Chapter Six
Aronson replied after a moment’s pause. “I sent Stephens and his team in. Winter’s crew is heading in to disarm building four.”
“Thank you, sir. Swinging by to see if the fire guys found anything interesting at the Arkansas Building on the way, then Max and I will work our way west through the other livestock buildings.”
“Ten-four. Solid plan. When the team in Industry finishes up, I’ll send them through the horse barns,” Aronson confirmed.
Jake’s steps slowed as he hiked up the incline away from the midway.
The Arkansas Building was built out of bricks but sported a gently curved roofline reminiscent of an old barn.
Signs staked into the patch of grass announced a number of pageants and talent contests scheduled for the coming week.
A concrete ramp sloped gently down to a pair of glass doors, which stood propped open wide.
The glass in one door was shattered like a spider’s web but appeared to be holding for the moment.
He could see LRFD personnel moving around inside the dim space, but something about the doors niggled at him.
He was eying the shattered one when a firefighter in turnout gear approached with a wide roll of masking tape in hand.
He affixed one end of the tape to the corner of the door and pulled the tape diagonally across the broken glass.
“How bad is it?” Jake peered past the man’s shoulder. All he could make out was a jumble of chairs tossed around and what appeared to be the smoldering remains of a stage blown to pieces.
The firefighter shrugged. “Could have been worse. Someone could have been in there.”
A shiver ran down Jake’s spine. He would have been the someone if Cass hadn’t reminded him of their theory about hourly detonations. Unsettled by the thought, he checked the time on his watch again. A quarter past one already. The day was slipping away.
Backing up, he nodded to the firefighter. “We’re heading to check out one of the barns. Take care in there.”
The other man saluted him then smiled at Max before he set about stretching another length of tape starting at the opposite corner. “You, too.”
Jake set off again, veering from the paved path to cut across another stretch of gras and up a steep hill. He passed the Rabbit Barn without glancing in. He and Max would barely have time to get through the chickens and turkeys before they needed to fall back again before the clock struck two.
Imagining the top of the hour made his mind leap to Cass. He hadn’t strayed far from thoughts of her since the second he’d clapped eyes on her. Cassidy Walker, all grown up and even prettier than she’d been in high school.
And even back then, she was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen.
Cass always had an easy, natural way about her. Sure, she wore makeup and all the trendy clothes the other girls wore, but on her everything seemed kind of…effortless.
Her hair was the same buttered-toast color he remembered.
Freckles still speckled her nose. Not a lot of them, but enough to be an integral part of her.
He’d loved when she wrinkled her nose at something he said.
The tantalizing flecks of brown would compress then expand, forming new constellations for him to study every time he looked at her.
He’d loved her sass and her smile, and the saucy little wink she’d give him every time they passed in the hall at school.
He could see her as she was then, all carefree confidence and playful swagger, her backpack dangling off one shoulder as she made her way to her next class.
Her backpack.
They’d been required to carry mesh bags in those days. The heavy-duty nylon canvas, like the one she bore today, would have been banned for exactly the reason she wore it today.
Max pulled up at the entrance to the barn, his ears pricked and his head upturned, awaiting Jake’s command to run into danger.
And the dog would do it. Not only willingly, but happily, because this was what they trained for.
Max had exactly two happy places—at home and at work.
And they were here to work, not obsess over the girl—woman—he thought he’d never see again.
Looking into Max’s expectant eyes, Jake took a moment to center himself.
The building was empty except for the birds.
For any other dog, they might prove to be a distraction, but Jake knew his partner was too well trained to let his attention stray from the task at hand.
The previous year, they’d investigated a bomb threat an animal rights group had called in at one of the poultry processing plants in the northwest part of the state, and Max had performed admirably.
Leaning down, he thumbed the breakaway clip on the lead.
“All business, my friend. Don’t forget all your expensive schooling.
” He unclipped the leash, but Max didn’t make a break for it.
He stood still, aside from the telltale quiver of muscles bunching beneath his thick fur.
“Go,” Jake ordered in an urgent tone, and he was off.
Jake walked slowly into the dim light of the barn, blinking until his eyes adjusted.
