Читать книгу True Blue K-9 Unit Christmas - Laura Scott - Страница 17

Pete woke up the following morning filled with an odd sense of anticipation. It had been a long time since he’d looked forward to a new day. Malina’s passing, preceded by several tense weeks of marital discord, had weighed him down. He’d moved forward for Mikey’s sake, and had even gone through counseling sessions with his son but hadn’t experienced the simple joy of being with someone in what seemed like forever.

Excited voices coming from the first floor had him hurrying through his morning routine. When he came downstairs, the scents of coffee and maple syrup made his stomach rumble with appreciation.

“You didn’t have to start breakfast,” he protested as he entered the kitchen. Ricci didn’t move from his seemingly new favorite spot, sitting between the two kids. He was too well trained to beg, but Pete knew he was smart enough to wait patiently for a morsel of food.

“Actually I did.” Faith gave him a harried look. She’d borrowed his sweats to sleep in last night and hadn’t changed back into her uniform yet. She looked adorable wearing his oversize things. “The kids were up early and complaining of being hungry so it was either listen to them whine or cook. I decided to make myself at home in your kitchen.”

“Sorry about that.” Pete realized he’d slept much better than his houseguest. “I can take it from here.”

She waved the spatula at him dismissively. “Don’t be silly. I’m already on the second batch of pancakes. Sit down. These will be ready shortly.”

After filling a mug with coffee, he did as she suggested. Mikey and Jane were seated on their pillows and had sticky smears of syrup on their faces. Mikey was blond, like Malina had been, and Jane was dark, like her mother, but at the moment they were acting like siblings. One minute they were arguing, the next they were grinning at each other.

“Daddy, can we build a snowman after breakfast?” Mikey asked.

“Yeah, can we?” Jane echoed.

Since Faith had pretty much promised they could, he exchanged a glance with her before granting permission. “Sure.”

“You’ll have to wait until we eat, too,” Faith cautioned. “You can use that time to clean up the mess from your fort.”

“I don’t wanna clean,” Mikey protested.

“Me, either,” Jane chimed in.

“Then I guess you don’t want to go outside to build a snowman.” Faith flipped the pancakes on the griddle.

Pete hid a smile as the two kids looked at each other, then back at their mostly empty plates.

“Okay,” Jane said. “We’ll clean up our fort.”

“Yeah,” Mikey agreed.

“Glad to hear it.” Faith took a damp washcloth to both kids’ hands and faces, before lifting them off their seats and onto the floor. Ricci gamely followed them into the playroom.

“That was slick.” Pete stood and brought the empty serving plate to the counter so she could fill it with fresh pancakes. “I should take lessons from you.”

“Trust me, it’s trial and error every day,” she said in a wry tone. She added pancakes and joined him at the table. “It’s not easy being a single parent, is it?”

“Not one bit.” He forked two pancakes onto his plate then looked at her expectantly. “I, uh, suppose you’d like to pray?”

Faith nodded and bowed her head. “Dear Lord, we thank You for this food we are about to eat. We also ask for Your strength and guidance as we seek Your chosen path. Amen.”

“Amen.” Pete looked at her curiously. “You really believe God has a chosen path for us?”

“Absolutely.” Faith didn’t hesitate. “It helps me get through each day knowing God is watching over me and Jane.”

Pete frowned for a moment, staring blindly down at his food. “It’s hard for me to believe that God wanted Mikey to lose his mother and for Jane to lose her father. It doesn’t seem right that he would put young, innocent children through something like this.”

“I know it’s not always easy to understand God’s plan,” Faith admitted. She reached out to touch his forearm for a moment, heat radiating from her fingertips, before taking another bite of her pancake. “And it’s true God often works in mysterious ways. I don’t have all the answers. All we can do is lean on Him for strength while moving forward, trusting that we will understand his plan for us when it’s time.”

He didn’t find Faith’s answer particularly helpful, but he decided to let it go for now. The food was delicious, and he found himself more hungry than he’d been in a long time.

“You cooked, so I’ll clean up,” he announced, picking up his empty plate and carrying it to the sink. “After I check on the kids.”

Pete headed into the playroom to find the kids playing with toys rather than cleaning up. “Mikey, put the blanket away. Jane, please put the pillows away. When that’s finished, you can go back to your playing.”

“Oh, Dad,” Mikey huffed, but did as directed.

Pete turned and found Faith behind him. She was looking at two framed drawings on the wall. One was a picture Mikey had done at the day-care center and had given him for Father’s Day. It depicted their family—father, mother and Mikey. The family Mikey had lost. The other was a drawing Pete had done with colored pencils, depicting himself, Malina and Mikey in a replica of his son’s.

“Did you do this?” Faith asked pointing to his drawing. “It’s amazing.”

He nodded. “I wanted a way for Mikey to remember his mom.”

“You’ve very talented.” Faith glanced up at him in awe.

“Thanks.” He wasn’t, but it was nice of her to say so. He went into the kitchen to start the dishes, and Faith joined him at the sink.

