Visible Threat (3 page)

5

B
RINNA SAT
on her porch sipping coffee. She hadn’t slept very well, dogged by guilt about the reprimand she’d received as a result of her conduct on the Henry Corliss pursuit the day before.

“Reckless! Insubordinate! You disobeyed a direct order!”
Harvey’s face had been purple with rage.

She knew Harvey was right. After a case a couple of months ago when she and her then-partner, Jack O’Reilly, had raced against orders to save kidnapped twins, she realized she needed to be more of a team player. While she loved the appellation “Kid Crusader,” she knew she couldn’t do it all on her own
 
—she needed partners and coworkers, and with everyone working together, more kids would be saved.

She opened the Bible in her lap and wondered where she should turn. It was new to her, like going to church with her mother was new, but it was something her mom would do. Looking at the Bible, a gift from Jack, she could hear her mother’s voice say that if she realized her wrong and confessed
it, she’d be forgiven, no strings attached. Forgiveness from God was a free gift.

Maybe from God, she thought, but Harvey and internal affairs might not have the same policy. It would still be a couple of days before she heard from internal affairs. The only positive was the picture in her mind of the grateful faces of Nikki Conner’s parents. And Corliss was going to prison for good
 
—this was his third strike; he’d never have the chance to abduct another girl. She could live with her actions because of that, but she knew she’d have to work hard to regain Harvey’s trust. When he’d dressed her down, Brinna had listened, not trusting herself to speak. It wouldn’t have done any good for her to try to justify what she’d done; Harvey was just too angry. He’d taken it personally, and for that she was sorry. It really had nothing to do with him.

She’d fallen back into the habit of taking the world onto her own shoulders to save a young girl. And while it had turned out okay in the end, Brinna didn’t want that same thing to happen again. She had to find a way to stand down and take a breath.

Her mom, her brother, Brian, and Jack said the answer was in the book she held in her hand. Accept what God freely gives and find peace. Was it really that easy?

Her phone rang and she saw a PD extension.

“Caruso.”

Surprise and anxiety hit at once. She recognized her sergeant’s voice, but it was too early for Janet to be at work. Bracing herself for bad news from IA, she answered, “Yeah, Sarge, what’s up?”

“I’m afraid something has come up
 
—something you need to be aware of.” Rodriguez paused. “The PD just received notification from Homeland Security that they’re not going to renew the grant that funds Hero.”

“What?” Brinna felt her face flush. The call was about Hero? This was like walking around a blind corner into a sucker punch.

“There have been cutbacks everywhere,” Janet continued. “You knew the position with Hero was likely temporary.” Her tone was meant to be soothing, but Brinna could not be soothed.

“But he’s done a good job; we’ve accomplished so much.” Words fled, and Brinna could only stare into space. She knew it was a numbers game, but she didn’t want to accept it. The budget for police officers paid for a specific number of bodies. The federal grant had basically added extra money for a position that was not in the budget. She knew the PD approved the position only because of the salary savings. While Brinna, as an officer, would still be in the budget, the search-and-rescue dog unit position, which required extra funding for the take-home K-9 car and K-9 training, would disappear.

“This is not a reflection of performance,” Janet was saying. “Federal funding is capricious; you know that. It floats on political winds, and unfortunately the winds have changed. There is a slight chance the city will pick up the tab for Hero, but I can’t get your hopes up.” Janet sighed. “I don’t have to tell you how many old-timers thought Hero was a waste for a city PD. And frankly, pulling stunts like you did last night
does not endear you to the brass. They have to
want
to do you a favor to pitch a case to the city council to keep funding the dog position.”

Brinna started to protest, but her sergeant kept talking.

“The department has a shortage of patrol officers,” Rodriguez continued. “The most likely scenario is that you’ll be plugged in somewhere in patrol. I’m sorry.”

It was a moment before Brinna felt able to speak. “How long do I have?”

“Six weeks at most. That’s when the fiscal quarter ends,” Janet said. “Look at the bright side: the Feds will likely let you buy Hero; maybe the two of you can still take part in search and rescues on your off time.”

After the call ended, Brinna closed the Bible and held her head in her hands. The last two and a half years with Hero as her partner replayed in her mind. Yes, she had known it might not last forever, but that didn’t make the inevitable any easier to accept. Of course she’d buy Hero, even if she had to drain her savings to pay for him. But not work with him every night? The thought caused a knot to form in her stomach.

