And just as he said he would, Dakota and Tank were waiting outside a craftsman-style house with a professionally landscaped yard at exactly ten hundred.
The car in McLeod’s garage was this year’s model. It was impossible to say if this was relevant to the case. The man could have inherited a stack of cash, won the lottery, or sued the shit out of someone. There were a lot of reasons the guy could be living beyond his paycheck that weren’t criminal.
Kumar pulled up to the curb and wandered over. “So this is the beast.” He held out a hand to be sniffed. “Does he bite?”
“With two hundred and fifty PSI. Go ahead,” Dakota said, “stick your hand in his mouth.”
Kumar slid his hands into his pockets.
“Tank can smell a drop of gas in a pool of water. Do you think he needs you to stick out your hand to smell you? Pet peeve. No one needs to do that for any dog. Just stand there and let them decide what they want to do.”
“Good to know,” Kumar said. “So he can find specific chemicals. Can Tank also find people associated with those chemicals?”
“Cerberus was training him so that if he found counterfeit currency, it might be possible to track back to the human who had touched it and left a scent. There are a lot of variables to his, or any dog’s, ability to do that. So it depends. There’s some danger there, too. When the counterfeit gets passed by drug dealers, it can get enough substance on it, Fentanyl, what have you, that it could put Tank into a life-threatening situation. I always carry Narcan for him.” Dakota raised his chin to indicate Jasper’s car turning onto the block, followed by two police cars. “Here we go.”
“Dangerous as hell,” Kumar said. “Can you imagine messing around with the drug cartels like that, giving them fake money?”
“The dealer may be third or fourth in line before you get to the pharmacist.”
“Still.” Kumar lifted a hand to greet Jasper. “Hell of a chance.”
“I don’t think people involved in the industry see a golden future. Most of them I know don’t see themselves living very long.”
“I’ve got the cops,” Jasper said, climbing from his car. “You want to pull out the warrant, so everyone knows what’s allowed here?”
Kumar pulled it from his file so Dakota and Jasper could read it, then pass it to the officers.
“His social media said he was engaged to a Colombian woman. He’s hitting above his weight with this one.” Kumar pulled out his phone and showed a picture of a gorgeous, tall twenty-something young woman next to a gaunt-looking middle-aged man with a ring of curly hair. “That’s Lewis McLeod? No, man, that doesn’t make sense at all,” Jasper said.
“Did you look into the girlfriend’s background?” Dakota asked.
“I’m working on it. Today, we’re starting with Tank’s sniffer. A bit of a fishing expedition because Lewis McLeod may have zero to do with the printing and just do distribution.”
“Or he could have zero to do with any of it,” Jasper said.
“Or he could be a victim just like WorldCares,” Dakota said.
“You’re trying to rain on my parade. And here Veer and I were nice enough to go out and have a last-minute beer with you, Jasper, on the off chance that Neesa would show up.”
“No one’s raining on your parade, Kumar. And that’s got to be the most grandpa phrase I’ve heard in a while. Go on and call the police up to knock on the door and see if anyone’s home,” Jaser said. “We may get lucky, and the cat sitter is here.”
“I can watch Tank work, right? I’m going to watch.” Kumar signaled the police.
“That’s fine, just keep a distance,” Dakota said. “Oh, hey, Jasper said it looks like Benny is going home tomorrow.”
The police were pounding on the door.
“That’s good news because Veer’s been on my case about my salt, and my exercise, and stop with red meat already. When was the last time I got my cholesterol checked? We’re signed up for a couple’s CPR class. I told her I have to do all that stuff, well, most of it, with the job.”
“She’s scared for your well-being,” Dakota said as the cops used a battering ram to break the door open. “It’s nice to be so loved.”
“It is,” Kumar agreed.
Dakota pulled the tug towel from his bag and held it under Tank’s nose. “Tank, time to work. Find chemical.” They moved through the house in a choreographed pattern. If Tank was missing a section, Dakota would point it out.
First floor, clear.
Second floor clear.
