Chapter 12
Heather rolled to her back as the last vehicle left the scene. The camera still gripped in her hands, she couldn’t stop the tremors shaking her body. Adrenaline was a powerful substance. She tried to think of other things, happy things, but nothing banished the flickering images of all those faces excited by the barbaric fights.
She’d known it would be horrible. It couldn’t possibly have been otherwise. While she’d zoomed in on those human faces, the sounds from the dogs had told the story of the action in the fight ring. All the growling, crying, and shrieks of pain were terrible, but the abrupt, final silences tore at her heart.
Dale had been right to deny her request for a gun tonight. She would’ve happily put a bullet in every one of those terrible people.
Five main fights. Well, four and three quarters really. The last fight had been broken up by some drama near the sedan. Drama no doubt created by Dale.
Two men had emerged from the back of the car just long enough to switch to another vehicle. She’d taken pictures, but couldn’t be sure if she had what they needed for the case. She was only sure neither man had been Lester.
That sour awareness had been momentarily pre-empted by survival while the spectators fled and the fight crew rushed around, dismantling everything.
She had no idea how much time had passed until she was alone again. Hearing the snap of a twig, she went on full alert, braced to defend herself and the evidence on her camera.
“Stand down.”
Dale. Thank God. She shifted and leaves crunched and rustled beneath her. The sound was too loud in her ears and she cringed, waiting for Dale’s scolding, or worse, the discovery by Lester’s men.
“Knowing where they fight is the least of it,” he said, joining her in their hiding place. “We’re alone. Come here.”
She rolled toward him, needing the touchstone of his warm body and strong embrace. His arms banded around her, drawing her into the solid wall of his chest. The tremors grew worse. “Sorry.” After all her posturing about being a capable adult, the sudden weakness embarrassed her.
“Don’t be,” he murmured at her ear. “You were amazing.”
She didn’t feel amazing. In fact, she hadn’t felt this broken since her father’s death. “I’ll be okay in a minute.” Maybe. “It was a waste,” she said through chattering teeth. “I don’t think Lester was here.”
“Not a waste. We’re one step closer. We can follow the money through the others we identify from your pictures.”
His voice surrounded her, gentle and soothing. She wanted to believe him, but she’d seen the stacks of cash as people placed bets and claimed winnings. “Can’t track cash.” Squeezing her eyes shut didn’t help. The images were worse behind her eyelids. “I feel dirty.”
“That’s normal. It’ll fade.”
Heather squirmed away from him before she embarrassed herself by burrowing closer. “Soon?” She scrubbed at her face. “Please tell me it fades soon.”
He nodded. “Just as soon as you start putting the evidence to work.”
“All right.” She jumped to her feet. A second wind, born of desperation, surged through her. “Let’s go do that. Now.” She dusted bits of damp leaves and twigs from her pants.
She heard him working to stand with his stiff leg and immediately discarded the notion of offering assistance. He wouldn’t appreciate it and she wasn’t about to bruise his pride. Not after his unexpected kindness when she’d been about to lose it. “Will they suspect us?”
“Probably,” he replied. “The list of people who know about Lester’s dogfights is ridiculously short. The list of people who want to stop him is even shorter.”
“Why is that?” The lack of official support bothered her and he had yet to explain it. “Why doesn’t anyone else give a damn?”
“Because it’s lucrative,” he replied, taking a hesitant step in the direction of their car.
“Don’t dodge the question, Special Agent Nichols.”
“I didn’t.” He motioned for her to walk with him. “We need to start working on those photos.”
“Dodging,” she repeated, refusing to move. He glared at her, but that wasn’t new. “I’m not stupid.”
“You are if you plan to stay here and get caught.”
She folded her arms across her chest.
“They’ll come back and clean up.”
Now he was just flat out lying to her. Lester’s team had never bothered much with clean up. Oh, they took away the fencing and the winning dogs. The area was quiet now that the people, their money, and their cars were gone. She had pictures of the two guards who had changed the tire on the sedan as if they’d been trained for NASCAR pit crews. Park rangers might find errant tire tracks in the next few days and blame joyriders. They might even find one of the wounded dogs as a stray and blame negligent pet owners.
But there wasn’t enough left behind to qualify as useful evidence. Only the losing dogs remained. “The losers,” she exclaimed. “Duh.”
“Pardon me?”
She started across the clearing at a run. Behind her, she heard Dale’s heavy boots pounding in her wake.
“Wait!” he called.
She didn’t. There would be time to tell him her theory when she knew if the dogs here were from the shelter. All of the dogs in the shelter had been microchipped. If one of those dogs had been used tonight, it was one more tangible to link the murder.
