Sierra was doing better than he’d expected. She seemed to enjoy the game of seeking the bad man, jumping up and down when he rewarded her with the tennis ball. Kaleb hoped and prayed the trail would lead somewhere useful.
After tossing the ball for her, he tucked it away and opened the bag again, offering her the knit cap. As earlier, she readily sniffed it.
“Bad Man,” he said in a stern voice. Then he lightened his tone, making sure she understood the name of the game. “Seek! Seek the bad man!”
Sierra went in a circle, ending up back at the spot where Kaleb had found it. He didn’t say anything, so she lifted her nose and moved to the right, down a side street.
He tried not to get his hopes up too high. Sierra wasn’t a trained K9, and there were dozens of places this guy could have gone. As Sierra trotted past several on-street parking spaces, he wondered if the gunman had left a car nearby. It would explain how Kaleb had lost him so quickly.
That theory didn’t pan out as Sierra turned another corner, then came to a stop in front of a small video game store. She sat staring up at him, so he dropped to his knees, wincing as the injured one protested, and praised her.
“Good girl, you’re a good girl!”
Charlotte frowned at the store. “You really think he went inside here?”
“That’s what Sierra is telling us.” He rose to his feet. “But without a picture of this guy, we can’t ask if any of the employees recognize him.”
“We could ask if Thomas Acker works here.” She shrugged. “I realize it’s not likely, but it can’t hurt.”
He considered her suggestion. Tommy had enjoyed playing video games, so it was possible the kid’s father, if that’s who they were chasing down, may have been in here before to buy him things. “Let me try something else first.” He turned toward Sierra. “Come.”
The dog followed him as he went down the street until he found a side street that led down to a narrow alley. From there, he could see there were several back doorways along with a few dumpsters. Most places had a rear exit where employees came in and garbage was taken out, and he’d noticed the video game store was next to a small restaurant.
Charlotte followed, easily keeping up. He felt bad she often had to run to keep pace with them, but he didn’t want to hold Sierra back when she was on the scent.
Staying on the side street, with the alley a few paces ahead, he offered Sierra the scent bag. “Seek!”
The canine lifted her nose to the air, then sniffed along the ground. She made another circle, and his hope deflated when she didn’t immediately go to the alley. He kept his emotions in check, though. He’d read enough training manuals that dogs could pick up on their handler’s emotions and could falsely alert just to please them.
And to get their own reward.
For a moment, he thought Sierra would head back toward the front of the video store, but she abruptly turned and trotted down toward the alley. She picked up speed when she took the alley toward the doorways. To his surprise, she stopped at one door, sniffed along the ground for a long moment, then sat and stared up at him.
“Good girl!” He pulled the tennis ball from his pocket and tossed it in the air. Sierra eagerly jumped up to grab it.
“I don’t understand,” Charlotte said. “Why would she alert here?”
“I think the guy in the knit cap went through the store, one which he probably knows well, escaping out the back. It was a good tactic as there are so many businesses along here, I had no way of knowing which one he’d chosen.”
Sierra brought the ball back and dropped it at his feet. He picked it up and tossed it up for her again.
“Do you think she’ll continue following the scent?” Charlotte asked.
“I hope so.” He tossed the ball one more time, praising her again, before putting it away. “Seek Bad Man!”
Sierra didn’t hesitate to go back to the door she’d just alerted on. Kaleb stared at her without offering a reward, so she went back to sniffing the ground, then headed the rest of the rest of the way down the alley. When they reached the busy street, he took Charlotte’s hand.
“Stay close,” he advised.
Sierra wound around several pedestrians but continued moving along the scent path. At least, he hoped that’s what she was doing. When the dog came to another intersection, she turned to the right and stopped near a parking area. There was a car in the space, but she didn’t care. She sniffed along the ground and then sat and stared up at him expectantly.
“Don’t tell me he had a car,” Charlotte said on a weary sigh.
