Loe raamatut: «Blind Trust»

ONE

Eva Kendall slowed her pace as she approached the single-story building housing the modest training facility where she worked training guide dogs. Lifting her face to the sky, she basked in the sun warming her skin. June in the Forest Hills area of Queens, New York, could be incredibly hot and humid, but today was the perfect summer day.

Using her key, she entered the training center, thinking about the male chocolate Lab named Cocoa that she would work with this morning. Cocoa was a ten-week-old puppy born to Stella, who was a gift from the Czech Republic to the NYC K-9 Command Unit located in Queens. Most of Stella’s pups were being trained as police dogs, but not Cocoa. In less than a month after basic puppy training, Cocoa would be able to go home with Eva to be fostered during his first year of training to become a full-fledged guide dog. Once that year passed, guide dogs like Cocoa would return to the center to train with their new owners.

A few steps into the building, Eva frowned at the loud thumps interspersed with a cacophony of barking. The raucous noise from the various canines contained a level of panic and fear rather than excitement.

Concerned, she moved quickly through the dimly lit training center to the back hallway, where the kennels were located. Normally she was the first one in every morning, but maybe one of the other trainers had got an early start.

“Hello? Kim, is that you?” Rounding the corner, she paused in the doorway when she saw a tall, heavyset stranger scooping Cocoa out of his kennel, a tire iron lying on the floor beside it. Panic squeezed her chest. “Hey! What are you doing?”

The ferocious barking increased in volume, echoing off the walls and ceiling. The stranger must have heard her. He turned to look at her, then roughly tucked Cocoa under his arm like a football.

“No! Stop!” Panicked, Eva charged toward the man, desperately wishing she had a weapon of some sort.

“Get out of my way,” he said in a guttural voice.

“No. Put that puppy down right now!” Eva stopped and stood her ground, attempting to block his ability to get through the doorway.

“Last chance,” he taunted, coming closer.

Fear was bitter on her tongue. She twisted the key ring in her hand, forcing the jagged edges of the keys between her trembling fingers. As he approached, she braced herself, hoping to find a way to stop him. He punched her with his right arm, roughly hitting her shoulder. Pain reverberated down her arm and into her hand, but that didn’t stop her from lashing out with the keys, scratching him down the length of his forearm as she tumbled to the ground.

He called her a vile name as he went by, but she didn’t care. Ignoring the pain, she surged to her feet and took off after the assailant. Roughly five feet from the doorway leading outside, she lunged, grabbing ahold of the waistband of his black cargo pants and pulling back on it with all her might.

“Stop! Help! Please help! He’s stealing a puppy!” She raised her voice, hoping someone outside might overhear.

“Let go!”

No! She couldn’t let him get away with Cocoa!

The big and strong assailant dragged her along for a couple of feet before he abruptly turned on her. His meaty forearm, lined with three long, bleeding scratches from her keys, lashed out again, and this time he struck her across the face.

Her head snapped back, sharp pain blooming in her cheek, bringing tears to her eyes and blurring her already diminished vision. The sheer force of the blow knocked her off her feet, and she fell against the wall with a hard thud. Unable to hang on, she released him and slid down along the wall, collapsing on the floor in a crumpled heap. The sound of the puppy’s panicked yipping tore at her heart.

“Cocoa,” she managed in a choked voice. It was too late. The heavy door leading outside opened and slammed shut with a loud bang.

The assailant was gone, taking her precious puppy—the one she’d hoped to use one day as her own Seeing Eye dog—with him.

Eva forced herself upright. She rushed back to the main reception desk and picked up the phone.

If only she’d got a better look at the guy, she thought, as she dialed the number for the NYC K-9 Command Unit. Her retinitis pigmentosa was already impacting her ability to see clearly. Especially in areas that weren’t well lit. The dim interior of the kennels along with his baseball cap had shadowed his face.

With trembling fingers, she clutched the phone to her ear, hoping it wasn’t too late to find Cocoa.

* * *

“Hey, Gallagher!”

Finn stood and looked over the edge of his cubicle. “What?”

“Pick up line three. Something about a missing dog.”

K-9 Officer Finn Gallagher abandoned the notes he was reviewing on Chief Jordan Jameson’s murder to pick up the phone. “What’s going on?” The NYC K-9 Command Unit headquarters was located in the Jackson Heights area of Queens but served all five boroughs in New York City.

“One of Stella’s puppies has just been stolen,” Officer Patricia Knowles informed him. Patricia manned the front desk of headquarters, ruling the place with her no-nonsense attitude. “The pup that’s missing is Cocoa, the one donated to the guide dog program.”

“Stolen?” Finn scowled and glanced down at his yellow Labrador retriever, Abernathy. His K-9 partner’s specialty was search and rescue, fitting for finding a stolen puppy. Finn clipped a leash onto Abernathy. All the K-9s were named after fallen K-9 officers, and his was no exception. Abernathy was named in honor of Michael Abernathy, who was killed in the line of duty while trying to rescue a child from his suicidal father. The child had survived, but Officer Abernathy had been hit in the cross fire and ultimately died. “I’m on it. Thanks.” He hung up the phone. “Come, Abernathy.”

Wearing his K-9 vest identifying him as a law enforcement officer, Abernathy was all business, keeping pace beside Finn as he left the K-9 Unit headquarters. The guide dog training center was located in Forest Hills, a ten-to-fifteen-minute drive from Jackson Heights. Finn opened the back of his white K-9 SUV for Abernathy and then slid in behind the wheel.

Rush hour made the ride to the training center take longer than he’d hoped. A beautiful blonde hovered just inside the doorway, anxiously waiting for him.

