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TEE GATHERED HER DUFFLE as the train rolled to a stop in Chicago. She’d spent the trip debating about who to inform regarding the news of the other dog on the train, and remained puzzled why September traveled to Chicago instead of taking a direct flight home. Redford didn’t like her to guess or speculate. She needed facts, concrete answers, before presenting to him.
She wanted a shower. She wanted to sleep. And she wanted her laptop. The first two she’d defer long enough take a look at Teddy’s digital file on her computer once she got home. But all three would have to be deferred until after she found September.
When the first several cabbies in line turned their backs at the sight of Karma, Tee impatiently pulled out her badge.
“No dogs. My car’s new.” One man stepped forward. “Just like I told that other lady.”
“Other lady?” Tee stepped closer. “You had another fare today with a dog?”
He shook his head. “She wanted to go to O’Hare. I don’t put no stinkin’ dog in my cab, even if it’s one of them handicap dogs. She sure didn’t look handicapped, just raggedy. Maybe somebody else took her.”
Tee gladly paid the driver extra to get her to O’Hare in a hurry, and promised more if he’d wait. She raced into the concourse with Karma trotting by her side, and skidded up to the first ticket counter she saw. Pulling out her badge, she asked again about a woman with a shepherd booking a flight. The ticket agent looked for September Day’s name, but found nothing on any recent or forthcoming manifest. Tee turned to leave.
“Our day for dogs,” said another ticket agent returning to her station. “She’s a beauty. I’ve a soft spot for well-behaved dogs.”
“You’ve seen another dog today? Did they book a flight?” Tee described September.
The agent made a face. “She looked desperate to get back to Dallas. But we had nothing available for a German Shepherd.” She nodded at Karma. “She’s big, too. Even if she’s a K9 officer, there has to be room to fit in front of your feet. The earliest flight with space is tomorrow evening. Sorry.”
Tee shook her head. “No, we don’t need a flight. We’re just trying to find the woman and her dog.”
“Oh, I found her a train going into DFW from Union Station.” She frowned again. “She looked like she needed some luck. I hope she’s not in trouble?”
As soon as the cab dropped them at Union Station, Karma hit on a familiar scent. The Rottie tracked it to a nearby waste can, and alerted. Tee looked inside, and carefully reached in to pull out a shopping bag full of filthy clothes. Tee recognized the plastic baggy with a bright label that spelled out “Corazon Candies.”
“Karma, such!” The dog whirled, and with authority guided Tee to one of the train platforms. She glanced at the departure board and saw that the train to Dallas left an hour ago. “Dammit!” She threw up her hands. At least September made it this far, with Shadow beside her.
Tee retraced her steps, gratified the cabbie once again waited as requested. He got her home to her tiny apartment in record time, despite new snow falling, and earned the bonus she gave.
Once inside, Tee helped Karma shed the K9 working harness. The dog shook herself long and hard, then slurped up most of a full bowl of water. Tee drank a water bottle herself. She booted up her laptop. Sure enough, the emailed zip file from Teddy waited in her in-box.
She called Redford to tell him about September and get protection assigned to the woman. And probably to her family. The call forwarded to Redford’s desk at the precinct, and someone she didn’t recognize answered. Weird. Probably the weather had wires crossed. She disconnected without speaking. She’d catch Redford later.
Instead, she called Teddy. She couldn’t leave him worrying about September. She also wanted to thank him for sending the files.
“This is Theodore Williams. Who’s this?”
“Teddy? It’s me, Tee. Uhm, Officer Teves.” She heard road noises and frowned. “Are you driving?”
“Glad you made it back to Chicago.” He chuckled. “Yep, on the road and making good time. But don’t worry about me. Charlie’s driving.”
“What the hell is she doing out of the hospital? Are you nuts, Teddy?”
“Never mind that, I’ll explain later. Did you get the documents okay? What’d your boss think?”
She blew out a breath. “I just got in, and haven’t been able to reach Redford yet. You were right about September.” She filled him in on what they’d found at the train station.
“Thank God!” His relief quickly changed to aggravation. “Why the hell does she scare me like that?” He sighed. “It’s not the first time, and I doubt it’ll be the last. Trouble follows that girl like stink on a skunk.”
She rubbed her nose, silently agreeing. “Her train arrives in Dallas at twelve-forty tomorrow and it’ll take her some time to get home to Heartland. She must have a reason for keeping us in the dark. But I’d be a whole lot happier with the local PD knowing about the situation, especially since that Victor character offed himself in jail. That’s way too convenient for my tastes.”
“I’ll call Combs back. He’ll know who to contact, and can rally the Texas troops more quickly than either of us. Thanks for the call, Tee. We’re driving in shifts, nonstop, but we started a bit late. With good traffic and clear roads, we’ll get to Heartland shortly after September.” He hesitated, then added, “Keep me posted with anything new. And I’ll do the same.”
Once they disconnected, Tee opened the zip file. She used her mouse to find the appropriate files they’d already perused. The “cat sales” file had today’s date, with Teddy’s notes and she hoped that wouldn’t piss off Redford. Highlights pointed out all of the high-dollar cat sales documented over the past thirty-plus years. She pulled out a notepad to jot additional comments with purchaser’s name and fees, along with the dates.
One entry from nineteen years ago made Tee sit back in her chair. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. She and Teddy suspected someone pulled strings from the inside. But this changed everything. She called Redford’s direct line once again. She needed to give him a chance to explain, felt like she owed him that much. But it switched over immediately to another line.
This time, she spoke. “This is Officer Teves. I need to speak to Detective Redford.”
“Teves? Where the hell have you been?”
Shocked that her lieutenant would answer Redford’s phone, she heard muted conversation at the other end of the line. “I just got back from South Bend. The Captain signed off on sending me to work on the Detweiller case.” Hadn’t Redford updated him?
“Come in and make your report, Officer Teves. The Captain will debrief you.”
Tee slumped in her chair. What had gone wrong? “I followed Detective Redford’s direction, sir. May I please speak with him?” She really needed him to answer her questions. Tee looked up to him, she knew he was a good cop. He couldn’t be part of this, could he? Her hand sought, and retrieved, the seashells and waited for their shushing to steady her nerves.
A long pause. “Earlier today, Redford tried to eat his gun.”
