Killing Trail: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery

by Margaret Mizushima

  “I’m okay with taking the bandage off, but I’d rather you look at the wound to make sure it’s healing right.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I want Robo to have a less stressful experience with me anyway. I really don’t want him to take a disliking to me like he did Brennaman.” He smiled at Mattie as he spoke.

  She gave him a tired smile in return that made Cole glad to be able to lighten her seriousness. “I believe that was related to character judgment,” she said, “and Brennaman brought that on himself.”

  Cole shook his head. “I still can hardly believe it. Wait ’til this gets out. Timber Creek won’t stop talking about this for years.”

  Mattie’s cell phone rang, and she answered it. After a brief exchange, she said, “We’re ready to roll. I’ll be right there.” She looked at Cole. “So it’s safe to take Robo back to work?”

  Robo’s tail thumped, causing Cole to glance his way. It was almost comical, the big black dog wearing a red muzzle and white bandage, wagging his tail eagerly when his handler mentioned work. No doubt about what made this dog happy.

  “Yes, he can go back to work,” he said, slipping off the muzzle. “How do you feel?”

  “A lot better. This ice really helped.”

  “Leave it on. Keep the pack. You might need it again in your line of work.” He helped her lift Robo off the table and opened the door for them to go while Mattie slipped off the muzzle.

  “Thanks. I’ll call tomorrow and make an appointment for you to see him the next day.”

  “Sounds good.”

  The shock from learning that Brennaman was a murderer had subsided, and Cole realized how he hadn’t expressed his gratitude that Grace’s killer would be brought to justice. He reached for Mattie’s left hand and took it with both of his. She looked up at him, surprise evident.

  “I haven’t told you how much I appreciate you finding Grace’s killer,” he said. “I’m not sure that words can adequately say how that makes me feel. It’s a real jumble right now. Nothing will bring Grace back to us, but at least her killer won’t get away unpunished.”

  With that determination in her eyes that he’d become familiar with, she nodded. “And if we can get evidence from his house that will pin it on him in court, he’ll pay big time—a child killer in prison doesn’t usually fare too well.”

  Cole released her hand. “Then I’ll let you get back to your job. To protect and serve. Thank you for that, Deputy Mattie Cobb. But be careful out there.”

  She smiled in a small way that touched her eyes and relaxed her face. She gave him a left-handed salute and went through his front door, saying, “Come, Robo. Let’s go to work.”

  “And phone me after you’ve seen Dr. McGinnis,” he called to her as she walked away.

  She raised her injured arm in acknowledgement.

  Cole stood and watched the black shadow gamboling at her side, white teeth visible as he grinned up at her, until she passed outside his entry light and got into her car. Although he wasn’t a religious man in a traditional sense, he made a mental request for someone out there to watch over Mattie and to keep her and her dog safe.

  *

  Mattie could still feel the tingle in her left hand from when Cole had held it. She gave her head a slight shake, trying to dispel the fact that she was drawn to him more and more. His divorce had been finalized for only a few days; this was not a time that he’d be interested in a new relationship. And it was silly to think he might ever be interested in her anyway.

  As she drove to the station, she couldn’t help but think about the stuff that made up a family. She’d always craved a regular family life like Cole’s. But his family had been flawed even when she believed it to be perfect. She decided that a perfect family didn’t truly exist.

  Then there was the O’Malley family, one she’d completely misread. Her own family background had colored her judgment, and that wasn’t good in her line of work. She’d learned a lesson she needed to remember in the future: all families are different, and stay open so you can read the signs you’re being given. That lesson would be second to the one she now truly understood: always listen to your dog.

  At the station, she found the entire team. Stella had stayed to question the suspects. She still wore her tailored pantsuit, but she’d exchanged her dress shoes for black sneakers, and she was returning her service weapon to its holster under her jacket. Mattie could tell she meant to go with them to search Brennaman’s house.

  “Did you get anything out of Brennaman?” Mattie asked her.

