Darke Heat

by Ellyson, Nese

  “Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”

  “My name is Paige Conner. I just found a barn full of caged pit bulls. At a guess, I’d say they are part of a dog-fighting ring. Whoever owns them stole my dog and has her locked up, so I’m going to email you the pictures from my phone and I’ll give you the address, but I’m not staying around.”

  The dispatcher tried to get more info from her, but Paige wanted to get away. The dogs were making such a racket that it was sure to bring the owner back soon. She looked around for something to pop the lock with, and then decided to pry the hinges off. She didn’t see anything she could use, but the car more than likely had a tire iron and a jack.

  “Sheba, baby, I’ll be right back.” She sprinted to the back of the truck and lifted the door. The spare tire and tools were there under the floorboard. She grabbed the tire iron and the jack handle, just in case.

  Back inside, she tried to tune out the barking of the dogs, which were getting whipped up into a frenzy. She jammed the tire iron between the hinge pin, and used the jack handle as a hammer to drive it out. After several swings, it worked free. Then she worked on the other one. Once it came free, she pushed the door open so Sheba could get out.

  The dog licked her face, happy to see her. She could see Sheba was heavily pregnant and should be convalescing somewhere peaceful and quiet instead of dealing with enraged pit bulls. Paige hugged her close to her body, and putting her hand in Sheba’s neck fur, walked quickly out. The other dogs started slamming their bodies against their cages in an effort to get to her. She couldn’t move fast enough to suit her, but with Sheba she had to be careful. The dog was ready to have her litter at any moment by the look of her.

  In the distance, she could hear the oncoming sirens. Reinforcements were on their way, but she needed to get her dog home and that was all she was concerned about. She’d answer any questions later. If they didn’t like it, they could sue her, for all she cared. Better yet, let them question Bryce, since this was all his fault.

  Don’t even go there, Paige, she told herself. That way lays a world of hurt she’d have to deal with later. First, Sheba needed to be cared for. She put Sheba in the rental and got in behind the wheel. Driving down the dirt road, she passed the police cars on the way to the farm, but she didn’t stop. If they wanted to, they could follow her, or come after her, but she was going home.

  She pulled onto the highway and drove faster than was legal, but she could hear Sheba mewling in the back seat. Fifteen minutes later, she pulled into her driveway. There were police cars in her driveway and in her yard. They were fast. How’d they figure out where she lived so quickly?

  She got out and went around to get Sheba and realized it was too late. The dog was going to give birth in the rented SUV. Returning the vehicle was going to be awkward, if she couldn’t get it cleaned out good enough. She pulled out her phone and called the vet.

  “Hey Shelby, it’s Paige. My dog, Sheba, has gone into labor in the back of my rented SUV.”

  “Oh, that’s not good,” Shelby replied, laughing.

  “Is it unsafe?” Paige asked, her voice laced with concern.

  “No, but returning the vehicle could be hazardous.”

  “Yeah, I’ll figure something out. Can you be on call if she has a need?”

  “Sure, but if she was bred to your other German Shepherd, she should be just fine.”

  “Well, there’s the problem. She was misbred to a Rottweiler.”

  “Okay, they’re bigger dogs, but she should still be fine. Call me if it goes on for several hours, or if one of the pups is struggling.”

  “Will do, thanks.”

  One of the officers was patiently waiting for her to end the call. He only heard part of the conversation, and was worriedly looking back at the SUV as if an alien birth were imminent.

  “Is there a female in labor?” he questioned.

  “Yes, a female dog.” He visibly relaxed. She’d correctly read his assumption by the look of shock on his face.

  “Oh, good. Are you Miss Paige Conner?”

  “Yes, I am, and I couldn’t stay at the site with my dog being pregnant and in labor. The noise was deafening and she needed to be in peaceful surroundings to deliver the puppies.”

  “Ma’am, what noise? Did you hear the gunshot?”