To his left, Max worked his way methodically along the west wall of the building.
Birds in cages stacked three and four high squeaked and squawked.
Each cage was labeled with a white card in a laminated pouch zip-tied to its bars.
Jake moved to the bank of cages straight ahead of them, his lips quirking into an involuntary smile as a cadre of chickens clucked and cooed their greetings.
“Hello there, uh…” He peered at the card in the plastic sleeve. It proclaimed them commercial laying hens. “Ladies.” He gave them a nod as he moved down the row. “Thanks for breakfast.”
Max was already circling back to make a pass at the first aisle of stacked cages. The clucking and chirruping seemed to grow louder as the birds became inured to their presence. The noise set his teeth on edge.
Acting on impulse, he pulled out the radio Bud Thompson had given him. “The chicken barn is a little creepy,” he said without preamble.
Cass answered with a chuckle. “Bud’s scared of it, too.”
Thompson piped up almost immediately. “I’m not scared of it, but I don’t like it.”
“It’s the eyes.” Jake followed Max into the next aisle. “Beady eyes.”
“Like they’re watching your every move and reporting on it,” Thompson agreed.
“I’m beginning to wonder who the real chickens are,” Cass teased.
He could hear the smile in her voice and picture it perfectly in his mind’s eye. It was embarrassing how far that went toward making him feel better.
“We’re heading to the kids’ area,” Thompson informed him.
He’d attached himself to a couple of LRPD investigators he said he knew from his days on the force, and Jake was glad.
While the assembled teams certainly needed his expertise when it came to knowing the lay of the land, they were all functioning in their preordained units.
Colonel Aronson believed people worked better with fewer outside influences in the mix, and Jake agreed.
He and Max did their best work on their own.
They’d melt into the larger tactical team as needed, but for the most part, they preferred to be out ahead of the crowd.
Max paused to give a stack of wooden crates strung with chicken wire a thorough sniff.
They were explorers. The scouts sent out to identify potential dangers.
Jake kept his head down as they moved through the cages containing birds designated as “broilers,” a large variety of ducks and some rather noisy geese.
They made it to the last row, which held an impressive array of turkeys and guinea fowl.
He was about to call Max back to him when the dog suddenly dropped to his rump and barked three times, his attention locked on an oversize plastic storage container shoved under a folding table.
Reaching for his police radio, he made his way closer. “Canine ID’d device. Poultry Barn.” He reattached Max’s lead and coaxed the dog into taking a few steps back. Without taking his eyes off the tub, he gave Max’s ears a scratch. “Good dog.”
Max shifted closer to his leg, but the two of them continued to stare transfixed until Cass’s voice yanked him out of his trance.
But she wasn’t talking to him. She was reminding Bud Thompson to check the small cages and pens that housed the petting animals beyond the entertainment area dedicated to entertaining the fair’s smaller patrons.
The brusque exchange of orders and information washed over him like a wave. Of all the people in the world, Cassidy Walker was here. And so was shot at a second chance. Maybe.
If he could figure out the right words to say to get Cass to forgive him.
“Donovan?”
Jake shook himself like Max after a bath. The radio gripped in his hand, he took a moment to clear his mind before he answered. “Go ahead, Chief.”
“Leave a marker at the area then move on to the next building. I’ll send a team over.”
“Ten-four.” He unzipped another compartment on his vest and pulled out a yellow plastic square.
Shaking open the evidence marker so it stood like a tent, he placed it on top of the folding table.
“Yellow marker Number 01 placed at the southeast corner of the building. There’s a table with a storage container shoved beneath. The storage tub is our mark.”
“Copy,” the lead investigator responded. “Noted. Move on.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jake gave Max another pat and a small bit of treat to reward his hard work.
“Let’s run through the rabbits, then we’ll get you another drink and something to eat.
” The two of them jogged down the hill to the building situated between the poultry and the main concourse.
“Good thing you’re not the type to go chasing bunnies,” he said as he let Max off his leash at the door.
Ten minutes later, they were moving on. “Rabbit Barn is clear,” he informed the team.