Stalking Ground

by Margaret Mizushima

  ALSO BY MARGARET MIZUSHIMA:

  Killing Trail

  STALKING GROUND

  A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery

  Margaret Mizushima

  NEW YORK

  This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real or actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 by Margaret Mizushima

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.

  Crooked Lane Books and its logo are trademarks of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.

  Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication data available upon request.

  ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-62953-833-4

  ISBN (paperback): 978-1-62953-834-1

  ISBN (ePub): 978-1-62953-835-8

  ISBN (Kindle): 978-1-62953-836-5

  ISBN (ePDF): 978-1-62953-837-2

  Cover design by Melanie Sun

  www.crookedlanebooks.com

  Crooked Lane Books

  34 West 27th St., 10th Floor

  New York, NY 10001

  First edition: September 2016

  To my husband, Charlie, with gratitude for his never-ending support

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Thursday, Mid-October

  A bead of sweat rolled down Deputy Mattie Cobb’s face beneath the plastic guard on her helmet. She tilted her head to keep the sweat from going into her eyes and caught a glimpse of the sky. Not a cloud in sight. It was unseasonably warm for October in Denver—much warmer than in Timber Creek, where forest and meadow soaked up the sun’s rays. Here, the rays hit pavement and bent back upon themselves.

  She’d been assigned the lead on a mission at an industrial park south of Denver. A jewelry store had been robbed at Cherry Creek Mall, and patrol officers had followed the suspects to this location. Reports indicated at least two armed suspects, possibly three, had escaped and then abandoned their Dodge Intrepid in this parking lot. Mattie and her K-9 partner, Robo, were expected to track and apprehend the fugitives.

  Three unfamiliar officers—called by code names Red, Blue, and Green—fanned out behind her as backup. The officers carried AR-15 rifles and Mattie a Glock 17 handgun.

  Mattie signaled for them to gather around. “The park is laid out in a rectangle. There are four rows of three buildings each. Starting on the left, we’ll call that row one, then two, three, and four. We’ll number the buildings, starting with one, two, and three in the first row.” Mattie counted off the buildings one through twelve, pointing out each row. “We’ll go where Robo takes us. Any questions?”

  She waited a beat. When there were no questions, she keyed on the transmitter she wore on her shoulder and spoke to the sergeant in charge. “K-9 One reporting. In place and ready.”

  “Copy, K-9 One. It’s a go.”

  She rolled her shoulders inside her Kevlar vest to loosen the knots that had formed. Sweat rolled down her spine.

  Stay focused. Don’t get distracted. And listen to your dog.

  Robo, a ninety-pound male German shepherd, stood at her side. He wore a Kevlar dog vest and his blue nylon tracking harness. “Are you ready to work?” she asked, using excitement in her voice to increase his prey drive. Robo jumped on his hind feet, careful not to paw at her.

  She unsnapped the leash from his collar and fixed it to her utility belt. Today, she would let him search off lead. She’d grown to trust her partner’s obedience, and she knew she should allow him to follow his own instincts. Robo’s instincts were sometimes all that stood between Mattie and a life-or-death situation—not just today, but every day they were on duty.

  She raised her hand to signal the start of the mission. “Okay, Robo. Let’s go to work.”

  He trotted beside her as she went to the passenger side of the Dodge. After opening the front door, she gestured toward the seat. “Scent this.”

  He whiffed briefly, his delicate lips fluttering, and then headed away from the car, nose to the ground. Mattie signaled the others to follow as she jogged behind Robo, matching his pace. He led her down the asphalt alley between rows one and two. Mattie scanned the tops of the warehouses and spotted a vent that might hide a sniper. She crouched, pointing at it. Officer Green studied it through his riflescope while the other officers followed, staying in a tight group.

  Robo led them to the end of the building, his ears moving forward and back as he monitored the sounds in front and checked on Mattie behind. He seemed to be remembering his training to keep only a short distance between them and not to run off too fast, so she could act as backup for him. His Kevlar vest looked heavy and hot, and his paws left damp prints. She hated that, but it couldn’t be helped. He needed the protective equipment as much as she did.

  At the end of building one, Robo paused and sniffed in two different directions. Mattie noted the position. If she was reading Robo’s signals correctly, the fugitives had probably split up at this point. Robo headed down one of the scent trails, tracking the scent he picked up on the passenger seat.

  “They split up here,” she said to the other officers. “Red and Blue, you go that way. Green, come with me.”

  She hurried after Robo. He headed into a narrow passageway between two buildings. It was filled with air-conditioning systems, ductwork, and vents. “Robo, wait,” she said, and he stopped.

  She scanned the area, the back of her neck tingling. She checked Robo and noticed the fur at his neck lay flat, no hackles raised. The fugitive had come this way, but he wasn’t close now.

  “Go on,” she told him. “Search.”

  Her dog slipped into the area with Mattie close behind. She looked back over her shoulder to check on Green. He was scanning all directions: forward, upward, and back. Doing his job. No need to instruct him.

