Monster (16 page)

-Quinn-

Carol showed up like an avenging angel twelve minutes after I got off the phone with her and took Urso to the overnight vet.

I didn't want to know how many traffic laws she'd broken to get there. I was fucking grateful.

The search-and-rescue people who knew Annie were at the house within half an hour, adding a dozen people and seven dogs into the mix.

A man I didn't know name Dan gathered them all together at the side, getting permission to bring clothes from her hamper out to bag up as scent articles.

They were a lot more cooperative with Dan, I noticed, sourly.

When I had worked with Dragon, I had to fight to get noticed, fight to get anyone to see the use of bringing the dog out.

Apparently they'd learned.

After being questioned by half of different officers, I finally was released to stand by Dan. I wasn't officially arrested, but a couple of them were pretty sure that I knew more than what I was telling. I wish I did. I wish there was anything else I could do to help. They'd hinted that they would strongly prefer that I stay in sight.

Dan sent out three dogs, but there was no real hope to it. A lot of people talk a big game about being able to follow the scent of a person who left in a car, but there wasn't a lot of proof.

The department called in their own SAR dog, but it took Shane almost 90 minutes to bring Dragon in. He looked around with the dog for a few minutes and then started doing car sweeps, rolling the window down to see if Dragon caught a scent out of the air.

I wasn't impressed.

Off-duty or not, if you are working with a SAR dog, I always either stayed close to town or made sure someone knew where I was. I answered my phone around the clock. I kept a bag ready to walk out the door.

I took that shit seriously.

My old dog saw me, but he was a fucking professional. He was working, so he gave me a tiny wag and then returned his attention to his handler.

I knew he was doing the right thing, exactly what I'd trained him to do, but that didn't stop it from hurting like fuck. Shane Sandlin was a whiny son of a bitch who didn't deserve any dog, let alone my Dragon.

I noticed a bruise on Sandlin's jaw, red and puffy and new. Had he been drinking before he got the call? That would explain why it took so long, if he'd had to sober up. It would also be a good reason for him to be banged up.

Asshole.

There were patrol cars out doing sweeps for a black sedan, but there wasn't a lot else that people could do in case like this.

Just a lot of standing around, trampling Annie's flowers. She'd worked hard on the garden, even in the heat of summer, kneeling in the dirt, getting soil all over her jeans and smudged on her beautiful face. The garden made her happy, and the cops didn't care enough to protect it.

I turned away in disgust.

It was dawn.

Almost four hours had gone by since Annie had been taken.

At least no one was disbelieving me any more. Her keys were there, her car was there, her cell phone was on the bed, but she was gone.

Vanished without a trace.

I was so fucking useless, standing around, but I didn't know anything else I could do. Someone else had the woman I loved.

My protection wasn't enough.

I had failed her.

Just when I was about ready to start breaking branches just to relieve my feelings a little, Carol pulled back up.

She hopped out of the car and opened the other door, letting Urso out. She kept him on a short leash, with all the other dogs around.

I headed over to them and knelt on the ground, rubbing the big dog's ears.

“He's okay?” I asked.

“Just sleepy,” Carol confirmed. “You're Quinn, right? That guy Annie was seeing?”

I nodded.

“You were a cop?” she asked.

“Yep,” I said.

“What are the odds of her coming back alive?” she asked.

I couldn't even meet her eyes.

“That's what I thought,” she said, grimly. “We'll get the bastard, though. Dan'll try anything he can think of to look for her. It's not like we have anything to lose.”

No.

I had everything to lose.

Dan waved me over after talking with Carol for about five minutes.

“We're going to take Urso out,” he said. “He knows Annie best. He's searched for her dozens of times in training.”

I nodded.

“Everyone but Carol has their own dog to work, and she doesn't have the experience a case like this needs. You feel up to taking him?”

“Urso, watch me,” I said, giving him the command to look at me for further instruction. The big, goofy dog's body firmed up as he focused on me, waiting to work.

I gave him one of the commands I remembered, a hand sign for 'down.'

The dog's body hit the ground immediately, his eyes never leaving my face. He was patient, ready to work.

When Annie had taught me the signal, we'd stood close together, our bodies almost touching, her smiling up at me. The thought of her big blue eyes laughing almost broke me.

We had to find her.

“Yeah,” I said, looking at Dan. “Standard commands?”

He nodded.

“What's his signal?” I asked.