It was nice to have someone to share the chore with. Ten minutes later they were bundling up the kids to head outside. Mikey and Jane were beyond excited to jump into the newly fallen snow, giggling madly as they tossed snowballs at each other.

Ricci joined the fun, playing in the snow along with the kids. With his vest off, Ricci knew he wasn’t working. When they’d made a rather lopsided snowman, Faith took a step back to admire their work. “All we need is the face.”

“I have carrots inside, for the nose.” Pete thought about what was in his fridge. “I’m sure I can find something for the eyes, too.”

“He needs a mouth, too, Daddy!” Mikey said with excitement.

Pete managed to find everything they needed. He returned a few minutes later. “Dark chocolate for the eyes,” he said as he pressed them into the small snowball of the head. “Candy canes for the mouth.” He pushed those into the snow, as well. He handed the large carrot to Faith. “Last but not least, the nose.”

Faith took the carrot, but as she was about to stick it in, Ricci jumped up to grab it. Faith tried to hold it out of the dog’s reach but fell backward into the snow.

“Ricci, no!” Jane cried, but it was too late. Ricci had the carrot in his mouth and began galloping around the yard, unwilling to let it go.

The kids ran after Ricci, who obviously thought this was a fun game. Pete offered a hand to Faith.

“Thanks,” she murmured as he helped her to her feet.

He stared down at her smiling face, fighting the insane urge to kiss her. Instead, he released her hand and stepped back in an attempt to break the sudden awareness between them.

They were both single parents. Both had four-year-old children. His wife had been murdered and so had Faith’s ex-husband. But that was where the similarities between them stopped.

He couldn’t risk going down this path again. There could be nothing more than friendship between them.

Faith couldn’t believe she’d nearly kissed Pete. She hadn’t been interested in men since her divorce and had no intention of acting on any sort of attraction now.

Despite her chief’s directive, she had a murderer to find. And a daughter to keep safe. Neither of those priorities involved Pete Stallings.

“I’m cold,” Jane said.

“Me, too,” Mikey added.

“I’m not surprised. You’re both wet and covered in snow. Let’s go inside.” Faith glanced at Pete. “It’s time for us to head home.”

“I’m happy to take you wherever you need to go,” Pete answered. They went into the kitchen and shucked their wet things. “Maybe we should throw the kids’ coats, hats and mittens in the dryer before heading back out.”

She wanted to hit the road but saw the wisdom of his suggestion. “Okay.”

Pete disappeared with his arms full of clothes. The kids ran into the playroom, with Ricci on their heels. Her phone rang from an unfamiliar number and she hesitated a moment before answering. “Officer Johnson.”

At first, there was nothing but heavy breathing on the other end of the line. Faith tightened her grip on the phone. “Who is this?”

“I’m watching you.”

A chill snaked down her spine and she quickly glanced over her shoulder. The voice was mechanical, difficult to tell if it was from a man or a woman, but she thought this was something Trevor might do. But how had he gotten her number? “What is your name?”

More silence.

“I’ll find out who you are,” she said in a stern voice.

The call abruptly ended. She called the number back, but it didn’t go through. The caller must have turned the phone off. She stared at the screen for a moment, knowing she’d have to find out who the number belonged to as soon as she was back at headquarters.

I’m watching you.

She didn’t like it but tried to shake off the sense of forbidding. As she returned to the kitchen, her phone rang for a second time, but she relaxed as she recognized Brianne’s number. “Hey, how are you?” Thankfully Pete was still down in the basement, where she assumed the laundry facilities were located.

“I’m fine, but the real question is—how are you?” Brianne’s voice held a note of concern. “The chief asked me to help work the case involving your ex-husband. I’m sorry, Faith.”

“It’s terrible,” she agreed, eyeing her daughter. Faith felt bad that she hadn’t told Jane the news about her father, yet. “Have you spoken to Detective Zimmerman?”

“Yes.” Brianne’s tone indicated she wasn’t impressed. “He’s annoyed that he has to work with us. He claims that Logan’s fiancée is missing.”

“I heard.” Faith hesitated before continuing, “I think we should use Ricci or one of the other K-9s to pick up her scent.”

“Interesting idea,” Brianne said thoughtfully. “But don’t you think she probably left by car?”

“Maybe, but it’s worth a shot. I’m worried that Claire got mixed up with something criminal and dragged Logan into the middle of it.”

“We can’t forget about Trevor Wilson, either,” Brianne pointed out. “He’s out on bail, but I haven’t been able to get a line on him.”

“Could be he skipped town.” Faith didn’t really believe it. She glanced over as Pete came into the kitchen to refill his coffee mug. “Listen, I’m going to pick up my vehicle. Has it been towed?”

“Unfortunately, yes. We were put on notice that it’s in the tow lot not far from headquarters.”

“Great, just great.” Faith hoped Chief Jameson wouldn’t hold the towing against her. “Thanks, Brianne. I also found footprints in the snow outside my windows last night. Could be neighborhood kids, but the timing is suspicious. I have some other thoughts on how to proceed with our investigation.”

“Our investigation?” her friend echoed. “Chief Jameson asked me to take it since you’re too close to remain objective.”