  “Nah,” Stella said, clearly disgusted. She did a double take, looking from her to Robo and back again. “Mattie, what happened to you and your dog?”

  “Brennaman.”

  “Let’s get photos of your injuries before you go home tonight.” With her head, she gestured back to the interrogation rooms. “Brennaman asked for a lawyer first thing. Won’t say a word without one. He’s in there with Justin McClelland. I told them both I’d be back in an hour. They can sit in there and cook. Let’s go find something that gives me leverage.”

  Brennaman lived outside of town on a plot of land adjacent to the national forest. His log house sat at the back of the property near the trees. McCoy and Stella led the way, followed by Brody and Johnson. Mattie and Robo brought up the rear. Their caravan pulled to a stop in front of the house. The house was dark, and as far as they knew, the only person present inside was Mrs. Brennaman.

  “Brody and Johnson, you cover the rear door,” McCoy ordered. “I doubt this lady’s involved, but we need to be prepared in case she tries to run. Detective LoSasso and I will serve the warrant. Deputy Cobb, you wait out here. I’ll wait two minutes for you men to get into place. Then I’ll knock on the door.”

  Robo stood when the men walked away. “Wait,” she whispered to him. Her senses sharpened. She inhaled the scent of pine and heard a night bird take flight from a tree behind her.

  After two minutes, McCoy stepped up on the porch and pounded the front door. Stella waited behind him, her service weapon held down at her side. After a long pause, the sheriff pounded the door again.

  Lights came on inside the house and on the porch, but no one opened the door. A feminine voice called through it. “Who is it?”

  “Mrs. Brennaman? It’s Sheriff McCoy.”

  The door opened immediately, revealing a short woman of medium build dressed in a night robe. Her short, silver-gray hair was tousled. “Sheriff? What are you doing here?” She put her hand to her throat. “Something hasn’t happened to John, has it?”

  “Could we come inside, Mrs. Brennaman?”

  “Surely.” She held the door wide while McCoy and Stella moved inside. “Please tell me.”

  Mattie could see the woman’s distress. While she waited by the cruiser, she imagined her shock when McCoy explained—that is, if she was truly innocent.

  It didn’t take long for Stella to signal her to come inside. With Robo beside her, Mattie passed through the front door into a living room filled with fussy furniture and knickknacks. Mrs. Brennaman was sitting on a couch, looking stunned, with Sheriff McCoy sitting beside her holding the warrant. He was still explaining the process to the woman in a gentle voice. Brody and Johnson had moved inside through the back door and stood by, Johnson shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other and Brody standing solid with his thumbs hooked onto his utility belt.

  Stella signaled for Mattie to follow her down a hallway to a room that looked like a home office. “This is a good place to start,” Stella said.

  With her right arm still throbbing, Mattie used her left hand to hold Robo’s leash and guided him with her injured arm, starting at the desk and then working around the room. He paused at the closet door, sniffing its edges, and she opened it so he could move inside. A navy-blue sweatshirt hung amid coats and jackets; a black ski mask and a pair of leather gloves lay on the shelf above.

  But Robo was busy sniffing the floor. Then he walked in and sat in the middle, looki
ng up at her to tell her he’d found something.

  Mattie praised him and asked him to come out. “We need to see what’s under that carpet,” she told Stella.

  Together they started to move in, but Stella gently pushed Mattie aside. “Let me do it. You should be using that arm as little as possible.”

  She watched Stella work, pulling up carpeting that was barely tacked down and then lifting a hatch-like cover to reveal a hollowed-out space below the floor. “Do you have a flashlight?” Stella asked.

  Mattie handed her one.

  Stella lit the space where they could see two leather briefcases and numerous small parcels wrapped in plastic. Stella photographed and carefully opened a package of each type. The leather case contained cash, and the plastic parcel contained cocaine.

  They also found a small box that held a cell phone with its battery removed and a dainty ring, its thin gold band set with a ruby. Grace’s ring—her last birthday gift from her parents. Tears filled Mattie’s eyes, and she looked away.

