Mattie sensed the vet had more on his mind.
“I got word that my divorce is final last week, and it hit me pretty hard.”
Christ! She wished she’d never entered into a personal conversation. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I’m trying to sort out how much supervision my kids need so I know what kind of help to arrange.”
“I wouldn’t know how to advise you.”
“No, that’s not what I’m asking you. I guess I just wanted your opinion on how safe this community is now.”
Mattie could handle a cop question. “That’s hard to say. Even a year ago, I would’ve said we didn’t have a drug problem in Timber Creek. But as you know, things changed real fast. We believe we can stop the drug traffic through our town, but now here’s this thing with Grace. Do I think parents should be concerned? Yes, I do. But do I think Timber Creek is a dangerous place to raise kids? Not any worse than any other place in the state and still a lot safer than most.”
Mattie leaned down to brush her fingertips across Robo’s head. He’d settled down and sat quietly at her feet, panting lightly.
“Can I drive you back home, Deputy Cobb? I hate for you to be out running alone this time of night.”
“Don’t worry, I can take care of myself. And call me Mattie. It’s simpler.”
He extended his hand, and it warmed hers when she took it. “And I’m Cole. Thanks for the advice, and thanks for being there for the kids today when Belle left. Like I said before, I appreciate the way you interact with Angie. I believe she trusts you.”
Flustered, Mattie withdrew her hand. She started to leave but then paused to say one last thing. “Don’t worry so much about your kids. The fact that you’re a part of their lives and you care so much will go a long way. It’s a lot more than I ever had.”
“Well, sometimes you have to ask yourself, is loving them enough? Sometimes things happen that make you wonder.” His voice sounded wistful.
Feeling warmer than her night’s exercise warranted, Mattie made a sound of acknowledgement, said good-bye, and headed back home. She felt all mixed up about her feelings toward the vet, so she turned her thoughts to subjects she was more comfortable with: drug traffic and murder. She planned to check on Brody again as she returned home.
After running along the curve that led into town, she approached his house and slowed to a jog. His outside light had been turned off and the main level of the house darkened. The moon provided enough light to see a dark SUV parked now behind his cruiser. Was it the same one that had passed her on the highway earlier? The shape was similar. Without thinking it through, she stopped and led Robo to the spruce trees that towered beside Brody’s driveway. Slipping sideways between two of them and getting pricked by the sharp needles, she stilled her breath to listen. All she could hear was Robo panting a few feet away where he’d stopped, being smart enough not to follow her into the prickly spruce.
One dim light lit an upstairs window, covered by a curtain. Even as she glanced upward at it, a shadowy silhouette appeared, its shape nipped in at the waist. Arms came up in the easily recognized movement of a woman taking off a bra. Feeling like a Peeping Tom, she realized that Brody must have a girlfriend up there. Two thoughts occurred almost simultaneously: Could this woman be part of the drug ring? And who the hell would want Brody?
Moonlight illuminated the white letters on the Colorado license plate, and she made a mental note of it. She could tell that the vehicle was a Ford but still couldn’t determine the model.
Again without giving it too much thought, because if she got caught it would be disastrous, she decided to ask Robo to do a quick sweep of the vehicle’s exterior. His mouth was probably dry after his run, which impaired his scenting ability to some degree, but it couldn’t be helped. She needed to move quickly while Brody was still occupied in the bedroom.
Moving out of the trees, she led Robo to the back of the SUV and whispered, “Search.”
He looked up at her as if puzzled. She realized she hadn’t prepared him by putting on his working collar or jazzing him up about going to work. Thinking that maybe this was a bad idea and not wanting to mess with his training, she decided to give it up. But at that moment, Robo began to sniff. He completed the sweep with his standard mode of operation but didn’t indicate any detection of narcotics.
The light in the house went off suddenly, startling Mattie, and she broke away from the vehicle, leading Robo along with her, praising and patting him as she went. Okay, so the vehicle appeared to be clean on the outside, but that really didn’t tell her much. And it certainly didn’t tell her enough to justify the risk she’d just taken.
It was time to call it a night and get to bed. Doubt nipped at her heels while she ran. Maybe her suspicion of Brody was unwarranted. Maybe her attraction to the vet was silly. Maybe the lack of sleep this weekend was starting to make her go batshit crazy.
Chapter 22
Monday
Somewhere, muffled under the downy veil of sleep, Mattie heard the phone ringing. She cracked open one eye and glanced at the clock. A quarter to six.
Sonofabitch. The answering machine could field this one. She pulled the quilt over her head and nestled under it.
Robo nudged her arm.
Without moving, she muttered, “Go back to bed.”
She heard the click of his toenails as he walked back to his cushion. She heard him heave a sigh, signaling he’d finished circling and had lain down. She imagined the stoic expression he’d have on his face. She wondered if he needed to go outside to pee. She peeked out from under the cover.
Robo instantly raised his head, ears pricked, staring at her hard.
“Oh, all right!” Mattie threw back the cover and got out of bed. She made her way through the living room and kitchen to the back door, Robo gamboling alongside. Once out in the yard, he headed for the tree, sniffing the air and the grass. Then he circled the area, apparently checking things out.
She stood on the porch watching him, afraid to leave him alone for fear someone had planted something in the yard again. Wearing only the long T-shirt and boxers she’d slept in, she shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, goose bumps rising on her arms.
Robo huffed several times, sniffing the breeze and standing at the chain link against the north side, his posture that of the alert guard dog. He circled the perimeter again and then finally went back to the tree to relieve himself.
“It’s about time. Come back inside now.”
She held the door while Robo trotted through. He immediately went to his food bowl, looking up at her, evidently having decided it was time for breakfast. When she’d finally gone to bed last night, Mattie had decided to skip their morning run and sleep in. So much for plans.
After giving Robo his food, she checked caller ID and saw that her early morning wake-up call had come from Mama T. She dialed voice mail and listened to the message: “Mattie? I want you to come to breakfast, mijita. I have something to tell you. Call me.”
Even as she listened, Mattie could hear the call-waiting beep that signaled another call coming in. Quickly, she pressed the flash button to take the call.
“Mattie? This is your Mama T.”
“Good morning. What has you up so early?”
“Ha! The sun can’t catch me sleeping.”
“No, I guess not. I just got your message.”