Laura Scott - Blind Trust

“Speaking of which, I’ll need directions.”

“Keep heading north, then turn left at the next intersection.”

Eva continued to give him directions until he pulled into a narrow driveway in front of an older-model brown brick home wedged in between two others. It was a nice place to raise a child, he thought as he slid the gearshift into Park. He thought there might even be a little sliver of a fenced-in backyard for Mikey to play in.

“We’re home,” Eva said, as she carried Mikey out of the SUV. Finn went around to the back to let Abernathy out, grabbing the dog’s water dish and tucking it under his arm as he followed Eva and Mikey inside.

Eva hesitated for a moment in the doorway, and he wondered if she’d noticed something out of place. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing.” She flushed as if she were embarrassed, then moved farther inside. The small kitchen was crowded with two adults, a little boy and a dog, but Eva acted as if she didn’t notice.

“Okay, what’s for lunch?” he asked, filling Abernathy’s water dish and setting it in the corner of the kitchen.

“Ordering pepperoni pizza would be easiest, then you don’t have to leave.” There was an underlying note of fear in Eva’s voice and he understood she was loath to be alone.

“Not a problem.” He caught a glimpse of a local pizza flyer on the fridge. Using his cell, he dialed the number and ordered a cheese-and-pepperoni pizza. When that was done, he took Abernathy’s vest off, giving him a bit of freedom to explore. Abernathy lapped at the water, then began sniffing around the edges of the room.

Finn’s phone rang and he quickly answered it. “Gallagher.”

“We got the video feed you requested,” Danielle Abbott, their technical guru said. “But it’s not a lot of help. The camera angle isn’t great. The cars are too close together to get a view of the license plate, and the crowds of people on the sidewalk obscure the view of the perp’s face. I’ll keep trying to clear up the video, but I can’t make any promises.”

Finn battled a wave of frustration. “Okay. Thanks, Danielle.”

“What?” Eva asked.

“We haven’t got anything off the subway camera. At least, not yet.”

Eva shook her head. “It figures.”

The pizza arrived twenty minutes later. Eva opened her purse, but he shooed her away to take care of the bill himself. Eva set the table, and he opened the pizza box, then picked up Mikey to place him in his booster seat. Eva took out a small slice of pizza and placed it on Mikey’s plate, giving it a chance to cool off. He took the seat across from Eva’s and, when she finished, he clasped his hands together and bowed his head to say grace.

“Dear Lord, we thank You for this food we are about to eat. We also thank You for keeping Eva safe in Your care. Please provide us the wisdom and guidance to find Cocoa, too. Amen.”

There was a brief pause before Eva murmured, “Amen.”

Mikey had already taken a bite of pizza, completely oblivious to the prayer. Finn smiled and made a mental note to include the boy next time.

Whoa, wait a minute. Next time? There wasn’t going to be a next time! He was only here because Eva had been attacked twice in one day.

This might look like a nice cozy scene, but Eva wasn’t his woman and Mikey wasn’t his son.

“Finn?”

He looked up from his food, belatedly realizing he was staring at it without making the slightest effort to eat. “What is it?”

“Do you think we’ll be okay here?”

“I think so, yes.” He picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. He didn’t want to say too much in front of the boy. “It’s probably better for you to be here than at your own place.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “I hope so.”

“How many people know that your brother-in-law is out of town?”

“My roommates know, of course. So does my boss.” She nibbled at her pizza.

“How long will he be gone?”

“About six more days, he left yesterday. He’s a paramedic and firefighter, stationed not far from Mercy Medical Center here in Queens. He’s their trainer, and there’s some new strategies about caring for patients in the field he has to learn, so they sent him to Atlanta.” She was silent for a moment before adding, “It wasn’t easy for him to leave so soon after...” Her voice trailed off.

Finn nodded his understanding. He couldn’t imagine losing your wife and then leaving your son behind as you went off on a business trip. “It’s great that you’re able to be here for Mikey.”

“Yes.” Her smile held a hint of sadness. “Between the two of us, we’ll help him through this.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask about God and faith, but then remembered how she hadn’t immediately joined him in saying grace. Maybe that was part of his role here. Not just to protect her, but to help Eva understand God’s grace and the power of prayer.

Mikey played with his food, pretending his slice of pizza was a plane and dive-bombing his silverware. Crumbs from the pizza crust were falling everywhere, and he noticed that Abernathy had taken up residence next to Mikey’s chair, gobbling up every morsel the kid dropped.

Finn tried not to wince. Normally Abernathy wouldn’t eat from anyone other than him, but with his vest off, he obviously thought Mikey’s crumbs were fair game.

“Don’t play with your food,” Eva said, putting her hand on Mikey’s arm. “Are you full? Or do you want to eat some more?”

“Eat,” Mikey said, popping what was left of his pizza into his mouth. “Can I visit Cocoa?”

Eva froze, her gaze locking onto his. She drew in a shaky breath, then told the little boy the truth, “I’m sorry to say Cocoa is lost, Mikey, so you can’t visit now. But Officer Finn is going to work really hard to find him.”

“Yes, I will.” Finn wasn’t exactly sure how he would accomplish that feat since he didn’t have a clue where to start. Earlier, he’d taken Eva’s keys with him back to the station and had asked Ilona, the lab tech, to run the DNA. Once those results came back, they’d know if the perp who’d hit Eva was in the system or not. But how long would that take? Despite what was portrayed on TV, fast turnaround times for DNA happened only in rare circumstances. A puppy-napping wouldn’t be high on the list.

“I’m sorry about what happened this morning,” he said. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if someone took Abernathy from him. The dog was more than just his partner.

Abernathy was the only family Finn had since his father had passed away last year. The other K-9 officers were like his brothers, but Abernathy was more than that. The K-9 was his best friend.

“I know.” She offered a lopsided smile. He knew she was worried about more than just Cocoa’s fate.

“I’ll take a look around the place when we’re finished,” Finn offered. “See if there are any extra security measures I can add.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Eva said gratefully. “I know we’re probably fine here, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

He wanted to offer to stay there with her but knew he shouldn’t get too emotionally involved. Bad enough that he was tempted to ask her out for dinner and maybe a movie. What was it about her that made him want to toss his two-date, nothing-serious dating rules out the window?

Five minutes later it was clear Mikey was finished eating. Eva washed tomato sauce off his face and his hands, then lifted him down to the floor. Finn finished his meal so he could help clean up.

“I’ll take care of it,” she said, shooing him away with a wave of her hand. “Do me a favor and check things out, would you? I know I’m being paranoid, but I want to be sure we’re safe.”