LITMIR.BIZ

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what are they looking for?” He’d forgotten his anger with her for the moment, simply glad she was sharing the information with him.

      “When we found your sister, we also found her with two German shepherd pups. We know she was planning on microchipping three.”

      “Yes, I know all that.” He’d been told this when he’d gone to the station after his release from prison demanding answers about the progress in his sister’s investigation. “Hold that thought. Grab your food and let’s eat inside.”

      She snagged the bag and released Carly. The dog sniffed the ground as she followed the humans toward the house. Ellen stepped inside his childhood home. She looked around. “I heard about your dad dying. I’m so sorry.”

      Lee closed his eyes. “I am, too. Even sorrier that he drank himself to death and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop him.” He cleared his throat and moved aside a stack of magazines from the kitchen table. “Veronica kept the house up for me while I was incarcerated. As much as I hated this place growing up—with the exception of the times that you were here—I sure was glad to have it to come back to when I got out a couple of weeks ago.”

      “I’m sure.” She looked at the dog. “Carly, sit.” Carly’s hind end hit the floor. “Good girl.” She scratched her ears.

      He pulled the food out of the bag and set it on the table. “Water okay? I don’t have much to drink around here.”

      “Water sounds great.” He filled the glasses and a bowl for Carly. The dog lapped it and Lee joined her at the table. “So enough about that. You said you found Veronica with two puppies, but she was supposed to be microchipping three.”

      “Right. We still haven’t found the missing puppy, Marco.”

      He lifted a brow. “I’ve seen the signs around town, the posters asking for information. Is he really that important to the case?”

      “We believe so. And we believe the person who killed your sister is the one breaking in to the houses. We think they’re looking for that missing German shepherd puppy, as well.”

      He frowned. “But...why?” He took a bite out of his hamburger and shook a few fries onto the wrapper.

      “We don’t know,” Ellen said. “Unless the people who broke in to the K-9 training center were after the puppies in the first place. Maybe they wanted them to sell.” She shrugged. “Veronica was there microchipping those puppies as a last-minute thing. Maybe the people who broke in to the training center thought she would be gone. We don’t know. We haven’t put it all together yet, but the missing puppy is definitely a connection in your sister’s murder.”

      He rubbed his eyes. “Thanks for telling me that. It helps to know there’s at least one lead you’re following.”

      “So...” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry.”

      “For?”

      “Judging you. I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I’m sure while you were in prison you came across a lot of troublemakers. Troublemakers you’d recognize once they were back on the street.” She shook her head. “I jumped to conclusions. I was wrong and I’m sorry for hurting you. Again.”

      A lump formed in his throat and he looked away for a moment to get his emotions under control. He took a sip of water. “It’s hard not to get defensive sometimes. I’m working on it. I worked on it for the entire two years I was locked up for something I didn’t do. I watched my father become a bitter, hateful man after my mother walked out. Veronica changed, too. She went from being a loving sister to a nasty person I didn’t want to be around for very long. I determined at a young age that I wouldn’t let life do that to me.” He gave a low laugh. “I never thought life would throw an undeserved prison sentence at me, though, so it’s been a struggle to keep that promise to myself, but my grandmother’s influence, her unwavering support, visits—and prayers—have helped.”

      “I’m sure. Your grandmother was a sweetheart.”

      He nodded. “Still is.” He glanced at his plate. “She’s living in a retirement home now in Flagstaff and is loving it. I’m happy for her. I wish I could get down there more often to visit, though.” Flagstaff was about four hours south of Desert Valley. Lee took another sip of his drink and set the glass on the table. “You have some big plans for the assistance center. I like the way you think.”

      She raised a brow. “Well, thanks.” Her eyes started to glow. “You know, coming from a wealthy background was often a pain when I was growing up. Everyone thought my life should be perfect because I was a Foxcroft. Didn’t matter that my parents fought all the time or that, when my father finally left, my mother started micromanaging my life.”

      “I know your life wasn’t perfect.”

      “Yes, you understood more than the average person. At first when I graduated from the K-9 training center and was given this assignment, I was furious.” She twisted the napkin between her fingers. “To be honest, I actually thought about quitting.”

      “What?” He stared. “Why?”

      She shrugged. “Well, it was only a brief thought. But I didn’t want to be back under my mother’s heavy thumb. I was afraid if I came back to Desert Valley, I would...ah...revert to my wimpy high school self, I suppose.”

      He tilted his head. “But you haven’t.”

      “No.” Her jaw tightened.

      “So why did you move back in with her?”

      Ellen sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I didn’t really want to, but...she played on my guilt.”

      “How so?”

      “Oh, you know. She was so glad I was staying in town, she went on and on about how worried she’d been about me going off and being a cop in a strange place and how she was so lonely.” Ellen sighed. “It was just supposed to be a temporary thing. I told her I’d move back until I found a place to stay.”

      “Why didn’t you stay with the other officers? In the apartment for the rookies?” The apartment had been part of the program, set up to house all the trainees during their sessions. Now that the town was in the midst of a crime wave and the latest group of rookies were staying in town, the apartment had been opened up for them to continue living there should they choose to do so. Some had, but not Ellen.

      She grimaced. “I felt like it would be a slap in my mother’s face, so I sucked it up and moved in with her.” Her eyes narrowed. “However, when I learned I was coming back here for an extended period of time, I was determined I would do something good with all that money sitting in the bank.”

      “Hence the assistance program.”

      “Yes.”

      “It’s an awesome use of the money, Ellen. The assistance program is very much needed and not just in Desert Valley—you’ll be touching lives all over the country. There are never enough trained animals to go out to those in need.”

      “I know. I’ve been thinking about that. If this thing gets up and running like I hope it will, the center could always expand as needed.”

      “I agree. Expanding would be great. And I have an idea of what we’ll need in order to consider that at some point in the future.”

      “What do you have in mind?”

      “I’ve been meaning to discuss this with you and just haven’t had the chance. We had talked about ways to get the community involved in the center and, like we discussed, I have several tours of the space lined up. Some politicians, some families and some school groups. In spite of the money you’ve put into it, I think we should let the public give to it, as well. When people give money to a cause, they tend to pay attention to it and hold it close to their heart. We need that from the good folks in Desert Valley. Once we have that, we can think about

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