Finn was relieved when Sheriff Unger volunteered to drive Sean home and explain everything to their worried mother. Finn had last visited with her during the court date preceding the van wreck and, other than phoning to assure her he was uninjured after the delay in return transport, had not mentioned any other threats to his life.
He was in the SUV with Selena heading for her house when she asked him, “How come you didn’t pitch a fit over not getting to go visit your mom?”
Finn let himself smile. “Because she can see right through me. Always could.”
“And you don’t want Sean to know too much?”
“Right. I’d rather have Mom mad at me for not telling her. And while we’re at it, thanks for saving my life.”
“You’re welcome. Just doing my job.”
“Does it often include taking convicted felons home with you like lost puppies?”
She laughed lightly. “I believe you’re the first.”
Moved by her camaraderie, he reached over to pat the back of her hand only to have her react as if she’d been tased. He withdrew. “Sorry. I have trouble remembering we’re not still old friends.”
“Things are different now. We’ve changed.”
Chastened and disappointed that she hadn’t claimed they were still friends, he folded his arms across his chest and simply said, “I know.”
Selena was not often grateful to be the last surviving member of her immediate family. Today she was. Everything Finn had said about a widening scope of danger was true. Look what had happened to the injured guard when they’d been shot at after the wreck. If Finn hadn’t stepped wrong and abruptly changed position, he wouldn’t be sitting next to her now. He was absolutely right in staying away from Mary and Sean.
She pulled up to her house, a modest dwelling on narrow Seventh Street just around the corner from the only supermarket in Sagebrush. Various outlying ski resorts and camping areas had smaller stores that provided staples and snacks, but if a person wanted fresh vegetables and fruit, the Bearton Market was the place to go.
Scout barked from the rear compartment, knowing where he was and eager to be home. “Settle,” Selena ordered.
Beside her, Finn chuckled. “You talking to me?”
“Not this time.” Out of the vehicle and releasing her K-9, Selena was surprised to see a dark-haired woman standing on her front porch. She peered and scowled. “Isla? What brings you here?”
“R and R,” the diminutive tech analyst said. She worked with the Elk Valley PD in Wyoming, and Selena had met her through the task force. “I just needed to get away for a few days.” Smiling, she gestured at the compact dwelling. “I had no idea you’d gone into the bed-and-breakfast business.”
“Not on purpose,” Selena replied, indicating her passenger as he climbed out. “This is Finn Donovan, an old acquaintance.”
“And a convicted murderer. I heard all about your adventures. Where are Kyle and Meadow? The boss said they were staying here, too.”
“Them and their dogs,” Selena said. “If you don’t mind bunking with Meadow, I’ll pair Finn with Kyle, and we’ll all fit.”
Standing aside to let the others pass, Isla sighed. “It’s better than staying at home feeling sorry for myself.”
Selena paused to give her a brief hug. “I thought of you when I went to see Naomi and her new baby in the hospital last month. It’s wonderful of you to offer love to foster children. I just hope the confusion about your character gets cleared up soon and you’re put back on the eligible list.” Isla had taken a blow recently when her application for a foster child had been denied after someone had slandered her character. The anonymous call was enough to railroad Isla’s long-awaited plans to take in an infant... No wonder the woman needed a break.
“Yeah, me too.” Isla kept hold of Selena’s arm and leaned in to ask, “What’s the story with this guy?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Love always is,” Isla whispered.
“Uh-uh. No way.” Selena pulled away and shook her head vigorously. “Not me. Never again.”
“That’s what Bennett kept saying until he got to know Naomi and started believing she was innocent.” She inclined her head toward Finn. “What about him? What do you think?”
“You’ve read the case file?”
“Yes. On the flight over.”
“Then you know about Edward Yablonski.”
“It would make sense if Edward blamed Finn. Do you think these attacks are a vendetta?” Isla asked.
“Good question. It’s just as likely that Finn made dangerous enemies in prison. He told me so.”
“You don’t think Edward is trying to avenge his brother?”
Selena nodded. “If he is, that might mean he really thinks Finn killed Zeb, which means he, Edward, didn’t do it.”
No sooner had that notion popped into Selena’s head than she had banished it. If Finn wasn’t guilty, somebody else had to be, and at present, Edward was the best suspect.
Scout made a beeline for his food dish and sat beside it, panting and looking wistful. Happy for the distraction and a chance to change the subject, Selena followed him, bent to remove his working harness and gave him a pat. “Silly dog. Of course I’ll feed you first. Don’t I always?”
“If that’s the secret,” Finn teased, “I’ll sit at the kitchen table and look hungry, too.”
“Feeding this army may prove challenging, especially once we’re all here at the same time.”
