Trained To Protect

But she’d keep checking, just in case. Still, she couldn’t help wondering why her house had been a target. Had others around here been broken into, too? She didn’t know many of her neighbors well, but she’d have to ask them.

“Well, the person who broke in might not have known that.” But Doug’s expression, when he turned to look at her, suggested that he somehow wanted to dig inside her head for some answers.

Answers she didn’t have.

“Possibly,” she said.

“Okay, then. I’ll let Hooper take another swing around the place and see if he reacts to anything else. And by the way, I will speculate now that the scent he reacted to was fear—fear of getting caught as an intruder. After Hooper’s done this time...well, do you have any friends you can stay with tonight?”

She had made friends in the years she had lived in San Luis Obispo, though not that many, and none particularly close.

With the vocation and avocations she had, even she found that a bit surprising. But as much as she liked to help people, she’d learned the hard way that getting close to anyone, even friends, wasn’t always a good idea.

“No,” she said lightly, “but I’ll be fine here. Whoever broke in is unlikely to do it again. They already know there’s nothing here worth stealing. And they’ve already been inside, so why try it again?”

“But—” Whatever he’d started to say, Doug seemed to catch himself. “Okay, let Hooper and me do our thing. Then we’ll talk.”

Why did even the mention of a talk with this man make her feel uneasy? He’d come here to help her, and so far he really had. Whatever they’d talk about, it would have nothing to do with the fact that she found him attractive. More than attractive. A truly brave and genuinely kind man who clearly took his job of policing, helping people, to heart.

“Sure,” she said, trying to act completely nonchalant. “Let me know when you’re ready. Peace and I will wait in the kitchen.”

For the next ten minutes Elissa sat at the square kitchen table sipping on a bottle of water she’d taken out of the small but adequate fridge that had come with the house. She’d get a bottle out for Doug when he joined her. She had already set out a container of shortbread cookies that she occasionally brought along to her therapy sessions with kids. The sweets sometimes made them smile and become even more receptive to interacting with a caring dog.

After checking Peace’s water bowl on the scratched yellow linoleum floor near the door to the hall, she’d also retrieved some healthy dog treats. She gave her smart, caring dog a few, partly in gratitude for her having let Elissa know about the intruder in the first place, and partly because she just wanted to keep her companion happy.

But why had there even been an intruder...?

In a few minutes Hooper came into the kitchen followed by Doug, who still held the end of the leash. After the two dogs traded nose sniffs, Hooper went to the bowl and started lapping up some water. Elissa rose and got Doug a bottle of water, which she placed on the table near the seat across from her.

“Here,” she said. “I’ve got some treats for both Hooper and you.” She tried to sound like a good hostess, as if his being there was because she’d invited him—not because she’d needed him and his cop senses.

“Thanks,” he said, taking a seat. He picked up the water, removed the cap and took a swig, as if it were something stronger, which sort of amused her. Or maybe she’d be attracted to anything this kind man did while in her company, particularly here at her no-longer-private house. Then he looked at the table in front of her, at the dog treats and the packaged cookies, and asked, “Which ones are for me?”

She laughed. “Whichever you want, though I’d suggest these.” She pushed the shortbread container across the table to him. “Is it okay if I reward Hooper with some of these?” She gestured at the dog treats.

“Sure it is, right now. Not when he’s searching, though.”

Both Hooper and Peace seemed happy when Elissa gave them treats. “Good dogs,” she said, and they both were.

When she had given them each their share, she looked back up at Doug, who seemed awfully quiet. He was watching her. She couldn’t read the expression on his handsome, craggy, all-too-intense face, but it made her shudder inside. What was he thinking?

As if she’d said something aloud to prompt him, he asked, “Do you know of anyone who might want to harm you—or even just intimidate you?”

She blinked. “No. Not at all.” But the idea seemed to increase her internal shivers. “Is that what you think it is—someone who wants to scare or even hurt me, not just try to steal from me?”

He didn’t answer directly, at least not at first. “Before I leave here, I’ll contact the local PD, communicate to someone there about what happened and request they send a crime scene team over right now—which they might do more as an accommodation to another cop than because of their concern about the alleged crime. They’ll then probably start patrolling your street every hour or so, although if you don’t have any ideas who it might be, maybe they won’t. In any event, I’ll make sure that the vulnerable area where whoever it was got in before is sealed up.”

“Thank you.” Elissa did feel a lot of gratitude to this determined police officer—that and some highly unwanted attraction. He’s just doing his job, protecting a civilian, she reminded herself. Even so... “Is there anything else I should do?” Besides scream and run away.