  Robo dodged behind a heat vent. His tail splayed on the ground behind the vent, and Mattie knew that he’d sat, indicating he’d found something. She moved forward to where she could see him. He was sitting beside a bundle, and when she came around, he touched it with his nose.

  He’d found a leather purse wedged into a crack between the ductwork, not quite out of sight but not readily apparent. If an officer gave the spot a cursory glance, he might miss it.

  “Good boy.” Mattie picked up the purse. Opening it, she found it filled with jewelry. She showed it to Green. He nodded, taking it from her and slipping the strap over his shoulder to carry.

  Mattie had thought the passenger might be the one to carry the stash. Pleased that she’d asked Robo to sniff the right seat, she waved a hand back toward the scent trail.

  “Robo, search.”

  Robo backtracked out of the na
rrow space and headed on beyond the next building. He’d successfully followed the fugitive into the passageway to find the stash and then picked up the trail to follow him back out. This was a significant improvement in his skill level for tracking. Her dog never failed to amaze her.

  At the end of the building, Robo paused and circled the area for a thorough sniffing. Mattie read his movements to mean that one or more scent trails had merged with the one they’d been following. She conjured an image of two fugitives splitting off behind while the one went to hide the stash and then joining together at this point.

  “Wait, Robo,” she said. She keyed on her transmitter. “Officer Blue, do you read me?”

  “Affirmative, K-9 One.”

  “Do you have a visual on our suspects?”

  “Negative.”

  “Come to the southwest end of building six to rejoin for backup.”

  “Copy that, K-9 One. Over.”

  Mattie waited until she spotted the other two officers rounding the end of the first row of buildings. She turned back to Robo. “Okay, Robo. Search.”

  With his nose to the ground, he headed toward the end of the third row of warehouses, across a wide, open space dotted with several parked vehicles. As Mattie ran after him, she scanned the area, finding too many places where a fugitive could set up an ambush. She started to pull back, but Robo was hot on the trail. He darted ahead, hackles raised. Mattie reacted at once. “Robo, here. Come!”

  Robo whirled and headed toward her. A shot fired. The bullet hit the pavement, missing him by mere feet.

  Mattie shouted at Robo to heel, and she ran in a zigzag pattern to take cover behind a white industrial van. Green stayed with her while Red and Blue hunkered down behind a delivery truck on the other side of the parking lot. She assessed the situation. No one had been injured, and Robo stood safely beside her.

  She opened radio contact to everyone. “Do we have a location on the shooter?”

  Officer Red responded. “Behind the third vehicle down, gray van.”

  She peered around the end of the van that covered her. A bullet smacked the pavement a foot away from her. She ducked back behind the van, making sure Robo stayed behind her.

  “Red and Blue, provide a diversion. Pin down the shooter with firepower. Green and I will move forward in front of the vehicles.”

  Mattie crept forward. “Robo, heel.” They neared the front of the van, Robo so close it was as if they moved as one. Green stayed directly behind them.

  When she rounded the front of the van, she could see a space between the building and the fronts of the next three vehicles that would provide cover.

  “Fire now,” she ordered.

  Shots rang out from across the parking lot. Mattie raised a hand and gave Green the signal to follow. Crouching, she jogged down the narrow passage with Robo at heel, stopping at the last vehicle, a white utility truck with racks on the side.

  “Are there keys inside?” she asked Green, her voice quiet and firm, hiding the fact that her stomach clenched with nerves.

  He moved down the passenger side, staying hidden from the shooter. “Affirmative.”

  “Can you drive this truck real slow and shield me so I can get to the shooter?”

  His face lit up with a smile. “That’s an affirmative, K-9 One.”

  She turned on her transmitter. “Green and I plan to flush this guy out. Provide cover. Then move forward when you can.”

  Green opened the passenger door and disappeared inside the truck. Moments later, the truck’s engine roared to life. Mattie checked Robo. He was still latched on to her left heel, following her every move.

  “Good boy, Robo. Heel.” She kept the utility truck between her and the shooter as Green backed it slowly out of the space. The other officers continued to fire, trying to pin the guy down and neutralize him. Green drove the truck down the parking lot with Mattie and Robo creeping alongside.

  Within seconds, the shooting stopped from behind the gray van. A black form materialized in the van’s shadow. The fugitive ran toward the building and slipped through an open door before Mattie could draw a bead on him.

  She spoke to all the officers. “The suspect moved into building nine.”

  Red and Blue left their position and ran to join her.

  “Move the truck in front of the door,” she told Green, “and take cover behind it. Watch this exit. And watch for the other fugitives. Remember, we have at least two suspects out here, maybe three.”

  She scanned the parking lot. “Red and Blue, split up and go to the other side. There’s probably another exit. Make sure we don’t lose them that way.”

  Robo danced from side to side on his front feet as the two officers broke away and ran in different directions. But he stayed at Mattie’s heel without her having to prompt him. Green had taken cover behind the utility truck. She sprinted toward the open door, Robo close beside her, but stopped short of the opening. Taking cover at the door’s edge, she peered into the building. The dim light inside revealed nothing. She blinked and refocused.

