Courage Under Fire

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“Well I...why would someone want to hurt me?”

“Do you think it might be the same man from last night?”

Her face blanched. “I didn’t get a good look either time.” She turned away from him. “I left Oscar back in that building by himself.” She took off at a jog.

Lani clearly did not want to believe that the attacks were personal or connected. And he suspected she knew something she didn’t want to share. Noah followed her back to the open side door of the building. They stepped from the brightness of day into the dim gloom of the abandoned building. Even the big display windows were so covered in dust not much light got in.

Oscar wagged his tail and yipped when he saw Lani. After untying him, she gathered the pup into her arms. “There’s my little guy.”

“Little guy?” Noah kneeled beside her, so he could pet Oscar’s head and velvety ears. “Don’t go all mushy on him. We’re trying to turn him into a tough police dog.” The dog licked Noah’s face, melting his heart. So much for being tough.

“Oscar did all right. He did freak when that unit nearly fell on us, but he didn’t seem too bent out of shape for having been left here.” She let the dog kiss her face. “Next time you’ll be a part of the action, won’t you?”

Noah was concerned that Lani wasn’t being realistic about the attacks. But grilling her wouldn’t do any good. Right now, she was in denial. If he started slinging questions at her, she might become defensive.

He needed to get information out of her without making her feel pressured. “What do you say that after we get the crime scene people over here, I grab Scotty and we get Oscar used to working around people and staying focused?”

She put Oscar down on the floor and stood up. “That would be good for Oscar and for me. But do you have the time for that?”

The last thing he wanted to do anyway was sit in that office on this beautiful fall day. “I’ll make the time.” Maybe the attacks were random. He needed to make sure one of his officers was not in danger. That someone would not come after Lani a third time.

FOUR (#uc9ce5145-a85e-5668-b2aa-3a49e4a0266c)

Lani and Noah waited for the forensics team to show up at the abandoned building before heading back to headquarters. Lani loaded Oscar into the backseat of Noah’s patrol car where Scotty already waited. Scotty remained at attention while Oscar jumped and nipped excitedly.

She laughed and shook her head. “Talk about the senior officer putting up with the rookie’s misplaced enthusiasm.” She ruffled the top of Oscar’s head. Scotty let out a groan of protest. She reached across the seat past Oscar and stroked the Rottweiler’s ear. “I love you too.”

Scotty remained in position but licked his chops and leaned into her touch.

Lani climbed into the passenger seat. Noah already sat behind the wheel.

“The park is always a nice place to do training. Teach the dogs to deal with the distraction,” he said.

She buckled herself in. “Yeah, sure.” Her throat constricted. Noah was up to something. He wasn’t in the habit of dropping his desk duties to hang out with her or any other rookie. Any of the other officers could have trained with her today. He’d wanted to know if she thought her attacker from the refuge and the one they’d chased in the abandoned building had been the same guy. The question made her chest feel tight.

While it was true, she hadn’t got a good look at the attacker either time, there were similarities. Same height and build. But it was the assailant’s unusual strength both times that made her wonder if they were dealing with the same man. Though she was a black belt and more agile than her attacker, he was an equal match for her due to his level of fitness. He’d spoken to her both times. She couldn’t say for sure if the voice was the same. Why would anyone want to harm her though? That was what didn’t make sense.

Noah pulled out onto the street and into traffic just as a call came over the radio.

“Missing child at the GallopNYC stables, Forest Hills.”

“That’s right up Scotty’s alley.” Noah picked up the radio. “This is unit twelve. Depending on traffic, I can be over there shortly with a K-9.” Noah glanced over at Lani. “So much for a training exercise. This is the real thing.”

Lani’s heart beat a little faster. Though she was concerned about the missing child, the prospect of working a real case was exciting. She said a prayer of gratitude that she wouldn’t have to deal with Noah’s questions right away.

Maybe it was just the bliss of ignorance that she could be in denial a little longer. If the attacks were personal, would they let her continue in her K-9 training? She’d worked hard to get to this point. She didn’t want to lose all that or even have it be delayed.

Noah wove through traffic with a high level of skill by slipping into the pockets between moving cars and avoiding construction by taking side streets.

Noah checked his rearview mirror. “What’s with this guy?”

Lani craned her neck at the line of cars behind them. “I don’t see anything.”

“That black sedan two cars back has been doggin’ us since we left the station.”