She would do neither.

But she would, as usual, keep Peace by her side. Her dog might not have the same kind of training as an official police K-9, but she would protect Elissa to the best of her ability. Elissa was sure of it.

There seemed to be something else on Doug’s mind, though. He was studying her, watching her face as if he could see inside her brain.

For a long moment he said nothing, which made her even more uneasy. Then he said, “I’d like for you to keep thinking about whether anyone has suggested or even hinted that they have issues with you or what you do—or don’t do.” He reached into his pocket, brought out a business card and handed it to her. “I want you to stay in touch, let me know if you see or hear anything that seems suspicious. In any case, I’ll talk to you on Monday after you come back to Chance and we’ll see how things are going then.”

“Okay.” She wanted to disagree, to tell him she’d be fine and that there was no need for him to worry about her—but she somehow felt a little less stressed that he seemed to give a damn, just because he was a good cop, of course, and not because he seemed at all attracted to her.

And she’d have to make sure her own silly attraction disappeared.

But there appeared to be something else on his mind. He was looking so intensely into her eyes...

“What?” she asked.

“Like I said, think hard about whether there’s someone who might have something against you. A neighbor or coworker who’s mad at you. A driver you cut off. Whatever.”

“Why?” she demanded. “What’s really going on?”

He pursed his lips. “Yeah, I think you should know, though I was asked to keep it quiet. Amber, for one, was choosing to ignore it. But this break-in here...”

“What?” Elissa repeated.

Doug looked straight into her eyes. “The night of your interview at the K-9 Ranch, and before you came back up to give your demonstration, this was found on the fence there.” He pulled his phone from his pocket, fiddled with it some and then thrust it toward her.

A photo was there depicting the front gate up the driveway to the main house at the K-9 Ranch.

And on it was a sign: Be Careful Who You Hire.

Chapter 5

Doug watched Elissa’s expression carefully. No hint of knowledge or recognition appeared in the horror displayed by her huge eyes and open mouth.

“How terrible!” she exclaimed. “I don’t think Amber was close to hiring anyone else, so that must refer to me. And yet she hired me anyway. Why? But I’m so glad she did. Who could have left that? Was it the same person who broke in here?”

“We don’t know...yet,” Doug answered truthfully. “Any of the answers. But frankly, that’s one reason I came here to try to help you figure out what happened with Peace. You appear to be on at least one person’s radar, and we need to figure out who—and why.” Both dogs started barking then, and Doug figured he knew the reason. “I suspect the local cops are here.”

The nearly immediate ringing of the doorbell indicated he was right. He initially stepped outside with Hooper to greet them and tell them what was going on. They didn’t seem too impressed but as a professional accommodation to Doug one of them radioed in to request a crime scene team, then both entered to look around and interview Elissa.

They were quick and efficient, including the crime scene investigators, who arrived fairly quickly.

What they were not was fortunate enough to come up with any answers. Apparently the perpetrator had worn gloves—no surprise. No other evidence was found, either. They promised to send patrols by frequently, without saying how often. Then, after exchanging contact information with Doug—and patting Hooper and Peace—the two officers and crime scene folks left.

“Let’s go back into the kitchen,” Doug suggested. He needed to leave, too. But he also needed to try once more to get Elissa to see reason.

“Sure,” she said. “Only, I suspect you need to get back to Chance to actually do some of your own police work.” They both remained standing near the door, and the look she shot him appeared ironic with a hint of gratitude. “I’ll be fine now. As I said earlier, the intruder isn’t likely to come back, especially with the extra police car patrols those officers promised. And now that I’m aware, I’ll be particularly careful. There is, in fact, one neighbor I can call on who sometimes walks her dog with Peace and me. I’ll at least have company, and it would be harder for someone to harm two of us instead of just me.”

“Well, that’s better than nothing but—”

“Look, I don’t know why Amber hired me, but she’s clearly not giving in to whoever did this. Well, neither am I. I’ll try to get my landlord to have some kind of security system installed, but in any event, as I said, I’ll be careful. And I’m not giving in to someone trying to scare me.” But she seemed to wilt a little then. “I just wish I had some idea who it is, and why.”

“Yeah, me, too.” He had a sudden urge to take her into his arms, hold her tightly against him, maybe attempt to cheer her a little by kissing that alluring yet sad mouth of hers...