“It seems so.” He took out the tennis ball and drew Sierra away from the road before tossing it in the air. Then he swept his gaze over the location. “I’m sure there are cameras on those traffic lights over there. And probably on several of these businesses too.”
Charlotte lifted a hand. “So what? We can’t get access to the video without Grimes’s help. And he’s already gone out on a limb for us.”
“I know, but we have to ask him to do more.” He played with Sierra for a few minutes, ignoring the grumbles from a few pedestrians that gave them a wide berth. “Sierra followed this guy’s scent. That should count for something.”
“To us? Yes. To Detective Grimes? Doubtful.”
Kaleb knew she might be right, especially because Sierra wasn’t a police dog. But that didn’t stop him from pulling out his cell phone. “Grimes? It’s Tyson. Sierra followed the scent from the knit hat; we know the path the perp took yesterday. And there are plenty of cameras nearby that likely caught him on video.”
“Tyson, you’re a pain in my backside,” Grimes said curtly. “I told you the hat can’t be considered evidence as it could have been dropped by anyone. And your dog isn’t a trained K9.”
“What if she was?” Kaleb asked. “I mean, let’s just say that you had a K9 cop on your team that followed the trail of this knit hat to a video store, then from the back door of a video store to a parking space across from a pizza joint. Are you saying that wouldn’t be enough to search the video? For a man who shot at the same safe house on two separate occasions?”
Grimes didn’t answer for a long moment. “Which pizza joint?”
Kaleb gave him the restaurant name and the address.
“I’ll see what I can do but don’t hold your breath,” Grimes warned. “Most places around here don’t cooperate with the police about viewing their security video without a search warrant.”
“And you can’t ask for a search warrant, why?”
“Because you’re a civilian, and your dog could be following the scent of pizza for all I know,” Grimes shot back. “Is that all? I have work to do.”
“Yeah, that’s all.” Kaleb slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“He’s not buying it?” Charlotte asked.
“I think he wants to but feels as if he doesn’t have enough to follow police procedure.” He stared at the camera above the traffic light. It made him long for the days he was overseas and didn’t have to follow annoying rules like getting search warrants.
Then again, back in Afghanistan, they didn’t have the luxury of cameras all over the city either.
“Now what?” Charlotte’s expression was full of disappointment.
“We should head back to the new safe house location.” He empathized with her dejection as he felt it too. “Unfortunately, there isn’t anything more we can do here. I’ll call for a rideshare.” He pulled out his phone to find the app, but she put a restraining hand on his arm.
“Wait. What if you ask the restaurant workers to see their video? You’re a handsome guy, I’m sure any woman would be more than willing to help you out.”
She thought he was handsome? He tried hard not to grin. “I’ll see what I can do, if you agree to do the same.”
“Me?” She frowned.
“You’re pretty and adorable, I’m sure any man would be willing to help you out,” he said, tossing her words back at her. He took her hand. “Come on, we’ll try the pizza joint first.”
“You’re crazy,” she muttered, following him to the traffic light. Sierra stayed close too.
Through the window he could see the only employee was female. He handed Sierra’s leash to her. “I guess I’m up.”
The woman manning the cash register brightened when she saw him. “Hello. Can I help you?”
“Yes. I’m Navy SEAL Kaleb Tyson, and I’m following up on a shooting incident not far from here.” He smiled. “I noticed you have a camera outside, pointed across the street. Would you mind if I reviewed it?”
“A Navy SEAL?” She looked impressed. “Thank you for your service.”
He inclined his head. “It’s an honor and a privilege.”
Her smile faded as she tapped her finger on the computer. “I’m not supposed to share the store video,” she said. “We have an arrangement with the restaurant across the street. We only share the video with each other, in case one of us is robbed. And the police if they provide a search warrant. This is private property, you know. We are under no obligation to release our video to anyone.”
Interesting to learn about the second camera, but this one provided the best angle to view the driver’s side door. “I understand, and I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t for the fact that several women and children are in danger.” He eased forward, holding her gaze. “Please? I would really appreciate it.”