  “No, there wasn’t any gunshot, just the dogs barking. I’m sure I’d never be able to hear anything over those dogs barking their heads off.”

  “These dogs haven’t barked at all,” he said accusingly.

  “Of course not, my dogs are trained explosive sniffers. They don’t bark unless they are in attack mode.”

  “So what dogs are you talking about?”

  “The pit bull terriers at the abandoned farm. I called it in and emailed the pictures. Wait, you’re not here because I called the police about the pit bulls in cages, are you?”

  “No, ma’am. We’re here about the dead body your employee found on your training course.”

  “What?” Right then her knees buckled and she sat down in the driveway.

  “Are you okay, Miss Conner? Do I need to get one of the paramedics over here to help you?”

  “No, I’ll be fine. It’s been a long day and too many shocks coming one right after the other has been a little much.”

  “Why don’t you just stay seated? I’ll check up on the call you made. Then I’ll take your statement.”

  She finally gathered enough strength to get up and check on Sheba. The first puppy was nestled up to her belly and the second one was crowning. She heard her name called and turned to see Jamie Torres walking toward her. The young man was white as a sheet and looked exhausted.

  She’d found a great kid in Jamie. He wanted to learn all about dog training as well as helping with feeding and exercises, and was determined to be a K-Nine officer when he grew up. He’d done a good job watching over her new place when she went to Fort Bragg. But with finding a dead body on the property, he must be wondering about her as an employer.

  Chapter Three

  “Jamie, are you okay?”

  “Yes, I had quite a scare finding that body on the training field, but I’m all right.”

  “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? I’ll send the police over to your place later if they have any more questions for you.”

  “Thanks, I waited until you came back so you wouldn’t walk into this blind, but I guess you did anyway.”

  “I appreciate that, but go ahead and leave. I may start the training a little later tomorrow. It’s been a rough day all around. I’ll call to let you know when we’ll begin. Oh, and Sheba is having her puppies,” she added.

  “Really, where?” he asked with genuine excitement.

  “In the back of the SUV.” She pointed inside the car. He peeked in and then looked puzzled as she watched him.

  “Those don’t look like purebred German Shepherds.”

  “They aren’t, but they’re hers, so they’re mine now.”

  “There are four of them so far,” he said with a wide grin.

  “Yep. Get going and I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  He waved as he took off. He only lived a few houses down, so he walked back and forth when needed.

  The officer she’d talked to before came over again. In the background she could see other people wheeling off what she figured was a body in a black bag on a stretcher. She felt a chill spread down her spine.

  “Are you feeling better, Miss Conner?”

  “Yes, I’m doing better,” she lied.

  “I need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?”

  “Sure.” She figured his asking was a rhetorical question since he was going to ask whether she agreed or not.

  “You left early this morning when a man came by and left Jamie Torres in charge of the dogs’ training?”

  “Yeah, I left at eight a.m., or there about, when Officer Bryce Prescott of the DEA came to take me to pick up my dog that he borrowed without asking
,” she said with emphasis. “We arrived at his place up near Detroit around lunch time. I took my other dog, Samson, for a test run, to see how he handled long car trips. When we got to where Bryce had Sheba, Samson, my other dog, warned me that there were explosives present. The bomb squad was called and they got us out of the backyard.

  “Bryce kept my other dog for some case he’s working on. I called to rent a vehicle to drive back home, and when I saw that Sheba’s chip showed she was close to home, I put her coordinates into the GPS and drove straight there. I got to the location where Sheba was, and there was a broken down barn with all these caged up pit bull terriers and Sheba. I broke Sheba out and came home.

  “I did call in the incident and emailed the pictures from my phone. Then I drove home and you’re here, and my dog is having puppies in the back of my rental car.” She turned and looked in the window. “She’s got five now,” Paige added.

  “You do realize it’s only four in the afternoon?” he said skeptically.

  “Great, the day is young. I might be able to cause a little more mayhem after dinner,” she replied sarcastically.

