Detection Mission (Texas K-9 Unit) Read online

  “Please, spill your guts.” Lee gripped the sides of his chair to keep from launching himself across the table. This menacing hit man had tried to kill Heidi.

  “I was hired by Blood to take care of Adams and Keevers—and find a way to know what was going on in the hospital rooms of Jane Doe and Patrick McNeal. If they woke up, I needed to keep close tabs on them because if they started to remember what had happened to them, I was to take them out. Did you have anything to do with the missing listening device in McNeal’s hospital room?”

  Lee grinned. “Yes. I’m afraid I did.”

  “I hired Zoller, who had access to both of them, to plant the listening device in their rooms, and if they began to recall things about their accident, then to take care of them.”

  “Do you normally subcontract?”

  “When it’s needed, yes. It would look strange if I was discovered hanging around the hospital. Not so with Zoller. He needed the money. I had some I could give him.”

  “You’re just a regular nice guy.” Lee leaned across the table. “So this Blood is The Boss?”

  A cackle rippled from West. “No way. No one knows who’s The Boss, at least that I know. I think he only interacts with a second-in-command.”

  “Is that Blood?”

  West shrugged. “I doubt it.”

  “Who’s Blood and what does he have to do with The Boss?” The frustration from earlier returned full-force.

  “Blood’s real name is Andrew Garry. I’m pretty sure he’s in middle management in the crime syndicate.”

  Lee leaned forward. “Like Charles Ritter?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who else? I hear there are three of them.”

  “Can’t help you with that,” West said flatly. “Each one of them had their designated area and specific people they worked with. I worked for Garry, tidying up little messes that developed.”

  “Do you know anyone else in the organization?” Lee demanded.

  “No, I worked directly with Garry.”

  Lee rose. “You’ll be taken to a secure location while we check this information out.”

  Later, with an arrest warrant in hand and a photo ID of Andrew Garry, Lee and Austin headed for Garry’s home with their dogs while another team took Garry’s real estate office downtown. Lights from several of the rooms in the large two-story house alerted Lee the man might be home. Austin rang the bell while Lee looked inside Garry’s large window. Cushions were slit and tossed from the couch and chairs. Books from a built-in bookcase cluttered the floor. The contents of the drawers in a desk joined the books scattered about the room that looked like it was a home office.

  “He’s been robbed or vandalized.” He hurried to Austin and tried the knob. It turned. “This doesn’t bode well.”

  Lee withdrew his gun and stepped into the foyer to a similar sight in every direction he looked. Motioning to Austin to take the right, he took the left side off the entrance hall and stepped into the home office. He made a circular pattern around the room, looking for any signs of Garry or the people who did this. As he moved through the office, glass crunched under his feet, the stench of liquor wafted to him. Bottles of alcohol in a minibar had been flung and shattered all over the place.

  But no one was in the room.

  Lee went back into the foyer and took the dining room and kitchen. The same damage occurred with the chaos in the kitchen even worse. No food item was left intact.

  Austin appeared in the entrance. “The rest of the downstairs is just like this.”

  “Let’s check upstairs. I’m calling this in.” Lee pulled out his cell and let the captain know what happened at Garry’s house.

  “Is Garry there?” Slade asked.

  “Not downstairs. We’re on our way upstairs to check.”

  “I’ll send backup. I haven’t heard yet if he’s at the office. So someone was looking for something. What?”

  Lee took the stairs behind Austin. “If they were, they went overboard. Like they were making it look like vandalism.”

  “Like Eva’s house?”

  Lee glanced at his friend—who was engaged to Eva Billows—and said, “Yes. I’ll get back with you, Captain.” He stuck his cell back in his pocket and searched the rooms on the left side of the long hallway. All of them were ransacked. Whoever did this spent hours here. What was so important to risk doing that? Information about The Boss?

  When Lee met up with Austin at the staircase, he shook his head. “Nothing but the same thing downstairs. No sign of Garry.”