“Hold it right there.”
She skidded to a stop as another man stepped between her and her destination, gun in one hand, shovel in the other. Survival instinct running high, she kept her eyes on the gun pointed at her chest. Apparently, Lester had left someone behind to bury the losing dogs and catch the people responsible for derailing his fun.
She thought she could take him. He was already discounting her, his eyes on something or someone behind her.
Dale.
“Put down the weapon,” Dale said in his formal, Special Agent voice.
“You first,” the guard said with a sick grin.
She was caught between two stubborn men. This wasn’t going to end well.
“Did you miss your ride?” She took a step closer and to the left, trying to give Dale a clear shot. “We could give you a lift back to the road.”
The guard’s eyes shifted away from Dale to meet hers. “Shut up, bitch.”
“Drop the weapon,” Dale repeated.
“Not a chance.”
“Look,” she offered with a smile she didn’t feel, “let’s all just walk away and never talk about it.”
“No one crosses Lester and lives.”
“Who’s Lester?” she asked, in her best dumb voice. She shifted, freezing in place when the guard trained the gun on her.
“On your knees.” He wagged the barrel up and down. “Hurry!”
“Okay.” She raised her hands in surrender, but as she started to kneel, she threw her body forward, rolling into the guard’s legs.
A booming report was followed instantly by two muffled pops. When silence once more filled the clearing, she twisted around to face Dale. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” He stalked toward her, tugging her up and away from Lester’s guard. “What were you thinking?”
“I couldn’t just stand here and let him shoot you.”
He waved the gun in his hand. “I’m not dumb enough to stand around waiting for the bullet.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Between them the wounded guard groaned. “What now?”
Dale released her to examine the guard. He handed the man’s gun to Heather, then mercilessly rolled the man over, ignoring the complaining, to take his wallet. “What a dumbass,” he muttered handing over the wallet too. “He’s carrying valid identification. Even a credit card.”
“Guess no one was expecting us after all,” she said with pride.
Dale gave her a hard look. “You raced over here because…”
“The shelter dogs were chipped the day before the break in. I stole a scanner and I hoped—”
“To connect the crimes,” he finished for her.
She nodded.
The guard swore.
“It’s a new policy,” Heather said with a dark happiness. “No surprise you didn’t know.” she turned back to Dale. “And being new, they will be easy to feel under the skin.”
“Where did these dogs come from?” Dale demanded.
“It’s not my job to know.”
Heather checked over the guard’s gun and pulled back the slide. “Can I shoot him?”
“No.”
“But his wounds aren’t lethal and the dogs…”
Dale shook his head slowly, understanding just how she felt.
“Fine.”
“Go on and check for the microchips. I’ll call for help.”
“I thought—” Dale cut her off with a sharp glare. “All right, I’m checking.”
Heather gave the guard a wide berth as she moved to the remains of the losing dogs. It broke her heart, but she choked back the tears and emotions. Aching for the wasted lives wouldn’t restore the dogs or change anything and she didn’t want to give Lester’s man the satisfaction of seeing how much this upset her.
Since her dad’s death, she’d smiled her way through everything life tossed at her. When she was alone she’d give herself time to process it all. She risked a quick peek at Dale. He kept his gun leveled on the guard while he worked his cell phone.
***
Stalling, wishing he didn’t have to bring anyone else into his problems, Dale watched Heather work through the discarded dogs. She touched each one gently, as if it were still alive. Her compassion moved him, touching his soul in places he thought were long dead. He felt terrible on her behalf. Dog fights were horrible and, this being his first, the shock lingered.
She looked so young and out of place as she used her fingers to search for newly inserted microchip tags.
His gaze dropped to the wounded guard, who was looking far too closely at Heather’s back side. “I can fix your vision problem,” Dale said, the threat clear.
The guard ignored him.
Dale stepped forward and pressed the silencer of his pistol into the man’s temple. “Give me one more reason.”
“Go ahead. If you can handle the heat.”
The twisted smile on the man’s face told the story. No one in Lester’s crew believed in any consequences beyond Lester himself. Dale wondered how to twist that around to his advantage.
“The chips match up,” Heather said, her voice tight.
He knew what she left unsaid. She recognized the animals on a personal level, the chip was simply objective confirmation. His anger burned fast and hot, sizzling through him, along with a need to avenge the grief and sorrow Lester and his crew had heaped upon her.
“Now can I kill him?”
“Not yet,” he replied. “Let’s give him a chance.”
“For what?”
Dale felt her eyes on him. “To talk.”
