True Blue K-9 Unit Christmas. Laura Scott
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kids playing with toys rather than cleaning up. “Mikey, put the blanket away. Jane, please put the pillows away. When that’s finished, you can go back to your playing.”
“Oh, Dad,” Mikey huffed, but did as directed.
Pete turned and found Faith behind him. She was looking at two framed drawings on the wall. One was a picture Mikey had done at the day-care center and had given him for Father’s Day. It depicted their family—father, mother and Mikey. The family Mikey had lost. The other was a drawing Pete had done with colored pencils, depicting himself, Malina and Mikey in a replica of his son’s.
“Did you do this?” Faith asked pointing to his drawing. “It’s amazing.”
He nodded. “I wanted a way for Mikey to remember his mom.”
“You’ve very talented.” Faith glanced up at him in awe.
“Thanks.” He wasn’t, but it was nice of her to say so. He went into the kitchen to start the dishes, and Faith joined him at the sink.
It was nice to have someone to share the chore with. Ten minutes later they were bundling up the kids to head outside. Mikey and Jane were beyond excited to jump into the newly fallen snow, giggling madly as they tossed snowballs at each other.
Ricci joined the fun, playing in the snow along with the kids. With his vest off, Ricci knew he wasn’t working. When they’d made a rather lopsided snowman, Faith took a step back to admire their work. “All we need is the face.”
“I have carrots inside, for the nose.” Pete thought about what was in his fridge. “I’m sure I can find something for the eyes, too.”
“He needs a mouth, too, Daddy!” Mikey said with excitement.
Pete managed to find everything they needed. He returned a few minutes later. “Dark chocolate for the eyes,” he said as he pressed them into the small snowball of the head. “Candy canes for the mouth.” He pushed those into the snow, as well. He handed the large carrot to Faith. “Last but not least, the nose.”
Faith took the carrot, but as she was about to stick it in, Ricci jumped up to grab it. Faith tried to hold it out of the dog’s reach but fell backward into the snow.
“Ricci, no!” Jane cried, but it was too late. Ricci had the carrot in his mouth and began galloping around the yard, unwilling to let it go.
The kids ran after Ricci, who obviously thought this was a fun game. Pete offered a hand to Faith.
“Thanks,” she murmured as he helped her to her feet.
He stared down at her smiling face, fighting the insane urge to kiss her. Instead, he released her hand and stepped back in an attempt to break the sudden awareness between them.
They were both single parents. Both had four-year-old children. His wife had been murdered and so had Faith’s ex-husband. But that was where the similarities between them stopped.
He couldn’t risk going down this path again. There could be nothing more than friendship between them.
Faith couldn’t believe she’d nearly kissed Pete. She hadn’t been interested in men since her divorce and had no intention of acting on any sort of attraction now.
Despite her chief’s directive, she had a murderer to find. And a daughter to keep safe. Neither of those priorities involved Pete Stallings.
“I’m cold,” Jane said.
“Me, too,” Mikey added.
“I’m not surprised. You’re both wet and covered in snow. Let’s go inside.” Faith glanced at Pete. “It’s time for us to head home.”
“I’m happy to take you wherever you need to go,” Pete answered. They went into the kitchen and shucked their wet things. “Maybe we should throw the kids’ coats, hats and mittens in the dryer before heading back out.”
She wanted to hit the road but saw the wisdom of his suggestion. “Okay.”
Pete disappeared with his arms full of clothes. The kids ran into the playroom, with Ricci on their heels. Her phone rang from an unfamiliar number and she hesitated a moment before answering. “Officer Johnson.”
At first, there was nothing but heavy breathing on the other end of the line. Faith tightened her grip on the phone. “Who is this?”
“I’m watching you.”
A chill snaked down her spine and she quickly glanced over her shoulder. The voice was mechanical, difficult to tell if it was from a man or a woman, but she thought this was something Trevor might do. But how had he gotten her number? “What is your name?”
More silence.
“I’ll find out who you are,” she said in a stern voice.
The call abruptly ended. She called the number back, but it didn’t go through. The caller must have turned the phone off. She stared at the screen for a moment, knowing she’d have to find out who the number belonged to as soon as she was back at headquarters.
I’m watching you.
She didn’t like it but tried to shake off the sense of forbidding. As she returned to the kitchen, her phone rang for a second time, but she relaxed as she recognized Brianne’s number. “Hey, how are you?” Thankfully Pete was still down in the basement, where she assumed the laundry facilities were located.
“I’m fine, but the real question is—how are you?” Brianne’s voice held a note of concern. “The chief asked me to help work the case involving your ex-husband. I’m sorry, Faith.”
“It’s terrible,” she agreed, eyeing her daughter. Faith felt bad that she hadn’t told Jane the news about her father, yet. “Have you spoken to Detective Zimmerman?”
“Yes.” Brianne’s tone indicated she wasn’t impressed. “He’s annoyed that he has to work with us. He claims that Logan’s fiancée is missing.”
“I heard.” Faith hesitated before continuing, “I think we should use Ricci or one of the other K-9s to pick up her scent.”
“Interesting idea,” Brianne said thoughtfully. “But don’t you think she probably left by car?”
“Maybe, but it’s worth a shot. I’m worried that Claire got mixed up with something criminal and dragged Logan into the middle of it.”
“We can’t forget about Trevor Wilson, either,” Brianne pointed out. “He’s out on bail, but I haven’t been able to get a line on him.”
“Could be he skipped town.” Faith didn’t really believe it. She glanced over as Pete came into the kitchen to refill his coffee mug. “Listen, I’m going to pick up my vehicle. Has it been towed?”
“Unfortunately, yes. We were put on notice that it’s in the tow lot not far from headquarters.”
“Great, just great.” Faith hoped Chief Jameson wouldn’t hold the towing against her. “Thanks, Brianne. I also found footprints in the snow outside my windows last night. Could be neighborhood kids, but the timing is suspicious. I have some other thoughts on how to proceed with our investigation.”
“Our investigation?” her friend echoed. “Chief Jameson asked me to take it since you’re too close to remain objective.”
“And I’m sure Chief Jameson knew full well that I wasn’t going to sit idly by while you and Zimmerman did all the work. He and his siblings worked hard on their oldest brother’s murder, didn’t they? And they solved the crime.”
“Yes, they did.” Brianne was silent for a moment and Faith could feel Pete’s gaze boring into her from across the kitchen. “Okay, fine. We’ll discuss strategy. We can meet at the