Authors: Karen Rose
From the corner of his eye he saw Scarlett’s cheeks darkening from bright pink to an even brighter red. Marcus suspected his own cheeks were a bit red too. ‘If I’d known that Stone brought you flowers and candy,’ he said, ‘I’d have brought you something even better. Purely in the spirit of sibling rivalry, of course.’
‘Better than flowers and candy? How is that even possible?’ She threw a grin in Scarlett’s direction, undeterred when the detective scowled back. ‘You’re gonna have your hands full with this charmer, Scarlett.’
‘I’d rather have my hands filled with evidence,’ Scarlett said brusquely.
Delores laughed. ‘Oh dear. Detective Bishop is giving us the I’ve-got-better-things-to-do-with-my-time look, so come on. I’ve got the video set up on my computer. Angel, with me,’ she said, and the enormous dog was instantly at her side. ‘Don’t worry,’ she added as an aside to Marcus as they started walking – very slowly – toward a room off the kitchen. ‘Scarlett does that look when she really wants to laugh but doesn’t want anyone to know.’
Marcus glanced over his shoulder at Scarlett, who trailed them with her arms folded tight over her chest. ‘Is that true, Detective?’
Scarlett glared. ‘No.’
Marcus turned back with a snort, following Delores into a room that, underneath all the empty dog cages and bags of kibble, was probably her office. ‘Sorry,’ she said, flicking her hand dismissively. ‘I have enough energy to either take care of my animals or clean. It’s obvious which one wins every day.’ She pointed to the behemoth of a computer sitting on her desk. ‘It’s on the screen. All you have to do is push play.’
‘Holy crap, Delores,’ Scarlett exclaimed. ‘How old is this PC?’
‘I don’t know. Four years, maybe five? I bought it used.’
Scarlett tentatively inspected the CRT monitor with its bulky rear section. ‘Do you have some weird sentimental attachment to antiques?’
Delores’s lips twitched. ‘No, I have a sentimental attachment to my money. I can pay for a new computer or buy food for fifteen dogs for a month. The computer still works and that’s the important thing. Now sit in the chair and watch the video.’
Scarlett met Marcus’s eyes and pointed to the chair. ‘You’re the one who’s seen the dog. You should watch it.’
He obeyed, dropping into the chair with a wince. The chair was far older than the computer system and very uncomfortable. Delores obviously ran her shelter on a shoestring budget. It made him wonder how much money Audrey had been able to raise and what Delores had done with it. He suspected his answer lay in the bags of dog food stacked floor to ceiling.
He jiggled the mouse, disrupting the dog and cat screen saver and revealing the video Delores had loaded. He hit
PLAY
, then stiffened when Scarlett leaned in to watch over his shoulder, the scent of wildflowers filling his head once again.
An outdoor ring filled the screen, empty except for a few people wearing ribbons, identifying them as judges. The camera panned the onlookers, gathered in groups around the ring’s perimeter.
‘Not what I was expecting,’ Scarlett murmured. ‘I thought they’d be in an arena with chairs, like on TV.’
‘Those are national benched dog shows. This is a regular show,’ Delores said. ‘It was hosted by one of the local clubs in Indiana about two years ago. When the shows are held close by like that, just about all the local show dogs enter. I went because one of my clients entered her standard, but that was a male, so not the dog you’re looking for. If the dog you’re looking for is local and young, there’s a decent possibility that it was entered. It’s definitely show quality.’
‘You started this midway through the video,’ Marcus said. ‘Why?’
‘Because all the stuff leading up to it is categories you don’t care about, puppies and younger dogs. Okay, so here they come. There are twelve dogs in this class. Each one will take a turn around the ring, so you can watch it. You’re looking for a white female with a continental clip – that’s the most common one, with the rosettes on the hips. But you’re lucky because four of the females are either black or cream-colored and three of the dogs are male.’
Marcus blocked Scarlett out of his head, focusing solely on the dogs in the ring. He immediately eliminated two of the females as being too big. The remaining three he watched running around the ring many times before slowly eliminating one of the others, leaving two.
He looked over his shoulder in time to see Scarlett straightening so that they didn’t bump noses. ‘I can’t tell the difference between these two dogs,’ he said, ‘but they’re both close to the dog I saw in the park.’