  “Scent this,” she spoke to Robo quietly, pointing at the invisible scent trail the fugitive had left when he charged through the doorway. “Search.”

  Nose to the ground, Robo entered with Mattie immediately behind him. Static erupted on her headset.

  “Halt!” Officer Red shouted. And then she heard the sounds of his breath as he started to run.

  “Robo, wait.” She paused and listened, her eyes scanning the warehouse she’d just entered. The place was filled with rows of containers stacked from floor to ceiling, and a skid-steer loader was parked close by. Narrow alleyways branched off between the rows. She hurried to take cover behind the skid-steer.

  Officer Red’s voice came into her headset, loud and breathless. “K-9 One. We’ve apprehended and neutralized two suspects. Do you copy?”

  “Affirmative.”

  “Both suspects are unarmed. Neither one is the shooter. I repeat, we do not have the shooter.”

  “Copy that,” Mattie said. “How many exits?”

  “Two. Your entry and one at the north end.”

  “Green and Blue, guard both exits. Red, come inside to back us up. Can you make that happen?”

  “Affirmative. Hold for one minute. Over.”

  With her heart pumping more energy than she knew what to do with, Mattie waited until she saw Officer Red appear in the doorway. He signaled that he’d spotted her.

  Mattie lifted the face guard on her helmet and shouted toward the back of the warehouse. “You are surrounded by police! We have blocked all exits. You cannot escape. Surrender at once.”

  Silence.

  Pulling her face guard back into place, she directed Robo toward the scent trail. “Robo, search.” As they moved forward, she signaled Officer Red to follow.

  Robo led Mattie into a narrow passage between the rows of boxes, while Red covered her back. A wave of claustrophobia enveloped her as the boxes towered above, threatening to fall and crush. She focused on Robo’s back, watching the hair bristle and rise on the back of his neck. She scanned up and down the passageway, looking for signs of an ambush.

  They reached an intersection, and Robo turned right. Mattie made the turn almost at the same time he did, her weapon held ready to shoot. Gliding down the narrow passage with his nose to the ground, Robo picked up speed. Mattie stayed close.

  They came into an open space. Mattie spied the fugitive, moving away from her at an ungainly pace, his shape bulky in the dim light.

  “Robo, take him!”

  With lethal silence, Robo darted after the man. He leapt, striking the runner’s right arm. The gun hit the floor and skidded, scrapping against the concrete. Robo’s growls filled the space as he used his weight to pull the man to his knees.

  Mattie approached cautiously, signaling Officer Red to pick up the gun.

  “Out!” the fugitive cried. “Robo, out!”

  Robo turned more vicious, growling and giving the man’s arm
a fierce shake. Mattie smiled. Robo’s tail was waving.

  This is what he lives for.

  A full suit of bite gear with extra padding around the arms and hands protected the fugitive from her dog’s terrible jaws. She let Robo have his fun for a few more seconds before she decided to call a halt. “Robo, out!” Mattie used a loud, firm voice to instruct him.

  Robo broke away at once and backed up a step, tail still waving.

  “Guard!”

  Her dog crouched into guard position, mouth open, teeth exposed, jowls dripping.

  “Have you had enough, Sergeant Madsen?” Mattie asked the fugitive.

  The large man in the bite suit stayed on his knees and raised his hands in surrender. Mattie saw his smile beaming from behind the protective gear he wore on his face.

  “You can call him off now, Deputy. I give up.”

  “Robo, down.”

  Robo dropped into a down position, but his posture said that he was ready to go again any time.

  Madsen, Robo’s trainer, pulled off his helmet. Sweat glistened on his shiny, bald head and dripped down to roll across the tattoo of a policeman’s badge above his right ear. He grinned up at Mattie. “Well, he’s surely your dog now, Deputy. No doubt about it.”

  Mattie smiled back. “He’s every bit the dog you made him, Sergeant. No one could ask for a better partner.”

  “Congratulations. Now go play with your dog, and we’ll debrief here in a few minutes, after I get the hell out of this goddamn bite suit.”

  Mattie told Robo to come with her as she pulled off her helmet and walked out into the sunshine. She felt the sweat drip down her scalp, and she ran her fingers through her hair, inviting the breeze to cool her head. Robo gamboled alongside, nosing her utility belt.

  “Just wait a minute,” she told him. “Let me take off your vest first.”

  She undressed Robo, gave him some water, and then took out his tennis ball, his reward for a successful exercise. Mattie tossed it out into the parkway. His nails skittered and caught as he turned to run after it.

  Officer Red saluted her and gave her a quick smile before turning to uncuff his two prisoners. They all started to peel off their protective gear. The Simunition they’d used for the exercise was a form of nonpenetrating ammo, but it could still pack a punch on an unprotected body. These trainings were critical for Robo to teach him new abilities and to keep his entire skill set sharp. Not to mention how they enhanced the bond that was growing between Mattie and him as partners.