The puppy stood at the back door, watching Kenzie walk away and whimpering.
“I know just how you feel.”
After he’d finished his lunch and cleared the dishes away, Conrad put Gabby in her crate in the back of his SUV and headed up the canyon to Ski Scarlet. He and Gabby had to cover some ground to find Matt, who was overseeing trail work on the slopes.
He stopped when he saw Conrad. “Let’s head to my office.”
Once inside, Conrad handed him the signed documents. He was about to ask Matt how word of his new job had spread to the media, but Matt beat him to it.
“I’m sorry about the leak. It wasn’t me, and it wasn’t human resources. It seems one of our Ski Patrol members had heard you were joining us and didn’t know she wasn’t supposed to say anything. She posted it online, and, well…”
“I appreciate you being above board on this and checking it out.”
“I made you a deal, and I’ll keep my word.”
“Good enough.” Conrad handed him the receipt for his EMT refresher class. “I’ll be starting next week.”
“Hawke teaches a good class.”
“He’s one of the best.” Conrad got to his feet to go when an older woman he recognized from HR walked into Matt’s office.
“Those sheriff’s deputies are here again.”
“Thanks.” Matt stood, explained the situation to Conrad. “Some jackasses robbed an armored vehicle at gunpoint in Boulder this morning and made off with a few hundred grand. The cops lost them up the canyon. They think the two might be hiding in the forest around Scarlet, perhaps here on our mountain.”
“Shit.” The mountains around Scarlet were full of tourists who’d come to look at the aspen leaves, not to mention hunters, mountain bikers, and hikers. “I hope they catch them quickly.”
“You and me both.”
Conrad ran into Deputy Marcs on his way out. “Hey.”
“Lock your doors if you’re driving in the canyon. One of our snipers fired a fifty-caliber round through their engine block, forcing them out of their car. They may be looking to steal a vehicle, even with a driver inside.”
“Got it. Thanks.” He walked out to the parking lot, settled Gabby in her crate, and sent Kenzie a text message to warn her about the armed robbers. Then he checked the pistol he kept in his glove box—his dad’s old Colt Python. There were six bullets in the cylinder. Satisfied, he put the firearm back in the glove box and drove back down the canyon to the office of theScarlet Gazetteto set up an interview.
Chapter 17
Kenzie’sbehavioral training class hadn’t even started when Tom, the basset hound puppy, went after Dixie, a young Miniature pinscher. She told the owners to pull them apart—both dogs were on leashes—but Tom had Dixie by the collar and didn’t want to let go. The owners’ panic didn’t help.
Dixie’s owner kicked at Tom. “Get that damned dog off her!”
“Don’t kick my puppy!”
Kenzie reached down to detach the frightened Miniature pinscher’s collar when Tom turned on her and bit her hard on her left wrist, his jaws clamped tight. “Shit!”
It hurt like hell.
She managed to pry the dog’s jaws open to free herself, then grabbed Tom by the collar and pulled him away from the other dogs. She did her best to keep her cool, despite the pain and adrenaline. “You need to take Tom home. I work privately with dogs who have aggression problems, but he can’t be here with other dogs.”
“That damned dog could have bitten Dixie!” the Miniature pinscher’s owner yelled.
But Tom’s owner was staring at her wrist. “You’re bleeding.”
Well, of course, she was bleeding. She’d just been bitten.
She glanced down, saw blood spatter across the floor, then looked at her wrist. There were two puncture marks from the puppy’s canines, and one of them was spurting blood in time to her pulse. “Class is canceled for tonight. We’ll deal with refunds later.”
While her clients filed out, she grabbed several paper towels from the dispenser and pressed them hard against the bite, but they soaked through almost immediately. She grabbed more, pressed down harder.
