Hopefully, this would be one of the exciting bits and not a waste of time that would lead to more tedium.
They stood on either side of the door, Meyers in front and Turk just to his left.The sergeant knocked on the door and called, “Police!Steve Kent, are you home?”
There was no reply, which wasn’t surprising.Criminals weren’t in the habit of answering the door when law enforcement knocked.
Meyers knocked again.“Steve Kent, this is the police department.Please come to the door.”
No answer, but Faith heard stirring inside.She looked at Jessica, who tightened her grip on her handgun and stepped a few feet farther left, aiming through the curtained window to the living room of the apartment.
“Steve Kent!”Meyers called.“Last warning!Wewillforce entry if you don’t come to the door!”
Faith heard more scuffling inside.Turk pricked up his ears, and Faith felt a jolt of disquiet.When she heard a rough scraping from inside, she cursed.“He’s going out a window.”
Meyers swore and pounded on the door.“Steve!Don’t do it, man!”
Turk barked suddenly and leaped over the railing down to the first floor, earning a cry of alarm from Faith.He landed easily and headed to the back of the building.
Meyers cursed and kicked the door down.He ran inside while Faith vaulted the fence to go after Turk.She landed in a forward roll, which softened the landing just enough that Faith could handle the pain that reverberated through her joints.How the hell could Turk do this so easily at his age?
Jessica called after Faith, but Faith couldn’t hear what she said.“Go through the front!”Faith called back.“Stay with Meyers!”
She ran after Turk, who was barking up a storm.When she rounded the corner of the building, she saw why.Steve Kent was in front of Turk, holding a knife in front of him and slashing wildly.Turk feinted, looking for openings, but Steve kept his knife in between himself and the dog.
“Hey!”Faith called, leveling her handgun at Steve.“Don’t you dare hurt my dog!”
Steve looked up at her and cursed.His eyes were wild, far less sane than they looked in his mugshot.He looked slyly to his left at the brick wall that separated the complex from the street behind.
“Don’t do it,” Faith warned.
A crashing sound ahead pulled Steve’s eyes up.Faith sprinted toward him, but Steve flicked the knife at Turk, missing the dog by inches and pulling Faith’s attention away.
Steve wasted not an instant of time.He bolted for the wall, showing surprising dexterity as he leaped the fence and continued to flee.
“Damn it!”Jessica called.
"Search the apartment!"Faith called back."Find that gun!Meyers gets in the car and calls Arlington!"
She ran for the fence without waiting for an answer.Turk outstripped her and climbed the fence, once more showing beyond human dexterity.Faith took a few seconds longer to pull herself over the brick wall, shaking her head ruefully at the thought that her overweight suspect had managed it more easily than she had.
I need to hit the weight room more often, she thought to herself as she ran after Turk.
She heard a cry up ahead and called, “Take him down, Turk!Hold him!”
That was followed by a yelp, and ice flooded her veins when she saw Turk roll over onto his back.“Turk!No!”
Turk rolled back to his feet and shook his head, then sprinted back after Steve.Faith’s blood boiled.“Steve, you’d better surrender and start playing nice right now!If you hurt my dog, I’ll…”
She pushed her lips tightly together.She couldn’t cause problems with their case by threatening a suspect.
She followed Turk into the alley and found him cornering Steve again.The criminal was backed against a wall, knife drawn.Turk gave him a respectful buffer, not allowing him to leave but not putting himself at risk from the knife.
“Steve,” Faith called.“Put the knife down.”
Steve looked up at her, eyes not quite as wild as before but every bit as cunning.“Call your dog off, or I’ll cut him.”
Faith met his gaze and promised, “That will be the worst mistake of our life.Lay the weapon down and surrender.”
“Screw you.”
