Page 11 of So Savage

Marcus whistled.“That’s a long time.”

“Yes, it is.Ironically, though, the strength of the sedative might have saved his life because it lowered his heart rate and slowed his metabolism so that he suffered far fewer ill effects from the cold than he would have otherwise.”

“Thank God for small blessings.”

“What about the darts?”Faith asked.“Anything distinguishing about them?”

Parker sighed again.“I’m afraid not.They’re manufactured by Hydro-Dart, along with nearly every tranquilizer dart used on the planet.The delivery mechanism was a gas-powered dart gun.Without the gun itself, I can’t tell you much more than that.”

“We know it’s a rifle,” Marcus said.“They would have had to be taken out from a distance.”

Parker nodded.“Got it.I’m not surprised.Rooster’s a sweet dog, but I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.”She smiled at Turk.“What about you, boy?Do you have a bad side?”

Turk cocked his head, and Faith chuckled.“Only for bad people, right boy?”She lifted her gaze to Dr.Parker.“Is there anything someone could wear that would mask their scent from a trained K9?”

She shook her head."It would be very difficult.Dogs have senses of smell that are hundreds of thousands of times more sensitive than human senses.They can literally be trained to smell the onset of a seizure.When dogs have been defeated, it's usually because of a very strong smell that overpowers every other smell.Bleach and other strong cleaning chemicals are an example.Even then, it's not common."

“And if there was bleach at the crime scene, Turk would have picked it up,” Faith said.“Hmm.Nothing else?”

“The only other tactic I’ve ever heard of that works is making everything around a target smell like the target.So silly example, but if you could create a drug-scented air freshener and spray it all over a room, a dog might have trouble finding the actual drugs.Again, though, you’d have to find a way to make a scent that perfectly matches a target and then saturate that scent over everything.Considering that Walsh was killed outside, it’s just not likely.”

Faith sighed.“All right.Good to know.How’s Rooster?Is he doing okay?”

Tears came to Parker’s eyes.“He’s very upset, poor baby.He really loved Kevin.Dogs always bond with their handlers, but the bond between the two of them was more than just handler and K9.You should have seen the way he looked at him.Like Kevin was just the greatest creature to ever walk on the Earth.”She took a ragged breath and released it slowly.“He’s very depressed.”

“Do you mind if we talk to him?”Faith asked.She saw Marcus’s confused frown and explained, “Turk might be able to pick something up from him.”Dr.Parker looked hesitant, and Faith added, “If nothing else, it might cheer Rooster up to talk to another dog.”

That convinced Dr.Parker.She nodded and said, “All right.I’ll take you to him.”

The three of them followed her to the boarding house behind the medical center.The house was actually just the back five rooms of the building organized into separate facilities for cats, large dogs, small dogs, and other animals.Dr.Parker led them into the large dog room where a Belgian Malinois—a breed that always reminded Faith of a smaller version of a German Shepherd—sat in the corner with its head resting on its paws, a listless expression on its face.

When Faith saw the look in Rooster’s eyes, a powerful image of Turk’s expression when they first met crossed her mind.Turk’s handler before Faith was an FBI agent named Jack Preston.Preston was the lead on the Donkey Killer case with Faith and Michael as senior assisting agents.Turk had caught Jethro Trammell’s scent, but Trammell had lain in wait for them and killed Preston, nearly killing Turk in the process.When Faith first met Turk, he was still grieving Jack’s loss.He looked much the way Rooster did now.

Turk noticed it too.He trotted immediately to Rooster and laid his head over the smaller dog’s back.His eyes grew moist, and he whined mournfully.

Faith smiled at Rooster and kneeled in front of him.“Hey, buddy.”

Rooster lifted his eyes to her but didn’t react otherwise.Faith reached down and scratched him behind his ears.Rooster allowed the touch but still didn’t respond.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Faith told him.“We’re going to catch the asshole who did this to Kevin, okay?”

Rooster looked up at her again.“You’re a good dog,” Faith assured him.“You did really well.Kevin would be proud of you.”

A brief emotion flashed across Rooster’s face.It looked like irritation.It was gone as quickly as it came, and Rooster turned his head and looked past Faith at the wall.It didn’t matter if he was a good dog or not.He had failed to protect his handler.

She smiled sadly at Turk, who wore a look of grief that cut Faith to the core.She wondered if he was remembering Jack, remembering what had to be the worst day of his life.She turned to Dr.Parker, who was crying softly and drying her eyes with a paper towel.“Has the Army contacted you about Rooster’s disposition?”

“They’re…” she steadied herself with a breath.“They’re going to perform an assessment to see if he can still function as a K9 unit.If he passes, he’ll be assigned a new handler.If he fails, he’ll be discharged.”

“It better be an honorable discharge,” Marcus said darkly.The detective wasn’t so stoic that he was unaffected by Rooster’s plight.

“In this case, it would be an honorable discharge due to mental distress,” Dr.Parker confirmed.“This is fairly common among dogs who lose their handlers.”

“I believe it,” Faith said.“Poor guy.”

“If he needs a home, let me know,” Marcus said, leaving Dr.Parker his card.“I have a Newfoundland, but he’s the gentlest giant on Earth.He’ll get along well with Rooster.”

“Oh, thank you,” Dr.Parker said.“I’ll pass this along to the officer in charge of Rooster’s disposition.”

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