The guard shifted. “There’s nothing to say. I’m just out for a walk.”
“We should let him walk out of here,” Heather muttered. “Or tie him down and let the vultures have at him.”
“You can’t do that,” the guard said.
Finally a chink in the bastard’s armor. “You’re right,” Dale said. “I think we’re better off letting you chat with our colleagues.”
He hated calling in Ross. It meant he’d owe a favor only a couple weeks after they’d evened the score. But at this point, there was no one else he could trust.
While the phone call connected, Dale considered his options. She was right, the wounds weren’t lethal and they could just let the asshole find his own way out of the park.
But this was the one shot to throw a net around Lester and there was no way to tell when another golden opportunity to put the man behind bars would present itself.
He completed the call and waited for Ross to pick up.
“Cypress Security,” a female voice answered.
Dale winced. He didn’t want to bother Ross’s new wife, Allie. “Is Ross available?”
“Just a second.”
“Carpenter.”
“Sorry to wake you,” Dale said. “But I need an assist.”
“Now?”
“If not sooner.”
“You need to get on local time, man. Have you looked at a clock? What’s the problem?”
“I need you to hold a suspect for me for a day or two.”
“A day or two? That sounds vaguely like kidnapping.”
“I’ll give you a list of charges.”
“Will any of them stick?”
“Probably. Can you help me out or not?”
Ross sighed. “I’m halfway dressed and nearly in the truck. Send me an address.”
Dale was about to give it when Heather stood up straight and did a fist pump. “Yes!”
“Who is that?”
Dale ignored Ross’s rapid-fire questions in his ear about who was with him and what was going on while he clarified Heather’s sudden excitement.
“I found another match,” she explained, scowling at the guard. “I remember when this dog came through as an animal control pick up a few months ago. Throw the book at this slime bag.”
“The charges will stick,” Dale said to Ross. Assuming Heather didn’t kill the guard first. “We’ve found a suspect in the murder of Terry Watson.”
“You’re serious?” Ross swore. “I read the initial report this afternoon.”
“I am serious.” Dale stared at the guard, watching the man’s bravado fade as he listened to the conversation. “The man was killed by dogs. There was a handler close by to take them away.”
“You’re crazy,” the guard protested. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Quiet,” Heather snapped at him. “Be grateful we’re not leaving you here to rot with these dogs.”
“Nichols, who’s out there with you?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Dale said. “You’ll find the suspect at the north end of the service road in Midland Bay Park. You’ll probably want to pick up J.C. Morris on your way back to Haleswood. The murder case is their jurisdiction.”
“Great. Eva will be thrilled with me,” Ross said.
“I need an extremely low profile on this.”
“You don’t need much, do you? I’ve got an hour’s drive minimum one way, a deputy to roust, and a holding cell to borrow on the QT. Christ, Nichols.”
“You won’t have a problem with traffic,” Dale said, hearing Ross’s truck engine rumble to life. “Look, if I had other options you’d still be sleeping. I’ll owe you.”
“Damn right,” Ross said. “Good thing I know you’re good for it.”
“Thanks for keeping it quiet.” He couldn’t emphasize that enough. Lester would bolt if he got word one of his men was in custody. “I don’t want this arrest public knowledge yet.”
“I’m hearing that. If you think I’m an idiot, why did you call me?”
“No one else answered.”
Ross swore and then laughed. “I’m on my way to pick up your suspect. Save the story for poker night. You bring the beer.”
The call ended, Dale tucked his phone in one pocket and pulled zip ties out of another.
If there was one thing Cypress Security was known for, it was discretion. Dale and Heather were still a long way from meeting with the prosecutor, but he felt better for making the call.
He took another half step toward the suspect. “Think you can walk?”
“No.”
“How far to the road, Heather?”
“Fifteen minutes since we don’t have to be quiet about it.”
Dale shrugged. “Your ride won’t be here for a while yet so you’ve got time to crawl.” He gestured for the man to get started. “However you choose to get there, you’re going in for questioning for the murder of Terry Watson.”
“I’m not falling for your sick joke.”
Heather took a threatening step in the guard’s direction. “I saw the body. It’s no joke.”
The guard’s eyes went wide and he turned back to Dale. “Hell no! You’re not putting me on the hook for murder,” he pleaded.
Dale checked his watch. “Where were you about twenty-four hours ago?”
“Home.”
Dale took a knee, staying out of the guard’s reach. “You can do better than that.”
“I don’t have to. I didn’t kill nobody.”
“Anybody,” Heather corrected absently.
“Screw you, bitch. It shoulda been you.”
