Scent of Murder (24 page)

Rocky dropped the Twinkie and hung his head as he sat next to Hallett. It was clear the dog wanted to do something active. Hallett knew the feeling well. He felt like he had not accomplished anything in the last few days.

Claire walked over from her Tahoe and said, “See anything at all?”

Hallett didn't remove his right eye from the high-powered telescope. “I think there's an adult male near the rear house. I haven't been able to get a good look at him because of the hedge and a low wall next to the house. He's working on something in the grass.” He stepped aside so Claire could slip in and look through the telescope.

After a few moments of focusing on the man in blue jeans she said, “He's gardening, or pruning the bushes right next to the house. It looks like he could get up and go into the house without us seeing his face.”

Hallett nodded and said, “That's what I thought, too. If there was just some way we could make him stand up and look behind him, I could at least tell if it was Arnold Ludner or not.”

Darren had been using binoculars to scan the front house. He said, “I see the sons by the other house. Do you suppose there's a renter in the back?”

“That's something we should find out before Fusco goes in with the probation officers in the morning.”

Claire scratched Rocky's head and said to her partners, “Any ideas on how we could make the man stand and look behind him?”

Rocky barked, hopped to his feet, and trotted around the three deputies.

Darren said, “What's gotten into him?”

Hallett smiled and said, “He just had another brilliant idea. I swear to God Ruben is rubbing off on me. I now understand canine. Even when it has a Belgian accent.”

*   *   *

Junior had decided tonight was the night he would take action with Michelle Swirsky, no matter what happened. He had to relieve the urge that had built in him relentlessly since the moment he saw her jog down the street, chatting with someone in the slow-moving Mustang. The way he felt at this moment, he was almost sorry he didn't shoot the driver of the Mustang and take Michelle anyway. But that wasn't the way he operated. He liked to think he was too smart for that, but lately his basic instincts had been taking over instead.

He was too late to catch her at school and wondered if she would be at the Publix tonight. The poor girl never seemed to take an evening off. It was time she learned about things other than karate and work. He liked to think he was going to let her go like he had some of the other girls, but something in his head told him the only chance he had to regain this feeling he constantly craved was to go all the way again.

The fantasies he had about Tina Tictin revolved around choking her more than anything else he had done. The power that had surged through him lasted for days and her body proved he mattered in the world. He had the power of life and death. Junior would never forget the moment he saw life flicker out of Tina's eyes.

He knew he would have to do the same thing to Michelle Swirsky.

*   *   *

Darren Mori said, “That's the craziest idea I have ever heard. The dogs aren't trained for something like this.” He liked thinking outside of the box as much as the next guy, but he never wanted to put one of the dogs at risk needlessly.

Tim Hallett grasped him by the shoulders and almost yelled, “I'm telling you, this is a great idea. We let one of the dogs run past the guy and he'll jump up and look behind him. I'll be able to see his face and tell whether it's Arnold Ludner or not.”

Darren knew Hallett wasn't trying to be aggressive, but it was still intimidating to look up at his taller partner. He hadn't seen this much passion in Hallett since they had started in the unit.

Claire said, “It's almost like the dog would be undercover.”

“Exactly.” Hallett turned so he could make his argument to both his partners at once. “Ruben wants us to think differently, expect more. That's all I'm trying to do. We really do have smart dogs and only use a fraction of their abilities.”

Darren glanced quickly at Rocky, then Brutus, and then over to the Chevy Tahoe where Smarty was in his rear secure compartment. “But which dog do we use?”

Claire shrugged and said, “Sorry, but I couldn't promise Smarty wouldn't bite him. Especially if he smells something else, like dope.”

Darren said, “Brutus is a seeker. He loves to find stuff, but he wouldn't go in without me. Maybe I could change clothes and wander through, acting lost.”

Hallett shook his head and said, “That defeats the purpose of using the dog. I think if Claire went around the block and waited on the other side of the property, Rocky would run directly to her. I know he could do it.” Hallett turned and looked at his dog and said, “You can do it, can't you, boy?”

