“I guess this is it.” Finn battled a wave of disappointment that their attempt to find Cocoa had come to such a quick end. He glanced back the way they had come. Three blocks. The perp had clearly gone in this direction for at least three blocks. “Abernathy has lost the scent, here at the intersection in front of the Grocer’s Best convenience store.”
“Maybe we could go up a block or two, just to be sure?” Eva suggested.
Finn nodded. “I’ll take him a few blocks each way.”
Twenty minutes later, Finn knew it was no use. The attempt to pick up the perp’s scent had failed. Abernathy didn’t alert once.
“It’s likely the guy had a car waiting here for him,” he told her as they walked back to the training center. “Otherwise, Abernathy would have picked up his scent.”
“I guess I hadn’t thought of that,” Eva acknowledged, her slim shoulders slumping in defeat. Then she brightened. “Maybe we’ll be able to catch the vehicle make, model and license plate number from the video.”
Again he was impressed with her cop-like instincts. Most of the women he’d dated—of which there had been many, although no one serious—didn’t have a clue about what law enforcement really entailed. He looked up at the security cameras posted on the outside corners of the training center building. “Maybe, but it will depend on the camera range and the quality of the lens. It would be a huge break if we could get something from the tapes. How soon can I check it out?”
Eva shrugged, then winced, putting a hand on her injured shoulder. “As soon as Wade gets in.”
“Your boss?”
She nodded, her straight long blond hair shimmering in the sunlight. “Wade Yost is the director in charge of the guide dog training center. He reports to the owner.”
“Have you seen anyone lurking around over the past few days?” Finn asked. “The fact that this guy broke in through the back door, makes me think he cased the center before deciding to grab Cocoa.”
“No, I haven’t noticed anyone. Although maybe the security video will give us that information, too.”
“How far back do they go?”
She pursed her lips. “I’m not sure. Maybe a week or two? I know they run on loops.”
Two weeks wasn’t very long, but he’d take what he could get. “Do you think you’d recognize the guy if you saw him again?”
“I’m not sure.” Eva looked away, gazing off into the distance. “Maybe.”
Her tone lacked conviction, but he wasn’t deterred. “Tell you what. How about you work with a sketch artist to give us an idea of what this guy might look like? Witnesses are always surprised at how much they remember.”
“I don’t know,” she hedged. “I don’t think it will help. I honestly didn’t get a good look at his face.” Her lack of enthusiasm toward working with the sketch artist bothered him. Where was the woman who had insisted on coming with him to find Cocoa?
“Give it a try,” he persisted. “It can’t hurt.”
There was a long pause before she gave a curt nod. “Okay. But please don’t pin all your hopes on the sketch. The keys I used to scratch him with will likely help more than the brief glimpse I got of him.”
“DNA takes time, and if this guy isn’t already in the system, having it won’t help until we get a suspect to use as a potential match. The sketch is a better place to start.”
“Okay.”
He held the door of the training center open for her, wondering once again why Cocoa had been targeted. The pup was only ten weeks old—what was the point of stealing him? Especially since there were other, more valuable dogs in the kennel?
Did someone have a grudge against the training center? Had the pup been taken as a way to ruin their reputation? He made a mental note to ask Wade Yost for a list of employees who had been fired in the past year.
Finn waited fifteen minutes before Wade showed up. The director was roughly five feet eight inches tall with a husky build. He had dirty-blond hair and nondescript features.
“Eva? What happened? How did you let Cocoa get away?” Yost demanded.