“Women and children?” She frowned, then shrugged. “Okay.” She capitulated quicker than he’d anticipated. “Hold on a minute.” She hit a few keys on the computer, then turned the screen just enough for him to see it. “What time did you say?”
“Run the tape starting at one in the afternoon yesterday.” He had no idea when the guy in the knit cap had parked the car, or how long he’d been hanging around outside the safe house. The bus had arrived at 3:00 p.m., so he hoped two hours beforehand was enough time. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“Linda Kramer.” She blushed and hit the play button. The video started, moving at normal time.
Since he didn’t have two hours or more to watch it, he gestured to the screen. “Linda, do you mind if I fast-forward it?”
“Come over on this side,” she invited.
He was hoping she’d say that. He hurried around the counter to join her at the computer. Taking over the keyboard, he increased the speed of the video.
When he saw the first car park in the spot, he realized the driver was a woman. Twenty minutes later, she left, and another vehicle slid into the spot. An older man with white hair got out from behind the wheel. He increased the speed again, going through several more vehicles until 2:35 when a black SUV pulled in and a man wearing a dark knit hat slid out from the driver’s seat.
He froze the video, trying to capture the guy’s face. But the street traffic made that difficult. He couldn’t get a single decent view of the guy’s face.
“Is that him?” Linda asked, leaning forward to see better.
“I believe so, yes.” There was no sign of a weapon, but that didn’t mean much. The guy wore a black jacket and black jeans.
“Despicable,” Linda said with a sniff.
“Yes, ma’am.” When the guy was no longer in view, he sped up the video until the point the guy returned. As before, though, there wasn’t a good view of his face. But he could see the guy’s black hair. The guy had turned up the edges of his jacket to cover the sides of his face. Still, he froze the video. “Linda, would you mind if I print a copy of this?”
“Uh, sure. The printer is in the back room.” She headed that way, returning a few minutes later. “It’s not a great view of his face.”
“I know. But it’s better than nothing.” He took the sheet of paper. “You’ve been very helpful, Linda. Thanks so much.”
“Oh, well, anything to protect women and children.”
When he returned outside, he handed the photograph to Charlotte. “The only thing this proves is that the guy who lost the knit cap resembles the dark-haired guy you and I saw the night before.”
Charlotte looked at the image. “There’s something familiar about him, like maybe I’ve seen him before I even realized he was following me. Yet I still can’t say for sure this is Thomas Acker.”
“I know. Not only is this street busy with traffic, but this guy was smart enough to keep his head down, using the edge of his jacket and the passing cars to hide his profile. There’s another camera in the shop across the street, but I don’t think that angle will help us. This was our best opportunity to get a clear look at his face.”
“I was hoping for more,” Charlotte admitted with a sigh. “Should we give this to Detective Grimes?”
“Yeah, I’ll do that. Maybe it’s enough of a likeness that he’ll go after the other videos in the area. The traffic light video is high enough that it may show more, only because it’s at a higher angle.” He put his arm around her shoulders in a brief hug. “I know this doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a good lead.”
“I know.” She rested her head on his shoulder, leaning into his embrace. He swallowed hard, holding himself back from kissing her again.
“We—uh, should go.” He found it difficult to think clearly when she was in his arms. But they’d been in the city long enough. They could go to more businesses to ask for video, but that would take time. Besides, he believed the traffic light video would be their best option for getting either a better view of the guy’s face or the license plate number for his SUV.
His phone rang. Charlotte moved away so he could answer it. His pulse kicked up when he saw Grimes’s name. “Tyson.”
“We got a confirmation that the bullet pried out of the safe house was fired from a thirty-eight,” Grimes said.
Kaleb tried not to show his frustration. “That’s what we suspected.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t take assumptions to the judge for a warrant,” Grimes answered testily. “Proof matters.”
“I have something for you, a screenshot taken from the video at the pizza joint. I’ll text you a copy, although there wasn’t a clear view of his face, only confirmation that the guy who lost the knit hat has dark hair and somewhat resembles the mug shot you showed us.”
