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"It's okay," she said gently, tugging at Turk's leash and pulling him back. "He’s not threatening us, boy.” To the man, she said, “Sorry about that. Sometimes he has a mind of his own.” She made sure of her grip on the leash.
The man offered a shaky smile and hurried past. As he past, Turk lunged again, nearly pulling Faith off of her feet. The man cursed and jumped to the side, then half-jogged away, looking behind him after a few yards, a mixture of fear and irritation on his face.
Turk continued to struggle until the man disappeared into the crowd of people walking down the busy city street. Then he looked at Faith and barked irritably.
Wonderful.Now Turk was pissed at her. She stood and said, “Turk, what on Earth has gotten into you? You’ve never jumped at anyone like that before. Not unless …”
Then she realized. “Dammit!”she cried. “Go Turk! Find him!”
Turk took off like a shot, and Faith sprinted after him, unleashing a stream of swearing as she ran.
Shewaslosing it. Dammit, her traumawasaffecting her job. She should have known immediately why Turk reacted the way he did. For heaven’s sake, the first thing she had told Turk when they arrived at Amanda Montgomery’s house was “find him.”
Well, he had found him, and she had let him go.
Turk weaved through the startled crowd of pedestrians, and Faith followed, shouting, “Get out of the way! FBI!” as they ran.
She lost sight of Turk twice, and each time debated whether she should call him or just wait for the telltale scream when he found his quarry. Both times, she caught sight of him before she made up her mind.
Finally, she heard a scream and knew that Turk had caught him.
“Hold him, boy!” she called. “Hold him, I’m coming!”
Then she heard the suspect scream, “Help! This dog’s attacking me!”
The crowd reacted instantly. Most of them looked around wildly, desperate to make sure that they themselves were not in the path of the dangerous dog. A few craned their necks to get a better look.
And a few decided to be heroes.
Faith heard Turk yelp in surprise as the crowd intervened to rescue the poor innocent man they thought had been attacked by a murderous, feral dog.
“Stop!” Faith shouted. “For Heaven’s sake, look at the uniform! He’s a K9!”
She walked up on Turk dancing away from clumsily aimed kicks. He cast a bewildered look at Faith, who lifted her ID and shouted, “FBI! That’s my dog! That man is a …”
She stopped, seeing that man on his feet and sprinting through the crowd again.
“Dammit!” she cried out.
She and Turk resumed the chase, but the killer had lost himself in the crowd again, and finally, amid the thronging crowd of people and the exhaust of hundreds of automobiles choking the air, he lost the scent.
“Come on, boy,” Faith said. “Find him!”
Turk planted his nose to the ground and slowly but surely followed the scent, but Faith knew it was too late. She followed him, but the best she could hope for now was hopefully finding a place of business or a residence. The killer himself would be gone.
Turk came to a stop in the parking lot of the DOT building. He stopped in an empty parking stall and walked in circles, sniffing, barking, and growling irritably. He cast a look of frustration at Faith that stabbed her through the heart.
“Dammit,” she cried softly. “I’m sorry, boy. I’m sorry.”
Turk’s attitude changed immediately. He trotted over to her and pressed himself against her leg, looking up sympathetically at her. She dropped to her knees and hugged him, staring at the empty parking spot and playing the interaction with the killer over and over in her mind.
He was right there. He was right in front of her, frozen in place. She could have arrested him right then, and he would almost certainly have complied rather than face Turk’s wrath.
If he kills anyone else, their deaths are on your hands.
The thought came to her as clearly as if she had said it aloud. She could no longer make excuses. It wasn’t the case, it wasn’t lack of sleep, it wasn’t just the way things were. The killer was in her grasp, and she had let him go.
For a moment, she wavered on the edge of breakdown. Then a second thought came as clearly as the first one.So, find him again. Catch him before he kills anyone else.