“I’ll help you cook,” Isla offered.
“And I’ll gladly let you,” Selena told her. “It may be necessary to shop for groceries first, though.” She pointed. “There’s a market around the corner a couple of blocks west. Do you have an MCK9 credit card? If not, you can use mine.”
“I have a card. We’ll need a list,” Isla said. “I’m not sure what Kyle and Meadow like to eat, but since Finn here has been in prison recently, he’ll probably enjoy anything.”
Finn laughed. “You’ve got that right.”
“All right, tell you what,” Selena said, tossing her keys to Isla, “if you pretend we don’t have a thing in the fridge or pantry, you can’t go wrong. I hate to cook and I don’t leave the place stocked up since I’m gone so much of the time.”
“Understood.” Isla waved as she headed out the door.
“We could go with her,” Finn suggested.
“Not when somebody keeps trying to bury you, literally. It’s safer to stay inside for the time being.”
“I hope my little brother does the same. He and Mom are probably safe enough, but I still worry that my problems will spill over onto them.”
“Sheriff Unger has promised to keep an eye on them,” Selena assured him. “We both think your enemy will stay focused on you. There would be no advantage to harming your family.”
“Unless they wanted to get to me in another way.”
Selena pressed her lips together in a thin line, adding her own concerns to what he’d just said. “That’s logical enough to take seriously. I’ll speak to the sheriff about it again.”
“Why don’t you call my mother too and say we think she should go visit friends, preferably in another state. That should keep her safer.”
“Right.” She handed him her new phone. “Call Mary and have a good talk while you’re at it. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“I’m making a command decision. Call your mother, Finn. I’d give anything if I could call mine. She refused to speak to me after Angela OD’d. Now, it’s too late.”
“She shouldn’t have blamed you for something your sister did.”
“She and Dad seemed to think I should have been able to stop her.”
“Ridiculous.”
“I agree.” Selena nodded. “One good thing did come out of it, though. I became a police officer.”
As she watched, a sadness seemed to envelop Finn. His smile faded and he averted his gaze. “That’s why?”
“Of course. What did you think?”
Shrugging, he strolled to the refrigerator, opened it and stared into it while answering, “Nothing. That makes sense, I guess.”
“I think there’s some orange juice in the back if you’re looking for a drink. I have a few cans of soda in the pantry, too, but they’re not cold.”
Selena was about to grab the loose cans and refrigerate them when her phone rang. “Smith.”
“It’s me. Isla.”
“Did you find the store okay?”
“Yes, yes. That’s not why I’m calling. It’s the doodle. Cowgirl. I think I see her.”
Astonished and elated, Selena started for the door before remembering that Isla had taken her SUV. “Come get me. Now.”
“What if the guy that’s with her decides to leave? He’s likely the Rocky Mountain Killer.”
“Snap a picture of them at least.”
“I already have. I can’t believe they’re standing right over there. Maybe I can...”
Selena stopped her. “No. Don’t try to do anything on your own. You’re not even armed.”
“But...”
“No buts. Come back and pick us up. We’ll be waiting in the street.”
“What is it?” Finn reflected her excitement.
“Isla has spotted a dog she thinks is our missing comfort K-9. She’s talking about confronting a man who may be a serial killer. I have to stop her before she does something rash.”
“Where is she?”
Selena raised the phone to her ear. “Are you still at the store?”
“Not anymore,” Isla answered. “I’m on my way to you.”
“She’s almost here,” Selena told Finn. She signaled Scout to follow before glancing back at him. “Come on!”
Finn was very glad she hadn’t asked him to block Scout at the door, because without knowing the proper command, he could have been bitten. It was sometimes hard to remember that the friendly K-9 was trained to apprehend suspects with those formidable K-9 teeth of his. Hopefully, he’d also protect Selena of his own volition, although there had been no clear indication of that while they were on the run or hiding in the cave.
Finn got to the curb just as Isla drove up. Selena hopped into the front passenger seat, and when Finn opened the rear door, the dog jumped in ahead of him. By the time he found and fastened his own seat belt, they were pulling into the store’s parking lot.
Isla pointed. “She was over there by the stacks of potting mix. I swear it was her. I’ve enlarged her image often enough to recognize her—and that guy who was with her.”
“The dark splotch on her ear? You’re sure you saw that?”
“Yes. She needs a haircut, but you can still tell. It grows out a different color, so it always looks like that ear is dirty.”
“Okay. Let’s park and start looking. They can’t have gone far.”
Finn couldn’t help chiming in. “What if the guy drove off?”
“If he did, we’re sunk.” She paused to snap a leash on her four-footed partner’s collar. “Scout is cross-trained for tracking. He deserves a chance to try.”