How can I go back to patrol? How can I leave Hero home every night and work with a two-legged partner? For that matter, who would put up with me?
She remembered how hard it had been to leave him when she’d been temporarily assigned to work with Jack O’Reilly. As much as she liked Jack, she’d missed Hero, and that was only temporary. How would it be to be permanently without Hero?

Her phone rang again; this time she saw a dispatch exten
sion. There were no patrol dogs assigned to days, so Brinna immediately hoped this was a callout for her K-9.
I want to work with him as much as possible while we still have time.

“Officer Caruso, we have a homicide unit requesting you on the flood control for a search.”

Brinna didn’t even ask what for. “I’ll be en route in ten minutes. Please send the call to my computer.”

*   *   *

The sound of a vehicle approaching caused both detectives to turn toward the bike path. Brinna Caruso had arrived with her K-9. Jack felt a strange tingling in his gut, not quite butterflies but close, as he watched Brinna climb out of her K-9 vehicle. It was good to see her again. A few months previous she’d been instrumental in helping him over a hurdle
 
—accepting his wife’s death and getting on with his life. Because of their shifts, hers afternoons and his days, their paths did not cross often. Though there wasn’t anything romantic between them, then or now, he had to admit that as he put the grief further behind him, Brinna was definitely someone he wanted to see more and spend time with.

“Hey, guys,” Brinna hailed as she walked down the path toward them, her dog, Hero, on a short leash. “What have you got?”

“Let me show you.” Jack directed her to where the body had been placed, pointed out where it had been, and told her the observations he and Ben had already made. The coroner was ready to zip the body bag and head to the morgue.

“So what we need from you,” Ben explained after Jack had
finished, “is a search of the immediate area. See if you turn up anything. Maybe there’s clothing or a purse nearby. Even though it has rained a lot, it’s all concrete, asphalt, and hard-packed dirt out here. No footprints or tire tracks anywhere.”

Brinna did a slow 360 and surveyed the area. “Sure thing.” She walked Hero to the edge of the flood control and then to the body bag to let him sniff. She frowned when she saw the girl, noting the tattoo.

“She looks young. But she’s not from any of my flyers. And that tattoo is certainly different.” She peered closer. “My, that is detailed work. You two didn’t find any missing reports even close?”

Jack shook his head. “No. Although we’ll double-check once we get back to the station. We don’t think she’s been here long, so one may yet come in.”

Brinna sighed, frowning. “I hope we turn up something out here.” She walked a few feet upriver, then unclipped the dog’s leash. “Find, Hero, find.”

Jack watched the dog take off at a trot, nose to the ground. For the young girl at his feet
 
—and her family, whoever they were
 
—he prayed that Hero would turn up something . . . anything that would lead them to a killer.

6

A
S
B
RINNA WATCHED
H
ERO,
she knew he had a scent. Based on the direction he traveled, she bet someone had carried the young girl up the access road to toss her into the channel.

Like so much garbage.

She twisted Hero’s leash in her hands as anger at what one evil person could do to an innocent overshadowed the anxiety she felt about losing Hero.

The dog reached a gate that was locked to restrict access to the channel. The access road was part of a water company easement. It allowed the water company to drive up to a pump station on a ribbon of concrete that jutted into the riverbed. Police and fire could also access the area with keys to the city lock, but public vehicular traffic was kept out.

Hero sat and barked. Something.

Brinna jogged to her dog. She had to look carefully and pull some brush back, but she saw it. Snagged on a bush near the access road gate where it had been out of sight was a blanket or throw.

“Got something!” she called out, and Jack and Ben joined her immediately.

Brinna donned gloves and carefully retrieved the blanket. It was damp but not dripping, adding credence, she thought, to Jack’s theory that the girl had been dumped after the rain stopped. All three of them studied the blanket carefully. There were rust-colored spots that appeared as though they could be blood.

“What do you think?” Ben asked. “It’s too small to have covered her
 
—”

“But it could have been in the car with her.” Jack pointed to the likely place a car would have been parked. “I bet,” he said, “the killer drove up to the gate but had to carry the body to the bank.” Nodding to where the blanket was found. “It’s a tight fit through the opening holding the girl, and even though she’s light, she’s deadweight. The rain stopped a little before dawn. Most likely when he was here, it was still dark. He didn’t see this blanket snag. It’s dark, multicolored, mostly green; it blended in.”

“Then as he leaves,” Brinna added, “he’s in a hurry, doesn’t want to get caught, doesn’t see the blanket.”