  “I think this should be enough to put him away forever,” Stella said in a sober voice. “Let’s have you sweep the rest of the house and then let the CSU finish up here. We’ll take these things and the wife back to the station. Maybe all of it combined will be enough to make him come clean. Great job, Mattie.”

  Mattie shrugged. “It’s all Robo,” she said. Her body may have felt battered and bruised, but her spirit soared. She couldn’t have been more proud.

  Chapter 30

  Tuesday

  Sheriff McCoy had ordered Mattie to go home shortly after they finished up at the Brennaman house. He told her, in no uncertain terms, not to come back to the station until she’d seen Dr. McGinnis. The good doctor had agreed to open early so that he could x-ray her arm, and he’d given her a clean bill of health to return to work.

  Well, not exactly squeaky clean. The bone in her forearm wasn’t broken, but it was badly bruised, and he’d advised ice and elevation for forty-eight hours and then caution and rest to let it heal. Mattie figured she had reams of paperwork to do and a two-day break in her schedule starting tomorrow. That would be enough time to rest. There was no way she could stay away from the station today. She could hardly wait to hear the results of last night’s interrogation.

  As she drove, she wondered when Willie would call. She also wondered where her mother was and if Willie could give her any answers. She felt herself getting nervous even thinking about it. Focus on work, she told herself. Take care of business.

  At the station, she pulled into a parking spot and let Robo out to follow her inside.

  Rainbow sat at her desk out front, brightening when she spied Mattie. “Sheriff McCoy told me to let him know when you got in. He wants to see you in his office.”

  Mattie felt apprehensive when she was singled out to see the sheriff. Must be leftover emotions from her many trips to the principal’s office in years past. “Okay.”

  Rainbow hesitated with her hand next to the phone, her smile deepening. “I’m so proud of you and Robo. You guys are a kick-ass team.”

  Mattie returned Rainbow’s smile. It felt good to receive kudos from a colleague. “He’s a kick-ass dog, isn’t he?”

  Rainbow raised the phone receiver to her ear but paused before paging the sheriff. “Do you want to have lunch together today?”

  Mattie was surprised to realize she wanted to, but she feared she was too tired and painful. “I’d really like to, Rainbow, but I think I might go home during my lunch hour and put ice on my arm. Another time, okay?”

  Concern knit Rainbow’s brow. “Take care of yourself.”

  “Maybe Friday, after my days off. We could eat out at the picnic table.”

  Rainbow smiled. “Sounds fun. I hope your arm feels better.” She finished buzzing the sheriff.

  McCoy opened his office door and beckoned Mattie in. He gestured for her to sit in a chair in front of his desk.

  “It took all night, but we got a confession from Brennaman for both homicides and drug traffic,” McCoy said.

  “What? That’s great!”

  “I want to congratulate you and your K-9 on the job you did last night. Your performance broke this case wide open, Deputy.”

  Mattie grinned and then ducked her head to glance down at Robo. He was watching her, reading her body language. She supposed he hadn’t had much opportunity to observe her being happy. Well, now was his chance. This was her being happy.

  “I don’t think we need to worry about whether or not you need a probationary period for handling this dog anymore. As long as I’m in office, you can consider yourself his permanent handler. You behaved like a seasoned team out there, and anyone who decided to split you up should have his head examined.”

  Mattie nodded, not trusting herself to respond.

  “I have some good news for you,” he said.

  “You already gave me some good news.”

  Sheriff McCoy’s smile told her he was enjoying himself. “I suppose you studied asset forfeiture at the academy.”

  Asset forfeiture laws allowed local law enforcement agencies, along with federal and state jurisdictions, to share in seized monetary assets after a drug bust. “I did.”

  “I’ve already talked to some of the county commissioners this morning, and they’re going to set up a K-9 team support fund with our share of the assets. I think we can begin to plan for things you need, like razor wire for Robo’s enclosure and a four-wheel-drive vehicle. We need you to be as mobile as you can be in our mountain terrain.”

