Cage (The K9 Files #27)

Chapter 5

R isa waited nervously for Cage to pick her up. He’d texted her earlier, looking for her address, and she’d spent the better part of the day fussing over what she would wear. She alternated between being furious at her mother and nervous about tonight. She had no reason to be nervous, yet it was a date—essentially a first date for two people who’d gotten sidetracked and had fallen out of touch for too many years,… all because of her mother. Thinking about the whole confrontation earlier made her angry all over again.

When the doorbell rang, she raced to the door, only nobody was there. Frowning, she stepped back into her apartment, wondering whether it had just been a mixed-up delivery or something else. She really didn’t know. When it rang a second time, she took a little longer to answer, calling out, “Who is it?”

“It’s me,” Cage replied. When she opened the door and saw him, she smiled with relief. His eyebrows rose. “What happened?”

She shook her head, unsure of what to say. “I mean, it’s nothing really.”

“That’s not an answer,” Cage stated. “What happened?”

“Somebody rang the doorbell earlier, and, when I went to let you in, nobody was there.”

“You didn’t see anybody?” he repeated, as he stepped into the apartment, then stepped back out, looking down the hallway.

“I mean, an exit is right there, so it’s possible I missed someone. I guess it could have just been me hearing things. We all get deliveries here pretty frequently, and mistakes are fairly common.”

“Right,” Cage muttered, as he glanced back out into the hallway, then looked back at her, smiled, and added, “It seems to have upset you. I’m sorry.”

She winced. “It’s just been that kind of a day.”

He nodded. “Shall we go?”

“Absolutely,” she murmured, as she followed him out to his vehicle, but she couldn’t stop herself from glancing around.

“Are you expecting trouble?” He gently placed a hand on her lower back, easing her ahead of him ever-so-slightly.

“No, I’m not expecting trouble. It’s just that… I had quite a row with my mother today, and, ever since, I feel the need to check behind me all the time.” Then she added, “I also saw my latest stepfather for the first time in a very long while.” She shook her head. “That was bizarre too.”

“Bizarre how?” She told him about the money for college she’d never received, and the student loans she was still paying on to this day. He looked at her in shock. “She didn’t give it to you?”

Risa shook her head. “No, and I haven’t even braced her about that because I didn’t know at the time. Apparently he also gave me money for my future wedding and a down payment on a house. It looks as if she apparently kept that too.”

“Good God,” he muttered.

“Hey, I’m impressed that you aren’t already cussing her out.”

“I think I’m still in shock,” he muttered. “Just give me a minute.”

She laughed. “I don’t even know what to say. I have to admit it would have been really helpful to have had the school money, if only to cover my student loans. It’s brutal out there in this world to try and get an education on your own, and I did get it, but not without incurring plenty of debt in the form of student loans. I’m working my way through them, but I certainly haven’t paid them off yet.”

“I don’t think anybody would be surprised at that, not if they knew the situation,” he murmured, “but if I didn’t have a reason to hate her before…”

“You still don’t,” she said, then she hesitated. “She did admit she hadn’t passed on the messages from you.”

He nodded. “Well, that’s what we figured already.”

“I know, but it’s just so upsetting to think she would deliberately do such a thing.”

He glanced over at her. “You’ve always had such a nice view of her.”

“No, I really haven’t,” she countered, raising her hands in protest. “I don’t think I’m living in some Pollyanna world where I don’t understand what she’s done. I just hadn’t realized the depth and breadth of her deception and animosity,” she muttered. “I know money is her god and always has been, but I didn’t think she would try to beat me out of something that many would consider her responsibility to provide for me to begin with.”

“I’m sorry,” Cage whispered. “Seems to be a bad deal all the way around.”

“Agreed,” she muttered. “On a happier note, it was nice to talk to Graham, my stepfather. I really liked him. Hell, I liked most of her husbands,”

“How many were there?” Cage asked, looking at her curiously.

She frowned. “I think he was the sixth.”

Cage shook his head. “Damn. And is she on the prowl for number seven?”

“I would imagine so, but apparently she’s still tied up in some court cases—with Graham, at least—and those will likely get more complicated, now that he knows she kept money that wasn’t hers.”

“When it comes to marriage, a lot of times the money is not necessarily divided fairly, which leaves people trying to take the other to court.”

