Terri Reed - Scent Of Danger

A sense of violation cramped her chest. She was used to investigating this sort of vandalism, not being the victim herself.

She was no one’s victim. Her fist clenched.

She would find the person who broke in, and discover what they’d wanted. She tapped her foot, impatient to get in there and see what had been taken.

But protocol had to be followed.

Yanking her cell phone out of the backpack-style purse she always carried, she dialed the Sagebrush police dispatch non-emergency number.

“Sagebrush Police Department.” Cathy Rodriquez, the day dispatch operator answered in her no-nonsense tone.

“Cathy, it’s Detective Zachary. I need a crime-scene unit at the youth center. My office has been broken into.”

“Were you hurt, Melody?”

“I’m fine.” She wouldn’t mention the throbbing headache. The last thing she needed was to be coddled. She’d find some pain reliever in the nurse’s station once things settled down. “I surprised the intruder, but he got away.”

“I’ll let the higher ups know what’s going on.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Melody hung up and leaned against the doorjamb. Despite the doubts that at times tried to rob her of faith, she sent up a silent prayer of thanksgiving that the intruder hadn’t been armed. This scene could have gone down very differently.

The sound of footsteps sent a fresh wave of adrenaline pumping through her veins. She whipped around, her hand going to her weapon.

“Melody?”

At the sight of her volunteer co-director and fellow Sagebrush police officer coming toward her, she let out a tense breath. Jim Wheaton always wore the navy blue Sagebrush Police Department uniform, claiming the visual reminder of authority helped keep the kids in line.

Nearing fifty and single, Jim spent more time at the center, whether he was on duty or off, than any other volunteer. He claimed it was because he didn’t trust the teens not to cause trouble, but Melody suspected he liked the company even if he wouldn’t admit it.

“You’re here early again today,” he said, coming to a halt a few paces away.

She usually stopped by Arianna’s Diner for a pastry and cup of coffee before heading to the station, but ever since her nephew’s grave had been desecrated last month, she hadn’t had much of an appetite. Keeping herself occupied gave her less time to think.

Besides, the diner was closed now that the owner, Arianna Munson, had been killed after being linked to the crime lord, known only by the police as The Boss.

For the past several years, a crime wave had terrorized the citizens of Sagebrush. The mastermind behind the crime syndicate was a faceless, nameless entity that even the thugs who worked for The Boss feared.

This man was at the top of the police department’s most-wanted list. Especially after the crime syndicate kidnapped Rio, the three-year-old German shepherd partner of the K-9 unit’s captain. The whole department was on high alert looking for the canine.

She could have used a dog like Rio today. Maybe she should look into getting a K-9 partner for the center. A nice big dog with sharp teeth. “Hey, Jim. I interrupted someone breaking into my office. They made a mess of things.”

His gray eyes clouded with concern. “You okay?”

“Just a bruised ego.” And a knock to the noggin. Nothing she couldn’t handle.

“Let me see.” He tried to push past her.

Her arm shot out and blocked him from entering. “I’m waiting for the CSU team.”

He scowled. “It was probably a kid looking for some loose change.”

Melody shook her head. “Guy was too big, too strong to be a teen.”

“You get a look at his face?”

“I didn’t.”

The center’s front door opened. A small dog with his black nose pressed to the ground entered. Melody recognized the beagle as Sherlock, part of the K-9 unit. He wore a vest with the Sagebrush Police Department emblem over his light brown and white coat. A harness attached to a leash led to the handsome man at the other end. Melody blinked.

What were Narcotics Detective Parker Adams and his K-9 partner doing here?

The dog was adorable with his floppy ears and big round eyes.

Much like his handler.

She didn’t know the narcotics detective well. She worked for the homicide division, mostly cold cases, while he was part of the Sagebrush’s elite K-9 unit. Their paths hadn’t crossed much, though she’d noticed him at the police station.

Hard not to take notice when he filled out his uniform nicely with broad shoulders and trim waist. She liked the way he wore his dark hair swept back from his forehead and his warm brown eyes appeared kind whenever he glanced her way.

He wasn’t much taller than she, but he had a commanding presence that she found disconcerting. Though why, she wasn’t sure. Growing up the daughter of a cop, there were few people who intimidated her. But something about the handsome officer made her pay attention.

Two crime-scene-unit techs filed in behind Parker carrying in their equipment. Considering the police station was at the other end of the block, Melody wasn’t surprised how quickly they’d arrived. She just didn’t understand why Parker had responded to her call.

The CSU team approached, each member wearing a dark blue Sagebrush Police Department windbreaker. Parker hung back, letting his dog sniff the floor, the thresholds of the closed classroom doors, the lockers.

“Hey, Melody,” said Rose Bigsby, a stocky woman with short blond curls and wire-rimmed glasses perched on her short nose. “Report came in that you had a break-in.”

Melody gestured to the open door of her office. “In there.”

Clay Gregson nodded to Jim and then smiled shyly at Melody as he moved past her to enter her office. The tall and lean CSU technician wasn’t much on small talk, something the officers of SPD were used to. Rose, on the other hand, made up for her partner’s lack of conversation just fine. Rose followed him in and started the process of looking for anything that would lead them to ID the intruder.

“Any idea who broke in?” Parker asked as he and his dog approached. “What was he looking for?”

Melody frowned. “I have no idea who the guy was or what he was after.”

“What are you doing here, Adams?” Jim asked.

“Captain McNeal thought it’d be a good idea for Sherlock here to check out the center,” Parker replied evenly. “Considering.”

Her defenses stirred. “Considering what?”

He met her gaze. His dark eyes intense, probing. “The rumors of drugs being dealt out of here.”

Her hackles rose like the feathers of a peacock on high alert. She’d been battling that particular thread of gossip since the center opened. She routinely searched the building and kept a close eye on the kids. She was certain there were no drugs on the premises. “We have a strict no-drugs policy. Any offenders will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Parker shrugged. “Then there’s nothing to worry about. Sherlock shouldn’t find anything. He’s got the best nose in the state, and it’s never wrong.”

“I’ve got to go to the station,” Jim said abruptly and headed for the exit.

Watching him hustle out the door, Melody frowned. He’d just arrived. She shrugged off her coworker’s strange behavior. Even though she was fond of Jim, she’d long ago decided she would never figure out the male species.

Or teenagers. Starting the youth center had been her attempt to help the kids of Sagebrush so they wouldn’t end up like her nephew. At sixteen, Daniel had gotten mixed up with drugs, dealing and using, by all accounts. He’d ended up dead because of it. During a standoff with the police, he’d been wounded in the leg by Captain Slade McNeal and then shot in the heart by an unknown sniper. The assassin was never caught.