Chapter Five
Cerreta’s Candy is a family-owned business in downtown Glendale. They make the best chocolate in the universe. I let out a groan when I spotted a school bus parked in front of the old brick building. “We’ll be in line forever.”
“Maybe they’re still giving the kids the tour,” Julie said.
I smiled. “Let’s hope.” I reached for the door handle.
“Wait!” Mom exclaimed. “You can’t go in there wearing a bloody uniform. You’ll scare the children.”
I sagged against the seat. “Damn.”
“There are some Alpha Dog tee-shirts in that shopping bag. Lose the gun belts too.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Julie and I quickly changed and put our Glocks in the built-in weapons safe. Mom was fanatical about gun safety.
Mom examined us. “You’ll do.”
We got out of the truck, and I snickered. Julie’s shirt was five sizes too big and hung past her knees.
She gave me the one-fingered salute.
My grin got bigger.
A little girl with flaming red hair ran up to us and sobbed, “He took Bobby. He took Bobby.”
“Who took Bobby?” I knelt beside her.
“The Stinky Man,” she cried.
Julie dropped onto her knees. “Where did this happen?”
“By the bus. He ran away when he saw you.” Her lips quivered. “He hit Bobby.”
A knot formed in my stomach. I hated child abductions. “Which way did Stinky Man go?”
The little girl shrugged.
“What does the Stinky Man look like?” Julie asked.
“Big. Dirty.”
Mom rubbed the little girl’s back. “What color shirt was Bobby wearing?”
“Yellow.”
Trying to conceal her fury, Julie inquired, “Does Bobby have red hair too?”
“Yes.” Tears ran down her face. “Please. Please. Save Bobby.”
“We will,” I promised.
Mom scowled. “I’ll handle things here. Go find the bastard.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mom took the little girl’s hand. “Let’s go find your teacher.”
“Kay.”
“I’ll check the inside of the bus,” Julie said.
Nodding, I picked up Bobby’s backpack. “Dammit. There’s blood on it.”
“Bus is clear. If he harmed Bobby, I’ll…” Julie’s voice trailed off.
I scowled. “The bastard only has a five-minute head start.”
“I’ll check west,” Julie said and disappeared down an alley.
I yelled after her, “If I see them, I’ll do the howl.”
“Gotcha.”
A child’s shriek caught my attention. I bolted around the building and spotted a big, white guy with greasy black hair and filthy clothing carrying Bobby down the sidewalk. Bobby was struggling wildly. “Let go! Let go of me!”
I raced after them and howled like a coyote.
Julie’s answering yips echoed off the buildings.
The kidnapper glanced over his shoulder, took one look at me and bolted.
I increased my speed and shouted. “Put the kid down or I will shoot you dead!”
The kidnapper hurled Bobby into the roadway. Brakes squealed as people swerved to miss him.
“Shit!” I slid over a hood, scooped Bobby up and jumped back as a speeding motorcycle whizzed by.
A fire truck skidded to a stop, blocking the roadway.
I let out a shuddering breath of relief and hugged Bobby. “It’s okay. It’s okay.”
“I want my mommy,” Bobby sobbed.
“I know little guy. I know.”
In the distance sirens sounded.
“I’ll get the bastard,” Julie yelled as she ran by.
Three firemen escorted us over to a bus stop. “Were either of you hit by a car?”
“No. My injuries happened earlier in the day. Bobby has some nasty road rash and bruises.”
The fire captain demanded, “Are you on any kind of medication, ma’am?”
“Seriously? I don’t have time for this shit. Some asshole kidnapped the kid and threw him in the roadway.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my badge and ID.
“Sorry, Deputy.”
“His name is Bobby, and his teacher is at Cerreta’s. Guard him with your life, I need to help my partner.” I chased after Julie. She was about a block ahead of me and closing on the suspect.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a silver truck. Huh, kinda looked like Dad’s, but that wasn’t possible. He was still dealing with the explosion.
The suspect hopped over a five-foot-high block wall and started screaming.
Julie boosted herself up and straddled the fence. “I’ll be damned.”
“Dog?”
A laugh escaped Julie. “Jumping cactus.”
“That I have to see.” I peered over the wall.
The kidnapper was face down on a three-foot-tall cholla cactus. Dozens of the porcupine-like joints were attached to his face and body. It would take a visit to the emergency room to remove the fish-hook spines.