“I don’t know all the details, and I don’t really want to. It’s bad enough that I have to deal with her and all her nonsense involving me, but I really don’t need to carry around the added burden of knowing all the other messed-up things she’s done.”

“Good,” he said, as he opened the car door for her and let her slide in. Closing it behind her, he quickly went around and got in. “I thought maybe we would go for seafood.”

She looked over at him and smiled. “I would absolutely love seafood.”

“Good. It used to be one of your favorites.”

“I haven’t had very much of it,” she said. “I’ve been focusing on paying my student loans, so I haven’t been eating out much.”

“And your beloved mother hasn’t been helping.”

“Nope, she’s never been one to hand out money, even when I was young,” Risa shared. “It was one of the things we fought about because she didn’t understand why I went to college to begin with.”

He looked at her, startled, taking his gaze briefly off the road, “Seriously?”

She nodded. “In her mind, I was supposed to just find a rich guy, get married, and settle down, right?”

“To me it sounds a little more like find a rich guy, milk him for all he has, and then settle down.”

She winced. “That would be my mother’s version, yes, but not mine.”

He didn’t say anything more, and she settled in quite happily for a pleasant drive to the restaurant.

“Are you okay?” he asked, when she snuggled down a little deeper into the seat.

“I’m doing fine. I just can’t believe how much everything has shifted in these last few days.” She looked over at him. “Were you able to connect with the little boy?”

“I did.” He nodded and gave her a smile. “Brian is a sweet kid. He’s quiet, obviously still dealing with the trauma, and sadly he’s missing his dog pretty badly. He’s not just missing the dog, he’s worried about him too.”

“Of course he is,” she agreed. “That’s got to be tough. How are the foster parents?”

He winced. “I’m not convinced that they’re particularly well suited to fostering, especially not in Brian’s case. He’s capable of doing so much more than just sitting in a wheelchair, as Jason has proven so well, but not everybody believes it. I’m afraid if Brian doesn’t get the kind of support that seeks opportunities, it will be harder on him to adjust.”

“I’m surprised to hear that. If they’re not the kind to take on the challenge, why would the family want to foster him? Most people would have to at least make some modifications to their house, maybe even get a different vehicle. Then you think about personal care and things like that, depending on his physical capabilities. It really does take a special person to do this and to do it well.”

“I think so too,” he agreed, “but they got him somehow. By the way, it’s a perfect house, you know, one of those where you don’t dare sit down for fear of messing something up.”

“Oh, ugh .” Risa shook her head. “That’s not good for a child, especially one in a wheelchair.”

“It’s also a trial scenario, which Dorothy made very clear, in front of Brian no less, and I think that makes it even harder on him.”

“Of course it does. Brian’s got to be on his best behavior. Otherwise he’ll get kicked out and moved on to who-knows-what,” she exclaimed. “That sucks too. Hell, my mother used to pull that stunt on me all the time.”

“What do you mean?” Cage asked, turning to her.

“She used to tell me that, if I didn’t smarten up, she would make sure that her husband—and I don’t remember which one it was at the time—would get rid of me because she didn’t have the time or energy to deal with my tantrums.” Risa shook her head at that. “Memories are so strange, and who knew that one was still rattling around in my head?” She laughed. “God, it all just seems like such a long time ago.”

“And yet it probably wasn’t,” he noted. “I imagine that, in your mother’s case, she would hold a grudge for a very long time.”

“She holds more than just a grudge,” Risa noted, with a smile. “I mean, this discussion today?… The gloves were off before I even got in the house, which is a story in itself. It’s pretty depressing to even think that something like that is still happening in my world.”

“Unfortunately it happens all the time,” Cage said, with a sad smile.

“Sure, but you can’t see that or don’t realize it when you’re all caught up in it yourself. I am obviously far better off without her in my life, but if my stepfather takes her to court over the student loans money and other money he set aside for me for a house,… my relationship with my mother will get even uglier.”

“But that’s not your fault,” Cage declared. “If Graham handed over the money for you, and there’s any documentation of it, and Eleanor used it on herself, the repercussions could be quite severe.”

“In which case she really won’t talk to me,” Risa stated, looking over at him. “Graham did say something about a contract.”