Her muscles tensed at the sight of the car.

Sensing her unease, Oscar leaped up and licked Lani’s hand where she rested it on the back of the seat. She gave him a hand signal indicating he needed to sit. Oscar complied but shifted his weight from foot to foot as he sat back in the seat. He stretched his chin out indicating that he wanted affection from Lani.

Lani shook her head and waved her finger at the pup.

“He’s a little unfocused to be good K-9 material,” Noah said.

“He’s still young. The initial testing showed he had a strong defense drive.” She glanced one more time at the dark sedan. Encroaching fear made it hard to get a deep breath.

Noah hit his turn signal and slipped around a corner. After he’d driven several blocks, he checked the rearview mirror. She didn’t need to look over her shoulder at the traffic behind them. Noah’s expression, the tight lips and narrowed eyes, told her the sedan had turned as well.

The fenced dirt arena for the therapeutic horse stable came into view with the stables behind it. City apartment buildings and homes surrounded the little oasis for horses. She had volunteered here as a teenager. “I know the layout of this place.”

A cluster of maybe ten people with two uniformed police officers stood on the edge of the arena. A rider—a young girl—with three adults, one on each side and one by the horse’s head, trotted alongside the horse skirting the edge of the fence on the other side of the arena.

Noah pulled onto the grass beside the other patrol car where there was no fence. “I’m glad you know the layout. Let’s go get the details from the uniforms.” He got out, opened the back door and gave Scotty the command to hit the ground. Noah hooked the Rottweiler into his leash and headed toward the crowd. Lani glanced at the forlorn-looking Oscar. “You gotta stay in the car, buddy. Be good. We’re both being tested.” She shut the door just as the pup’s tail thumped on the seat.

One of the officers noticed Noah and Lani. He broke away from the crowd. Lani recognized him from the academy. He’d graduated the same time she had.

She stepped forward. “Officer Langston.”

Scotty sat at attention at Noah’s feet.

Officer Langston was short and maybe twenty pounds overweight. His physical stature was deceiving. He’d played football in high school and was strong and quick on his feet. He smiled. “Officer Branson, good to see you.” He tipped his hat toward Noah. “Chief Jameson. Just want you to know all the street patrol units have kept their ears to the ground for any news about your brother’s killer.”

A shadow seemed to fall across Noah’s face at the mention of his brother’s name. “Thank you, Officer.” The change in mood was momentary. Lani wondered if she was the only one tuned into it. “Time is of the essence in finding this kid. What is the story here?”

“More tracking dogs and search-and-rescue dogs are on the way.” Officer Langston held up a child’s red coat. “Brendan is five, he’s autistic and deaf. He comes here for lessons. The usual thing. His mom was distracted for just a second. She turned back around and her son was gone. They searched the grounds for twenty minutes before calling us.”

Lani didn’t have to have Brendan’s mom pointed out to her. It was clear the woman who gripped her purse to her chest with glazed eyes and an expression that looked like it was chiseled from stone was the distraught mom. They didn’t need to make her more upset by peppering her with questions she had probably already answered. Officer Langston would give them all they needed to know.

Lani said a quick prayer for the mother and son.

“The mom says the son might think he’s in trouble, so he’ll hide,” Officer Langston said.

And if the child was deaf, he wouldn’t hear people calling for him.

Noah grabbed the coat and let Scotty sniff it. “Let’s head up there and see what he can find.”

“Two more dogs are on their way. I’m just glad you were able to get here so fast.”

They made their way across the grounds toward the stables. Lani stared out into the streets that surrounded the little oasis of peace. Her throat tightened with fear. A five-year-old could wander out into the street pretty quickly.

“We’ve got a unit circling the block and officers on foot as well.” Officer Langston explained before breaking away and heading back to where the cluster of concerned people huddled together.

Eager to work, Scotty lurched forward, causing the long leash to go taut. They headed into the stables where the boy had last been seen. A teenager stabbed hay with a pitchfork and tossed it into a stall.

Scotty sniffed the ground. And hurried through the building.

Lani lagged behind.

“You’re here to find the kid?” said the teenager.

“Yes,” she planted her feet. “Did you see anything?”

“No, I was in another building. All I know is that kid loves animals. I can’t help but think he was chasing after a barn cat or became fascinated by a squirrel outside.”