With Abernathy at his side, he assessed the woman. She appeared to be in her late twenties, her heart-shaped face and stunningly beautiful features framed by long straight blond hair. He scowled as he noticed she was holding an ice pack against a dark bruise marring her cheek. She stepped back and gestured for him to come inside.

“I’m Officer Finn Gallagher. What happened?” he asked with concern. “You were assaulted? I was told that Stella’s puppy has been stolen.”

The blonde offered a lopsided smile. “I’m Eva Kendall, and I’m the one who reported the puppy-napping.”

“You’re hurt. I’ll call an ambulance.” Finn reached for his radio.

“No need,” Eva said quickly. “It’s more important to find Cocoa.”

Finn knew Cocoa was a chocolate Lab. A valuable animal, sure, but worth stealing? He had to believe the other guide dogs at the facility might be worth just as much, maybe more. He looked at Eva. “Tell me what happened.”

She moved the ice pack so she could speak, and he was struck anew by her clear porcelain skin and brilliant blue eyes. He did his best to avoid being distracted by her beauty, focusing on her story. “I came in early to work with Cocoa. The minute I entered the building, I heard thumps and loud barking from the dogs. I feared something was wrong, so I headed back toward the kennels.”

“Alone?”

She lifted a shoulder, then winced as if the motion hurt. “I convinced myself that it was nothing, until I found a stranger grabbing Cocoa from his kennel.”

Finn clenched his jaw, imagining the scenario. Was it possible the chocolate Lab had been targeted on purpose?

“I shouted at him to stop, but he didn’t listen.” Distress darkened Eva’s blue eyes. “He punched me in the shoulder, knocking me to the floor, but I managed to scratch him with my keys.” She gestured to the key ring sitting on the counter. “I thought you might be able to get a DNA sample from them.”

He lifted a brow, secretly impressed she’d thought of that. “We can try. Go on, what happened next?”

“I ran after him and grabbed him from behind, but he hit me again and got away.”

Hearing that the perp had hit her twice had him grinding his teeth in a flash of anger. It deeply bothered him when men used their strength against women. “Are you sure about not calling an ambulance? I think it’s best if you get checked out at the ER.”

“I’m fine.” Eva waved a hand dismissively. “I’ve been hurt worse tussling with my older sister. We used to wrestle a lot when we were younger.”

“Your older sister?” Finn felt a bit confused by the change in topic.

“Yes.” Eva’s gaze reflected a deep sorrow. “Unfortunately, Malina died three weeks ago when she was struck by a car.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He wanted to offer comfort but told himself to focus on the issue at hand. “I have to ask about the attack. Did the guy look at all familiar?”

“No. But I still don’t understand. Why steal a puppy? Especially since we have older dogs here, too. Although it’s possible the older dogs might try to bite more than a puppy would.”

“Good question.” He flipped his notebook shut and cast his gaze around the interior of the building. “Take me along the assailant’s path. I’ll also need to review the security video.”

“The video won’t be available until my boss gets in, I don’t know how to use the equipment. But aren’t you going to head out to try to find him?” Eva asked, exasperation ringing in her voice. “I specifically asked for a search-and-rescue team.”

Finn flashed a wry grin. “Abernathy is the best search-and-rescue K-9 on the force, and, yes, I plan to head out to search for Cocoa. But I need to see the path the guy took, and I need something belonging to either the perp or Cocoa to use, as well.”

Mollified, Eva wheeled around and led the way back through the training center. “There’s a tire iron on the floor near the kennel. I think he used it to break inside the building then dropped it here by the kennel.”

Finn took note of the tire iron on the floor. Metal wasn’t the best substance to use for obtaining a scent, but Abernathy was exceptionally smart. “Don’t touch anything,” he warned. “We may be able to use the tire iron or the keys to pick up the perp’s scent.”

“I won’t.”

He went back to put the keys in an evidence bag, then led his K-9 partner to the tire iron. He pointed at the object and offered the evidence bag of keys as two ways for the animal to pick up the scent. “Find, Abernathy,” he commanded.

The yellow Lab sniffed along the entire length of the tire iron, going back and forth as if to distinguish the smell of the metal compared to the person who’d held it, and then buried his nose in the evidence bag.

“Find,” Finn repeated. Abernathy put his nose to the ground and began following the scent. Finn let his K-9 take the lead, following his 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 security feed. As Finn watched, he could see a tall man wearing black from head to toe, along with the baseball hat pulled over his brow, coming out from behind a dumpster. He again kept his head down as he made his way to the back door. Using the tire iron, he opened it up and disappeared inside. Once again, the angle of the camera made it impossible to see his face beneath the rim of the cap.

Finn blew out a frustrated breath. “I want copies of the video going as far back as you have it.”

“Should be about a week’s worth,” Yost said. “Maybe eight days at the max.”

Great, that was just great. The video they had wasn’t helpful, and Eva hadn’t got a good look at the guy. He’d still have Eva work with a sketch artist, but at this point they had very few clues.

Finn turned toward Eva’s boss. “Tell me, do you have a list of employees who were let go in the past twelve months?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Yost looked uncomfortable as he glanced at Eva, then back at Finn. “I’ll, um, get that for you.”

Yost rummaged around in his desk drawer, then pulled out a sheet of paper. He glanced again at Eva before handing it over. “You’ll, uh, keep that confidential, won’t you?” he asked.

“Of course.” Finn didn’t understand why the guy was so uncomfortable until he scanned the list, his gaze stumbling across a familiar name.

Malina Kendall-Stallings.

Eva’s older sister.