“Then your mother could be having a bigger headache than you ever thought,” Cage said cheerfully.

He sounded so positively giddy about it that Risa stared at him and started to laugh. “You’re totally okay if she gets into trouble over this, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I so am,” he confirmed, with a smile. “She’s been a pretty shitty mother in so many ways, but to take money that was intended for your education and to help you buy a house, that’s majorly shitty, even for her. And that is all on her, not you.”

“And yet I’m sure she would say it was her money, rightly hers because she looked after me.”

“Well, we’ll see what the judge says about that,” Cage noted, with a smile. “If it was me, I wouldn’t be very happy if somebody was taking the money for her own use, especially if it was explicitly given for a particular reason.”

Risa shook her head. “I told Graham that I didn’t want to get involved and that I definitely didn’t want to be part of their fight.”

“What did he say to that?”

“He just smiled, patted my hand, and told me how he would love to take me out for dinner sometime or go for coffee.”

“Good.” Cage nodded. “Go, have fun with him, make some nice memories. It sounds like a relationship that probably would be good to have back in your life. I don’t think Eleanor can control everything that goes on in your world, although she might give it a good try.”

“Oh, she will give it a good try all right,” Risa agreed, “but this time I’m pretty sure I have somehow managed to free myself from the worst of what she can do.”

“I would hold on to that thought,” Cage noted, with a grin, “because Eleanor? She’s not somebody who will give up control easily.”

“No, but she also can’t have any control, if I don’t give it back to her,” Risa declared. “So here’s to my freedom.”

And, with that, she leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek. “No matter what she did before, anything between me and you now? That’s between us. She can go to hell.”

Cage was really happy to hear Risa say these words and wondered just how strict she would be in the face of her mother’s opposition. Eleanor had always been very abrasive, very formidable, and with a negative opinion on everything in life. If you didn’t go along with her, you were either stupid or just too na?ve to understand. It had been a very interesting experience meeting her for the first time, trying to decipher just who this character was and what her actual motivations were, because she had proven to be somebody you just couldn’t take at face value.

It seemed as if she always had something on her back burner, some underhanded play going down that you would never be privy to.

One, because she wouldn’t ever let you into her inner circle; and, two, because you were just not good enough. He never figured her out, so maybe it was just because he was male. He didn’t know what her deal was, but, considering how she treated her own daughter, that was probably only part of it. Definitely a power play, from somebody who liked to be in control. Definitely some narcissistic tendencies were there, but, as long as Risa was doing well and staying free and clear of Eleanor’s grasp, that alone would change Risa’s life quite a bit. He could hope for the best.

As he pulled into the restaurant parking lot, she cried out in joy. He looked over and smiled. “It’s almost as if you haven’t been here before.”

“I haven’t been here in…” She stopped and frowned. “Well, not since you left. And never in this location.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”

She nodded. “After you left, I just focused on school, and life became one endless round of exams and assignments and then just work itself,” she explained, with a shrug. “It wasn’t an easy time for me either.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he replied, frowning.

She shook her head. “We’re here now, together. So we’ll start afresh and figure out just where we’re at,” she stated in a noncommittal tone. “I’ve changed. You’ve changed, but…” She studied the restaurant in front of them and beamed. “Apparently this place hasn’t changed.”

“Do you still like clam chowder?” he asked with a smile, as he unlocked the car doors and got out.

She hopped out on her own and walked up several steps, where she stopped, faced him, and grinned. “Absolutely, and lobster rolls,” she added. “Although I don’t think this place has them.” She looked up at the rather daunting front entranceway that showed a lot of class and had a regal look to it. “I feel as if this place has been around forever, and maybe that I am underdressed.”

“I remember it way back when,” he replied, “so that’s a good thing. That means they’re also used to all kinds of people, so don’t you even begin to feel as if you’re not dressed properly. You look beautiful.”

She glanced down at her clenched hands and sighed. “I haven’t really done a whole lot of dating or even going out to meals with girlfriends,” she explained. “My workload has been pretty intense.”

“I imagine it was, but you got yourself a good education and in a field that is wide open and always in need,” he noted. “You should be proud of yourself.”

She smiled. “I am. I absolutely am, and it also gave me the freedom to move out, so… I’m still dealing with a lot of student loans.”

