Page 37 of Through the Fire
He set the mic down and switched the radio back to channel one. Instead of returning to his cabin, he moved over to the tower windows again and watched over the town—and Kit—until the sun rose, replaying their latest conversation in his mind.
* * *
Kit was still smiling as she entered the VFW the next day. She was pretty sure she hadn’t stopped since finding Bendsie. If it had just been her pride on the line, it wouldn’t have mattered so much, but it was her dog’s competence that Hugh had questioned. Justice had proven himself to her over and over, and she’d defend him ferociously if she had to. Even her mostly sleepless night hadn’t dampened her mood, especially when she thought about the radio conversation with Wes.
She took her usual seat at the table where she and the other cops had their daily morning roll call, and Jules gave her a wave from across the room. Kit waved back, scanning the room automatically. Several people were having a late lunch, but she didn’t recognize anyone besides Jules. They were all looking at her, still obviously fascinated by the stranger in their midst—and the new cop, at that.
The townspeople’s distrust had an upside, at least. That morning, when Hugh had sent her off on an errand, very transparently wanting her out of earshot while they discussed the arson and possible murder case, Kit had taken the opportunity to spend some time at a computer in the records room. Without a previous location, she wasn’t able to track down anything using Elena’s name, but she did run the woman’s license plate number. Oddly enough, Elena had already changed the address it was registered under to Jules’s house in Monroe. Kit found that to be suspiciously fast, telling her that Elena was hiding something. The vehicle registration did give her Elena’s full name and birth date, however. Once she found out where Elena used to live, her research should really bear fruit.
Kit’s thoughts were interrupted when a tall, blond teenager with the sturdy frame of an athlete cautiously approached her table. She watched him in her peripheral vision, pretending not to notice him. His wary expression and careful way of walking made her think that any sudden moves on her part would send him darting back to his table like a startled rabbit. When he was a few feet away, he stopped, and she slowly turned her head to look at him.
“Hi,” she said, glancing away again. She saw Jules by the kitchen door, staring at them with an odd look that Kit couldn’t identify—Worry? Anxiety? Possibly a little hope thrown in there?
“H-h-hey.” The teenager’s husky greeting brought her attention away from Jules and back to him.
“I’m Kit, but you probably know that already.” She kept her gaze moving, not wanting to lock on him with her usual penetrating cop stare and drive him away. She couldn’t say why, but something was telling her this was important.
“Y-yes.”
“Want to sit?” She borrowed a move from Hugh and pushed out the chair across from her with her foot.
“No.”
She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing at the bald rejection. “Okay.”
“Y-you’re the n-new c-c-cop.”
“Yes.”
“Jules t-told me y-you have a t-t-track-king dog.”
That was interesting. Kit wondered why Jules had been telling this kid about her. As she glanced again at Jules, who was still watching them closely, it suddenly clicked. This had to be one of Jules’s siblings. She turned her attention back to him. “I do. He’s a bloodhound.”
Interest lit his expression, almost overtaking the wariness, and he shifted a half step closer. “D-did he really f-f-find Mr. W-Wernicutt?”
It took her a second to recognize the name. “Oh, Bendsie! Yes, Justice tracked him.”
“D-did you t-train him?” He slid another step closer, placing one hand on the back of the chair she’d pushed out for him. “W-was it hard?”
Kit laughed a little, thinking back to Justice’s snail-like progress. “Yes. So hard. Not the tracking, really, but everything else.”
His other hand clutched the back of the chair as he leaned closer. “I w-work at the k-k-kennel, and there’s a resc-cue d-dog there n-now—a b-bloodhound. N-Nan said that I c-c-can t-train her, b-but n-none of the g-guys have t-trained a t-tracker b-before.”
The words rescue bloodhound would have won her over if she hadn’t already been completely suckered in by the wary dog-loving kid who was awkwardly trying to ask her for help. “I’m planning on training Justice to be able to work off lead, and I’ll need someone to help. If you’re willing, I’ll help you train your rescue in exchange. Sound good?” She would’ve helped him no matter what, but she knew the importance of keeping things from being lopsided. For her, accepting help was tough, especially when she didn’t have a chance to pay the person back.
The kid’s entire face lit up, and Kit couldn’t hold back her own smile. “I have school and w-work at the k-kennel, b-but I b-bet N-Nan w-will let m-m-me have t-time off for t-training w-with you.”
“Great.” Still smiling, Kit fished out her phone and held it out to him. The kid was almost ridiculously endearing. “Put in your number. Oh, and Nan’s and your parents’. I’ll call everyone and make sure we’re on the same page.”
His mouth went tight as he focused on the screen of her phone. “No p-p-p… It’s j-just m-m-my sister.” He flicked a glance at Jules, who was still sending frequent looks their way even as she bustled back and forth between the tables. “J-Jules.”
“Ah,” Kit said. That confirmed her guess. “Put in Jules’s number, and I’ll talk to her before we start training.”
His face relaxed slightly, although his cautious expression had returned. After tapping at the screen for a bit, he handed Kit her phone back. She glanced at the screen and saw he’d entered his number simply as “Sam.”
“So what’s the story, Sam?” When panic flashed in his eyes, Kit’s curiosity grew, but she simply clarified, “Where’d the bloodhound at Nan’s come from?”
Again, the tightness in his muscles visibly eased. “N-Nan runs a rescue, and the bloodh-hound w-was b-brought in from another shelter. She w-w-was returned fr-from three homes that d-didn’t w-work out.”
