Page 49 of So Savage

“What?”Marcus asked.

“Nothing.I was just thinking about what my partner would say.”She turned to him.“Let’s get a list of every military K9 handler who lost a dog within the past year and then narrow it down to everyone who reacted exceptionally poorly.Bonus points if they threatened violence.”

“So look for every Eric Davidson, not just one.”

“Yes.Get your officers to help.I want names, and I want them interrogated.”

Marcus shrugged.“Well, hell, if nothing else, it’ll keep them off the streets.Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

“Sometimes the difference between life and death is a little bit of luck.”She grimaced.“I hate that I said that.”

“You and me both.Doesn’t make it untrue.”

***

As the afternoon reached evening, Faith was reminded of the danger of casting a wide net.You tended to catch a lot of fish.Great if you were a fisherman, not so great if you were a detective who just needed to find one particular fish.

There were twelve current and former military K9 handlers in the Duluth area who had recently lost dogs in the field.Of those, nine had shown a severe emotional reaction.That wasn’t horribly excessive, and the police department would be able to interview them all over the course of the next day, but Faith couldn’t avoid the feeling that she was still missing something, that one little thing that would clear away the fog and tell her exactly who their killer was.

“Should we get started?”Marcus asked.

They were in his office, looking at the list Faith had requested on his computer screen.Faith shook her head softly but said, “Yes.Have your officers question them.”

“You said yes, but you shook your head no.”

She sighed.“It’s a hunch.I think we’re missing something.”

“A hunch is normally when you think you know something, not when you think you don’t know something.”

“Thank you, Marcus,” she said drily.“That’s very helpful.”

She started pacing the office, but it was a much smaller room than the conference room from before, so she gave up and sat down again a moment later.“This killer would be grieving the loss of his dog and envious of those who still have their dogs.But he would also feel that it’s unfair.There would be a component of justice to it.”

“Like you don’t get your dog if I can’t have mine?”

“That’s part of it, but I think there’s more.I think our killer suffered more than just the loss of his dog.”The idea coalesced in her brain until it was clear and very convincing.“I think we need to look for handlers who lost their dogs and were blamed for it.I think the killer feels that he was mistreated, not just his dog.That could be why he goes out of his way to keep the dogs alive.It could be that he just loves dogs, but I think there’s more to it.I think he needs to prove to himself that he can kill his victims without endangering their dogs.”

He raised an eyebrow.“You might be onto something there.Let me narrow down the search a little and see what we get.”

His fingers tapped on the keys while Faith finished her second cup of coffee.She looked at Turk, who sat in the corner and watched, waiting to be told it was time to act on whatever research the humans were doing.

How would she feel if she lost him in the field?What if she lost him because of a foolish order from a superior?

She’d answered this question before.She’d kill to save his life, but she wouldn’t kill to avenge him.That would serve no purpose.She’d bring the killer to justice and ignore the voice in her head that said to tear him limb from limb.

She wouldn’t go after handlers, though.She couldn’t relate to that.But she could understand it.It was like sabotaging your opponents in a sports competition when it was favoritism on the part of the judges or poor decisions from your coaches that caused you to lose.It was like a sibling acting out against the favorite child because he felt unfairly treated.

That was it.That was the key.The motive wasn’t hatred for the handlers, it was hatred for the people who punished him but let other handlers go free.He was projecting his hurt onto the wrong target.

“Got someone,” Marcus said.

“Who?”

“Staff Sergeant Peter Kane, USMC.He was discharged nine months ago after a mission in Syria.He lost his dog to an ambush, and he was blamed for not properly assessing the threat before sending his dog into the building.According to the records, when he heard that judgment, he got into a verbal and then a physical altercation with his company commander.The officer in question was left with a broken jaw and a broken clavicle.”

Faith nodded.“Beating your CO to pieces.Yeah, that’ll do it.Any connection to our victims?”

“Wouldn’t you know it,” Marcus said with a grin.“The chief NCO of the K9 component was Master Sergeant Thomas Reeves.”

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