“Right”—he gave her an eye roll—“and we know why.”

She winced but gave him a half laugh. “We’ll ignore that topic for the moment. Obviously some things would have made my life easier, but I got through it on my own, and I’m not sad about that.”

“Good.”

As they walked in, they were greeted by a hostess. When Risa realized he’d made a reservation, she looked over at him, with one eyebrow raised.

“I wasn’t sure how busy it would be,” he said, by way of explanation. “So it just seemed to be the easiest answer.”

It absolutely was the easiest answer, but it also meant that he had taken it upon himself to make reservations in the hope that she would agree to come with him. He didn’t want to admit that, but, from the expression on her face, surely he knew that she’d already put two and two together. “I always heard how it’s fairly tough to get into here,” she whispered, as they were led to a table.

“Exactly,” he agreed. “Hence, the reservation.”

She smiled as they were seated at a lovely table with a view. She gave a happy sigh, as she stared out at the city around them. “It really does feel as if something has suddenly changed in my world,” she murmured.

“It has,” he confirmed, looking over at her, a big smile on his face. “Think about it. You stood up to your mother, and you’ve potentially reconnected with your stepfather, with whom you were close for quite a few years. And, even though you found out some terrible things about your mother that are hurtful and disappointing, you also braced her about it. Thus, you are no longer the victim in the face of her betrayals.”

Risa nodded. “That’s a good way to put it.”

They enjoyed a wonderful seafood dinner, getting to know each other again. When the time came to order dessert, Risa shook her head and patted her tummy. “I have absolutely no more room.”

“How about an after-dinner drink?” the waitress suggested.

Risa shook her head. “Not me. I’m sorry. I’m full.” She looked over at Cage. “What about you? Do you still have that sweet tooth?”

“I do, he admitted, with a smile, “but I think I’m good. We’ll just take the check, please.” The waitress disappeared, just as his phone rang. He looked down at it and frowned, not recognizing the number.

“Go ahead,” Risa encouraged him. “I know that you’re here for a specific reason, and there’s no reason to miss an important call just because we’re out together.”

He looked at her and smiled. “A lot of women wouldn’t be quite so generous.”

She shrugged. “Ah, but remember, I’m not a lot of women .”

He chuckled, as he answered the phone, “Hello?” He heard a sob on the other end. “Hello? Who is this?”

A faint whisper said, “It’s me, but if you tell them,… I’m in trouble.”

Cage knew who it was. “Brian, is that you?”

“Yes,” he whispered. “Did you find out anything about Scotty?”

“Not yet, buddy. I’m working on it though.”

Choking back a sob, Brian added, “It hurts.… It hurts so bad.”

“I’m so sorry,” Cage replied. “You’ve had a hell of a shift in your life, and I’m sure it’s been pretty tough on you.”

“They don’t like me,” he muttered.

Cage stared at the phone for a moment and asked, “Why would you say that?”

“It’s true.”

“And yet they don’t need to take you into their home,” Cage noted. “To be a foster parent is a choice, and they made that choice.”

“I don’t think so,” Brian argued. “I don’t know how it works, but I don’t think… It doesn’t seem as if they have a choice.”

Cage frowned at that and asked, “Aren’t you happy there?”

After a silent moment, Brian said, “They don’t hurt me.”

Cage saw that as an opening line that begged so many more questions. At the same time, it hurt his heart to even think of anybody hurting someone who was already so vulnerable. “Have other people hurt you?” Cage asked, his voice a little sharper.

More silence came on the other end for a moment and another sob. Then Brian answered, “Not so much hurt, but…”

“Right,” Cage acknowledged. “There are a lot of ways that people can be hurt.” The little boy, with his quiet sobs, was enough to break Cage’s heart. “Was there any other foster family you could go to?”

“Maybe, but, even if there was, it doesn’t mean it would be any better.”

“That’s true. What about going back to the center where you were before?”

“I don’t know,” he muttered. “At least other people like me were there.”

“It’s important to have people like you around, isn’t it?”

“It makes it easier,” he whispered. “They understand. Sometimes I…” He hesitated, then continued, his words coming out in a rush. “Sometimes I have accidents.”

“Of course you do,” Cage replied. “That’s just part of adjusting.”

