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“Nope. But now he can do whatever he wants with it. It’s served its purpose.”
“And so has grad school. Emma’s about to be done with it.” Ryan’s jaw set. “I’ll set things in motion as soon as we get back.”
“My official get-out-of-jail-free card,” Emma said. “Thanks.” She watched what Casey was doing. “I get it. Those pads have Hanover’s smells on them. Hero’s going to match them with the stuff in Brianna’s apartment.”
“Yup.” Casey was already opening the first jar.
“By the way,” Claire informed Ryan with a twinkle. “According to Casey, she got into that office five seconds faster than Marc would have.”
“And I’m the arrogant one?” Ryan teased. A sudden grin lit his face. “Damn, it will be great to rub Marc’s nose in that.”
“Stand in line,” Claire retorted. “I was Casey’s wingman. It’s my honor to go first.”
“You always do, Claire--voyant.” Ryan gave her a wink.
“Cut it, Ryan,” Casey ordered. “This isn’t the time. Hero has to concentrate.” She opened a jar and offered it to the bloodhound. “Go on, boy. Take a whiff.”
Hero went into action, thoroughly sniffing the jars containing every pad Casey had made. That done, he sat down again, looking straight into his owner’s eyes, letting her know he was ready.
“Let’s go.” Casey scrambled to her feet.
Claire tried the door while Casey packed up. “It’s unlocked. Bless John.”
They were all inside the building, up the stairs, and at Brianna’s door in minutes. John ensured it was them and then let them in.
“Thank God,” Brianna breathed, sagging with relief when she saw them. “I’m not sure I could have stood here doing nothing much longer.”
“I’m pretty freaked out, too,” Lina confessed.
“We’re down to the home stretch.” Casey was holding Hero’s leash, unsurprised that he was staring in the direction of Brianna’s bedroom, tugging and whining to get going. “Hang tight a minute or two.” She turned on her flashlight and allowed Hero to pull her where he wanted to go.
The minute they crossed the bedroom’s threshold, Hero became a whirlwind of motion. He walked back and forth alongside the line of scattered undergarments, giving a sharp bark as he did. He looked up at the dresser top and sat down, signaling Casey with his body language that Hanover’s smells were on it. Most importantly, he raced up to the bed, put his front paws on the comforter, and gave several sharp, meaningful barks before resuming a sitting position on the rug.
“Good boy.” Casey produced a few pieces of Hero’s favorite beef jerky. “Excellent work.”
They returned to the others, who were watching them with anxious expressions.
“Brianna, call the police,” Casey instructed. “Hanover’s scent is everywhere, most importantly on your bed and on your intimates. We’ve got him.”
Brianna’s hands were shaking as she took out her iPhone. “Mr. Nickels told me that, when I call the police, I should tweak my arrival time a half hour or so. That’s no problem. But what do I say about how we got Hanover’s personal items?”
“You say nothing. That’s our job. You just make the call and report the break-in.”
Nodding, Brianna complied, dialing 9-1-1. “Now what?” she asked when she’d supplied the necessary information and hung up.
“Now we wait. When the police come, you report exactly what you found when you got here. After that, you let us do the talking. The cops know you filed three complaints against Hanover and that there wasn’t enough proof to warrant follow-up. That’ll explain why you hired us. It’ll also explain why we’ve been watching Hanover and how we got his scent off a sports towel he left on the ground during his morning run.”
“A white lie,” Lina murmured.
“A necessary one,” Casey replied. “Out in the open means fair game—and admissible. Believe me, the NYPD isn’t going to grill us. They want this scumbag off the streets as much as we do. They’ll be delighted with what we’re handing them. J
ust stick to the basics. Any elaborations will come from us.”
“Will they arrest Hanover right away?” Brianna asked.
“They’ll bring him in for questioning and ask for a DNA sample. In the meantime, Crime Scene will be here, packing up everything so they can do a full DNA analysis. They’ll find Hanover’s genetic calling card all over your personal things. That’ll be more than enough to charge him.”
“And then the floodgates will open,” Ryan added. “Once we give them a list of the other women Hanover has sexually harassed, the cops will talk to them and, hopefully, convince a few to testify at Hanover’s trial. But that’ll just be the icing on the cake. We already have what we need to get him locked up. He’ll be behind bars and you’ll be free.”