  “Maybe the team will catch him at his office,” Austin said, descending to the first floor.

  “Or he was tipped off and has fled Sagebrush. Let’s check the garage. See if his car is there.”

  A minute later, Lee stared at an empty garage, destroyed like the rooms in the house. “Our chance to question Garry may be gone like the man. I’ll have the night shift set up surveillance of the place in case he comes back here, but I’m not holding my breath on it.”

  * * *

  Heidi stood in the doorway of her bedroom, staring at the bed where West had trapped her. The covers were still messed up. She wasn’t quite ready to return to her place on the third floor until the man who hired West was behind bars, too. She was thankful Molly had insisted she spend the night again in her first-floor apartment. All she needed was a change of clothes.

  Her other two outfits were hanging in the closet. Where West had charged out of and accosted her. The scene flashed across her mind. The feel of his hand pressing into her mouth and nose, cutting off her air supply, dominated her thoughts.

  She only had five feet to the closet. She could dart across to it, get the shirt and slacks and be back where she was standing in less than half a minute. But her feet remained rooted to the floor. Another scene in another bedroom nibbled at the back of her mind. She squeezed her eyes closed as though that would block it. But sensations of helplessness, fear and hopelessness flooded her.

  No, not now!

  Her eyes flew open. She was in Sagebrush. The past with whatever happened was just that—the past. She sucked in one fortifying breath after another until her heart rate had evened to its normal pace.

  Okay, I can do this.

  Although the police protection was taken off her because the threat was neutralized with West’s capture, Lee still made sure that Mark was going to be here while he was interviewing West. She appreciated that. Yet again, Heidi reminded herself that she was perfectly safe and no harm would come to her by opening the door and getting her clothes.

  The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of life; of whom shall I be afraid? The Psalm came to mind, its words filling her with calmness.

  She took first one step then another toward the closet. Before she knew it, she had her shirt and slacks in her hand and was back at the entrance into her bedroom.

  Where had those verses come from? Again, she sensed her faith had been strong in the life she couldn’t remember, that it had saved her in numerous ways. She turned away from the room and headed toward the third-floor landing. Maybe Molly would know which Psalm it was and Heidi could read all of it. She hurried down the stairs to the first floor at the same time that Lee exited Molly’s apartment.

  He smiled. “I was looking for you.”

  “The smile must mean you’ve got good news.” Her pulse rate kicked up a notch. What she saw in Lee appealed to her. Commanding. Passionate about what he did. Protective.

  “West gave up the man he worked for. It’s only a matter of time before we find him.”

  “But you don’t have him right now?” she asked with disappointment.

  “He wasn’t in his usual places—home or office—but police are watching for him.” Although there were several feet separating them, the intensity in his gaze captured her and roped her to him. “West’s employer has no reason to come after you. The only person your testimony could hurt is West. I have a feeling the man is scrambling t
o save himself.” He closed the distance between them and clasped her upper arms. “It’s over. You can walk the streets of Sagebrush freely.”

  Why did she feel it wasn’t over?

  “Tomorrow is Sunday. I hope you’ll go to church with me and Molly.”

  “I’d love to,” she replied, trying to sound upbeat.

  “Then on Monday, when you’re meeting with Valerie to shop, I’ll take you to meet her and wait for you in the park downtown. Kip loves to play there with his Frisbee. Since that’s my day off, too, I was thinking that once you’re done shopping I could spend the afternoon showing you the area. If you’re going to stay here for a while, you’ll need to get acquainted with Sagebrush.”

  “I would like that.” She held up the shirt and slacks she had. “When I went to get these, I realized the meager amount of clothes I have. If I’m going to look for a job, I need to have a few more, at least.”

  “Molly said you’re staying with her tonight?”

  She nodded. “I’m not ready to return to my apartment.”

  “When you are, I can have Kip stay with you at night for a while. He kinda likes you. Actually he isn’t the only one. I’m glad you’re staying in Sagebrush.”