  “Sounds like you’ve already had a full day of it,” he replied in all seriousness.

  “Yep. Who was the person found dead on my property? How were they killed?”

  “The man’s name is Levi Hershey. He was a known felon. Does his name ring a bell?”

  “Nope, I don’t recall anyone by that name.”

  “Here’s his last mug shot. He was found on your training field with a gunshot wound to the head. Ballistics isn’t back yet, and the casing wasn’t found, so we assume he was shot and killed somewhere else and then dumped here on your property.”

  Paige looked at the picture but nothing about him looked familiar.

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize him.”

  “He wasn’t from around here. We’re not certain why he was in the area, but the Sheriff thinks it may be related to one of our other cases. Well, we’ve wrapped up everything here. I’ll check out your story and get back to you if I have any other questions,” he said.

  “Yeah, you do that, in the meantime, I have a birthing dog to attend to.”

  Most of the vehicles had left, and it was just Paige and the officer.

  “If you see or hear anything out of the ordinary, please call.” He handed her his card.

  She didn’t even look at it, just stuck it in her pocket. She wondered what would be classified as out of the ordinary after a day like today.

  He finished jotting down his notes and walked back to his car.

  She went back to look in on Sheba. The count was now eight. She had eight mixed breed puppies, but Sheba was doing fine. The back of the SUV, not so much. Thank the good Lord for leather seats. Maybe she could hose it out. She left Sheba and headed over to see how the other dogs were holding up. They all had food and water and were happy to greet her, unlike some humans she could name.

  She’d just made it to the front porch when Bryce pulled into her driveway.

  Not now, I need a break. Some down time to lick my own wounds, she thought irritably.

  “Bryce, not now,” she shouted at him from her front step.

  “Shut up, Paige, just shut up,” he said while slowly exiting the vehicle. “I’ve been driving for over an hour, worried about you, and having my leg cramp up on me, so just can it. We need to talk about a few things, and we are going to do it now!”

  His tone said he was not going to be talked out of it, but Paige knew she could out stubborn the best of them. Having grown up with her brothers, it was a survival skill.

  “Bryce, come back tomorrow morning when we are both cooled off and the adrenaline isn’t spiking. I’ve had a crappy day and I need some think time, and if you push, I will start blubbering, and you know how uncomfortable that will make you, and we won’t be able to have that talk anyway.” Okay, she was using sneaky tactics, because she never cried, but she knew he couldn’t handle it.

  “Okay, you get your way tonight, but tomorrow we are going to have that talk.”

  “Fine, tomorrow.” She opened the front door and let it slam behind her. She needed to eat, then she could take care of Sheba. It was late by the time she’d eaten and gotten through all her mail and calls, all the while keeping tabs on Sheba.

  Before getting ready for bed, she grabbed Sheba and her eight babies. She’d only had to put Sheba’s carrying case in the SUV and the dog did the rest, moving each and every baby to the case. Once they were all inside, she carried them into the house and put them in the front room.

  They were big puppies. She’d train them to be great security dogs. There were six boys and only two girls. Her family was expanding. She loved them all already. She had so much love stored up, and only the dogs in her life for an outlet. But they gave back in full without question. They were loyal, and trustworthy. She took another look at the babies, as Sheba moved them onto the blanket in the front room. Momma curled up with her little ones nestled up close to her body and slept. Paige decided to do the same.

  Paige woke thinking something was wrong and then she remembered, she and Bryce were going to have that long overdue talk. She quickly dressed so she could check on Sheba and the puppies, and the other dogs, before Bryce showed up for their show down. Hours dragged by and still no Bryce.

  “Sheba, I am so not going to call him. He’s blown every chance to make things right with me. It’s time for me to stop giving him these opportunities to blow me off and hurt me.” She finished filling Sheba’s bowls with water and food, before going out to do more training with the other dogs. It was painfully obvious Bryce wasn’t coming. She spent the day taking the dogs through their paces. Then she took the back seats out of the rental car, hosed them off, cleaned them, and left them in the sun to dry. After that, she needed another shower, so she went back in the house.