“What?” Dale’s temper was fraying with every implied threat against Heather and he found himself fighting the urge to plow a fist through the man’s face. He struggled to maintain some shred of professionalism. “You’re sitting here among a pile of dogs stolen from a county shelter where a man was murdered, presumably trying to fend off the attack.”
“Bullshit. You can’t fool me. Watson is one of us. Always has been. No one wanted him dead.”
“That’s not true,” Heather insisted. “It’s not,” she said, her eyes pleading. “He wasn’t one of them.”
“Stupid, soft girl. So what if we took away a few lousy dogs? The world’s got too many as it is. Call it a public service.”
“You God-forsaken—” Heather reached for the shovel and hefted the business end to her shoulder.
“Go ahead, bitch. Swing away. It shoulda been you pinned in that dog kennel.” He spat at her. “Begging.” The guard raised his chin, giving Heather a clear target.
Everything in Dale went utterly still. “Say again?”
The guard was too focused on Heather to notice the lethal edge in Dale’s voice. “Take your shot while you have the chance. Lester always delivers on his promises.” The bastard had the audacity to lick his lips, his eyes traveling up and down the length of Heather.
“Get up,” Dale said. “You can tell your story to the deputy sheriff and see what that gets you.”
The guard would be lucky if that story didn’t get him lost in the system.
Suddenly confident, the guard shoved himself to his feet, using the closest tree for balance. “Which way?”
Heather murmured something about Darwin, but Dale let it go, pointing toward the main access road Lester’s crew had used to reach the dogfighting site.
Grunting with pain, the wounded guard shuffled away from Dale, Heather, and the remains of the losing dogs.
“Stop,” Dale said quietly. “Freeze.” He turned to Heather. “Did you hear me give those orders?”
She nodded.
“Good.”
“This way,” Dale called out.
The guard ignored him, ambling along in an awkward manner that reminded Dale of his first weeks of physical therapy after his injury. The unwelcome connection irritated him, but before he could do anything about it, Heather went on the attack. She dropped her back pack and trotted forward, swinging the shovel hard into the limping man’s back.
The guard crumpled, wheezing from the blow. “What the f—”
“Wrong way,” Heather said. Standing over him, her eyes were lit with a dangerous satisfaction. “Still no fatal wounds.” She planted the shovel into the dirt and dusted off her palms.
Dale stood there, mute and gawking at the beautiful sight of Heather full of pride under a shaft of moonlight.
“Dale?”
He shook it off. “Nice job.” He stepped up, offering her a couple of the zip ties. “Let’s make it easy for Ross and your brother, since they’re doing us a favor.”
The guard started protesting his innocence again but Dale didn’t want to hear it. Shrugging out of his jacket, he pulled off his T-shirt and cut off the bottom to use as a gag. They marched the suspect in relative silence to the point where Ross would find him. When the guard was secured, Dale led Heather back from the road, close enough to keep watch and not be seen.
“I heard you ask Ross to pick up J.C. on the way back and keep this whole mess quiet. Why?”
Dale sighed. There wasn’t much reason to hide any details now. She’d heard the terrible things the guard had said about her. “Jurisdiction first of all—and Ross can keep this out of the official record for a few hours. If Lester hears we have one of his men, there’s no telling what he’ll do.”
“That’s what I thought you’d say.”
He didn’t like the worry hovering at the edge of her voice. “Look at me,” he said quietly. He waited until she lifted her face, met his gaze. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“I b-believe you.” She clamped her lips together and sat back on her heels. “I want… I mean, I don’t want this to spill over. For anyone else to get hurt,” she finished on a raw whisper.
Her shoulders were shaking. He pulled her to her feet and drew her into his arms. For a long moment, he simply held her until the tremors stopped. “You’ve been brave, Heather. Hang on for just a little longer.”
“I can’t get any of it out of my head,” she said, her words muffled by his jacket. “If they wanted me, why hurt Terry?”
“You said it earlier. They want to hurt you too. That’s what bad people do.” And he wanted to eradicate every last one of them if it would ease her grief. “It’s been a long day and you need rest.”
“He… He said Lester promised me to them.”
“I heard it.” Silently he sent out a challenge, inviting Lester to take another shot at this woman. “It won’t happen. I won’t let it happen.”
“But Lester is virtually untouchable.”
How did she know that? “Not this time. You pinned him down with this. You.” Dale rubbed his hands up and down her spine. “He won’t skate this time.” He wouldn’t let the bastard off this hook and he’d be sure Lester’s operation was burned to the ground. And then he’d scatter the ashes.