But of course he wouldn’t do that. Never mind that he felt attracted to her, or that he wanted to fix things for her. He had plenty of reasons not to get involved with her other than as a civilian who needed help. But she did happen to be a civilian who needed help.

A vision of his uncle Cy’s face flashed in his mind, encouraging him and Maisie to become cops like him—and to act like professionals at all times. And never, ever, to get involved except as cops with any of those civilians they were bound to be seeing a lot of as crime victims or otherwise.

Cy had gotten involved, more than once, and, after professional scolding and even a divorce, had learned to regret it...

“Anyway,” she said, “I’ll be working at my local hospital tomorrow and Sunday, both as a nurse and doing therapy dog work, so I won’t be home much this weekend. Then I’ll head back up to Chance on Monday to give my first therapy dog training class. I’ll call you then and maybe we can catch up on what’s going on here and there.”

“All right,” Doug conceded. What else could he do? He might be concerned about this attractive, dog-loving civilian, but he wasn’t even a cop in the jurisdiction where she lived who could theoretically give her orders—or at least conduct some of those patrols and drop in on her sometimes.

And he clearly wasn’t convincing her to do something else—except to walk her dog along with a neighbor. Some of the time. Without additional protection at night.

“Well, be sure to keep in touch.” He recognized that his words had come out in a tone of command, which appeared somehow to amuse her.

He wanted to kiss that smile right off her lovely face...but didn’t.

He motioned for Hooper to join him at the door, where he removed his dog’s leash from his pocket and snapped it on his collar. “Let’s go,” he told his well-trained partner.

Peace also came to the door to see them off. While they stood there, Elissa petted both dogs. Then, to his surprise, she leaned toward him. “Drive carefully,” she said, and planted a soft and swift kiss on his lips before backing away. “And I can’t thank you enough for all your help.”

You just did, he thought, but all he said was, “You’re welcome. Be careful, keep in touch, and we’ll see you next week.”

Now, why on earth had she done that? Elissa scolded herself as she shut and locked the door behind Doug and Hooper. No matter how much she liked the guy, he was a cop. He was acting like a cop. Helping her as a cop would. Trying to figure out what was going on and how to keep her safe.

And, more important to him, attempting to learn the origin of an apparent threat to a person in his own jurisdiction.

Shaking her head, she decided to call Glynnis Crandal, the friend and neighbor she’d been referring to when she’d spoken with Doug about having a companion to walk dogs with. It was late afternoon now, nearly five o’clock, and Glynnis, a middle school teacher, was likely to be home.

Elissa couldn’t plan on taking all her walks with Peace with Glynnis, too, but a couple tonight should at least give her a sense of whether she also needed to work something out with another neighbor.

“Peace, come.” Elissa motioned to her pup, who followed her into the kitchen. There, after clearing off the table and taking a few more sips of water, she used her cell phone to call Glynnis, who answered right away.

“Hi,” Elissa said. “I’m looking for a little company on my walks with Peace this evening. Partially as a therapy dog training thing. Are you and Socia available?” Socia was Glynnis’s smart and friendly Rottweiler.

“Sure!” There was a happy lilt to her voice, as if she was thrilled by the idea.

Elissa suspected she wouldn’t be so thrilled when Peace and she arrived at Glynnis’s front door and explained one of the reasons they needed company.

She had to at least mention it. Not that she anticipated putting Glynnis in danger, or she wouldn’t be involving her. Still, the possibility was why she did want another person and dog with them.

They made arrangements for Elissa and Peace to come by, which they did, in about half an hour.

Glynnis’s home was on the same block, but three houses down. It was two-story, with a lovely blue-siding exterior, and was in a lot better condition than Elissa’s rental.

Peace at her side, Elissa walked up to the front door and heard Socia barking. Glynnis opened the door only a few seconds later, as if she’d been waiting.

Glynnis was a solid and determined-looking woman in her late forties, a divorcée whose two kids were both in college in different parts of California. She wore jeans, a long-sleeved orange T-shirt and athletic shoes, and Socia was leashed at her side.

“May we come in for just a minute?” Elissa asked. “There are a couple of reasons for our wanting company that I think you should know.”

They remained in the high-ceilinged entry while Elissa explained about the break-in at her house. No, Glynnis hadn’t heard of anything else like that in the neighborhood or otherwise. Elissa also told her about the sign at her new part-time employer’s dog training ranch.

“So if you’ve changed your mind and don’t want to walk with us, I’ll completely understand,” Elissa finished.

