him if he was in Phoenix at the time the murder weapon was stolen from the dentist’s car.”
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br />   “I saw it too, but that’s natural. Anyone might get embarrassed if that connection was brought up in a group. Especially in a group of cops.”

  This wasn’t going as Mattie planned. “I think we should confirm that Brody really wasn’t near Brinkman that weekend.”

  Stella turned in her seat so that she could face Mattie. “All right. It’s sticky, but I can do that when I contact the golf pro. I respect your observations, but most of them don’t hold water. Now this bit from Tommy O’Malley? It bears checking out. Carefully, very carefully. We’ve got to tiptoe through this shit like we’re going barefoot in a pig sty.”

  At least Stella agreed with her on the most important points. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you before we got to them. I need some help on follow-up questions with Tommy, and I want to find out if Patrick knows anything.”

  “I like the sound of that. Let’s go.”

  Driving up to the O’Malley trailer, Mattie spotted Sean sitting on the rough board steps at the front. He jumped up and beat it inside.

  “That’s odd,” she told Stella. “I’m surprised he didn’t come out to see Robo.”

  Patrick O’Malley stepped out onto the porch, and she put two and two together. She would bet her next paycheck that Sean had been told to stay away from her.

  “There’s the man we’re looking for,” she said as she parked the cruiser and rolled down the windows.

  Patrick stayed on the steps while they approached. Mattie introduced the detective, who offered a handshake that he ignored. Stella ended up smiling and placing her hand in her pocket.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. O’Malley,” Stella said. “We’re visiting with parents who have kids in high school. I understand you have two of that age.”

  He acknowledged her with a slight nod.

  “You’ve heard about Grace Hartman’s death, I suppose.”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you know Grace, sir?”

  “No, I did not.”

  “Were your kids friends with her?”

  “How the hell should I know?”

  Stella stayed friendly. “We’re advising parents to talk with their teens about being extra cautious, especially those kids who were friends with Grace. Ask them to go out only when accompanied by a parent or have them stay in groups. That sort of thing.”

  Patrick stared and offered nothing.

  “Could we have Tommy join us? We’d actually like to ask you both a few questions.”

  “Tommy ain’t here.”

  “Can you tell us where he is?”

  “Nope, I have no frickin’ idea. Tommy’s hard to pin down.”

  “I hear ya. Most teenagers are. That’s why we decided to talk with families. No need for panic, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep a closer eye. Are you aware of the antidrug campaign we’ve started in town?”

  “Nope.”

  “There’s been some drug traffic through town this past year. Have you been aware of that?”

  “Nope.”

  “Well, we’re making sure people know that we won’t stand still for it. We have zero tolerance for illegal drugs in this community.”

  “Doesn’t affect me.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” Stella paused. “We’ve also lost another citizen lately. Mike Chadron. Have you heard about that?”

  “Nope.”

  “Do you know Mike?”

  “I do not.”

  “Okay.” Stella took a different turn. “I understand you’re going to start work at the mine in Rigby.”

  A trace of confusion crossed his face. “Where’d you hear that?”

  Stella turned to Mattie. “Deputy Cobb? Didn’t Mr. O’Malley’s son Tommy say that’s where they were going to work?”

  “Yes, ma’am, he did.”

  Patrick snorted. “Tommy’s a liar. Don’t listen to him.”

  “So where are you working then?” Stella asked.

  “I’m a handyman. I work all over.”

  “And where are you working currently?”

  “At the school. I’m doing a job for the principal.”

  “Have you worked there for long?”

  “A couple weeks.”

  “So you were working there last week? Did you work on Friday?”

  “Yeah, I did. What does that have to do with anything?”

  Stella pressed on. “Did anyone see you working there Friday morning?”

  Patrick gave her a suspicious look, not oblivious to the turn in her line of questioning. “Yeah. Friday was payday. The secretary gave me a check that morning.”

  That gave him an alibi for Grace’s death, but Mattie wondered why he hadn’t used the money then to buy groceries for his family. She wanted to ask but didn’t want to interrupt Stella’s momentum. It was a detail she could check later.

  “The police are planning to have more of a presence at the school this fall,” Stella said. “In fact, they started last spring before school ended. Have you noticed our patrols while you’ve been working there?”

  “That big cop drives by a lot. He spends a lot of time at the school.”