“Bingo,” Jack agreed. “The dog keyed on it, so let’s pray it’s related and it leads us somewhere.” He held an evidence bag open, and Brinna placed the blanket inside.

Brinna nodded, surveying the area. There was an opening next to the gate, a gap left for bike riders and walkers.

“The suspect would have walked through the opening
 
—” Jack feigned having something over his shoulder
 
—“and been forced to carry the body a good distance. I’m guessing it’s two
hundred yards to the river’s edge, where he most likely tossed the poor girl into the channel. If this occurred after the rain let up but before full dawn, the river would have been very close to the top of the bank.”

“I agree,” Ben said. “The body snagged on debris not fifty feet from where she probably went in.”

The two men conferred while Brinna gave Hero a treat and reattached the leash. It was good to see Jack. Brinna realized she’d love to sit down at coffee and talk to him about losing Hero. Once Jack had worked through the grief over his wife’s death, he’d been a good patrol partner. A pang reverberated in her chest as she acknowledged that she couldn’t be Jack’s partner in patrol again. He was back in homicide where he belonged and obviously doing a good job.

“Thanks, Brinna.” Jack flashed a warm smile and handed her the evidence bag. “You want to file this for chain of evidence?”

“Yeah, thanks.” She took the bag.

“And good job catching Henry Corliss. I glanced at the bulletin before we came out here. What happened?”

“Uh, long story, but I caught him leaving his house. Turns out the girl he’d just kidnapped was tied up in the back of his car.”

“I can tell from your face there’s more to it than that. We need to have lunch, catch up.” His gaze was so warm, so concerned, Brinna had to glance away.

“Sounds good. Give me a call?”

“Will do.” He smiled again before turning back to the
investigation, leaving Brinna feeling suddenly better and very much looking forward to having lunch with him.

*   *   *

Aside from the blanket, Brinna and Hero didn’t find any other physical evidence. She knew that Jack and Ben’s hypothesis about how the body was dumped followed simple logic and basic gut instinct. Too bad logic and instinct alone couldn’t put a face and a name on the suspect who did the dumping.

After she filled out the evidence tag, Brinna studied the multicolored bit of blanket. The cloth was filthy, but it wasn’t hard to see that at one time it had been very pretty. It looked European to Brinna because of the pattern of color. It also looked like something that belonged to a child.

Makes sense,
she thought.
The dead girl was young.
Anger swelled at the thought of a pretty young girl being murdered and tossed into the river like garbage. Brinna was glad she was part of the case now. Nothing would please her more than putting this killer behind bars.

When she left the flood control, she realized that by the time she filed the evidence, she would have about an hour before she had to report to the squad room for her shift. She had the choice to flex her time and leave early instead of filing for overtime and working her entire shift, but she hadn’t made up her mind what she wanted to do. She was hungry and was hoping to meet up with Maggie and Rick for a meal to tell them about Hero.

“King-44.”

Brinna grabbed the radio mike. “King-44, I copy.”

“King-44, Sergeant Rodriguez requests you respond to community relations ASAP.”

“10-4. I have to drop off some evidence. My ETA to community relations is probably twenty minutes.” She replaced the mike and shrugged, wondering what in the world community relations would want with her.

A short drive later, the station loomed up on the right, and she parked in front, grabbing the evidence bag and heading to the property office.

“What have you got?” Tran, the evidence clerk, stepped up to the window to take Brinna’s evidence.

“Something for the fridge and for DNA testing.” Brinna held up the plastic bag. “We think there’s blood on this. It’s possibly from a homicide.”

“The floater? I heard that call on the scanner. Was it a kid? Is that why the Kid Crusader is involved?” Tran smiled as he used Brinna’s nickname. She knew it was a compliment, and she returned the smile.

Though, if I lose Hero, will the name still apply?

“Won’t know her age for certain until after the autopsy, but you can bet I’ll be on it. The lowest of the low are those who prey on kids.”

“Unfortunately you’ve got eternal job security,” Tran said as he took the evidence. “There never seems to be a short supply of those kinds of creeps and perverts out there picking on kids.”

“They are like roaches. It’s my mission to shine light on them and then squish.”

*   *   *

Brinna walked across the street to the community relations office. Sergeant Rodriguez waited for her out front.

“What am I walking into, Sarge?” Brinna asked.

“I’m trying to help you out here, so put on your best public relations face.” Janet folded her arms.

“Sure.” Brinna brushed dog hair from her jumpsuit and straightened her gun belt. “I look okay?”

