“I’m fine.” Eva waved a hand dismissively. “I’ve been hurt worse tussling with my older sister. We used to wrestle a lot when we were younger.”
“Your older sister?” Finn felt a bit confused by the change in topic.
“Yes.” Eva’s gaze reflected a deep sorrow. “Unfortunately, Malina died three weeks ago when she was struck by a car.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” He wanted to offer comfort but told himself to focus on the issue at hand. “I have to ask about the attack. Did the guy look at all familiar?”
“No. But I still don’t understand. Why steal a puppy? Especially since we have older dogs here, too. Although it’s possible the older dogs might try to bite more than a puppy would.”
“Good question.” He flipped his notebook shut and cast his gaze around the interior of the building. “Take me along the assailant’s path. I’ll also need to review the security video.”
“The video won’t be available until my boss gets in, I don’t know how to use the equipment. But aren’t you going to head out to try to find him?” Eva asked, exasperation ringing in her voice. “I specifically asked for a search-and-rescue team.”
Finn flashed a wry grin. “Abernathy is the best search-and-rescue K-9 on the force, and, yes, I plan to head out to search for Cocoa. But I need to see the path the guy took, and I need something belonging to either the perp or Cocoa to use, as well.”
Mollified, Eva wheeled around and led the way back through the training center. “There’s a tire iron on the floor near the kennel. I think he used it to break inside the building then dropped it here by the kennel.”
Finn took note of the tire iron on the floor. Metal wasn’t the best substance to use for obtaining a scent, but Abernathy was exceptionally smart. “Don’t touch anything,” he warned. “We may be able to use the tire iron or the keys to pick up the perp’s scent.”
“I won’t.”
He went back to put the keys in an evidence bag, then led his K-9 partner to the tire iron. He pointed at the object and offered the evidence bag of keys as two ways for the animal to pick up the scent. “Find, Abernathy,” he commanded.
The yellow Lab sniffed along the entire length of the tire iron, going back and forth as if to distinguish the smell of the metal compared to the person who’d held it, and then buried his nose in the evidence bag.
“Find,” Finn repeated. Abernathy put his nose to the ground and began following the scent. Finn let his K-9 take the lead, following his partner as the dog made his way from the kennel out to the main corridor toward the main entrance, alerting at several spots along the way.
“He’s on the trail,” Eva said excitedly.
“He is,” Finn agreed, energized by his K-9’s ability to track the perp. “Stay here. We’ll be back shortly.”
“Wait! I want to come with you.” She tossed the ice pack on the counter and hurried to catch up with him. She didn’t like leaving the place unlocked and hoped they wouldn’t go too far.
“We work better alone,” he protested.
“I’m coming. If we find Cocoa, he’ll be scared to death, but he knows me. Cocoa might even respond to the sound of my voice.” She sent him a frustrated glance. “Come on, Officer Gallagher. Stop wasting time. Let’s go!”
“Call me Finn,” he told her. Giving up, he reluctantly allowed Eva to tag along as he and Abernathy went to work. The K-9 alerted at the doorway leading out the main entrance, then turned to the left as he followed the perp’s scent.
Eva didn’t say anything but seemed to watch in awe as Abernathy alerted again a short while later. They went one block, then a second, the K-9 picking up the scent at regular intervals.
“Good boy,” Finn encouraged his partner, giving him a nice rub as a reward for his good work. Then he straightened. “Find, Abernathy.”
The yellow Lab put his nose back to the ground, sniffing and moving in a circular and seemingly random pattern. Abernathy made a circle and then came back, alerting on the same spot he had before.