“Why are you looking at video?” Grimes snapped. “I told you I’d work on it.”
“I know, but we were able to sweet-talk our way in without getting a warrant.” He put the call on speaker so he could capture the image on his phone. He texted it to Grimes. “I was hoping this might be enough to get access to the traffic camera. As you can see, Sierra followed the suspect, just as I told you.”
“Stay out of my case,” Grimes grumbled. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Okay, but . . .” There was no use. He was talking to dead air. He put his phone away. It didn’t matter that Grimes was upset with them as long as the detective continued to come up with leads.
He felt certain the photo he’d obtained would be the first step in getting the answers they desperately needed.
Charlotte was impressed with the work Sierra and Kaleb had done. Tracking the guy’s scent, getting a picture—granted, not a great one—of the gunman was amazing. As they took a rideshare back to the fancy house Kaleb had rented for them, she felt hopeful that the gunman would soon be found and tossed in jail.
“This must be costing you a fortune,” she said after they emerged from the rideshare vehicle.
“Nah, all for a good cause.” He shrugged off her concern. They headed up to the front door, and he quickly entered the key code. When they stepped inside, he turned to look at the alarm system, frowning when the red light wasn’t on. “Why isn’t the alarm activated?”
“I don’t know.” She glanced around, but Kaleb caught her hand, tugging her back.
“Stay behind me.” Kaleb pulled his weapon and moved forward.
She stayed close as he moved farther into the house. The women and children inside were her responsibility, not Kaleb’s. And how could the gunman have found them there? She felt certain one of the kids had gone outside and Milly had deactivated the alarm, forgetting to turn it back on.
“Kaleb? What’s wrong?” Charlotte heard the panic in Milly’s voice, no doubt upon seeing the gun in his hand.
“You didn’t remember to set the alarm code,” Kaleb said, his tone curt.
“I’m so sorry,” Milly apologized. “Tommy went out, and I quickly got him back inside and meant to activate the alarm, but then Angela started crying, and I got distracted…” The older woman shot Kaleb an apologetic glance. “I’ll do better next time.”
“I know.” He didn’t scold her, but Charlotte could tell he’d expected more from Milly, and the other women as well.
“This place doesn’t feel like a safe house to them,” she said in a low voice. “Especially the kids. Remember, the windows were too high for them to see out at our previous safe house.”
“It’s fine. Just . . .worrisome,” he admitted. “I’m glad they’re safe. Stay here, I’m going to do another perimeter check with Sierra.” He turned and headed to the door.
Charlotte turned toward Milly who looked crushed. “He’s really mad at me.”
“No, he’s not.” Charlotte patted Milly’s arm. “He wants us to be safe.”
“I’m not used to activating an alarm,” Milly confessed. “I feel so safe here in this nice neighborhood without it.”
“I know, it’s so different, it feels like we’re living on another planet.” Charlotte headed into the kitchen. “Do you need help with dinner?”
“No, I changed my mind about the pot roast and made lasagna instead.” Her expression brightened. “Kaleb likes Italian food, maybe this will help smooth things over.”
“I’m sure it will.” Charlotte had to admit it was strange that she’d never seen Kaleb angry. Even in the early days of her relationship with Jerry, he’d lost his temper, hitting the table or the door frame. Looking back, she realized that should have been her first clue. Along with his annoyance over small ridiculous things, like her rain boots being left on the mat by the door or the dishes not getting done until the following day.
Yeah, she’d been blind and stupid all right. Despite those early clues, she’d never anticipated his fist pounding into her face, sending her flying onto her backside.
Followed by a kick to her ribs.
She shook off the painful and humiliating memories. Jerry was back in Minneapolis with his wife, Darla. Charlotte had sent an anonymous letter to the woman, warning her of Jerry’s temper and his physical abuse. She only hoped Darla had figured it out before experiencing the abuse herself. There was a possibility, albeit a very slim one, that Jerry had learned his lesson and had found a way to control his temper.