The look on Glynnis’s round, aging face beneath her short yellow hair was determined. “Changed my mind? Heck, no. In fact, I’m even more eager to go with you. If anything strange occurs, my Socia will take care of it even if your sweet Peace can’t. So let’s go.”

There was a lot more traffic on his way back to Chance than earlier, which gave Doug time to think. Overthink. He regretted leaving Elissa alone, with no additional protection except, possibly, a few more patrols on her street now and then.

But he couldn’t have stayed. Nor had he enough clout with the local police department to get further protection for her.

And though he could have contacted some private protective services in the area—and even paid for them, since it appeared that Elissa wasn’t exactly wealthy, though neither was he—he felt certain she would have vetoed the possibility.

Damn! Oh, yeah, he was overthinking this. Elissa was a big girl. She knew now about the break-in, partly thanks to Peace. Doug had alerted her to the potential additional threat in Chance. She could handle things the way she chose—which apparently was to ignore it all, or at least to do nothing more than bring some additional company into her dog walking and try to convince the owner of the decrepit house where she lived to install some kind of security system. Yeah, right.

But her bravery appealed to him, even though he considered her foolish.

“Enough of this, Hooper,” he said out loud, as if his dog in the back seat knew what he’d been stewing about. He glanced into the rearview mirror to see Hooper sit up from where he’d been lying. He was tethered safely. And now he was looking at Doug with his eyes large, his ears up, as if waiting for the next command.

Which he wouldn’t get in the car. Except... “Good boy, Hooper,” Doug said. “Now, down.” And of course the smart and well-trained dog obeyed.

Doug spoke aloud a little more, mostly so Hooper could hear him. But all he talked about was his frustrations—with traffic and with Elissa. Nothing that Hooper would understand, except, perhaps, for his handler’s mood.

When Doug finally pulled off the freeway and onto the mountain roads, he used his car’s wireless connection to call his sister, needing to blow off steam—and hoping she had a minute to talk. Maisie was devoted to her job—and, of course, to Griffin. If they were out on an assignment, she simply wouldn’t answer.

But she did. “So what’s going on, bro?” she asked.

“Any further word about the K-9 Ranch?” he asked.

“Nothing I’ve heard, and they haven’t called Griffin and me in to try tracking whoever left that sign.”

“Not surprising. Hooper didn’t alert on anything when we were there, so Griffin probably wouldn’t, either. But Hooper did alert on a situation at Elissa’s home.” Doug quickly explained it to his sister, including his subsequent communications with the local San Luis Obispo police.

“Did Elissa give you any more idea of what’s going on?” Maisie’s tone sounded like a demand, as if she really did want to know if there’d been an answer—and what that answer was.

“She didn’t seem to know.” He knew his frustration resonated in his voice. “She didn’t make any guesses about who might be doing this or why, though she seemed justifiably scared. I tried to get her to stay with a friend or do something else self-protective, but all she indicated was that she’d take her dog on walks with a neighbor for a while—at least sometimes.”

“Brave lady,” Maisie said.

“Foolish lady,” Doug retorted then changed the subject. “So what’s going on with you?”

They talked for a while longer. Maisie and Griffin were at the station. Assistant Chief Kara had set up a meeting with them tomorrow morning, though it was Saturday. “Not sure exactly what’s on her mind but she indicated that Hooper and you should join us if possible. Can you come?”

“Definitely,” he responded. They talked about nothing for another few minutes and Doug said he’d see Maisie soon, at the home they and their dogs shared. It was evening, and they were off-duty that night—unless, of course, a case came in that required the assistance of one or more K-9s.

Then he hung up.

Meeting tomorrow with the assistant chief was fine with Doug. If nothing else, it would be a genuine, official distraction from the nonsense going on in his mind.

No, not nonsense. There was a civilian in potential trouble.

A very lovely and, yes, brave civilian in an apparently inexplicable situation—or at least not explainable for the moment, if she truly was telling him everything.

And he wanted to trust her. Did trust her, even though he hardly knew her. But should he?

Think with your brain and nothing else, he ordered himself. For despite all the orders he’d given himself, despite everything his revered uncle Cy had drummed into his head and Maisie’s when they had, at his urging, decided to become cops, he found Elissa Yorian not only a distraction but a very sexy, appealing woman.

But he was a cop. A damn good one. And so he would help figure out what was going on with her, find a way to protect her, without getting emotionally involved.

“Yeah, right,” he expressed aloud.

His tone must have startled Hooper, who sat up once again on the back seat and gave a small growl.

“You said it,” said Doug with a brisk nod.

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