“Okay.” She leaned back, drying her cheeks on her sleeves. “I’m so tired, Dale.”
Her upturned face was pure temptation. “We’ll head back, soon.” He bent his head and brushed her lips with his. It was the wrong move and the right one all at once, and as she responded with a sweet sigh, he didn’t want to stop.
What was it about her that brought him racing in like a moth to flame? He admired her fierce strength, appreciated her fresh-faced beauty, but this wasn’t smart. Her lips parted and her tongue stroked gently against his. He pulled her hard against him, savoring every last second before he put a stop to the insanity.
His breath was quick, hers too as he checked on their prisoner. “Come rest a minute.” He dropped to the ground, bracing his back against a tree and she settled beside him. They sat quietly, waiting for Ross. The guard tried to stand a couple of times and wriggle out of the restraints, but he failed. In other circumstances, Dale might have laughed, though right now he wasn’t seeing any humor.
Long minutes later, Heather shifted, slipping her hand out of his. He hadn’t realized he’d still been holding it, but now that the connection was gone, he wanted it back.
Out here under the soft moonlight, there was no one to appreciate the act they’d started last night. His body didn’t care. He didn’t want to pretend anymore. He wanted to hold her, to taste her lips and breathe in the soft scent of her skin. Forever.
The realization terrified him. If he’d had half a brain cell left, he would have used it to scoot away from her and get some distance. Some perspective. Nothing close to reasonable intelligence was firing in his system now. He tried to blame it on the case—when the hell would Ross arrive?—but the truth wouldn’t be silent.
He liked her. He liked Heather Morris more than a little. She was too young. Too unpredictable. Worse, he didn’t just like her, he’d started to care for her, to feel protective in a capacity that went far beyond that of investigative partnership.
She interrupted him constantly—
“How was the guard going to get out of here?”
—even his thoughts.
Shit. He’d been so focused on tying this fight to the attack at the shelter, and then the threats to her, he hadn’t considered the rest of the guard’s situation. “I assume he has a ride waiting or a vehicle somewhere.”
“I wonder if he’s the insider within the park system.”
“Ross and your brother will sort it out.” He could practically hear the wheels turning in her head. “What do you want to do?”
“Deal with the evidence we have.” she replied, her voice so quiet he almost didn’t hear her. “Like you said. It’s our only option.”
“Heather, I’m s—”
“Don’t you dare apologize. I got you into this.” She sniffled and he worried she was crying, but when she spoke, her voice was strong and steady. “I had no idea the scope of this operation. Clearly, if Lester promised,” she hissed the word, “me to his men, he knew about my involvement long before I cracked the email and you identified him as the bankroll.”
“Which means someone higher up the food chain at DNR,” he muttered.
“Yes, it does. I’ve looked hard at Zelnick. When we get to the hotel, I’ll send that potential link to J.C.”
“Good idea,” Dale said. “I know you didn’t want him involved, but this operation is starting to feel like a hydra. He’ll need the head’s up.” He reached for her hand and her fingers curled around his. “We’ll get it resolved,” he vowed.
“This weekend?”
“Yes.” They didn’t have a choice or any extra time. His boss, his likely compromised boss, knew he was actively working on this and the investigation would be shut down. When that happened, Heather would be in terrible danger.
Finally, headlights sliced through the darkness and a truck rumbled up the road. “There he is.” Dale pushed to his feet, drawing his gun just in case this wasn’t Ross.
His old friend braked to a stop right in front of the prisoner who squinted against the glare of high-beam headlights in his face. Dale smiled, wanting the guard to suffer every possible discomfort and inconvenience just for the way he’d spoken to Heather.
Irrational? Definitely. Dale didn’t give a damn. The case, and his workable plan, had gone spiraling out of control. But that was nothing compared to his personal feelings about the woman who’d brought him the case.
He couldn’t act on it of course. She was too young for him on several levels. And those kisses proved she was too dangerous. Her open, brave outlook would wither under his cynicism and that would be unforgivable. Her family, while more than hospitable in general, surely wanted someone better for her than a broken older man.
He’d done it once before, ruined a perfectly good woman by bringing her into his life. Love and devotion had soured quickly under the strain of his demanding Army career.
Dale’s life hadn’t changed, even if the professional affiliation was different. His core values were set in stone now. Fixed. Immovable. Commitment to his career had always come first and that dedication only intensified with every successful case.
When Ross had loaded up the guard and driven away, Dale reached down and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s go work that evidence. We have a take down to plan.”
No, he wouldn’t let Lester or his men hurt Heather, but he was equally determined he wouldn’t hurt her either.