Minutes to Kill (Scarlet Falls #2)(63)

“That’s Lance,” Stella said as they passed. “The turn is just ahead.”

Brody eased his foot off the gas and turned onto a narrow one-lane country road. An empty field ran along the left side of the road. To the right, trees and underbrush grew close to the pavement.

“There it is.” Stella pointed to a break in the foliage. A sign nailed to a tree read Scarlet Creek Kennels. The metal gate stood open. Brody turned onto the dirt lane. A tan mobile home perched on an incline. Shrubs surrounded the foundation. Behind the house, barking erupted from a brown one-story building resembling a barn. Dogs barked from a dozen long, narrow runs. A few run-down outbuildings dotted the property.

Brody parked in a gravel rectangle next to the kennel and used his radio to report their location. He and Stella crossed the gravel lot and went through the open door to the barnlike building. A large open space housed rows of dog runs. In the open space in front of the kennels, colored nylon leashes hung on wall pegs. Hallways led in both directions. A sign with a gold arrow directed them down a hallway to an office.

“Hello?” Brody called out.

The dogs that had been outside rushed in, leaving the heavy rubber dog doors flapping. Barking echoed in the space. Inside the runs, piles of feces dotted the concrete. He walked to the closest chain-link gate. A black lab whined and wagged on the other side. Two stainless steel bowls sat empty.

“Remind me never to board my dog here.” Stella stuck her fingers through the chain links of a kennel gate. A wiggling spaniel on the other side licked her fingers.

“I don’t like it. Something is wrong here.” He scanned the runs. “No one has cleaned these kennels for at least a couple of days. Water bowls are low or empty.”

The din in the kennel dimmed as some of the dogs settled.

“Let’s see if anyone is in the office.” Brody led the way out of the main kennel area. The door closed behind them, muffling the noise. Following the “Office” sign, they turned down the corridor. Brody glanced in open doorways as they walked. Storage rooms held dog food and grooming supplies. One room contained a washtub and a stainless steel grooming stand. The office door was open. He knocked on the jamb and poked his head inside. No one sat behind the metal desk.

They went outside. The same being watched feeling that had bugged Brody outside Hannah’s this morning whispered across his nape. “I don’t like it.”

Stella shrugged. “Maybe no one’s home.”

“I think somebody’s here.” Brody could feel eyes on him. “Call for backup. Maybe they’ll open the door for a uniform.”

Dispatch reported back that a unit was en route.

“Probably Lance.” Stella leaned on the car. “We’ll need to get the SPCA officers out here to see to those dogs.”

“As soon as we know the property is clear, we can make sure they all have water.”

When Lance arrived, he got out of his patrol car, and Brody filled him in on the situation.

They went up to the door. Stella rang the bell, and Lance hung back, his gaze scanning the windows. No one answered. Brody thumped on the door with his fist.

“Police,” he called.

A creak sounded from inside the house.

“We need to ask you a few questions,” Brody yelled.

Craning his neck to peer into the front window, Lance moved sideways.

A gunshot cracked. Glass broke. Lance’s body jerked and folded to the ground.

Stella shouted into the radio on her collar, “Officer down.”



Hannah closed her eyes and retold the story. Her hand stroked the dog sitting at her side. Though she tried to stick to the facts, panic crawled around inside her as she detailed the last minute of the attack, Jewel being dragged out of the rental car. Sweat broke out on her back. Chet got up and went downstairs. Floorboards squeaked and water rushed. He came back a minute later with a glass of ice water in his hand.

He handed it to Hannah. “Sounds like you did everything you could.”

Unsure if she could swallow in her tight throat, she took a very small sip. The icy liquid soothed. “It doesn’t feel that way.” Her mind rewound to last spring. She pictured Carson being chased and the fire at Lee’s house. It hadn’t felt like she’d done enough then either.

“Never does, after the fact.” Chet squinted at her. Guilt puckered his brow. “I’m sorry I acted like an asshole last night. You got pulled into another dangerous situation because of me.”

“Brody sent me outside. It was my choice to go back into the bar.”

“I heard you took out two dudes with a cue stick.”

She sighed. “I didn’t see many options.”

“Brody said it was because of you that he didn’t have to shoot anyone. So thank you.”

Heat flushed her neck. The three drunken bikers had been intimidating, but not frightening in the same bowel-cramping way as the threat to Jewel or Carson. It was one thing to risk her own life, but she felt an entirely different level of fear when young innocents were in danger.

“I would have felt responsible if Brody had killed somebody off-duty because I was a drunken jerk.” Chet snorted. “Cops have enough threats to deal with when they’re on shift.”

Hannah drank more water. “Is his job normally dangerous?”

Chet folded his arms over his chest. “Scarlet Falls used to be a really quiet place. But as folks migrate out of the cities into the country, gangs and drugs and crime follow them. Also, some people just suck, and there isn’t a damned thing anyone can do about that. Your brother’s murder is a perfect example. I was on my bender when it happened, but I heard about it. I’m sorry for your loss.”