  That earlier intensity returned to his look, luring her closer to him. She held her ground. There was so much uncertainty in her life. How could she give in to the feelings he created in her? “Where is Kip?”

  Lee backed away a few paces, glancing at the hallway that led to the back of the house. “When I came home, I took him straight outside. He’s probably ready to come in by now. He likes to be in the middle of everything going on.”

  That brief moment of connection vanished, and Heidi wondered if he would have kissed her again. Now she wished he had. You can’t have it both ways. Maybe when her life settled into a normal routine, she could figure out what was going on between Lee and her.

  Until then, she had to find a way to resist his considerable charm.

  * * *

  From across the street on Monday, Lee watched Heidi and Valerie meet up in front of Lace and Frills Boutique, a consignment shop Valerie assured her was very reasonably priced with some great clothes. His coworker was pushing a stroller with her niece in it. Valerie was the guardian of Bethany, who had been orphaned recently.

  Heidi knelt in front of the eighteen-month-old, saying something to the baby. He remembered their discussions about children. Thinking about how they both loved them warmed his heart.

  When Heidi rose, she held the door open for Valerie to push the stroller inside. He knew Heidi was worried about money, but once she started her job at the library, she should feel better. It was only a formality that she was meeting with Molly’s friend at the library tomorrow or so Molly had told him this morning. Heidi’s life was starting to piece together. She wouldn’t need him as much, especially after she settled into a routine and made her own friends.

  He should be happy about those prospects for Heidi. But deep down he wasn’t. He liked feeling needed.

  He had to keep his distance. She had a whole other life out there that she would eventually remember and go back to. After Alexa, he didn’t want to be hurt again. And he’d probably see his ex-fiancée at the impromptu Valentine’s Day party Molly had decided to throw on Friday, the fifteenth. According to his landlady, better late than never. But even worse than Alexa coming to the bash with her husband—because Molly was asking everyone associated with the K-9 Unit as well as other police officers at the station—was the fact that Valentine’s Day was in a few days and he had a strong urge to get Heidi something.

  To make her feel welcome. Yeah, sure. Who was he fooling? He cared about Heidi.

  Kip trotted back with the Frisbee Lee had thrown across the park and dropped it at Lee’s feet. His dog looked up at him expectantly, and when he didn’t move fast enough to get the Frisbee, Kip barked.

  “Okay, boy. I’ll throw it a few more times, then I need to go shopping for a special Valentine’s gift.”

  Kip barked again.

  “Yeah, I know. I have no business doing that, but Heidi is all alone. I want to make her feel welcomed to Sagebrush.” He hurled the plastic disc through the air, and his dog shot across the park after it.

  Fifteen minutes later, Lee snapped Kip’s leash on him and tossed the Frisbee in his SUV parked nearby. “Maybe the drugstore will allow you inside and you can help me pick out something. What do you think? A box of chocolates? A stuffed animal?”

  His dog cocked his head and gave him a look like he was crazy.

  “Okay. Those are pretty lame.”

  Lee set out down the sidewalk toward the Corner Drugstore at the end of the downtown area on the last corner before the residential section of the town started. Kip took up the lead, which was often his usual mode of traveling with Lee. He gave his dog an extra length of the leash so he could snoop when he wanted.

  At a store a block away from their destination, Kip sniffed the front door as he had many others on their trek, but instead of moving on, he stopped and sat, then let out a series of barks. His sign that there was a dead body nearby.

  Lee trotted forward, noting the building had a for-sale sign in the window, the shades drawn on the large plate-glass window. He tried the doorknob. It turned. Lee stepped through the threshold and paused, taking a few seconds to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkened shop.

  Kip passed him and headed back toward behind the counter. Lee followed. His dog reached a closed door, probably to the office, and scratched on it. Lee opened it and moved into the room with a large desk and chair the only furniture. The stench of blood mingled with a musky, dusty smell.

