Maggie K. Black - Standing Fast

“Did Captain Dennis have any idea when he’d be returning or how I could contact him?” Chase asked. “Do you know if Ajay’s company has anyone who’d be heading up into the mountains who could try to pass along a message for me?”

He ran his hand over his face. Maybe he should have gone to Captain Dennis directly.

There was a heavy pause, which he knew meant Captain Reardon was choosing her words carefully. “Airman, I know you’re frustrated. But you know that things don’t work in Afghanistan the way they do here. It’s the middle of the summer. The heat is extreme and we can’t expect one of our partners on the ground to send someone wandering through a war zone to find one man who might not even remember a conversation he had with you three months ago.”

He blew out a long breath. She was right and he should probably be thankful she was agreeing to talk to him at all under the circumstances.

“I understand, ma’am,” he said. “I apologize for putting you in this situation. I realize I’m grasping at straws. But my laptop was stolen from my truck and along with it any evidence of the video call. Someone threatened my daughter’s life this morning. There was a prowler outside her window who tried to cut the screen with a knife.”

She took in a sharp breath.

“Oh, Chase, I’m so sorry.” Her voice softened. “As I hope you can understand, my hands are fairly tied and there’s very little I can do. But I will speak to Captain Dennis directly today and ask if there’s any way he can speak to the man’s organization and access his computer logs. If he was using a base computer, Captain Dennis might be able to access the records himself and confirm when you spoke and for how long. I can also ask him if he knows of any way to contact him directly. Although, I would’ve assumed Security Forces would’ve already sought to access that information.”

So would he. But the almost gleefully vindictive look that had glinted in Preston’s eyes was now making him wonder. Was it possible Captain Dennis had already provided that information and investigators were so eager to see him hang that they’d discounted it? “Do you think I should contact Captain Dennis directly?”

“May I be blunt?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“You’re suspected of helping a serial killer who murdered several fine servicemen and -women.” Her voice sharpened. “You know what Boyd Sullivan has done to our community. His crimes and the fact that he’s still on the loose is tearing Canyon apart. Everyone you speak to is going to be under a cloud of suspicion and it could have an extremely unwelcome impact on anyone serving overseas if you start making calls on secured lines about accessing old video logs. I’m talking about how it will look, Airman, regardless of how innocent your intentions are. Let me talk to Captain Dennis. I’ll impress on him the importance of the situation and tell him to pass everything he can find directly onto investigators. You and I have served together. I have broad shoulders and can take a bit of heat. I’ve already been questioned about you once and I won’t be surprised if I face some additional questioning over this conversation.”

He hadn’t even considered how talking to Captain Reardon or Captain Dennis would impact their careers, their work or their teams. Suspicion was like a toxin. It had been spreading through Canyon Air Force Base for weeks now, poisoning hearts and infecting relationships. He prayed that neither of the captains would face any trouble for helping him.

“Let me assure you that nobody you’ve served with believes for a moment you have anything to do with Boyd Sullivan,” she added. “Hopefully, this will all be cleared up quickly. But, in my opinion, the best thing you can do right now is to lay low and let the investigators do their job.”

“Thank you, ma’am, and thank you for the help. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem, Airman.”

They ended the call and he set the phone back in its cradle. Relaxing was the last thing on his mind. He’d been framed for murder, his life was falling apart and he wasn’t about to sit around and wait for someone else to sort it. The uncharacteristic silence of his empty house surrounded him. He knelt in the mess and closed his eyes to pray. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been truly alone in his bungalow without his daughter and dog running around. He wasn’t sure he liked it. Questions tumbled through his mind like Ping-Pong balls in a dryer. His daughter’s frightened face filled his mind.

Help me, God. I’m in really deep trouble and You’re my only hope.

He opened his eyes and set out for Sunny Seeds Preschool.

* * *

“Doggy, Doggy, go find the phone!”

Maisy sat cross-legged on the brightly colored carpet in Sunny Seeds Preschool’s large open classroom and chanted along with her students and classroom assistant, Esther Hall, as little Allie whispered the search command in Queenie’s ear. Then Maisy let Queenie climb off her lap and into the circle. The children giggled as Queenie walked over to each one and sniffed them in turn. Then the small dog trotted off in the direction of the dress-up corner. Eleven small shining faces watched her go.

“Queenie finds phones!” Allie had explained to Maisy when they’d first gotten to the preschool. The toddler had then whispered something in the dog’s ear and then Queenie had walked over and sat neatly in front of where Maisy’s phone was on the table, and refused to move until Allie had patted her head. “I gave her a command just like Daddy. Queenie finds computers too.”

Maisy hadn’t even heard of an electronic-sniffing dog, let alone expected to find one in such a small and adorable size. All the K-9 dogs she’d met had been large, majestic and formidable breeds, like rottweilers, German shepherds and Doberman pinschers. But when Felicity and her newlywed husband, Westley, had dropped by with some dog food, she’d told Maisy that Chase and Queenie had done the electronic search of her home back in April and found two listening devices. Westley had then explained that while ESDs were relatively new in law enforcement, they had incredible abilities to sniff out the smallest electronic devices on command, as small as tiny thumb drives and picture storage cards, no matter where a criminal hid them. A beagle’s small size and excellent nose made it the perfect breed for that kind of work. He said it seemed that while little Allie had been watching her father train Queenie at home she’d picked up how to give the dog the search command with the exact same tone of voice, intonation and gestures her father used. Ultimately, Chase would have to train the dog to ignore Allie’s instructions. At least, thankfully, it only seemed to be Allie that the dog responded to that way.

Even then, Maisy had been a bit skeptical until Allie got Queenie to sniff out each arriving parent who came to drop off their child and then reported back whether or not they were carrying any electronic devices on their person. If they weren’t carrying any, she moved on. If they were, she howled once, sat directly in front of their feet and stared.

She hadn’t gotten it wrong once.

So now, on top of the general excitement of having a small dog as a very special visitor at the preschool, the regular circle time had turned into a game. Maisy, with Allie’s help, held Queenie and theatrically covered the small dog’s eyes while her assistant, Esther, helped one of the students hide the phone, and then Allie would give Queenie the command to find it.

The coat hooks, book nook and building blocks hadn’t proven to be a challenge. This time Queenie sniffed around the costume trunk, then dove under the dress-up rack and disappeared in the costumes and uniforms for a second. Then her tiny furry head reappeared through the flowing fabric. She barked and sat. Maisy laughed. “Good dog.”