  Mattie couldn’t believe it; she and Robo were going to pay their own way. “Thank you, sir.”

  “And I’m going to get approval for adding another deputy on staff. Although it’s important for you to take patrol duty part of the time to keep in touch with the community, I want you to have the flexibility to fully launch the search program we’ve started for vehicles going through town.”

  “That would be great.”

  “The only loose end we have in this case is that there was too much cash involved for this drug ring to be contained in our small community. I’m afraid Brennaman may be just one link in a chain. We can’t afford to let our guard down.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “One more thing.” McCoy paused, apparently searching for how to put into words what he wanted to say. “I watched you grow up, since that night I responded to your call for help. Do you remember that was me?”

  “Yes, sir.” Mattie’s face started to feel hot.

  “I worried about you but wasn’t quite sure how I could help, until that opening came up in Mama T’s home, and I got your social worker to transfer you there. I was on the sidelines every time I could be, cheering you on when you won a race. I’m proud of the person you’ve become, and I’m honored to have you as an officer in my department.”

  McCoy paused, the muscle in his jaw working. Unshed tears blurred Mattie’s eyesight. She blinked but didn’t look away from him.

  McCoy stared at Mattie hard, his countenance stern. “Now, did Dr. McGinnis say you’re fit to be here at work?”

  Mattie cleared her throat. “Yes, sir.”

  “No broken bones?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Then do what you have to do to wrap things up and take the rest of the day off. I’ve already arranged coverage for your shift.” He picked up some papers from his desk and appeared to read them, though he was probably just giving Mattie the privacy she needed to battle her emotions. “In the future, I’ll stay out of your personal life, and we won’t speak of this again.”

  Quickly, Mattie brushed the wetness from her eyes with the back of her hand and then stood. “Thank you,” she said, glad to hear that her voice sounded like she was in complete control of herself. “Thank you for telling me that.”

  Outside the sheriff’s office, Stella LoSasso waited. She took Mattie by the arm and steered her toward the front door. “I’m getting ready to go home and get some sleep. We’ve got Brennaman locked d
own tight, and we’re gonna throw away the key. Come outside and talk to me for a few minutes.”

  Mattie let herself be led over to Stella’s car, with Robo following along behind.

  “Brennaman confessed,” Stella said.

  “Sheriff McCoy told me. That’s great. I never thought he would fess up.”

  Stella made a gesture of dismissal. “He’s small potatoes, a real amateur. Once his wife told us he spends every spring break down in Phoenix playing golf with the same dentist whose gun got stolen, we could tie him to the murder weapon. That and the fact that his prints match the print fragment on the casing Robo found. Whoo-hoo, Robo!”

  Stella patted him, and he grinned up at her while waving his tail. “Then she told us they’ve been having financial concerns with his upcoming retirement. When he realized the wife was singing like Ella Fitzgerald, he cracked. The evidence you and Robo found at the house helped a ton. Hard to deny cash and coke!” Stella’s grin slipped as she sobered. “And the kid’s ring—that was the most damning of all.”

  She paused, head lowered for a moment as if out of respect for Grace. Then she resumed her story, and her satisfaction with its outcome showed. “They both claim the missus is innocent of everything, and she seems to want to cooperate. I’ve still got to sort that out, but it looks like we won’t be bringing charges against her. At least for now.”

  “Did he say why he killed Grace?”

  “We figured it right. She walked up to the cabin and confronted them. So he made an excuse, went out to his car to get the gun, and shot her while she was standing there on the porch.”

  “And Belle?”

  “He wanted to add her to the mule train. Mike got her from the car and force-fed her. By that time, Brennaman had loaded Grace up in her own car and driven out to bury her. While he was gone, Belle bit Mike and got away. When Brennaman got back to the cabin, they searched for her and got close enough for him to shoot her. After that, she disappeared, and they were forced to leave her up there.”

  “What about Mike Chadron?”