outstretched hand. Looking into her friend’s eyes, she could see contentment. Happiness. All due to the new man in her life. A doctor named David Evans. They’d had some hard times but had made it through to the other side. Now they were planning a wedding.
It made Ellen happy for Whitney...and sad for herself. Would she ever have that look? She glanced at Lee. She’d actually had it years ago. Back when she and Lee were together. When they weren’t fighting about her mother, they’d had some great times, been happy. She sighed. Whitney’s features clouded in concern. “Why the heavy sigh? You okay?”
Ellen forced her lips into an upward curve. “Yes, just...reminiscing, sorry. Do you need a ride anywhere?”
“No.” Whitney’s smile came back. “David’s on his way to get me. We’re taking Shelby for a picnic.” Shelby was Whitney’s baby daughter.
Lee found a spot of grass, clipped leashes to the three pups and let them loose to take care of business. When they were finished, he got them back into the carriers and rolled them over to the vehicle where she and Whitney stood.
“Lee, do you know Whitney?”
He set the puppies in the back area of the vehicle where Carly usually rode, then held out a hand to Whitney. “I don’t think we’ve met. It’s a pleasure.”
“Same here.” She eyed the building and grimaced. “I hate to go in on my day off, but I have some leftover paperwork I need to finish up before David and I can enjoy the rest of the day. I’ll see you later.”
She disappeared through the glass doors. Lee turned to Ellen. “I’m starving,” he said.
“Want to hit a drive-through and take the food to the training facility? We can eat and talk business if you’re up to it.”
“I am if you are.”
He still looked a bit distracted. What was on his mind? The shooting probably. “You okay?”
He blinked and climbed into the passenger seat. “Yeah.”
“Something’s bothering you.”
“How do you figure?”
She gave a low chuckle. “Come on, Lee, we used to be best friends.” Actually, they’d been more than that, but that sentence was much safer than saying they’d one time been in love. The flare in his eyes said he was thinking it. She cleared her throat. “I can read you pretty well even after all these years. You have that little tic in your forehead that gives you away every time.”
He pressed his fingers to it and his brow furrowed. “Let’s get back to the facility so we can talk without distractions.”
Ellen wasn’t crazy about the fact that he wanted to wait to talk, but she could be patient. When she had to. But... “Why don’t you just tell me what it is that’s bothering you?”
He sighed. “Fine. When we were attacked, I thought I recognized one of the men in the car. The dash cam confirmed it.”
* * *
Ellen stared at him even while she cranked the vehicle’s ignition. “What? And you’re just now saying something?”
“I wanted to know for sure before I said anything.”
“And you’re sure now?”
“No, but I figured you could help me find out if I’m right or not.”
“So who do think it is?”
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not sure so maybe I shouldn’t say anything, but if it’s him—”
Her ringing phone cut him off. She glanced at the dashboard. Chief Jones’s number flashed. “Hello?”
Her Bluetooth kicked in and his voice came over the speakers. “Foxcroft. Where are you?”
“Just leaving the station. Do you need me to come back in?”
“No, just wanted to let you know we got a hit on that partial plate.” While the chief talked, she drove.
“And?”
“There was a vehicle stolen last night. When we ran the partial against all of the ones in the system, we managed to narrow it down to the one that was used in the attack. Who knew you were going to pick up those puppies today?”
Ellen thought. “I don’t know. It wasn’t a secret. I’ve already checked with Lee and he didn’t mention it to anyone. I told my staff at the assistance center so they could get an area prepared, but other than that, no one that I recall. Sophie could have mentioned it to someone, I suppose.”
He grunted. “And it’s possible the attack had nothing to do with that anyway. All right, rookie, be careful. Hopefully we’ll get all this cleared up in the next day or so and you’ll be back on duty. Tell Earnshaw the dash cam thing is paranoia at its finest. Glad he had it installed. Sorry he felt the need for it.”
“He heard you.”
“Thanks, Chief,” Lee said before falling silent.
She hung up and within minutes, she was pulling into the parking lot of the Desert Valley Canine Assistance Center attached to the K-9 Unit Training Center.
Ellen threw the vehicle in Park and climbed out. Lee followed, rolling the puppies with him. He took them into a fenced area that had been specifically set up for them and let the three pups out of the carriers. They bolted into the warm grass, tumbling over one another, nipping and yapping, clearly glad to be able to run off some energy. “What are their names?” she asked. “They should be on their tags.”
He pointed to the one running laps around the space. “That one is Dash.”
“Appropriate.” She looked at the other two. One sat on his haunches, tongue lolling as his gaze bounced between his friends. She walked over and snagged his tag. “This is King. I see why they named him that. He looks like a king ruling over his subjects.”
“You’re right, he does,” Lee said with a nod. He grabbed the last dog by the collar as she wandered past and checked her tag. “And this is Lady.”
She licked his hand and Ellen laughed. “Dainty and sweet.”
He smiled. “All right. Dash, King and Lady. Poor girl is outnumbered, isn’t she?”
“It’ll make her stronger.”
He nodded and locked the gate and walked toward her.
She waited for him, hands on her hips, mind only partially on naming the pups. She wanted to focus on what he’d revealed before the chief’s call. “So you think you know one of the guys who attacked us?”
“Yes. A guy from the prison who was released around the same time I was.”
She studied him. “What were you mixed up in at the prison, Lee, that would inspire someone to come after you like that?”
His
