The ride made another circuit, but this time Jake could see the kid wanted off but was scared to make the leap. All long, gangly arms and knobby knees, the boy braced to jump. “You’ll catch me?”
“Absolutely,” Jake shouted after him.
When he came around again, Jake counted down in a firm, commanding tone. “Three, two, one, jump!”
Max added emphasis to the prompt with a short, sharp bark.
The boy flung himself at Jake, who stumbled back on impact. The kid’s skinny limbs wrapped around him, and he hung on like a koala clinging to a tree trunk.
He wrapped the boy up tightly. “There you go, little man,” Jake said, breathless. “Good jump.”
“I was scared,” the small boy said, speaking into the crook of Jake’s neck.
“I know, but you did good.”
The boy peeled himself away enough to frown down at the bulky tactical vest Jake wore. “You’re all lumpy.”
Chuckling, Jake nodded as he turned away from the ride, determined to make the promised introduction then hand the boy off as soon as possible. “I guess I am. Wanna meet Max?”
Lowering the boy to the tarmac, he set him down beside the dog outfitted in matching tactical harness. Sitting at attention, they were almost the same height, but a good portion of his stature could be attributed to the dog’s ears.
“Trooper Max, meet… Hey, what’s your name?”
“Darien.” The boy stared back at him with eyes almost as big as Max’s ears. “He’s big. Does he bite?”
“Nah, never the good guys,” Jake said, giving Max’s head a gentle stroke to let the dog know all was well.
Darien mimicked the move, then instantly stepped back. “I never petted a big dog before,” he confessed. Then, as though he feared he’d insulted Max, he quickly added, “He’s real soft though.”
“Yes. Very soft.”
Furst reappeared with a woman wearing a T-shirt that matched Darien’s. After identifying her as his teacher, Jake flashed her a quick smile in response to the profusion of thanks and admonishments flowing from the woman’s lips. He patted Darien’s back and gave him a gentle shove into the woman’s grasping hands. “Go on, buddy. Max and I have work to do.”
Straightening, he watched her lead her young charge away before turning to the firefighter. “Where’s this Walker person?” he demanded, switching gears without missing a beat.
Sergeant Furst nodded to the ride as the blonde wearing the backpack came whirling past again. “There.”
“She’s the head of Security?” Jake caught a glimpse of wispy blond hair she disappeared around the other side again.
“Cassidy Walker,” Furst affirmed. He glanced down at a small notebook. “Been working for the state fair for nearly three years. Former training officer for US Air Force Security Forces, 19th Security Forces Squadron, Little Rock AFB.”
“Cassidy Walker.” Jake’s mind reeled as if he was the one stuck on a merry-go-round.
“Excuse me,” the woman on the carousel called as she swung past them again.
Both men looked up in time to see her hold her mobile phone high. But they waited until she came around again to catch what she was shouting at them.
“He’s watching.” She waved the phone again. “They saw—”
Jake waited a beat then gave his partner the signal to come to heel. “Who saw what?”
“—saw me take the backpack,” she shouted on her next pass.
She spun around to the other side again and he stepped closer. “Come on, Max.”
The dog didn’t have to be told twice. Quickly taking up the slack in his lead, he leaped agilely onto the slow-moving ride. Jake had no choice but to follow, since his partner was clearly onto the scent of something at the base of one of the stationary horses.
He allowed the dog a moment to sniff his fill, then retracted some of the leash. “Whatcha got, boy? Something good?” Max looked up, his amber eyes bright with excitement. “Good boy. Come on, let’s see what’s happening here.”
