“What’s going on?” the lieutenant demanded. “Is there someone still inside?”
“Jules.” Just saying her name made his stomach cramp with fear. “Julie Jackson. She’s a waitress here. That’s her vehicle. Who cleared the building?”
Instead of answering him directly, Blessard turned and shouted at one of the uniformed officers erecting a traffic barrier across the entrance to the diner’s parking lot. “McNamara!” The cop lifted his head. When Blessard waved him over, McNamara started walking toward them. Unable to stand still, Theo strode to meet him.
“You searched the diner?” At the other cop’s nod, Theo continued hammering him with questions. “Was there a woman in there—early twenties, dark hair, about five-four, one-twenty-five?”
“Uh…no, sir,” McNamara stammered, clearly intimidated. “No one was in there—except Rounds, of course.”
“You checked everywhere? Bathrooms, kitchen, closets?”
Even before he answered, McNamara’s shamefaced look told Theo what he needed to know. “Well, I…I looked around and called out.”
Whirling around, Theo jogged for his squad car. His heart was pounding, and there was a buzzing under his skin.
“Now what are you doing, Bosco?” His lieutenant sounded cranky, as usual, but there was a note of worry underlying his voice. Theo had worked with Blessard for years, and his LT knew him, knew that Theo was not likely to overreact. In the past few months, the problem had been that Theo wasn’t feeling anything, and he faced every situation, dangerous or not, with the same impassive facade. Theo’s reaction now was akin to another officer’s hysterical screaming, so Theo didn’t blame Blessard for his concern.
“Grabbing Vig,” he said. “If it goes well, he’ll let me know if we have any explosive materials to worry about. If it doesn’t go well, he’ll at least help me search for Jules.” Opening the back of his car and attaching the leash snap to the middle ring on the dog’s harness, the spot that told Viggy it was time to work, Theo took a breath, trying to steady his breath—and heart and stomach and brain. “He likes her.”
“Sounds like he’s not the only one.” The lieutenant gave Theo a sharp look. “You okay doing this? If you’re not up for it, I’ll grab someone else. No shame in being too involved to keep a clear mind in the field. That’s what your partners are for.”
Even though Blessard’s words were well meaning and considerate—at least for him—Theo felt a flare of impatience. If there was any chance that there were explosives in the diner, he needed to get in there and get Jules out—now. “I’m fine,” Theo snapped, and then softened his tone with an effort. “Thanks, LT.”
Blessard studied him. After a second that felt like an eternity, the lieutenant gestured toward the diner. “Go get her, then.”
The command released his legs, and Theo grabbed Viggy’s plush penguin from the front passenger seat, jammed it in one of his BDU pockets, and jogged toward the diner. As if he knew something important was happening, Viggy trotted at his side rather than being hauled behind.
“Please find it,” Theo muttered under his breath, sending the dog a sideways glance. Even though they’d had a breakthrough, they didn’t have anywhere close to a solid partnership yet. And they need that to help Jules. “If there’s something to find, find it. And help me find her before something bad happens. Please.” Viggy glanced up at the sound of his voice, wagged his tail a single time, and then faced front again.
Pushing the door open, Theo set his jaw. He’d let Don down when the other cop had needed him, and now Don was dead. He wasn’t about to do the same to Jules. Whatever her secrets, there was something between them, something new and exciting and incredible. He was going to keep her as long as he was able, and even a bomb wasn’t going to stand in his way.
Glass crunched under Theo’s boot, and he bent to pick up Viggy so the dog wouldn’t cut his unprotected paws.
“Here we go,” Theo said.
Carrying his new K9 partner, Theo stepped into the diner.
* * *
Jules woke with a start, going from unconscious to conscious in one painful jerk of her head. She opened her eyes, but it was still dark. For a moment, she wondered if she’d lost her sight, and then reason set in again. She was just in a dark room. A dark, cold room. When she tried to move her hands, she felt resistance, and metal clanked against metal before pain radiated up her arms.
A greenish glow across the room was familiar, and she blinked blurry eyes a few times to bring it into focus. The glow-in-the-dark shape was the emergency release handle she’d yanked off when Vicki had trapped her in there. Megan must have fixed it. That and the cold that had already seeped into her skin and muscles and was working on chilling her bones made her realize exactly where she was. Sherry had knocked her out, dragged her into the cooler, and handcuffed her to a shelf.