“They don’t like it.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter whether they like it or not. It’s a fact of life,” Cage told the little boy. “Remember how I told you that my brother was in a wheelchair? It took quite a while for him to get control enough to not have accidents sometimes.”

“Did he get there?” Brian asked, with such hope in his tone that it made Cage cringe all over again.

“Yes, he sure did, and he plays basketball now, and he does really well.”

“Wow. I tried to look up that stuff on the internet, but I guess I’m not allowed. They don’t like it because it gives me bad ideas.”

“I’m sorry they feel that way, but I don’t think they are bad ideas. I would hope it gives you a variety of ideas and the confidence to try new things and to stretch a little bit,” Cage shared. “It’s not easy when you’re first in a wheelchair. It’s not always easy when you’ve been in a wheelchair for a while, but your circumstances have changed drastically, and I don’t know that a lot of people understand that.”

“They don’t. Not at all. It would help a lot if they would.”

“Understood,” Cage replied. “Did you need me for something specific,” he asked hesitantly, “or did you just need to talk?”

Brian sobbed slightly. “I need Scotty.”

“Of course you do,” Cage agreed. “But you do understand that, even if I find Scotty, it’ll be a challenge to see him if you are living where you’re at, right?

“I know,” he said, “but I need to know he’s okay. He was a good dog, and he really looked after me.” His crying was audible again. “It would help to know he’s still out there somewhere.”

Cage glanced over at Risa, tears in her own eyes. He grabbed her hand. “There will be better days, Brian,” he murmured. “Sometimes we just have to reach a little deeper to find it.”

“I don’t think any good days remain in this world anymore,” Brian mumbled. “I just want Scotty, and I want my family back.”

“I can’t do anything about your family,” Cage stated, “but I’ll do everything I can to try and find Scotty.”

“Promise? And you won’t give up?”

“I promise, Brian. I won’t give up.” Now Cage was desperately trying to keep his voice from cracking.

Brian ended the call on that note, and hopefully now could get some sleep. Cage looked to Risa, biting her bottom lip to keep from crying.

“Dear God,” she whispered, staring at Cage, “that just tears me apart.”

“It tears me apart too,” Cage admitted. “Nobody ever thinks about the pets when it comes to these situations. They’re secondary problems. I can’t really blame the first responders. When something deadly happens, their major focus is all about treating the people. The trouble is, in many cases, treating the people also means treating the animals they were close to. In Brian’s case, he’s obviously suffering terribly.”

Risa asked, “You can find the dog, right?”

He looked over at her and nodded. “I’m doing what I can in terms of locating Scotty. I’m waiting for some phone calls to be returned. Also remember that I just met this little boy today.”

“And I’ve been dragging you away from it all,” she moaned. “Let’s go. Come on. We can leave now, and maybe you can make some more phone calls or do whatever you need to do.”

He gave a bark of laughter, as the waitress returned just then with their bill. He quickly paid it and then escorted Risa outside. “Tomorrow I’m meeting with Child Services and the police. I was supposed to meet today but ran out of time so had to reschedule.”

“Why the police?” Risa asked.

“Because they should have opened a file on the little boy, and it should have something in it as to what happened to the dog. If Scotty was taken to a shelter, hopefully we can find out which one, and they should know what happened to him.”

“Right.” Risa frowned. “I didn’t even consider what happens to these poor animals when someone’s life goes to hell like this.”

“And that’s a problem,” Cage noted. “Nobody really does, and it’s hard for these kids. It’s so hard, and we have to find a way forward regardless.”

“Jesus,” Risa muttered, just listening to him.

“I know,” Cage replied. “Brian’s quite a kid, but he’s very quiet, which is worrisome. I think in many ways he feels torn apart.”

“Well, he has been torn apart,” she agreed, looking back at Cage. “You remember how you felt when your brother ended up in the wheelchair. Imagine if he hadn’t had someone like you and your mom.”

“My mom?” he repeated, with an eye roll.

“For a while there she was decent,” Risa reminded him.

“Yes,” he conceded, “she was, and that made a big difference to Jason. So you’re right.”

“This little guy’s got nobody.”

“I know,” Cage muttered, “but the thing is, he’s not alone. A lot of wheelchair-bound kids are out there.”