Rocky ran back and forth in a tight square, energized for the game. He looked ready to do anything. Hallett kneeled down and took off the dog's harness, rubbing his hair so it all stood up in a uniform pattern.

Hallett said, “I'm just afraid that if Ludner sees him later, he might recognize Rocky, or if the guy over there is one of the sons, he might remember Rocky from the vehicle stop. He is a memorable dog.”

Then Darren Mori had his own brilliant idea. He looked at his partners and said, “Hang on a minute.” He hustled to the rear of his Tahoe and rifled through his personal equipment locker. He found what he was looking for and jogged back to his partners with Brutus right next to him the whole time. He held up the can and said, “He doesn't have to be a mostly brown dog. We could give him all kinds of black patches.”

Hallett looked at the can and said, “What in the hell is that?”

Claire said, “It's his stupid spray paint for his bald spot.”

Darren protested, saying, “Technically it's spray-on hair. And Tim didn't even realize I had a bald spot because of it.”

Hallett looked at him and smiled. “I'm sorry, Darren, but I always noticed your bald spot. If you're stuck directly in front of my nose, it's all I see. I just never said anything about the spray paint.”

Darren almost screamed, “It's not freaking spray paint, it's a special product for hair. Thank God for Ron Popeil.”

Claire said, “Who's that?”

Darren said, “He's the inventor. The guy is a genius. He's invented everything from pocket fishing rods to slow-roasting ovens. But this weird invention of his can make Rocky look any way we want him to.” Darren kneeled down next to Rocky and sprayed a hand-sized black mark along his back and side. Then he sprayed half of his head and an ear. He stepped back to admire his work, saying, “Now, no one would recognize him.” He glanced over at Hallett in case his partner was about to punch him.

 

26

Tim Hallett didn't want to admit how nervous he was letting Rocky go, but it was only for a few minutes, and Claire Perkins had driven around to the far side of the property, so, in theory, he would run directly to her and Smarty.

Hallett kneeled down to stroke Rocky's back. He was careful to avoid the black spot Darren had painted on him. Hallett had to admit it made him look entirely different. It probably wasn't necessary, but it'd make for a good story later on. Hallett said in a low voice near Rocky's ear, “Okay boy, just run to Claire and Smarty. Run and bark. Your two favorite things in the whole world.”

He scratched his fingers down the dog's spine the way Rocky liked, but just before he was about to let the dog run, Darren Mori said, “Hang on.”

Hallett looked over his shoulder at his partner using binoculars.

Darren said, “The Highlander is pulling out.”

“Can you see who's in it?”

“One driver. It's the oldest son. Doesn't look like anyone else is inside.”

Hallett said, “He's a little bit of a badass.”

“But the other one is on probation, right?”

“At this point it doesn't matter who's on probation. I guarantee you John Fusco is walking in there in the morning.”

“Amen to that.”

Hallett said, “Can I send Rocky now?”

Darren answered with a quick nod of his head.

Hallett released Rocky and called out after him, “Run, boy, run. Run to Claire and Smarty.” On the far side of the house, more than a block away, he could just see Claire with Smarty standing in the road so Rocky would know where to run.

Hallett used the thick telescope to focus on the man kneeling by the rear house. Rocky ran so fluidly it looked effortless. He seemed like the fastest dog Hallett had ever seen, though he knew greyhounds ran faster. It had to be an effect of looking through the high-powered telescope. Hallett mumbled, “C'mon, boy, come on.”

As Rocky approached the house he slowed slightly, and Hallett could hear him bark at exactly the right time. It was like taking a photograph. The man sprang to his feet and twisted to look behind him at Rocky. Hallett saw his profile, then his full face. At the same time he and Darren said, “That's him.”

Ludner screamed something at Rocky, who just kept running.

About half a minute later Claire came over the radio and said, “I've got him, Tim.”