“And I’m sure Chief Jameson knew full well that I wasn’t going to sit idly by while you and Zimmerman did all the work. He and his siblings worked hard on their oldest brother’s murder, didn’t they? And they solved the crime.”

“Yes, they did.” Brianne was silent for a moment and Faith could feel Pete’s gaze boring into her from across the kitchen. “Okay, fine. We’ll discuss strategy. We can meet at the Command Unit.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Brianne.” Faith disconnected the call and pushed the phone into her pocket.

Pete eyed her over the rim of his mug. “We should be ready to go in twenty minutes.”

“Thanks.” She didn’t really want to leave but knew she couldn’t put off telling Jane about her father forever. And she would, tonight. “You mentioned taking Mikey to a therapist. What’s her name and number?”

Pete set his coffee aside and quickly scrolled through his phone for the information. He wrote it down and handed it to her. “I added my number, too, in case you need to call me.”

She blushed and then quickly jotted her number for him, as well.

“When are you going to tell Jane?”

“I don’t know.” The upcoming conversation loomed overhead like a thundercloud. “Soon. Tonight.”

He nodded, his dark eyes serious.

“I’m glad she’s been focused on playing with Mikey.”

The corner of Pete’s mouth tipped up in a smile. “They are something, aren’t they?”

“For sure.” There it was again, that strange awareness shimmering between them. She cleared her throat. “I’m going to take Ricci out for a bit.”

Fifteen minutes later, when Faith came back with the dog, Pete had the kids bundled up in their warm clothes. They piled into his vehicle, each parent getting their respective child secured in their safety seat.

“Where to?” Pete asked as he slid behind the wheel.

She gave him the address of the NYC K-9 Command Unit. “The tow lot is a couple of blocks down from there and that’s where I need to pick up my vehicle before I meet with Brianne.”

Pete nodded and kept his attention on the road. “Are you going to have someone check out your house?”

“Ricci and I can do it.” She felt foolish for the way she’d overreacted the night before. She was a cop and could protect herself. It was Jane who made her feel vulnerable.

“Maybe you could ask Brianne to stay with you for the night, just to be sure.” Pete’s gaze was serious. “For Jane’s sake if nothing else.”

“I will.” She tried to smile. “Thanks for everything.”

“My pleasure.”

His words made her heart thump wildly in her chest. She kept her gaze out the window and listened to the kids playing I Spy in the back seat.

“Take a right at the next corner. The tow lot is another block down the street on the left.”

He did as she asked, pulling up a few minutes later in front of the tow lot. “Give me a minute, okay?”

“Sure.” He kept the car running to keep the kids warm.

Faith slid out from the passenger seat and hurried up to the shack-like building. The owner of the lot ran her credit card, then gestured toward the back. “It’s over there.”

“Thanks.” Keys in hand, she approached the white police SUV with the K-9 logo.

Shivering a bit, she made her way toward her car, stopping short when she saw the broken rear passenger-side window. She glanced around warily, then approached the vehicle.

She peered inside. It seemed undisturbed. The only thing she noticed was that Jane’s pink backpack was gone. She distinctly remembered placing it back in the SUV after using it for Ricci to pick up Logan’s scent.

She spun around and stalked back to the owner, rapping on the shack’s door frame to get his attention. “Hey!”

“What?” He sounded cranky.

“There’s a big hole in the side window of my vehicle.”

“That was there when we picked it up.” He thrust a piece of paper at her. She read the scrawl, taking note of the broken window. “I keep cameras on my lot. That didn’t happen here.”

Faith turned to look back at her car. Was the damage the result of kids acting up?

Or something more sinister?

And why on earth would anyone take Jane’s backpack?

Faith thought fast as she returned to Pete’s vehicle. He looked surprised when she gestured for him to roll down his window. “Hey, will you keep Jane with you for a while longer?”

“Of course, but what’s going on?”

“My vehicle has a broken window and I don’t want to drive around with it open—it will be too cold for Jane. I need to meet with Brianne anyway. She’ll drive me home for my personal SUV and I’ll pick up Jane when I’m finished.”

He slowly nodded. “Okay, no problem. Do you need a ride?”

“No, I’ll walk to headquarters. It’s not far. Will you open the back hatch so I can get Ricci?”

He hit the button so she could let her K-9 partner out. The German shepherd sniffed the air, then took his position at her left side. She closed the back, then returned to the driver’s side of the vehicle. “Thanks again, Pete. You’re awesome to do this for me.”

“That’s what friends are for.” He smiled. “I’m going to take the kids to Griffin’s for lunch. Why don’t you head over when you’re finished?”

Spending additional time with him was a bad idea but she quickly nodded. At least this way, she wouldn’t have to bother Brianne for a ride back to her place. “Okay.”

After waiting for him to drive off, she and Ricci took a shortcut through the buildings toward the street. At the corner, she was about to cross on the green walk signal when a gunshot echoed loudly.

“Ricci, down!” Faith dropped to the ground, covering her partner with her body, mentally bracing for the impact of a bullet when she heard a second shot.