‘Numbers 121 and 130,’ Delores said. ‘I don’t remember them, but we can check their names and owners. Forward the video to twenty-one minutes, ten seconds,’ she instructed.
Marcus paused the video on the image of a booklet opened to pages listing all the dogs in the category, with their American Kennel Club names and owners.
‘You videoed the entries list,’ he said approvingly. ‘Very smart.’
‘Not so much,’ Delores chuckled. ‘I was never organized, even before . . . well, you know. I photographed the page after each class was shown because I knew I’d lose the program. But we can get the owners’ names from here. Past this, you two are on your own.’
Scarlett placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning closer to the screen. ‘Can you blow it up a little, Marcus? I can’t read the font.’
Marcus did so, then sighed. ‘Number 121’s owners live in Chicago.’
On the next page, however, they hit pay dirt, and Scarlett hummed deep in her throat, a satisfied growl. ‘But number 130’s owner is Ms Marlene Anders, Cincinnati, Ohio, and the dog’s name is Coco.’
‘Bingo,’ Marcus said grimly, then pushed back from the desk. ‘Can we take the video file with us, Delores?’
‘Sure. We can copy it to a flash drive.’ Delores opened a drawer and pawed through the junk inside until she found a drive, then handed it to Marcus. ‘Go for it.’
While Marcus copied the file, Scarlett called someone on her team to run a background check on Marlene Anders. When he was finished, Marcus rose from the chair and stooped down to hug Delores before she could hug him first. ‘Thank you,’ he whispered fiercely.
She hugged him back hard. ‘You’re welcome.’ She let him rise, but didn’t let him go, fisting a small hand in the fabric of his shirt. ‘I don’t know why you need this dog’s owner. But you look like you’re taking this very personally.’
He felt like he owed her an answer. ‘I am.’
‘Why?’ she pressed.
Marcus glanced at Scarlett and she shook her head.
‘You don’t need to know that, Delores,’ she murmured. ‘Trust me?’
Delores turned her head so that she met Scarlett’s eyes, her nod nearly imperceptible. Then she looked back up at Marcus, startling the hell out of him with her next words. ‘If this is about atonement, you don’t have anything to atone for in all that mess nine months ago. You were as much a victim as I was.’
He blinked at her.
What the fuck?
‘Excuse me?’
‘You are riddled with guilt, Marcus O’Bannion. It’s coming off you in waves.’
Marcus glanced over at Scarlett again, a rebuke on the tip of his tongue until he saw that she was as surprised as he was.
Delores pushed on before either of them could say a word. ‘Detective Bishop has shared nothing with me about you. I don’t know anything other than that you lost your brother, Mikhail, and that you have a sister and a brother who also feel a helluva lot of survivor guilt.’
He opened his mouth to speak, but she gently patted his shoulder. ‘You do realize that they make bulletproof vests lighter than the one you’re wearing under this heavy shirt? I could feel it when I hugged you.’
He blinked again at her abrupt subject change. ‘Yes, ma’am. But my lighter one got a little . . . used this morning.’
Her smile faded. ‘I see. Well it seems you live your life very dangerously, Marcus. I was hoping you’d be a safer kind of guy so that Scarlett could relax when she wasn’t on the clock.’
He didn’t even have to glance at Scarlett to know her cheeks had flamed again. ‘I’ll take care of her,’ he promised Delores quietly. ‘And I’ll think about what you said.’
‘Thank you,’ she replied, then turned to envelop Scarlett in an equally huge hug. ‘He’s a handsome devil,’ she stage-whispered. ‘If you decide you don’t want him . . .’
‘You . . .’ Scarlett’s mouth worked helplessly much as Marcus’s had, but she finally gave up trying to find the words and laughed. ‘I have no comebacks. I am zinger-less.’
‘I know,’ Delores said, a satisfied grin lighting up her face, making her look like a leprechaun who’d found the pot of gold. ‘It’s my special gift.’ She started hustling them to the door. ‘I have to start the noon feedings now or I won’t be done till dinnertime. Next time you come, you need to bring Zat with you for a visit. Give him a kiss and this from me.’ From the pocket of her smock she pulled a plastic bag printed with dog bones and filled with treats.