  Stella smiled. “The biggest cop we’ve got is Deputy Brody. You might be talking about him. Do you know if he’s the one?”

  “I don’t know the guy’s name.”

  “Were you working at the school last spring?”

  “Yeah. That’s when I first saw him. Always hanging out in the parking lot before and after school. Seemed to be talking with the kids a lot.”

  “Did you see him with anyone in particular?”

  “I didn’t pay attention to that. Saw him talk to the principal a few times. He’s stopped in to talk to the principal this summer, too.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  Patrick shrugged and didn’t offer anything else.

  Geez. Like pulling an elephant’s teeth. Mattie wondered why Brody was stopping in to talk with Brennaman. What business did he have at the school during the summer?

  Finally, Patrick went on. “He showed a lot of interest in those old buildings I tore down. Went in and out of ’em, carried some things out and put ’em in his car.”

  “Like what kind of things?” Stella asked.

  “Hell if I know. I didn’t stop working to look.”

  “Were you around during any of these meetings Deputy Brody had with the principal?”

  “Oh, yeah. He wants my opinion on a lot of things,” Patrick said with sarcasm. “I fix things, I tear things down, I clear things out. I don’t sit in meetings. You want to know what’s going on? Ask your cop friend. Why are you asking me anyway?”

  Stella smiled her sweet smile. “I thought if you knew I’d save myself some time. Oh, yes. One more thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  The smile fell from Stella’s face. “I hear your wife looks like someone might have hit her.”

  His face reddened. His eyes darted from Stella to Mattie. “Did she tell you someone hit her?”

  Mattie cut in. “No, Mr. O’Malley, she didn’t. It’s something I noticed earlier.”

  “Did you hit her?” Stella asked.

  “No! I don’t beat my wife.”

  The silence lengthened while they all stared at each other.

  “Good to know,” Stella said, breaking the lengthy silence. “But you need to remember that we’ll be keeping an eye on her now.”

  More silence while Patrick glowered.

  “Well, sir, thank you for your time. We want to talk with Tommy again later, so we’ll come by this evening,” Stella said.

  He frowned. “I don’t know if he’ll be home.”

  “We’ll take our chances. It’s not far to drive. But if he’s not here, we’ll need to find him and bring both of you to the station so we can question him.” Stella turned to leave but stopped when Mattie stayed.

  “Mr. O’Malley,” Mattie said, “Sean got caught shoplifting food on Saturday. I was just wondering, if you got paid on Friday, why didn’t you get groceries for your family then?” />
  He took on a mean look. “I didn’t have time to get the damn check cashed when I got off work. The bank was closed.”

  “There’s an ATM on the side of the bank.”

  “Shit, I don’t use those things. Don’t even have an account there. We pay cash for everything.”

  Mattie paused. This was truly a family who lived from paycheck to paycheck. “I see. A social worker will be stopping by again with services to offer your family. I wish you’d consider taking advantage of what she has to offer. It could ease some of the pressure you have when your cash falls short.”

  His face tightened. “And I’ll warn you to mind your own business when it comes to my money and my family.”

  Mattie felt a flare of anger but held it back. “It’s my duty to make sure you and your family have the means to be safe and secure. It’s what we do.”

  Stella smiled her sweet smile. “And we stay at it until we’re satisfied. Thanks again for your time, Mr. O’Malley.”

  This time Mattie followed her to the car. “What do you think?” she asked Stella once they’d driven away.

  “I’ll verify Brody’s account of the two tournaments, and we’ll keep an eye on him. We need to find out what he was taking out of those buildings.”

  “And why he’s been going by the school this summer,” Mattie said.

  “Maybe he’s been planning an antidrug program with the principal or something.”

  “That’s my job.”

  Stella pursed her lips, looking thoughtful.

  “I’m dropping off some information at the school for the principal this afternoon. I’ll see if I can get some answers from him,” Mattie said.

  “Be careful, Mattie.”

  “I will.” She intended to be careful, but she also intended to get to the bottom of it.

  Stella stared out the passenger window, lips pursed. “This is some serious shit,” she muttered under her breath.

  Chapter 26

  Leaving Robo in the car in front of the high school, Mattie entered the building, a manila envelope containing information about the antidrug program in hand. She was relieved to find Brennaman standing at the front counter, apparently filling out some forms. He tilted his head to look at her over the top of reading glasses perched partway down his nose. He gave her a teasing smile.