Hallett stood, turned, and smiled at Darren Mori, saying, “Now, that really was a special canine assist.”

*   *   *

Claire Perkins waited on the opposite side of the compound from Tim Hallett. Rocky sat in the rear compartment with Smarty. They enjoyed just hanging out sometimes. It was like buddies who went out for a beer, but in this case they just sat together in the cool compartment on the quilt her mother had made for Smarty. Rocky looked ridiculous with the black hair paint sprayed over his face and on his side, but she couldn't deny it was a hell of a good idea and proved how adaptable their unit could be.

She'd been working closely with Smarty to ease his drive to attack. It was difficult for dog trainers to get past some of the innate abilities and instincts of certain breeds of dogs. German Shepherds had been bred as herding dogs but had a protective streak, as well as an aggressive one. Often people thought training a dog was as simple as giving him a treat when he did something right.

For a police officer of smaller stature, like herself, it was important that she and Smarty trained on the basics of obedience. She worked on the simple commands during the day and practiced in their home when it was just her and Smarty. She wondered who'd picked such an appropriate name as Smarty and realized it could've been one of the dog breeder's children who didn't even realize Smarty wasn't a real American name. The more time she spent with him, the more control she had over the dog's instincts.

She was really enjoying teaching the hand signals and musical notes to Smarty. But despite all that, it was too risky to allow Smarty loose in public without a strong lead attached to his harness.

Claire especially liked assignments out of the ordinary, like this one. K-9 units rarely conducted surveillance. She wanted to be challenged. That was why she had gone into police work. She never expected one of the challenges to be the fact that she was a petite female. But she didn't mind proving herself day in and day out. Sergeant Greene was a great role model. It was just a fluke that Claire now worked on her squad. No one thought of Sergeant Greene as a woman boss. She was just a respected, hard-working boss. That was something Claire could aspire to.

One thing she was learning about surveillance was you had plenty of time to be alone with your thoughts. For no reason at all one of the thoughts that popped into her head was John Fusco. The smug but attractive detective probably had that effect on more than a few women around the sheriff's office. Right now she was glad she had his attention. She knew he'd arrive here on scene in the morning, and she intended to look nice when he did.

That was something most male cops never had to consider.

*   *   *

Junior was annoyed he'd been delayed so long that he'd missed Michelle leaving school. It was unavoidable. It would have to be to throw him off schedule. Now he had nothing in his brain but Michelle. The image of her nude body splayed out in front of him made the rest of the world pale by comparison. He had run past her house and seen the blue Honda in the driveway, but that really didn't mean anything. Her mother tended to pick her up and drop her off places instead of bringing her home every day.

Then he got lucky. He had parked in front of the Publix where he'd seen her working and sure enough, after only a few minutes, she followed an elderly woman out of the store, pushing a basket with a ridiculously small payload. Maybe the old lady just wanted company on her walk back out to her Buick Riviera.

Junior surveyed the area. There seemed to be constant foot and vehicle traffic in and out of the parking lot, plus he wasn't certain about security cameras. It would be a tremendous risk, but right now he was wondering if that wasn't his only option. Wait till she was coming back from delivering someone's groceries, pull alongside, point the gun at her, and get on with his life. The biggest flaw in that plan was the fact that he was driving his own car once again.

The other day Michelle had left work around seven thirty. That didn't him give much time to make his move. He felt his stomach growl and decided all of this worrying was giving him an ulcer. As his grandfather back in Indiana used to say, it was time to shit or get off the pot.

 

27

Hallett took a few minutes off the surveillance to drive Rocky to a car wash down the street and use one of the low-powered hoses and a bottle of baby shampoo to wash the black hair-spray paint off of him. He didn't want to leave it on too long in case the dog had a reaction to it. Rocky enjoyed the short bath. He always did. Sometimes Hallett wondered if the dog got dirty just so he would give him a bath. The dog's favorite activity was a bath with Josh. Sometimes Hallett just put the two of them in the shower with a bottle of baby shampoo and turned them loose.