Page 15 of Austin (The K9 Files #29)

Austin parked near the mechanic’s garage, hopped out, then checked his gait because his prosthetic was starting to be a bit of a pain again.

Kat would say he was just on it too much, and that was probably the truth too.

He walked up to the open garage doors to see several mechanics working away under vehicles.

A man shouted at him from across the garage, and he headed in that direction.

He didn’t see any sign of Chris, but that didn’t mean anything.

A number of people were underneath vehicles, and Austin couldn’t even begin to sort out who was here and who wasn’t.

As he stepped into the office, he looked over at a man who seemed vaguely familiar. The man frowned at him. “Jesus Christ,” he muttered. “Austin, right?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” he replied, with a smile, “Jenson, is it? It’s nice to come back where people know you.”

“Depends whether they want to see you again or not,” he teased, with half a grin.

“To the best of my knowledge, I didn’t leave on bad terms, so it would be a surprise if there were any hard feelings in that direction.”

“I thought you and the wife split.”

“We did,” he agreed, “but life is far too short to hold grudges.”

His eyebrows shot up. “That’s true, but that’s not the way I heard it.” Jenson looked around behind Austin.

Austin didn’t need to turn around to know who he was referring to, so he shrugged. “Lots of people think they know what’s going on, but unless you’re one of the two people married to each other,” he explained, “you really don’t know shit.”

“That’s the way of it, all right. So, what can I do for you today?” he asked, eyeing him closely.

Austin smiled. “I’ve got some questions I’m looking to ask. Have you got a place we can talk?”

The boss nodded. “I guess so. Any reason you want it to be private?” Then he led the way to the back room.

“Yeah, there is.” When the door closed behind him, he asked, “Have you seen a big dog around here, a big dark Malinois?”

He nodded. “Sure. Over the years there’s been a bunch of them. Why?”

“I’m here on behalf of the War Department,” he began, handing him a card. “We’re looking for one that went missing here a few weeks back.”

His eyebrows shot up, and he stared at him. “The War Department,” he repeated in disbelief.

“Yes, the missing dog I’m looking for is a K9 War Dog. He did his duty overseas and was released to a family here and has since gone missing. We’re trying to locate him.”

Jenson shook his head, as he stared at Austin. “Don’t that beat all? Who would have thought the government had any money for this shit.”

“Doesn’t mean they have money or not, but a separate company handles the search and retrieval of these animals.”

“Wow,” he muttered, as he sat back in his wooden chair. “Well shit, yeah,… I’ve seen one around, a couple times.”

“Yeah? Any idea who with or where?”

“Sure, Chris, right here,” he replied. “I’ve seen him with one.”

“Recently?”

“I think so. I’m not sure it was in the last couple weeks, but I know he’s been around with a dog.”

Austin hadn’t thought to ask Rox if Chris would have hidden the dog someplace.

The owner added, “You should be talking to your ex-wife about that.”

“I have been,” he replied, with a smile. “It makes for interesting conversations.”

He started to laugh at that. “Don’t that beat all. You leave in a huff, and you come back because of a dog. If it ain’t one bitch, it’s another.”

Knowing that would be a recurring joke around the place, Austin just shook his head and ignored it. “She didn’t have anything to do with it,” he noted, “and that isn’t exactly the way I would want it discussed.”

“No, maybe not,” he conceded, “but people will be people.”

And that was very much the truth. Austin looked around and asked, “Can you remember the last time you saw the dog?”

He sat back, kicked his heels up on the desk, and gave it some thought. “I’m not sure. You would have to talk to Chris about it.”

“Yeah, I want to, but, when I found him at the pub last night, his buddies didn’t take to me that well.”

At that, Jenson’s feet slammed to the floor, and he glared. “You watch those ones.” He waved a finger in the air. “That is not a group you want to cross.”

“Maybe not,” Austin said, “but, if they’re looking for trouble, they found it.”

His eyebrows shot up, and he nodded. “I remember you were always kind of like that, weren’t you? People make comments you don’t like, and you get a little testy about it.”

“No, not testy,” he clarified, “but some of the shit that they were talking about last night didn’t make me happy.”

“Chris is one angry guy,” the owner shared, with a note of warning, “so you’d best stay out of that mess.”

Austin shrugged. “Easier said than done.”

“No, it’s not easier said than done , just do it,” he snapped, with a headshake. “I don’t know what’s going on with him and those friends of his, but they’re trouble. You need to stay away. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise, what?” he challenged.

