“I know that place,” Alex said, glancing at her. “It’s not surprising those Animal Services officers didn’t find anything—if they even got out of their vehicle. It’s not the kind of place you want to go at night without a really good reason—and a weapon.”
She blinked. “You heard all that?”
He nodded, swung the truck around, and started driving the other direction. Lacey could only shake her head as he called the restaurant to let them know they wouldn’t be able to make it for at least an hour. Was this guy a catch or what?
They arrived at the address Rachel had given her twenty minutes later. Lacey was definitely glad Alex was with her. This particular stretch of Ridgecrest was beyond scary. She wasn’t sure how anyone could have heard a dog whining out here. There was no one around that she could tell. There was nothing but abandoned and boarded-up buildings, lots of broken glass, and not a damn light anywhere.
Alex pulled into the parking lot of what looked like an old convenience store, then got out of the truck and walked around to her side. He pulled two flashlights out from behind the seat, handing one to her. She watched in amazement as he reached down and pulled a small handgun from a holster around his ankle. They’d just made love an hour ago, and she’d never even known he was wearing the thing. Then again, he’d been completely dressed at the time, so she supposed there was no way she would have known.
That said, the fact that he felt it necessary to pull it out now scared the crap out of her.
Lacey looked around, trying to imagine how they were going find anything out here. Not only was it pitch-black, but there were at least a dozen different old buildings an injured dog could have dragged himself off to—and that wasn’t counting the random piles of rubble that stuck up out of the darkness here and there. Lacey stood still and tried to listen for anything that might help, like a dog’s whimper or a growl, but there was nothing. If an injured dog was out here, she prayed he could make it until morning, because they weren’t going to find anything stumbling around in the dark.
Alex, however, headed toward one of the collection of buildings, not even swinging his flashlight around as he strode through piles of junk that took her much longer to get around. Lacey was about to ask if he’d heard anything when he slowed as he approached a big pile of bricks and concrete rubble.
“Wait there,” he said.
She waited—for about two seconds. Then she took off after him, wanting to see what was on the far side of the heap of rubble.
Lacey almost wished she hadn’t. There, in the beam of both their flashlights, was a group of dogs piled on top of each other in a mound that could have been mistaken for garbage if it wasn’t for all the fur and blood.
Heedless of the rough terrain and the high heels she wore, she ran forward with a cry and reached for the first dog—a pit bull without a doubt. Lacey knew the animal was dead the moment she touched it, if not from the stiffness in the dog’s legs, then from the gaping wound in its throat.
She moved the dog gently aside, then reached for the next. Alex put away his gun and joined her. Together, they went through the pile one by one, looking to see if any of them were still alive. There were pit bulls, Rottweilers, and bulldogs along with smaller animals most likely used as bait to drive the fighting dogs into a frenzy. All of the animals were chewed up, though some seemed to have had their throats cut as well.
There were a lot of dogs, and it took a while to get to the bottom. By the time they did, tears were pouring down Lacey’s face. None of the animals were alive. One or two of them must have been when the anonymous caller had heard whimpering, but they were all gone now.
“This is what happens to animals that don’t win in the fighting pits,” she shouted. She knew she was losing it. Her anger wasn’t directed at Alex, but since he was the only one there, he would have to do. “Or the ones too injured to fight again. They just throw them away like garbage. I could kill people who do this!”
Lacey wasn’t sure how long she ranted like that, screaming at the assholes who would do something like this to poor defenseless animals, but when she finally looked up, she realized that Alex wasn’t paying attention to her. He was staring off into the darkness with an unfocused expression on his face. She was about to ask if something was wrong, but he was already walking away, farther into the darkness toward the nearest crumbling building. Lacy jumped up and followed.
“Is it another dog?” she whispered as Alex came to a stop in front of a shadow-shrouded mound on the ground.
His flashlight wasn’t even on. She didn’t know how he’d seen anything.
“No,” he said simply.
Lacey swung her own flashlight down toward the shape—and almost got sick as she realized it was the body of a woman. She was half hidden under a piece of cardboard, so it was hard to tell in the dark, but she looked like she had curly red hair.
Without a word, Alex dropped to one knee beside the woman, then moved the cardboard aside and checked for a pulse. Lacey already knew he wouldn’t find one. The woman had been mutilated beyond belief.
She wasn’t too proud to take Alex’s hand as he led her back to his truck and helped her into the passenger seat. If he hadn’t, she probably would have fallen down. As a vet, she’d seen a lot of stuff people shouldn’t have to see, but she’d never seen anything like that.
“What happened to that girl?” she asked softly as he pulled out his cell. “Did the dogs get her?”
Alex shook his head. “No, those weren’t bite wounds. She was definitely dumped at the same time as the dogs, though. Maybe she stumbled over the dogfighting ring and it got her killed.”
Lacey didn’t say anything as he punched some buttons on his phone and called the police, then gave his badge number to whoever answered. The memory of Pendergraff coming after her in Bensen’s junkyard the other night filled her head, his disturbing eyes sweeping back and forth as he searched for her. If Pendergraff had found her, would she be lying over there behind that rubble, all torn and bloody?
A part of her felt a surge of fear at that thought. But the larger part was consumed with rage. She knew there was no reason to think this had anything to do with Bensen and Pendergraff, but her instincts were screaming that their filthy hands were all over this and it infuriated her. She was even more enraged that no one seemed able to do a damn thing about it.
Well, she was going to do something.
Chapter 10
“So, is Corporal Brooks seeing anyone seriously?” Vaughn asked casually.
