Dennis Larsen - With Cruel Intent

'The Wolf' called the deputy with the digital camera into the kitchen, “Get some shots of this before forensics gets here.”

The deputy carefully and methodically photographed the entire kitchen, paying special attention to the table and chairs and the items sitting on the drying towel near the sink. Sitting toward the top of the chair pyramid was the small item that Katie had noted earlier in the day. It had not been disturbed. The Sheriff directed the deputy to get a couple pictures of the item before he reached up with a pair of rubber tipped tweezers to bring it down. He closely inspected the picture, checking the front and back of the Polaroid image before placing it into a clear, plastic evidence bag.

“Sheriff, Sheriff Lupo, the K-9 unit is here,” another deputy yelled from the driveway as a station wagon styled sheriff’s vehicle pulled in front of the house. A petite woman dressed in a uniform stepped out of the wagon and put on her hat, brown sun-streaked locks extended from the hat to her shoulders, framing a pretty face with an upturned, button nose. Her skin was darkly tanned with a golden hue accentuating taut, lean muscles. She stood five foot two and could not have weighed more than 120 lbs. Deputy Natalie Guest was the newest member of the department, with little experience but a fiery temperament.

The tiny young graduate had quickly won the respect of her male counterparts when, on her first day, one of the men had jokingly patted her on the bottom and said something about her small stature. Her response had been quick and decisive. She had spun, jumping in the same motion, bringing both legs high off the ground, whipping the right leg out with the foot extended to the height of the male officer's nose, breaking it across the bridge. Her skills, demonstrated for the office, left little doubt that the young officer could take care of herself. Being a black belt from the age of 17 had paid off on more than this occasion, but she had felt bad and admitted that it was an overreaction. The officer in question was now her most vocal supporter and he enjoyed the friendship that had developed since the incident.

Natalie had been hired to serve as a full time deputy based on one skill and one skill alone, she had an uncanny ability to communicate with dogs. Her reputation had preceded her with the highest recommendation from the academy where she had received her training. They had reported that it was almost magical the way she could read a dog's signals and the animals responded to her like no other trainee. 'The Wolf' had been looking for such an officer for some time and was happy to bring Ms. Guest into the fold. He suspected she would have to win the hearts and minds of the other officers, as each new recruit had done prior to her, but he was surprised in the manner in which it happened, however, a broken nose is much easier to deal with than a sexual harassment claim.

Officer Guest retrieved the shepherd from the back of the K-9 Unit and stood near the vehicle awaiting instructions from her boss. A moment later, the Sheriff exited the home and approached the small woman. Seeing the hulking frame of Angelo towering over Natalie was almost comical as the other officers looked on. Her size made absolutely no difference to Sheriff Lupo, he knew of her abilities and he intended to capitalize on them to help solve this crime.

“Officer Guest, we believe the intruder spent a fair amount of time in the house, so the dog should be able to start with a good scent. Spend a few minutes in there and once you’re satisfied that you’ve got the scent, lets see where it leads us. Based on our first assessment of the place it looks like he must have entered from the rear, probably crossed the fields behind, and jumped the fence. Anyway, take Officer Breland with you and see what you find. Must have had a car stashed somewhere nearby. Call if you find anything or need backup.”

“Will do boss,” the young officer said, tipping her hat and pulling on the leash, “Come on Otis, let’s catch us a bad guy.” The dog obediently followed his master, excited, obviously loving the work he did, tail bouncing from side to side in anticipation of the hunt.

The pair entered the front door of the house, noting that nothing appeared to be in disarray. She led the dog around allowing him to smell everything that the perp could have touched. She gave him enough leeway on the leash so he could do his own exploring but not allowing him to take off on her. He moved from the living room down the hallway to the bedroom, stopping to take a minute to explore the doorknob with his sensitive snout. Entering the master bedroom he immediately went to the side of the bed where the thief had broken his toes. The dog issued a signal to the handler indicating that this was a hotspot, a strong scent there. He moved about the same room but kept returning to the side of the bed before moving into the hallway to explore the other rooms. He spent little, if any time, in the spare room, bathroom and laundry room, indicating to Officer Guest that the intruder had not entered these rooms. Otis trotted to the kitchen where he was frantic, jumping up and placing his paws on the sink area and smelling the dishes that were there, followed by a very close inspection of the table and elevated chairs. Lastly he stood by the back door smelling the doorknob and he began to growl, and then barks, in a low, deep tone that reverberated in Natalie’s chest.

“Good boy, good boy,” she said, scratching behind his ears. The dog sat and waited further instructions, his tail still going a mile a minute.

“Anything?” the Sheriff inquired, standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

“Yeah, lots of hotspots, especially in the bedroom and here,” she said, pointing to the table and the sink. “I think he must have actually used the items that were washed and placed next to the sink. Do we have any word from the victim on any of this?”

The Sheriff pulled the picture from his pocket. “Nothing from the victim, but an absolute affirmative from the intruder,“ he said, turning the picture around for the handler to inspect.

“Okay, well Otis’s hit on the sink was accurate then. I know for sure that he entered the woman’s bedroom and must have sat down or kneeled by the side of her bed. Other than that it’s pretty obvious that he was in the living room moving the furniture and all, but I’m pretty sure that he didn’t enter any of the other rooms in the house. Otis didn’t hit on anything other than the three rooms and the hallway. I suspect as you said, that he exited the back door, Otis is really anxious to get out there and take a look.”

“Go ahead, see where it takes you, but don’t be a hero, if you need us send for help. Check your radio with base before you get too far away,” Angelo instructed, moving back to the front of the house.

“Hey Breland, you coming with us?” she hollered from the kitchen.

“Yeah, yeah hold your horses, I’ll be right there,” he yelled back, pulling a shotgun from the cruiser and walking quickly to the house.

The trio moved about the backyard catching another strong sign in the back corner where they could see the grass was matted as if someone had sat there. Otis thoroughly sniffed his way around the backspace showing particular attention to a section of the fence where the intruder had climbed over. Once they managed to find a way to the other side of the fence, the group took off at a run, as Otis bounded along the trail that led to the train tracks and beyond.

The sound of Otis barking, hot on the trail, was scarcely audible when the forensic unit arrived complete with their on site van. Sheriff Lupo filled the technicians in on what had been done and left it to them to scour the house for clues. He also turned the picture over to the techs to receive an ID number, and then tucked it away in his shirt pocket for further scrutiny back at the office. Confident that a deputy left at the site, along with the forensics crew, could handle anything else that needed to be done, the Sheriff and other law enforcement officials at the scene returned to their duties and the Sheriff contacted Natalie on his radio.