Page 57 of Pretty Broken Dolls
“That’s fine. Thank you.”
Sergeant Hardy added her name and moved on to the other officers.
Katie began watching the impressive teams working with a decoy—there were German shepherds and Belgian Malinois and one black Labrador retriever. She turned and saw a gold Camaro enter the parking lot. Recognizing it immediately, she hurried to the car.
“Lizzy,” she said, glad that her friend could make it.
“Wouldn’t miss this,” she said and shut her car door.
As Katie neared, she saw John get out of the passenger side. Taken back for a moment, she kept her composure. She thought Lizzy and John weren’t seeing one another because of the long distance, but they did seem like a good match.
“Hey, John. Nice to see you.” Katie smiled.
“Yeah, it’s hard to get him to get out in the fresh air,” Lizzy laughed.
“I can understand that.”
“I’ve heard so much about Cisco and his abilities, I wanted to watch the K9 teams in action,” he said.
“Glad you could come,” said Katie.
“C’mon, girl, let’s go check this out,” said Lizzy as Katie led the way.
The three of them joked and watched the impressive teams in action.
“Well, I have my favorite,” said Lizzy.
“The tan Malinois?”
“Nope, Cisco will always be my favorite. I remember him from the beginning.”
“Scott, you’re up next,” said Hardy.
“Go get ’em, girl!”
Katie hurried to her Jeep, opened the back door, quickly snapped on a leash, and led Cisco out. He was poised and ready. Always knowing when it was time to train or catch the bad guys, he waited for his handler’s commands. He looked exceptionally shiny in the sunlight.
Katie placed her gun in the holster and secured handcuffs to her belt.
They entered the area where an old baseball field once stood. There was a police car used to make the reenactment as authentic as possible.
“We’ll pop the back door when it’s needed,” said Sergeant Hardy.
Katie nodded. She knew this drill well and it was one of Cisco’s favorites. She glanced to the fence where Lizzy and John watched intently. Lizzy gave a wave accompanied by her big smile.
Katie put Cisco in the back of the patrol car and shut the door. She saw him chuff and whine as he paced back and forth.
She got behind the wheel where the keys awaited. Turning the engine over, it roared to life. She was supposed to drive across the field where the decoy—one of the officers in a heavy-duty bite suit—waited to agitate the situation.
Katie couldn’t help but flash back to her time on patrol in Sacramento. She wasn’t in a K9 unit, but sitting in the police cruiser brought back so many memories.
She put the car in drive and eased it forward. Cisco was barking and wanting to get to work. The decoy stood ahead, facing her and not moving. She shifted the car into park and exited the vehicle.
“Put your hands up!” she said. “Put them where I can see them!”
The decoy obliged and put his hands in the air.
“Turn around and put your hands on your head!”