“Selena!” Isla was waving frantically and bouncing on tiptoe. “Over here.”
Finn stood aside to let Selena and Scout pass, then fell in behind them. By the time they joined Isla, there was nothing to see.
“She was right down there,” Isla insisted. “I saw her going around the corner.”
“Was anybody with her?”
“I didn’t see any people at all.”
“Not even that guy from before?”
Isla shook her head. “Nobody. She looked like she was running in a pack with several other dogs.”
“Maybe it’s not the same Labradoodle you saw earlier. She was pretty well trained to obey when we got her. I wouldn’t expect her to run away from anybody who had her on a leash.”
“I couldn’t tell if she was dragging anything. The dogs were all moving too fast, jumping around and playing like a bunch of kids at recess.”
“If it is Cowgirl, that does not sound good. Not good at all. We were expecting the thief to be taking good care of her, as he promised in his texts and showed in the pictures he took, not letting her run loose.”
Frowning, Selena took off jogging down the alley with Scout at heel, the tech expert next and Finn bringing up the rear. His heart was pounding, his breathing ragged. Being the pursuer instead of the quarry was exciting in a different way, wasn’t it? He was beginning to better understand the appeal of being on the right side of the law and acting for the benefit of the public. It felt good.
Halting at a back corner of the store, Selena rested the heel of one hand on the butt of her gun. She raised the other in a signal for everyone to stop.
Good thing, Finn thought. If he’d been alone, he’d probably have whipped around the corner without even considering what or who might be waiting for him on the other side.
Holding her weapon in both hands, Selena pivoted around the corner. He could see some of the tension leave her shoulders. “All clear.”
Isla voiced his thoughts to a T. “Now what?”
“Now we put Scout to work.”
“Why didn’t you do that in the first place?” Finn asked.
“Because he needs a strong starting point. There must be hundreds of different scents floating around out here, including those of the stray dogs you saw.” She looked to Isla. “I want you to take us back to the exact spot where you thought you spotted Cowgirl the first time.”
In Finn’s opinion, their chances were zero and none, but he kept his conclusions to himself. Yes, the dog had proven useful for finding a way out of the cave and had almost retrieved Selena’s dropped phone, but other than that, he hadn’t seen a lot of action that had impressed him. Nevertheless, he joined the others and returned to the front of the store.
Isla had taken Selena aside to speak to her. She led Scout around stacks of potting soil in plastic bags, then gave the command, “Seek.”
Expecting him to be confused because he was out of his working harness, Finn was surprised to see the lithe Malinois circle several times, then take off in a direction opposite of where they had already been. Selena not only didn’t stop him; she praised his choice.
“Humph,” was Finn’s only comment.
Scout stopped at a sleek-looking black pickup truck with a crew cab, meaning it was built to haul more than just a driver and one passenger. Sitting, barking and panting, the K-9 looked very pleased with himself.
Selena peered in the driver’s window, checked the door and found it locked. “Take a picture of the license plate,” she told Isla. “We’re going to see where the owner went from here.”
As soon as Selena gave a new command, Scout was off like a shot, nose to the ground, tail held high. This time, the dog didn’t waste a second. He was clearly on a mission, one that led them back around the rectangular block building, past the dumpsters behind and returned to the front entrance.
Finn assumed the man they were after had taken the missing dog inside until he saw Scout put on the brakes, whirl and head out again. When he got to the place where the black pickup had been parked, the space was empty.
“Uh-oh,” slipped out before he could censor himself. Selena didn’t have to say a word to demonstrate agreement.
Ignoring him, she was speaking on Isla’s phone. “I’m sending photos of the suspect vehicle and license number. We’ll stage here unless we spot Cowgirl or the truck again.”
Spreading his hands wide, palms up, Finn spoke while she waited for an official ID. “Hey, nobody’s perfect.”
An eyebrow arched. “Are you speaking for yourself?”
“Maybe. I’ve made more than enough mistakes.” The last thing he’d have admitted, then or at any other time, was that he considered his purposeful parting from her to be one of his biggest ones. That and not seeking out his birth father sooner. If he had, maybe Zeb might still be alive.
The futility of those thoughts hit him hard. Nothing could be changed no matter how sorry he was. Zeb was dead and so was Selena’s former affection for him. He hadn’t meant to harm his birth father, but he had done a great job killing Selena’s past fondness, perhaps even love.
Had it ever been that serious between us? Finn asked himself. Maybe. Probably. Looking back, he was able to see that she had been struggling with the loss of her sister and estrangement from her parents at the time of their breakup, and he had failed to show enough empathy.
Keeping himself at arm’s length back then may have been an error, he concluded. Doing so now, however, was absolutely crucial. For both their sakes.