She shook her head at that. “You think that you should do something about that too?”

“Well, it’s certainly something I’ll consider now, but I just don’t know quite what one is supposed to do about it.” He looked over at her and asked, “What about you?”

“That’s nothing I had ever considered, but, like you, I question how people just let this go by without looking at what the options are,” she replied.

“Oh, I get it, but there aren’t any good options, not in Brian’s case, not with his current foster parents. Somebody else has to take on the responsibility of raising him and helping him adjust.”

She looked over at him. “That would be a good job for you.”

“ Right .” Cage gave her an eye roll. “A good job for a single guy, dealing with my own disabilities. I don’t think anybody would let me have him.”

“You don’t know that,” she argued, “and then there’s Jason. I’m sure he would be all over it.”

Cage laughed. “Honestly, Jason would probably be Brian’s biggest supporter. Hell, he would be the best person I could possibly have to stand up for me too,… but that doesn’t mean it’s the best answer for Brian, not in the eyes of Child Services.”

“No, it might not be, but, every time I think about what that little boy is going through”—she shuddered—“I find it traumatizing. So I can’t imagine how anybody else doesn’t feel the same. What do you think he meant when he told you that his foster parents may not have had a choice?”

“I’m not sure.” Cage thought back to the fancy furniture and the stately property. “It could be about the money. If they’re living above their means, maybe this is how they are trying to maintain their lifestyle and their status quo.”

“Yeah, but they won’t get a whole lot of money for looking after him, would they?”

“Oh, I’m sure they get more looking after a disabled child,” he pointed out.

She winced. “That is a terrible reason to foster a child.”

“Maybe so, but then again, is Brian better off there, or is he better off in some home?”

“Like a group home or an institution?” Risa shuddered. “Things like this remind you just how lucky you are to be who you are and to have what you have,” she shared. “This is a good day for me to get that reminder.”

“You’ve done well today, considering,” Cage said, as they got into the vehicle, and he drove her home. “Just remember that I’m doing what I can to help him right now. Even as I drop you off, I’ll go past Brian’s former home again because I’m not sure what’s going on there—particularly after something I saw today.”

“What did you see?”

“Nothing concrete,” he replied, “just something that’s off.”

“Well, a lot of things are off in this world, but, if you want to know anything about the neighborhood, apparently Celine’s newest boyfriend might have answers.”

“Or he is the cause,” he pointed out, as he turned into Risa’s apartment complex.

She winced at that. “That wouldn’t be very nice.”

“No, maybe not, but I’ll do some research and then walk the area. So, I’m heading back to get a few hours in tonight. It feels as if I’m getting nowhere quickly.” He parked near her main entrance.

“If there’s anything I can do to help, you let me know,” Risa stated, as she got out.

He stepped out to give her a hug. “I will, but I obviously won’t let this go anytime soon.”

“Good, and I mean it. If there’s anything I can do, you let me know. That little boy needs to have a better answer than what he’s been given so far. That poor dog too,” she added. “Why does nobody ever care about the animals?”

“I don’t know that they don’t care about animals as much as they don’t really understand just how traumatizing it is for the animals as well as the humans. It’s not in everybody’s thought process, so the animals tend to get forgotten. They go to a shelter, and, if they’re lucky, they get adopted again. The animals are expected to forget their families because nobody ever thinks about the bond that they have with the kids either.”

“It’s awful,” she declared. “You go do what you gotta do.”

He smiled and gave her a gentle kiss. “I’ll call you in the morning.”

She stared up at him and nodded. It looked as if she wanted to say something and then shrugged. “Call me,” she murmured.

And, with that, he walked her up to her front door and made sure she got inside. Once she had the door locked, he turned and headed back to his vehicle.

He absolutely wouldn’t let that little boy down, even if that meant Cage needed to find out a whole lot more about what had happened to Brian’s family, and, more important, what had happened to Scotty.

He drove back to a rental house in the same neighborhood as Brian used to live in, where Cage brought out his laptop and started searching. Badger had also emailed another folder to Cage. He went through what appeared to be the police file, or at least a good portion of the police file, researching the details on what had happened to Brian’s family. It had been a hit-and-run accident, but it also seemed that they had been targeted, as a vehicle had been seen following behind them for a while.