‘Thank you. I will.’ Scarlett glanced over her shoulder at Marcus. ‘He has a dog too. She might also like some treats.’
‘Oh, I knew I liked him for a reason. He’s a dog person.’ Delores fished another bag of treats from her pocket and gave them to Scarlett. ‘You can kiss his dog for me too. But first you should kiss him. I felt really bad about interrupting you two out front earlier. Besides, Faith and Dani will never believe me without a photo. If you kiss him, I’ll just snap a fast one. Very discreet.’
Marcus wisely swallowed his snicker, because Scarlett was giving Delores an irritated glare, her face having lost all traces of humor. ‘Do you ever stop?’ she snapped.
Delores blinked, the picture of wide-eyed innocence. ‘No. I’m like a shark.’ She bared her teeth, causing Scarlett to roll her eyes.
‘Shark, my ass,’ Scarlett muttered. ‘More like a clownfish.’
Delores’s eyes flickered with a hint of hurt. ‘You’re probably right at that.’
‘Delores means,’ Marcus said with gentle reproach, ‘that if she stops, she dies.’
Delores met his eyes with a small, secret smile, and Scarlett instantly grew remorseful.
‘I’m sorry, Delores. I seem to have a case of foot-in-mouth.’
Delores patted Scarlett’s arm, then opened the front door. ‘Don’t worry. It’s not fatal. Besides, I know I come on a bit strong. I keep forgetting that even though you hang out with Dani and Faith, you’re not them.’
‘They are a lot more fun than I am,’ Scarlett agreed easily.
Too easily
, Marcus thought, and that made him a little angry. He didn’t like the way Scarlett seemed to discount herself.
‘But,’ Scarlett added, ‘the thing about sharks dying if they stop swimming isn’t entirely true. There are a few sharks that are capable of breathing even while they’re still. Nurse sharks for one.’ She lifted his brows. ‘Bullheads are another. I’d say both are appropriate descriptors for you, Delores.’
Delores stared for a moment, then threw back her head and laughed. ‘Well played, Scarlett. Well played.
That
was a comeback.’
Scarlett grinned, pleased. ‘Now I’ll say goodbye while my foot is still out of my mouth. Thank you, Delores. I appreciate your help.’ She leaned forward. ‘No one will know where this video came from, so don’t worry about any reprisals from the person we’re looking for.’
‘I won’t.’ The huge dog at her side, Delores stood on her porch, waving as they turned around and headed back the way they’d come.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Tuesday 4 August, 12.45
P.M.
Ken paused at the foot of the basement stairs when his cell phone rang. He considered ignoring it, eager to get back to his session with the Anderses, but the caller ID said it was Decker.
‘Who was in the house?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know, sir. We have a problem. Someone must have called the cops, because there are at least a half-dozen cruisers in front of the house, along with a few unmarked cars and a CSU van. What do you want me to do?’
Ken’s exhale was an infuriated hiss. ‘Back off. It’s all you can do now. I’ll contact Sean and have him find out what’s going on there. You go to the office and listen to those audio files. I’ll get the Anderses to tell me what – or who – they’re hiding.’
He slowly put away his cell phone, staring coldly at Chip Anders’s overturned chair. The man was asleep. Snoring! That ended abruptly when Ken grabbed him, chair and all, and set him upright, slamming all four legs of the chair to the floor.
‘Wh-wh-what?’ Chip stammered, his eyes now open and glazed over.
‘Don’t hurt him!’ Stephanie cried, then whimpered when Ken grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked. ‘Stop. Please stop.’
‘You shut up if you want to stay alive,’ Ken warned, then let her go and slapped Chip across the face, hard enough to hurt but not enough to knock him over again. ‘You fucking idiot. Your little Rambo act brought the cops to your house.’
Marlene’s eyes flew open. Still the only one gagged, she shot daggers with her eyes.
‘Cops?’ Chip whispered. ‘At my house?’
‘Yeah. What’re they going to find there? Drugs? Porn? Illegal firearms? That person who will tell that you were taken? Will they find any connection to me?’