  Paige had stepped out of the shower and quickly dressed when the dogs in the back kennel started putting up a racket. By their bark, she knew it wasn’t another animal. It was a person, and they were a threat to the dogs in some way. Vandals? Great! Just what she needed after the day she had yesterday. She would prosecute to the hilt for this. She was so on edge after all she’d been dealing with, that she couldn’t trust herself not to overreact and hurt somebody. With the sound of another crash, she barely had time to glance in the direction of the living room to check on Sheba. Someone was breaking into her kennel. She picked up her cell phone from the charger and dialed nine-one-one.

  “This is nine-one-one. What is your emergency?”

  “Someone is breaking into my kennel. My name is Paige Conner. I live at two twenty County Road.” She didn’t wait to verify all the information. She headed out the door. Just then, she heard a car drive up. What now? Oh yeah, Bryce was due to come have that talk. And where was Samson? Why had he come back last night without him?

  She ran out the front of the house, and over to the barn, where the driveway led as Bryce got out of his truck.

  “Bryce, where’s my dog?” I sound like a broken record. “Where is Samson? You were supposed to bring him back.” She barely got the question out, when the dogs began barking in earnest.

  “Someone is breaking into the kennel,” she said when he gave her an eyebrow raised in question. At her comment, he pulled his revolver out, and walked in front of her to the side of the barn. He looked around the corner where the kennel was. Paige followed close behind.

  As another window broke, he shoved her behind him, up against the wall,

  In anticipation of gunshot?

  Sure enough, several bullets sprayed the ground next to where they stood. Several more shots rang out, and the smell of cordite filled the air.

  “So, Paige, when were you going to tell me you were having a spot of trouble?”

  He spoke with false calm as he aimed his pistol around the corner of the dilapidated barn. He fired several shots in succession, which were returned with extreme prejudice.

  “
What? I guess now would work. Agent Bryce Prescott, I’m having a little trouble around the farm lately, with people vandalizing the place, dead bodies showing up on my training field, and now some jerk is shooting at me. But that’s just current events. Yesterday morning I almost got blown up at your house, you stole another one of my dogs, I found a pit-bull holding area, and my dog had eight mixed breed puppies in a rented SUV. Does that about sum it up for you, big guy?”

  She saw Bryce do a quick double-take at her words. She spoke in the most annoyingly, sweet voice, that in no way sounded like her usual tough-as-nails Paige. Sirens sounded in the distance. She saw him breathe a sigh of relief that back-up would arrive soon.

  “Bryce, the dogs are getting worked up from all the gunfire. Let me go in...”

  With one hand, he pushed her farther behind him. “Right now, Paige, I’d like you to be a little more worked up about the fact that your butt is getting shot at, or that a dead body was found on your property. That is what you need to get worked up over.”

  Yeah, among other things, but she kept that thought to herself.

  “You make it sound like it’s my fault. This isn’t my fault. How was I to know we’d have a crime wave here in Darke County, Ohio? My realtor forgot to mention it to me before I signed the contract.”

  Another chunk of the siding splintered, the bullet grazing Bryce’s arm, but he barely flinched. His gaze remained focused on the tree line at the edge of the parking lot. Sirens were coming closer. This round would soon be over.

  “I knew your moving back here was going to mean trouble,” he muttered.

  “Need I remind you that you are newly back to town as well,” she squeaked.

  “But you’re the one getting shot at,” he said. “Leave it to you to get the locals all fired up.”

  “Don’t you dare blame this on me! I’ve put up with enough of this crap. I’ll be carrying my twenty-two, and the next time someone shoots, I’ll be returning the favor.”

  Seeing the blood seep from the gash on Bryce’s arm, brought back too many bad memories. Here was another great man, putting himself in harm’s way for her. It made her angry at the injustice of it.