But where was he now? She didn’t even want to think about what could have happened to Brendan if he had wandered off the grounds.

Noah exited the stables and headed toward another building with Scotty sniffing the ground.

An idea flashed through Lani’s brain. She called to Noah that she would return quickly. She headed down the hill toward the patrol car. She swung open the back door and put a leash on Oscar. He ruffled his ears while he licked her face. “Time for some on-the-job training. Let’s use your cuteness to draw out a little boy.”

Oscar leaped down to the ground. They headed back toward the stables. Her theory could be totally off base. Something sinister could have happened to Brendan. He could be miles from here by now. If he’d wandered out into the street, someone in a car could have picked him up.

She shuddered at the thought. Brendan was the age of some of the kids in one of the martial arts classes she taught.

Oh God, let there be a happy ending to all this.

She hurried across the arena just as another patrol car with another search dog pulled up. She waved at the officer as he unloaded his dog. She caught up with Noah and Scotty inside a different barn that was filled with hay.

“Scotty loses the scent inside here.” The barn appeared to be used mostly for storage of farm-type equipment, hay and other bags of feed.

“You think he’s still on the grounds somewhere?” she asked.

“Yeah, but there are a thousand places where he could be. What if he’s fallen and hurt himself.” Noah’s jaw tensed. “I hate when bad things happen to kids.”

“Let’s pray this isn’t one of those cases.”

Noah pointed at Oscar who tugged on his leash.

“The teenager feeding the horses said that Brendan loves animals. If he’s hiding because he thinks he’s in trouble, maybe a puppy will be enough to lure him out.”

Scotty gave a soft alert to a smell by the door. They hurried outside and back around the grounds before returning to the storage barn. The barking and baying of the other search dog reached her ears. That dog wasn’t headed in this direction. Either the other dog or Scotty had picked up on a false scent.

Scotty circled again, nose to the ground. Oscar nipped at the twirling dust in the sunbeams. Maybe the pup was too big of a goofball to be K-9 material. She suppressed a smile at the puppy’s antics.

Lani studied the barn, which had a loft on one end where bales of hay and bags of feed were stored. Scotty kept coming back to this barn for a reason.

“I checked up there. I didn’t see anything,” Noah said.

She handed Noah Oscar’s leash. “Hand him up to me when I get up there.” Even though the responding officer had said a search had been done, there were a thousand cubbyholes a kid could hide. And Brendan wouldn’t be able to hear people calling for him.

“I’m going to search that loft.” She climbed up the ladder. The platform was so stuffed with supplies she had to maneuver over the tops of the bags of feed to get to the corner. Lani sat down on a hay bale.

“Anything?” Noah’s voice came from below along with Oscar’s yipping and barking.

Lani sat very still as her eyes scanned every inch of the dark space. Gradually, her eyes adjusted to the light. Again, she studied the shadows until her gaze landed about a foot from the far corner of the loft where what looked like tarps were tossed in a pile. Beneath the tarps she was able to discern the tips of a child’s fingers. Though she could not see a face or eyes she sensed that she was being watched.

Lani spoke. “Noah, can you get Oscar up here? And then run and get Brendan’s mom. I found him.”

“Sure.”

Shuffling sounds came from down below while Lani remained very still. To move toward the child might terrify him even more. She listened to her own heartbeat drumming in her ears. Oscar’s yipping grew louder. She turned to see Noah’s head as he placed the puppy on a pile of feed bags.

Oscar made his way across the treacherous landscape while Noah remained at the top of the ladder. Oscar wagged his tail as he drew closer to Lani. She gathered the pup in her arms before setting him down, and Noah left to fetch the anxious mother. Judging from the position of the fingers, Brendan was lying on his belly peeking out from beneath the tarp.

Oscar sniffed around, stepped over a pile of hoes and rakes and headed toward the tarps.

The puppy sat down then looked over at Lani. Lani gave him the hand signal to lie down. Oscar complied.

The seconds ticked by.

Slowly, little fingers came out from underneath the tarp and touched Oscar’s belly. Dragging his belly, Oscar moved closer toward the tarps and stuck his head in.

A giggle came out from beneath the tarp.

Tension left Lani’s body like a hundred birds taking flight. Though Oscar had broken the ice, she doubted that Brendan would trust her, a stranger. And she didn’t know sign language. Hopefully, Noah would be back with Brendan’s mom soon.