Apparently Brian’s mother, Fiona, had been on the phone with her sister, Portia, who commented to the police that her sister mentioned that somebody was following them and that they couldn’t seem to shake the tail. Fiona had tried to make it seem to be a joke, but she could tell that her sister was worried.

Cage had to wonder why the sister hadn’t taken in her nephew, a question that he would have no problem asking. He called and made an appointment to see Portia the next day. She’d been quite surprised to hear from him, but that’s okay. Cage needed to get to the bottom of all this and the sooner, the better.

After he had gone through the police file and had a better understanding of what had gone on with that murder investigation, he reached out to the cop, a Detective Hendricks, who had provided the information to Badger. When Cage got a return phone call about forty minutes later, Hendricks was surely pissed.

“I don’t want any of your team involved in this.”

“I understand that,” Cage replied in a mild tone, “but I also just visited Brian, who is really upset and rather desperate to know that his dog is safe.”

Hendricks paused and asked, “That’s really all you’re here for?”

“Yes, I’m here because of the War Dog.”

“God,” Hendricks mumbled, “to think the government has money for this shit.”

“You don’t like dogs?” Cage asked, trying for a neutral tone of voice.

“Of course I like dogs, and, when these things happen, it’s a bad deal for everybody. And, if there isn’t family to take the dog, it can be even harder on the family. I’m just referring to the budget and all that.”

“Good to know. So, in this case, what happened to Scotty, the War Dog?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “My understanding is they would pick him up, but we haven’t got any confirmation that they did.”

“Who would that be?”

Hendricks stated, “Animal Control. If they picked him up, they would have taken him to a shelter. However, if he wasn’t adoptable,… they would have put him down.”

“Christ,” Cage swore. “To think of all the government money and training that went in these animals, not to mention the fact that they’ve served our country and have saved countless lives, how can they then get caught up in this? Does nobody even check? Do they just get put down without a care?” Cage asked in shock.

“I can’t know for sure, as they didn’t find him initially. I’m just telling you that it’s quite possible.”

“Well, it sure as hell better not have happened,” he snapped. “A little boy in a wheelchair, who’s already been through hell after losing his parents and getting some cold foster parents, is pretty desperate to know that his best friend in the whole wide world is doing okay.”

“How is the boy doing?”

“Not great, which is to be expected to a degree, and adjustments have to be made, which I understand,” Cage acknowledged, “but I don’t think his current placement is a good fit, though I’m not sure there are too many options for him.”

“Exactly. I know the Child Services folks weren’t impressed at the time because they figured he had family, and it would be okay. However, if no family members are stepping up, it’s a whole different ball game.”

“Then what?” Cage asked. “Then it’s foster care?”

“Or an institution. If nobody will take him into general care, then what are they supposed to do?” Hendricks blasted. “We don’t have anything in place for kids like him. It’s bad enough when we have as many foster kids as we do, but, when you get somebody with special needs, it’s even harder.”

“Yet he’s just in a wheelchair. He doesn’t have any mental deficiencies, personality disabilities, or anything,” Cage noted. “You would think there would be something for Brian.”

“Yeah, you would think so,” the detective agreed, “but I’ve been in this business a long time, and I can tell you there isn’t a whole lot of good news when it comes to these cases. I’ve seen too many in my lifetime to hold out hope anymore.”

“So, you can’t tell me anything more about the dog or where it would have gone?”

“No, all I can tell you is that we called Animal Control, which is standard protocol for us. You would have to contact them.”

“I will. That’ll be my first call in the morning.”

“I’m surprised, being such an animal lover, that you didn’t call them right away.”

“I did, and I left a message, but I got no answer,” he explained, frowning into the phone.

“Yeah, unfortunately that’s a problem we’re always up against too,” the detective noted. “With so little manpower and so little budget, everybody is strapped. Remember that whenever you talk to someone,” he added. “We’re all doing the best we can with limited resources.” And, with that, he disconnected.

Just as Cage was getting ready for bed, his phone rang again. He answered it, recognizing Risa’s number. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

A hoarse whisper came on the other end. “I think somebody is outside my place.”

He frowned. “As in?”

“As in peeping in my windows. Can you come?”

“I’m on my way,” he said, all thoughts of sleep gone from his mind.