Dad shook Daphne’s hand, then Dice’s. When he extended his hand to Ink, he shook it and pulled him in for a half-hug, half-backslap. “You’re the one who carried my granddaughter out of that house and got her to the hospital. It’s an honor to shake your hand. I’m Eugene Calloway.”
Ink stepped back, looking slightly overwhelmed by the compliment. “I was happy to help, sir.”
“And here you are again, helping our family. Normally, I’d question if your intentions were honorable, but clearly, they are.”
I didn’t know what in the hell my dad was doing, but I knew I needed to stop him. “Dad?—”
“Relax, sweetie. I’m just having a chat with your fiancé.”
“Your what?” Ariel shrieked.
My dad laughed. “Whoops! You weren’t supposed to hear that, doodlebug.”
“Sounds like you also heard something you weren’t supposed to,” Ink said.
“The officer up there didn’t want to let us through. Ink said he was my fiancé so we could get past the barrier,” I explained. “But I don’t know how Papa heard it.”
“I was standing beside Officer Perkins when it came over his radio,” he said and patted my shoulder. “You gotta grab the moments of fun when you can during times like this. It’s the only way to make it through them.”
“I know,” I said and squeezed his hand. “Uh, Dad, we need something of Mom’s for Diablo to smell. He might be able to track her scent. Actually, we’ll need a few things. Ink’s friends are bringing two more dogs that can track scent.”
“Ariel, can you get the clothes your Nana wore yesterday and her nightgown?” he asked as he looked down at Diablo, who was sitting patiently beside Daphne. “My, my. You sure are a handsome devil.”
Daphne grinned. “Oh, I like you. That was some nice wordplay. And thank you. He’s also very friendly.”
“You know she let Dice and me think he would maul us if we so much as twitched when we first met her,” Ink stage whispered.
“I am not responsible for the assumptions you made,” Daphne teased.
“You sound like fun,” Dad said and rubbed Diablo’s head. “I’ll buy you a big ole juicy steak if you find my love for me.”
“Dad,” I said and covered my mouth. His sweet words broke my heart.
“Okay, fine, Presley. I’ll get him one just for helping. He doesn’t have to find her,” Dad said, taking the focus off me. He knew how much I hated overly emotional moments.
“He’s never been in a real situation, so I can’t promise anything, but he’s done very well in training. Honestly, if one of them’s going to find her, it’ll probably be Moose. Harlow and Harper have been training him since he was a puppy.”
“Here, Papa,” Ariel said when she returned with a handful of my mother’s clothes.
Dad took the clothes and handed a shirt to Daphne. “She wore this yesterday.”
“Perfect,” Daphne said. “Are we allowed to start now?”
“Officer Perkins,” my dad called out. “Are they good to go with the dog?”
“Absolutely,” he said and handed a walkie-talkie to Dice. “We’re using channel two. Give us a shout if you get a hit.”
“Will do,” Dice said.
“Come on, Stinky, it’s time to work,” Daphne said to Diablo and held the shirt out for him to smell. “Find Nana.”
I watched in awe as Diablo sniffed her shirt, sniffed the air, then the ground, and started walking.
A few minutes later, Phoenix and the other Blackwings arrived. The officers at the command center divided them into groups and gave them areas to search. They gave a piece of my mother’s clothing to Carbon, Harper, and Moose. Moose did the same thing Diablo did—sniffed the clothing, sniffed the air, and started walking, leading them in the same direction Diablo went.
They waited a few minutes before giving Shadow a piece of my mother’s clothing to smell. I was not at all surprised when Shadow started walking in the same direction as Moose and Diablo.
“Well, I think we can confirm she went that way,” I said.