  Kip rounded the desk and sat. Lee followed and came upon a dead Andrew Garry, shot through the head, his blood pooled on the hardwood floor.

  * * *

  Carrying Bethany, Heidi left Lace and Frills Boutique a few steps in front of Valerie. Down the street, several patrol cars with flashing lights were parked in front of a building along with a coroner’s van. She saw Lee outside on the sidewalk talking to his captain and knew in her gut that something was wrong.

  Valerie came to her side and took her niece while Heidi grabbed her two sacks from the stroller. “It looks like there’s been another death. That place has been vacant and for sale for the past few months. I know Andrew Garry has been aggressively trying to sell it. I need to check what’s going on.” She started forward.

  “I’m coming. Lee is down there. He’s my ride home.” Lugging her bags, Heidi hurried after Valerie, pushing the stroller.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

  “Why?”

  “I went to the Corner Drugstore last night and saw someone leaving that building. A woman. I thought she might be buying the place or had already purchased it. I’d heard rumors someone was looking at it.”

  “Who?”

  “Not sure.” Valerie increased her pace.

  Heidi stood back from the scene while Valerie joined Lee and Captain Slade McNeal. With all these police she was sure it was a murder. Connected to the case Lee’s been working on? She watched Lee talking, and his eyes softened when he glanced her way.

  Lee disengaged from Valerie and his captain and made his way toward her with Kip. He smiled at her. “Valerie said your shopping trip was a success.”

  “I bought three more outfits, nothing too fancy or expensive, but they’ll meet my needs.” She gestured toward the building. “What happened?”

  “I found Andrew Garry—the man we’ve been looking for the past thirty-six hours—dead.”

  “Murder?”

  “A shot to the head.”

  “Do you need to stay?” she asked.

  “No, the captain and Austin are processing the scene. Slade said this is my day off and to take it.”

  “Is this Andrew Garry the guy behind everything?”

  “He was the man behind West and the killings of Adams, Keevers and Zoller. I don’t think he’s The Boss, just part of
the crime syndicate.” He gazed down at her. “The important thing right now is that you’re safe and we’re going to celebrate that fact today. Let’s go.”

  “If you’re sure?” She couldn’t shake the feeling she wasn’t safe until she dealt with her past—one that involved ending up in a wrecked car of a missing man. Where was William Peterson? How did she know him? Did she know him?

  “I am. There have been enough deaths. I declare no business for the rest of the day.”

  “Sounds like a plan. What are we doing first?”

  “Dropping Kip and your bags off at Molly’s.” He took her hand and urged her forward. “The rest is a surprise.”

  “I’m pretty sure in the past I didn’t like surprises.”

  “Tough. You’ll just have to wait,” he said mysteriously.

  “Am I dressed okay?’

  He grinned. “Yep, jeans are great.”

  An hour later, standing in the barn at the ranch of one of Lee’s coworkers, Jackson Worth, Heidi was faced with seeing if she knew how to ride a horse. Apparently, she did. When she sat in the saddle, the feel was familiar. When she guided her mare from the yard toward the dirt road that led to the back of the property, she knew how to do it. In the pasture, Lee kept his gelding next to her and set an easy gait.

  “This is one of those days when you wonder if we’re going to skip spring and go straight to summer. Winter and seventy-five degrees. I could take this every day.”

  She slanted her look toward him, the brim of his cowboy hat shadowing his eyes. His lazy drawl mirrored the gleam she glimpsed in his brown depths. “If I’m going to do too much of this, I’ll need a hat like you have. This visor Molly loaned me just doesn’t have the Western feel.”

  “If you stick around, it would be fun to do this on a regular basis. Jackson is always wanting me to come out here and help him exercise his horses. I used to do more, but in the past few years I’ve been pouring myself into my job. For a while, I was saving for a down payment on a house.”

  “Not anymore?”

  “The need isn’t that urgent anymore,” he said gruffly.