I smirked. I agreed. She continued.
“Over sixty-five percent of convicted felons admit that an intimidating dog would have scared them away,nota security system. If trained well, a good dog alerts when a stranger enters their territory and will attack on command, either giving their owner time to get away, or get in a damn good shot. Your welcoming committee back there was capable of inflicting seventeen hundred and fifty pounds of pressure on your marble-sized scrotum sack.”
I’m really glad that caught on.
She continued, her passion palpable—for the dogs, not my scrotum sack. “The dogs I work with are bred for this, Jagg. It’s literally in their bloodline. Two of my dogs have served as police dogs, and one of them, Max, helped solve a case of a missing teen.”
“A detection dog?”
“You’re familiar?”
“Very. One sniffed out an IED during my last tour in Afghanistan.”
Saved my life, not his. But she didn’t need to know that. Bottom line I was very aware a dog’s ability to sniff out narcotics, explosives, or cadavers.
Sunny opened her mouth to ask a question, but I cut it off. I rarely spoke about those days and didn’t want to start then.
“So Max is a certified detection dog?” I asked.
“Yes. He’s fully trained, certified, and very good. Youknow his sense of smell is ten-thousand times more accurate than a human’s?Ten thousand.In the case of the missing teen, Max sniffed the girl’s clothing and picked up her scent in the woods. Led police right to her. The girl had wandered away from her family’s campsite and got lost.”
I thought for a moment. “Do you think he could sniff out our missing third person from your attack? The guy who pushed you away and killed Julian?”
Her eyes rounded with excitement, lighting up like a match had been struck inside her. “I didn’t even think about that—yes… yes! He absolutely could. That’s a great idea. What do you need from him? From me? From us?”
I watched her, captivated for a second longer than I should’ve been. That spark in her voice, the way her whole face came alive—it hit me harder than I expected. I loved seeing that in her. That light. That rush of hope. I loved knowing I’d said something that caused it. Like I’d unlocked a piece of her that had been buried beneath all the fear and adrenaline.
I cleared my throat, bringing myself back.
“Well, I guess he’d just need to smell the clothes Julian Griggs was wearing when he attacked you and was shot. According to your statement, this third person physically engaged Julian, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then the third person’s scent will be on Julian’s clothes.”
“That’s right. And maybe Max can confirm who that person was if you get a list of names and bring someone in.”
Or, if that person comes to your house,I thought, but didn’t say it. This was just as much a security measure for Sunny as an asset to the case.
“Let’s do it. What do you need from me?” She askedagain, renewed with energy and hope. Sunny was no fool. She knew BSPD doubted her story about a third person and would have no problem calling her a liar and throwing her under the bus just to move the case along.
“You’ll have to bring Max up to the station, along with his papers, certification, and anything else you have on him. Griggs’ autopsy is scheduled to begin tomorrow afternoon. The chief is putting a rush on it considering the effect it’s going to have on the community. After that, we’ll have access to the clothes he wore last night. Give it a day for me to run it through the red-tape paperwork. Bring him to the station the day after tomorrow.”
“Done.”
We walked in silence for a few beats, the sound of the river filling the quiet. Then, she slowed, stopped, and turned toward the water. The breeze off the river lifted strands of her hair as she stared blankly at the current, as if searching for answers in its endless motion.
She shook her head, her voice low, almost to herself. “I don’t get it. I’ve never even met Julian. I don’t get why he attacked me.”
I stepped beside her, the sunlight slanting through the trees casting long shadows over the ground. “Do you think it was random, Sunny?”
She looked over at me, expression hard. “That the pastor’s kid was lurking in the woods at midnight and decided to attack me?” Her voice was flat, but the tension beneath it simmered. “Doesn’t feel random, does it?”
She blew out a breath, sharp and heavy. “God…” She scrubbed her hands over her face, frustration radiating off her in waves. “I just feel so?—”
She didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, she dropped herhands and turned away from the water, crossing toward the cages.
I kept my eye on the dog locked inside, an inky-black pit bull with silver eyes that seemed to glow in the daylight. A beast. I guessed the dog weighed close to ninety pounds, thick, proud, and all muscle. I couldn’t begin to imagine the wrath he could inflict on someone, especially a young child. It was the type of dog that made people cross the street or turn the other way. The type of dog I’d seen in more than one drug raid.
