LITMIR.BIZ

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partner as the dog made his way from the kennel out to the main corridor toward the main entrance, alerting at several spots along the way.

      “He’s on the trail,” Eva said excitedly.

      “He is,” Finn agreed, energized by his K-9’s ability to track the perp. “Stay here. We’ll be back shortly.”

      “Wait! I want to come with you.” She tossed the ice pack on the counter and hurried to catch up with him. She didn’t like leaving the place unlocked and hoped they wouldn’t go too far.

      “We work better alone,” he protested.

      “I’m coming. If we find Cocoa, he’ll be scared to death, but he knows me. Cocoa might even respond to the sound of my voice.” She sent him a frustrated glance. “Come on, Officer Gallagher. Stop wasting time. Let’s go!”

      “Call me Finn,” he told her. Giving up, he reluctantly allowed Eva to tag along as he and Abernathy went to work. The K-9 alerted at the doorway leading out the main entrance, then turned to the left as he followed the perp’s scent.

      Eva didn’t say anything but seemed to watch in awe as Abernathy alerted again a short while later. They went one block, then a second, the K-9 picking up the scent at regular intervals.

      “Good boy,” Finn encouraged his partner, giving him a nice rub as a reward for his good work. Then he straightened. “Find, Abernathy.”

      The yellow Lab put his nose back to the ground, sniffing and moving in a circular and seemingly random pattern. Abernathy made a circle and then came back, alerting on the same spot he had before.

      “I guess this is it.” Finn battled a wave of disappointment that their attempt to find Cocoa had come to such a quick end. He glanced back the way they had come. Three blocks. The perp had clearly gone in this direction for at least three blocks. “Abernathy has lost the scent, here at the intersection in front of the Grocer’s Best convenience store.”

      “Maybe we could go up a block or two, just to be sure?” Eva suggested.

      Finn nodded. “I’ll take him a few blocks each way.”

      Twenty minutes later, Finn knew it was no use. The attempt to pick up the perp’s scent had failed. Abernathy didn’t alert once.

      “It’s likely the guy had a car waiting here for him,” he told her as they walked back to the training center. “Otherwise, Abernathy would have picked up his scent.”

      “I guess I hadn’t thought of that,” Eva acknowledged, her slim shoulders slumping in defeat. Then she brightened. “Maybe we’ll be able to catch the vehicle make, model and license plate number from the video.”

      Again he was impressed with her cop-like instincts. Most of the women he’d dated—of which there had been many, although no one serious—didn’t have a clue about what law enforcement really entailed. He looked up at the security cameras posted on the outside corners of the training center building. “Maybe, but it will depend on the camera range and the quality of the lens. It would be a huge break if we could get something from the tapes. How soon can I check it out?”

      Eva shrugged, then winced, putting a hand on her injured shoulder. “As soon as Wade gets in.”

      “Your boss?”

      She nodded, her straight long blond hair shimmering in the sunlight. “Wade Yost is the director in charge of the guide dog training center. He reports to the owner.”

      “Have you seen anyone lurking around over the past few days?” Finn asked. “The fact that this guy broke in through the back door, makes me think he cased the center before deciding to grab Cocoa.”

      “No, I haven’t noticed anyone. Although maybe the security video will give us that information, too.”

      “How far back do they go?”

      She pursed her lips. “I’m not sure. Maybe a week or two? I know they run on loops.”

      Two weeks wasn’t very long, but he’d take what he could get. “Do you think you’d recognize the guy if you saw him again?”

      “I’m not sure.” Eva looked away, gazing off into the distance. “Maybe.”

      Her tone lacked conviction, but he wasn’t deterred. “Tell you what. How about you work with a sketch artist to give us an idea of what this guy might look like? Witnesses are always surprised at how much they remember.”

      “I don’t know,” she hedged. “I don’t think it will help. I honestly didn’t get a good look at his face.” Her lack of enthusiasm toward working with the sketch artist bothered him. Where was the woman who had insisted on coming with him to find Cocoa?

      “Give it a try,” he persisted. “It can’t hurt.”

      There was a long pause before she gave a curt nod. “Okay. But please don’t pin all your hopes on the sketch. The keys I used to scratch him with will likely help more than the brief glimpse I got of him.”

      “DNA takes time, and if this guy isn’t already in the system, having it won’t help until we get a suspect to use as a potential match. The sketch is a better place to start.”

      “Okay.”

      He held the door of the training center open for her, wondering once again why Cocoa had been targeted. The pup was only ten weeks old—what was the point of stealing him? Especially since there were other, more valuable dogs in the kennel?

      Did someone have a grudge against the training center? Had the pup been taken as a way to ruin their reputation? He made a mental note to ask Wade Yost for a list of employees who had been fired in the past year.

      Finn waited fifteen minutes before Wade showed up. The director was roughly five feet eight inches tall with a husky build. He had dirty-blond hair and nondescript features.

      “Eva? What happened? How did you let Cocoa get away?” Yost demanded.

      “I tried my best to prevent it,” Eva said. “I’m sorry.”

      “The man attacked her,” Finn said, speaking up on her behalf. He shot the director of the training facility a narrow glare. “She’s fortunate she wasn’t seriously injured or killed.”

      “Yes, of course,” Yost said, backpedaling. “Eva, I’m so sorry you were hurt. Do you want to take the rest of the day off?”

      Finn glanced at her and she rubbed a hand over her shoulder.

      “Maybe. But first Officer Gallagher wants to see the security video.”

      “Yes, I do,” Finn said. “And you don’t seem to have a security system, correct?”

      “With all the dogs in here, didn’t think I’d need one.” Wade Yost led the way to his office and the computer screens he had sitting on a table in the corner. The director went over and pulled up the video feed, going back a few hours. There was no sound from the video, and a heavy silence fell among them as they watched.

      Finn rested his hand on Abernathy’s silky head. He saw Eva entering the guide dog training facility through the front door. The cameras were only on the outside of the building, not on the inside. They waited, watching various cars driving by on the street, as the timer clicked through. Nine minutes later, the door abruptly swung open and a man dressed in black rushed out. The guy instantly turned left, the same way Abernathy had tracked him, then disappeared from view. The man’s face was averted, a ball cap pulled low on his forehead as if he’d known exactly where the camera was located.

      “Do you have another camera?” Finn asked. “Something pointing down the street?”

      “Afraid not,” Yost said. “The other camera points to the parking lot in the back of the building.”

      “That might show him breaking in,” Eva pointed out.

      Yost went to work pulling up that

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