“What in the bloody hell is going on?” Dad barked.
I gaped at him. “What are you doing here?”
“Answer the question,” Dante snapped.
Yeow! Someone was in a bad mood. “We needed some chocolate, stopped at Cerreta’s and that asshole stole a kid. When I gave chase, he threw Bobby in the roadway and jumped over this fence. Which turned out to be a really bad idea,” I replied.
Dad glanced at the paramedics treating Bobby. “How badly is he hurt?”
“Road rash and some bruises,” I answered.
The kidnapper shrieked, “I’m stuck. Get me some fucking help.”
“Not a chance,” Julie snarled.
Dante looked over the fence and grimaced. “I’ll go get the paramedics.” He jogged down the sidewalk.
“Those hose jockeys thought I was high on something,” I groused.
Dad examined my battered face. “When you’re in your warrior’s mode, you do come across as a bit crazy.”
“So? I had to save Bobby.”
Dad hugged me gently. “I know.”
A Glendale PD patrol car pulled up and a Hispanic officer built like a tank got out.
“About damn time you got here, Mario,” Julie grumbled.
Mario’s eyebrows shot up. “Lost another fight, did ya?”
“Har. Har.”
“I need some fucking help,” the kidnapper screamed.
Julie smiled at him, “Think of it as God’s retribution. You won’t be molesting any kids for a while.”
“Police brutality! Police brutality!”
Mario glared at the cactus-covered suspect. “Shut the hell up and if I were you, I’d quit thrashing around like that.”
“Fuck off!” The kidnapper somehow managed to roll off the cholla and ended up face down on the landscaping gravel. “Hot! Hot! It’s burning me! It’s burning me!”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s a hundred and ten today and did you think of that when you threw Bobby in the street?”
“You are a fucking bitch,” he hollered.
The paramedics hurried up with their gear. “Where’s the patient?”
“On the other side of this fence.” Julie held out her cell phone. “As you can see, he landed on a cholla cactus and is covered in spines.”
One of the paramedics let out a whistle. “Moving him is going to be difficult.”
“Yep. The side gate is unlocked,” Julie advised.
The kidnapper shrieked, “I need some fucking help. Now!”
The paramedics hurried around to the gate.
Dad plucked Julie off the fence. “Let’s go get your chocolate and then you’re all going straight home. No more stops.”
“Yes, sir.” Julie gave me the side eye.
I shrugged. I guess we wouldn’t tell them we planned on hitting Caramba too.
Dante dropped an arm over my shoulder. “Where else were you stopping?”
“Caramba.”
“I’m riding back with you,” Dante announced. “With your luck, you’ll walk into an armed robbery.”
I glared at him. “We aren’t helpless females. We are highly trained police officers and full-fledged members of the Alpha Dogs.”
“That’s true, but you’re injured. Until you’re back in fighting shape, it’s my job to keep you safe.” Dante pressed a hot kiss on my mouth.
My anger faded away. “That’s cheating.”
“But I like kissing you.” Dante gave me a devilish grin.
God, I loved his dimples.
A patrol car stopped next to us and the passengers’ window slid down revealing Sergeant Durham’s stern face. “I had a chat with Sergeant Bergman about you two poaching our calls.”
“Poaching? We were just at the wrong place, at the right time,” Julie protested.
Dad nodded sadly. “Poaching other department’s calls is a serious violation of police ethics.”
“Aw, c’mon. That’s not true, and besides, we didn’t make the arrest, Mario did,” I said.
Durham raised an eyebrow. “Like I said. Poaching.”
Cursing at the top of his lungs, the kidnapper walked slowly down the sidewalk.
I grinned. Only his feet were free of cactus spines. He looked like something out of a horror movie.
“You fucking bitch, you think this is funny?” The kidnapper screeched.
“No, I think it’s justice.”
Howling in rage, he lunged at me.
Dante kicked him off his feet and Mario tased him at the same time.
The kidnapper landed on a prickly pear cactus and howled in pain.
“Karma’s a bitch,” I said.
“Fuck off!”
Dante urged us down the sidewalk. “Let’s go get your chocolate.”
“Get me some French Mint. I need to give Sergeant Durham an update on the explosion,” Dad said.
I nodded. “And it was the damn chickens’ fault that everything went kablooey.”
Dad rolled his eyes.