“Charlotte?” Emma came into the room, wearing a midriff-baring, short-sleeved top and skintight leggings. She looked around anxiously. “Where’s Kaleb? Did he stay in the city?”
“No, he’s outside with Sierra.” The sun was shining, but the air was still cool, and she could see the goosebumps along the woman’s arms. “Get some clothes on, Emma. Kaleb is forty, that’s old enough to be your father.”
A flash of hurt flickered in the young woman’s gaze. “He doesn’t look forty. He’s smokin’ hot.”
Charlotte privately agreed. Kaleb was by far the most handsome guy she’d ever kissed. She felt her cheeks flush and hoped Emma didn’t notice. “He’s here to protect us from harm, nothing more. As soon as the gunman is arrested, Kaleb will be on his way.”
“Maybe he’ll stay in the area,” Emma protested. The young woman grimaced and reluctantly added, “He seems to like you.”
“Don’t be silly.” Did he? He had kissed her, but that didn’t mean much to some guys. Especially one as handsome as Kaleb. Better not to read too much into it. “Remember, Emma, Kaleb only came to the safe house in the first place to find Ava. She’s been missing for several weeks now.”
“I don’t remember Ava.”
“You came after she left.” Charlotte could tell Emma was stalling, hoping Kaleb would return in time to see her. It was times like this that Charlotte felt every one of her thirty-seven years, and then some. “Go on, Emma. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Emma slowly turned as the front door opened, revealing Kaleb and Sierra. He took a moment to activate the alarm, and when he turned back, there was no mistaking the pained expression in his eyes when he saw Emma.
“Kaleb, I was so worried about you.” Emma sauntered closer. “I’m glad you made it home safe.”
“Thanks, but this is a temporary safe house, not a home, something you and the others need to remember. And Charlotte and I were fine, we didn’t run into any problems.” He locked gazes with Charlotte, silently begging for help.
“Kaleb, do you have a minute? I need to talk to you about Detective Grimes.” It was the first thing that popped into her head.
“Of course. Please excuse us, Emma.” He gave the young woman a wide berth and came over to take Charlotte’s arm. Together, they walked through the living room and into the study located off on the opposite side of the house from the pool.
“Thanks for the rescue,” Kaleb said in a low tone.
Charlotte winced when she heard Emma thudding up the stairs and slamming one of the bedroom doors behind her. “You’re welcome, but you’re kinda breaking her heart.”
“What? No way! She’s young enough to be my daughter!” Kaleb protested.
Charlotte smirked. “I told her that, but she doesn’t care because you’re ‘smokin’ hot.’”
Kaleb rolled his eyes. “Whatever. She should know better than to flirt like that with someone she barely knows. Why is she so trusting of men anyway? I thought most of the residents here would rather avoid strangers like me.”
“Emma was at first, but now I think she’s in denial about what really happened. From the beginning she’s chafed at the rules, claiming that Rodney was sorry for hurting her and that she probably overreacted by calling the police.” She shrugged. “Maybe she wants to use you to make Rodney jealous. Or maybe she’s over Rodney and looking for someone new. Either way, I have the impression she won’t be staying with us for long.”
“I get that vibe too,” Kaleb admitted. “I’m sorry if she’s upset.”
“She’s young, she’ll get over it.” At least, Charlotte hoped so. “Milly made lasagna for dinner, she’s hoping that will help you forgive her.”
“I’m not mad,” he insisted. “But when I head into town tomorrow, you’ll have to stay here to keep an eye on things.”
“Tomorrow?” She frowned. “Why are you heading back?”
Before Kaleb could answer, the loud screech of the alarm system bounced off the walls.
“Get down,” he shouted, pulling his gun and sprinting toward the front door. Charlotte didn’t remain behind because she knew what had happened.
And she was right. The front door was open, and Emma was walking away, rolling her small bright pink suitcase behind her.