Carol spoke up. “If he gets a scent, he whuffs, low. If he finds them, but there's something in the way, he barks.”

“I can work with that,” I said. “Thanks.”

“Do you know where Shane and Dragon are?” I asked.

“Still working circles around here,” Dan said.

I sighed.

“I'll start with that.”

Even with the cell phone to stay in touch, I wasn't confident staying away from the house.

I'd walk Annie's dog around the neighborhood for half an hour, letting him scent, then I'd go back to the house and find the car, driving for half an hour.

It felt better, being able to do something. Even if it wasn't much.

Annie's Urso was damn good at what he did, but dogs couldn't work fucking miracles. It would've been unfair to hope.

I got back to the house for the third time when Shane and Dragon were taking a ten-minute break.

Urso relaxed when I told him "Easy, boy," going off-duty himself.  He walked away to some bushes to piss as far away from me as the lead would let him, then came back over to sit beside me.

It was nice having a dog around. I rubbed his head every few minutes, feeling his soft fur and letting myself hope for a few seconds.

“Can I say hello to Dragon?” I asked, walking over to the K9 officer and my-his dog.

“He's working,” Shane said, turning away.

I looked pointedly at the dog, who was stretched out on the grass towards me, wagging his tail excitedly and whining over and over again.

It made me seethe with suppressed rage, seeing Shane ignore what the dog he was supposed to be caring for wanted.

I'd almost never heard Dragon whine in my life. Poor dog had to be really upset.

A handler should care more about his dog than that.

"He doesn't have to be on duty all the time. It looks like other handlers are letting their dogs relax."

What I wanted to say was "let me see my sucking dog before I break your teeth," but I knew that wouldn't get me anywhere.

It's what I would've said ten years ago.

There were days I regretted growing up.

Another handler, a young black man I didn't recognize, came up and smiled at both of us. "Dan's watching my Rex," he said. "I figured you might want to see Dragon, Quinn. I can hold Urso, make it a little easier. "

I looked over his shoulder and met Dan's eyes. The older man wore a flinty smile. He knew damn well what was going on with me and Shane, and he was on my side. It was difficult not to flip Shane off and say something crappy to him.

The only thing stopping me was not wanting to interfere with anything that might affect the hunt for Annie's abductor.

If Shane was too angry to focus, my Annie would be the one to suffer. I kept my mouth shut.

Being a responsible adult when all I wanted to do was punch the motherfucker blew.

Fortunately, Urso seemed perfectly happy to have his leash transferred to the young black man.

He stood still and proud, sending the air. I wondered if he knew that his owner was really in trouble this time, that it wasn't just a training exercise.

Shane held his tongue as I walked up to Dragon.

He looked as pissed as I felt.

I didn't care.

"Hey, buddy," I said. I held my hand out to Dragon, and the dog sniffed it once before rearing up on his hind legs, placing his paws on my chest, and licking my face.

Even with my worry over Annie, I laughed out loud.

I got to rub and reassure my old friend for a minute before I realized that something was wrong.

I'd heard that noise before.

My attention was drawn to Urso as the dog whuffed again, a low sound, almost a growl. He was staring at Shane, straining to get closer to him.

Another officer drifted over.

A pretty black woman, she greeted the man holding Annie's dog's leash with a "hey, cousin," as she watched both dogs.

Dragon was still pathetically happy to see me, wagging his tail like a puppy.

"Hey, Allen," I said. I was a little wary. Nora Allen had never been unpleasant to me like some of the other officers, but I didn't know who I could trust.

She gave me a quick, tight smile.

"Is that Annie's dog?" she asked. I remembered that she had been one of the officers on the hunt for Kelly's body who had seen Urso in action.

Her cousin nodded and Nora looked thoughtful. "That's his alert, isn't it?"

We all looked at Shane.

The big mutt had gotten impatient, probably wondering why all the stupid humans didn't understand him. He barked three times at Shane, an almost deafening sound that got the attention of everyone milling around.

"Why is that dog alerting on you?" Nora asked Shane, her voice light and friendly. I was impressed. I didn't trust myself to speak.

"I've been carrying around her scent for hours," Shane said impatiently. "Dogs make mistakes. Especially volunteers. Their training is just not up to the standards."

I resisted the urge to shove his face in, but it was getting harder by the minute.

"I haven't seen this dog make that mistake before," she said. "I was really impressed with him and Annie when we found Kelly's body."