Chapter 4
FOUR
Shane stood at one end of Watchdog Security’s dog training yard, ready to put Pete through his paces.
The dog was practically vibrating with excitement—or more likely in anticipation of a treat.
Alex Hoff, Watchdog’s kennel master, stood at the other end.
Pete’s gaze never left the peanut-butter-stuffed Kong in Alex’s hand.
Between Shane and Alex was a doggie obstacle course designed by their boss, Kyle “Pup” McGuire.
Kyle hoped to become one of the suppliers of dogs for the U.S military, like the Military Working Dog breeding program based at Lackland AFB.
“Ready, Shane?” Alex called. He gave the Kong a shake and then lowered it so a half dozen floppy-eared puppies could see it, too.
The little pack let out squeaks and yips, tripping over each other in their eagerness.
They weren’t old enough for obstacle work yet, but Alex liked to bring them out when Pete ran the course. Modeling behavior, he called it.
Shane wasn’t so sure. Right now, the pups looked more like a pack of toddlers on a sugar high trying to grab a pinata filled with candy.
“Pretty sure Pete’s not impressed with the new recruits,” Shane said.
Pete gave a sharp bark as if to agree: these little punks were not ready for his course.
Alex grinned. “Just wait. They watch him, they learn. By the time they’re ready to hit the course, half the work’s already done.”
“Or they learn bad habits, like how to guilt a handler holding a peanut butter Kong into giving them extra treats,” Shane said, scratching Pete’s ear. The dog leaned into him, a smug look in his eyes that said I’ve got you wrapped around my paw, buddy.
Alex chuckled, then gave a sharp whistle and signaled.
Suddenly all-business, Pete launched forward, muscles bunching and stretching in perfect rhythm as he hit the first hurdle.
The puppies tumbling around Alex’s feet became alert, watching Pete’s every move.
All but the runt of the litter, whose attention remained riveted on the Kong.
Shane couldn’t help it. The sight of Pete nailing the weave poles with military precision filled him with pride.
He’d helped raise and train Peetie from when he was no more than a distracted puppy begging for a Kong like this new litter was doing, to the skilled dog he was today.
Pete paused along the course, sniffed, then trotted forward a few steps and started digging in the dirt until he found the sock scented with chemicals that simulated a WMD.
He barked to signal his find, then stepped back as the two men converged on him.
The puppies trailed Alex, hoping for a snack, but the Kong was all for Pete.
“Good boy,” Alex praised as he handed the Kong to Pete.
The dog was suddenly swarmed by puppies.
Alex stepped back a few yards, then commanded the puppies to come to him.
To Shane’s astonishment, they stopped their begging and dutifully ran back to their trainer.
With the notable exception of the runt, who tried to nose in past Peetie’s paws to get to the Kong on the ground.
Pete simply picked it up and trotted away.
The little guy started to follow, but was almost immediately distracted by a butterfly flitting across his path.
Alex shook his head at the puppy. “That one’s about to wash out. Benny! Benny, come!” he clapped his hands but Benny kept following the butterfly until it flitted to the roof of the kennel and out of sight.
“Benny!” Shane called. The puppy turned, tilted his head as if to say Who, me? But then made a beeline for Shane. He pulled up, just shy of running straight into Shane’s legs, and stuck his butt in the air, tail wagging, begging to play.
Shane chuckled as he bent to pet Benny’s head. “Good boy. See? He listens. I think he just likes me better than you.”
Pete trotted over with his Kong, now licked clean of peanut butter and covered in slobber. He dropped it at Shane’s feet and Benny attacked it immediately, followed by his littermates.
“I need to talk to the boss,” Shane told Alex. “I’ll let you clean that up.” He pointed his chin at the slimy Kong.
“Thanks, brother,” Alex answered with a bright smile. “You’re on kennel KP.”
Shane laughed as he and Pete went inside and headed for Kyle’s office.
“Hey, boss, Got a minute? Whoa, what’s wrong?” Shane stopped dead in Kyle’s doorway. All thoughts of what he wanted to talk about fled his mind when he saw the look on the Pup’s face. Kyle waved him in and pointed at his phone on the desk.
“George, I’ve got Shane Foti in here with me now. Please repeat what you just told me.”
Shane closed the door behind him after Pete scooted in. Kyle could only be talking to George Williams, the sergeant in charge of Lyons’ law enforcement. George was not only Alex’s father-in-law, he was good friends with just about everyone at Watchdog.