At that, the other man backed down. “I don’t know what ,” he admitted, “but it ain’t gonna be good.”

“Thanks for the warning. I appreciate it. How often does Chris work for you here?”

“It used to be every day,” he replied, “but now it’s just a few days a week.”

“Hard to pay bills on that.”

“I know. That’s what I told him when he wanted me to cut his hours, but he didn’t want to tell me what he would be doing in the meantime.

I’m short on good mechanics around this place, and, even though he’s not licensed, he’s got a knack for it,” he muttered.

“But I don’t know what his deal is, and I don’t know what’s going on with that group he runs with, but I know it can’t be good.

” He gave another warning. “Honest to God, nobody else does either, and it’s probably better if you keep it that way too. ”

“That bad, huh ?”

“Yeah,… that bad,” he agreed, with a look out toward his shop. “I’ve been here a long time, and you get to know the ones who are trouble.”

“Oh, I hear you,” Austin confirmed. “It’s the same as when you’re out fighting any enemy. You know who on your team you can count on, and who are the ones you would just as soon get reassigned.”

He snorted. “Been there, done that too. Spent a fair bit of time in the service myself,” he shared.

“I was happy to take my leave of it, but, while I was there, it wasn’t all bad, and it made a man out of me.

I needed that at the time, and I sure wish some of these young punks would be forced to do a tour, just to kick some of that nonsense out of their heads. ”

“Or at least make them work for a living,” Austin added.

“Isn’t that the truth? Anyway I can’t always stop and shoot the breeze, but you’re welcome to come back any time,” the owner offered, as he hopped to his feet. “In the meantime, I’ve got work to do. You’re not a mechanic by any chance?” he asked hopefully.

“Nope, I’m sure not,” Austin said, with a smile, “but I’ll keep it in mind, if I see anybody who’s looking for work.”

“Yeah, you do that. I’ve got more than I can handle right now, and, with Chris down to just a few days, that isn’t helpful.”

“Yeah, I hear you,” he muttered.

He stepped out to find Chris standing there, glaring at him. “What the hell are you doing back here?” he asked in a rough tone, but his boss hollered at him.

“He’s here because I asked him to come in here,” he snapped. “Now get your ass back to work.”

Chris just glared at the two of them and stomped off.

As Austin turned to head out to his vehicle, Jenson added, “I mean it. Something bad is going on around here. You better stay out of it, if you can.”

And, with that, Austin headed outside, but he could tell that he was under watch. As he turned, he saw two men in mechanics’ overalls, standing there, staring at him, and had stopped working to do that.

One made a gesture with his finger which Austin knew perfectly well, but it was interesting that he felt the need to. The other one didn’t say a word, just stared at him. He might not be as expressive, but there was a threat in his gaze. There was just something very dead looking about those eyes.

Austin hopped back into his truck and headed over to see the lawyer Jake had engaged after the death of his long-time attorney. As he walked in the attorney’s office, the receptionist looked at him and frowned, and he frowned right back.

“He’s not taking walk-in appointments today.”

“Really? And when is he taking appointments?” he asked curiously.

She flushed. “I would have to look at his calendar, but he’s a very busy man.”

“Right, and I would assume that is the goal,” he noted, “but I suggest you let him decide today.” She stiffened and glared at him. “Unless we’ll have a problem?”

“I don’t know what problem you’re suggesting,” she spat, scrunching up her nose. “He’s a very busy man, and he doesn’t meet with people just walking in off the street.”

He cracked up at that. “Lady, in a town like this, we both know he’s more than happy to meet with people dropping in off the street.”

“He’s just not anybody’s lawyer,” she stated, with a glare in his direction.

“Oh, well, that’s good to know.” He stepped outside and phoned Jake, then told him what happened.

“What the hell?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, so I suggest you come in here, find yourself another lawyer, and transfer all your documents somewhere else.”

“Good Christ, as if I need this today,” he muttered. “Somebody’s poisoned one of the wells on the back forty.”

“Damn, though I have to say I’m not surprised,. While I have a damn good idea who did it, I’m just not sure I completely understand the why.”

“If it’s that piece-of-shit stepson of mine,” he yelled, “believe me that I’ll be pressing charges.”

“I know,” Austin agreed, “but, before we end up with a completely catastrophic failure of relationships, you need to ensure you’ve got a rock-solid will in place.”

“Jesus Christ.” He started to swear again. “I’ll be in town in twenty minutes.”