“Yep. Now, do you remember Gracie Kaplan?”

“Of course
 
—the smart little girl who had the presence of mind to photograph that creep Corliss when he snatched Nikki? How could I forget her? She was very brave.”

“Well, she’s in the office with reporter Tracy Michaels. Tracy wants to do a human-interest piece for Friday’s paper. It seems that Gracie has a severe case of hero worship, and I don’t mean your dog.”

“Huh?” Brinna frowned.

Rodriguez chuckled. “When Tracy went to interview the girl about the photos she took, all she could talk about was you. She wants to be and do everything just like you. She snapped the pictures that day because she thought it was something you would do. She’s your biggest fan.”

“I, uh . . . I don’t know what to say.”

Rodriguez grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door. “Just answer the questions and talk up Hero. I’m letting this happen over Harvey’s objections. Maybe some positive press like this will influence the city’s decision when it comes to keeping the dog position.”

A bright light of hope went off in Brinna’s mind like a Fourth of July firework. “I get it. Thanks, thanks. I’ll be charming, no matter how irritating I think Tracy’s questions are.” She grinned and rubbed her hands together.

Once inside the office, Brinna was met by Tracy Michaels, a reporter who had interviewed her before, along with Meg and Howard Kaplan and their twelve-year-old daughter, a girl with eyes so blue they reminded Brinna of a mountain sky. Gracie Kaplan was small for twelve, slightly built, with a mop of unruly red hair. Brinna thought perhaps the girl had tried to have her hair cut in the same manner she did. But Brinna’s hair was stick straight while Gracie’s was all curls, so the emulation didn’t quite work.

“Officer Caruso.” Gracie stood at attention and addressed Brinna in a solemn tone. “It’s an honor to meet you.” When she held her hand out, Brinna swallowed a chuckle, smiled, and shook it.

“I second that,” Meg Kaplan said, extending her hand as well. “Thank you that you took Gracie seriously and that you saved Nikki.”

Brinna felt the heat rise in her face. She was never comfortable with praise.

Mr. Kaplan stepped forward and his face was set in seriousness. “Nikki is still a bit traumatized or she and her parents would be here as well. We hope you can impress on Gracie how serious this is, how both girls were in danger because they tried to meet someone on the Internet without letting their parents know what they were up to.”

Brinna shook his hand. “Yes, I agree with you.” She turned
to Gracie. “Your dad is right. What people say online can’t always be trusted, and this is a classic example. Henry Corliss pretended to be someone your age, and anyone can do that
 
—they can say anything. People like Corliss take advantage of the anonymity of the Internet. I know it sounds lame, but girls your age should always let your parents check things out before you leap into something.”

“I know.” Gracie heaved a sigh. “I tried to stop Nikki, but she was just certain that guy was for real. Thank you for saving her.”

“It’s my job. I’m just gratified that everything turned out well.”

As the interview progressed, it was obvious to Brinna that Gracie indeed idolized her.
How old were you when you decided to be a police officer? Was the training hard? How did you get Hero? Is it hard to train him? Does he mind when you fire your gun? Have you ever shot anyone? Do you like being called the Kid Crusader? How many kids have you saved?

The questions took her thoughts back over the years to her own experience with idol worship. At six years old, she herself had been the victim of abduction. Sheriff’s Deputy Gregor Milovich had rescued her, and from that point on, Brinna had idolized him until the day he died. Every year her family and Milo would meet to celebrate Brinna’s rescue. As Brinna grew older and developed an interest in law enforcement, Milo nurtured and encouraged it. Brinna remembered how proud she’d felt the day of her academy graduation when Milo, in his dress uniform, had shaken her hand.

As she listened to Gracie, the tone of reverence in her
voice, and heard the girl tell Tracy, “I want to be just like Officer Caruso when I grow up,” she was overcome by an uncomfortable feeling that made her hands clammy. A burden of responsibility settled on her soul like a heavy weight.

Is this how Milo felt when I looked at him like this little girl is looking at me?
she wondered.
Did he feel totally inadequate to live up to my expectations, as I do to live up to Gracie’s? For so long, he never failed me. I can only hope that Gracie can say the same thing about me many years from now.

The effusive thanks she got from Gracie’s parents was easier to accept than the naked hero worship. They posed together for pictures and Gracie beamed. She asked Brinna if she would sign one picture before it was framed.

Brinna left the meeting feeling somber and serious
 
—and hoping that any and all decisions she made from this time forward would never crush or disappoint the girl who idolized her.