There was a pause at the other end, then George’s voice came through the speaker, grim and clipped. “We’ve issued an all-points bulletin. Kevin Taylor is missing from the elementary school.”
Shane felt adrenaline hit his system. April’s Kevin? “What the fuck, George?”
“He got into a fight on the playground during an afternoon break and was sent to the principal’s office.
Principal lectured him, sent him back to class.
Apparently, he never showed up. His teacher and then the detention monitor assumed he was sent home.
He’s been missing for just over two hours.
” George blew out an angry-sounding breath.
“The principal waited until school was almost out to call April, asking her to come in to discuss Kevin’s suspension.
They talked, then April went to pull Kevin out of detention and he was gone.
That was ten minutes ago. School security’s combing the building, but I doubt he’s there. ”
Shane fought back his worry, replacing it with anger.
“Sounds like he took off after the principal lectured him.” Probably for the tenth time this week he thought.
It was well known among April’s friends that Kevin could be a handful and was often in trouble at school.
Shane had a slightly different take on it.
He remembered well how her whole family was treated when they were growing up.
Bile pooled in his stomach along with guilt.
“My thoughts exactly,” George said. “He rode his bike to school and he hasn’t shown up back at the coffee shop, which is only a ten-minute ride away and where he’s supposed to go after school, and he didn’t go home.
April checked the front and back porch cameras.
Kid might have been afraid of getting in trouble and took off.
I’ve got a patrol car cruising the surrounding streets. No sign.”
“He might have been afraid,” Kyle said. “Though the kid is pretty resilient. He’s used to being in trouble and it doesn’t faze him.”
“A suspension, though, is next level,” George said. “And with a two-hour head start on a bike, we’re expanding the search. Considering he’s April’s kid, I thought I’d reach out to you guys as well.”
Kyle stood up. “All hands on deck here. We’ll fan out from Watchdog, head toward Lyons. George, any leads on someone taking him?” He looked at Shane. “We all know their family’s had enemies in the past.”
Yeah, including my own father. The thought threatened to bring the bile up from Shane’s stomach.
“We’re looking into that—”
A sudden knock on the door interrupted them. The door opened a crack and Jodie, Watchdog’s receptionist peeked in. She had a funny smile on her face as she spotted Shane. “Oh, good, I was coming in to ask Kyle if he knew where you were. You have a visitor waiting for you in reception.”
“Tell them to keep waiting. I’ve got a lost kid to find.”
Jodie stepped into the office. “Any chance it’s Kevin?”
“Uh, yeah. How’d you know?”
“Because he just showed up in the lobby wanting to talk to you.”
“What?” Relief so sudden and so complete washed over Shane, threatening to make his knees buckle.
“He says he needs to talk to you, Shane.”
“Kevin’s been found,” Kyle told George in the meantime. “Apparently, he’s standing in my lobby right now.”
“I’m right here, Mr. McGuire.” Kevin appeared behind Jodie.
His eyes went straight to Pete standing beside Shane and a huge smile spread across his face.
He dashed past Jodie and went to his knees beside the dog.
He started to reach out to pet him, then stopped and looked up at Shane. “Can I pet him, or is he on duty?”
This kid. Sometimes, he was so damn conscientious.
“Well, Pete was just about to go on duty, because Sargent George called asking for help to find a missing kid. Any idea who that could have been?”
Kevin’s eyes went round. “Oops.”
“Yeah, oops. Your mom’s been worried sick.”
“Am I going to get arrested?”
“No, son,” George said over the speaker. “But you might be in more trouble than that with your mom. I’m going to call off the search. I’ll call April first.”
“Leave that to us,” Kyle said. “No need to keep anyone out longer than necessary looking for him.”
“Thanks, all.” George disconnected.
“What’s going on, Kevin?” Shane asked.
Kevin stood up and solemnly said, “I need to talk to you, Mr. Foti. Man to man.”
Shane couldn’t stop his grin. What a kid.
But, something in Kevin's eyes and in his voice told him this was genuinely serious.
“Look, we can't let your mom be scared for another second. I'm going to call her and say that you’re here and we’ll take you back to her. You can talk to me on the way over to Riversong, or wherever she wants to meet up.”
Kevin looked alarmed. “But… It might take longer than that to tell you.”
“I'll drive slow. This is as much as I'm going to negotiate with you.” He leaned down. “Man to man.”
Kevin nodded as he considered the offer. “Okay, that's fair.”