Page 69 of Little Girls Sleeping

She looked up at him. He had no idea what she had been through, and probably wouldn’t understand even if he knew.

She sat for another five minutes.

A dog barked in the distance.

Katie looked at McGaven with hope.

The barking became louder, and there was no doubt now that it was the deep bark of a German shepherd.

Katie stood up. “Cisco!”

Within twenty seconds, the large black dog crashed through the bushes, running as fast as he could to get to Katie. He knocked her to the ground with licks and whines. “Cisco,” she whispered, unable to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks.

“Is he okay?” asked McGaven.

Katie checked all over the dog’s body but couldn’t see any visible injuries. “I think he’s alright.” She continued to kiss and hug him.

“I wonder if he bit the intruder?” The deputy gestured to the saliva around the dog’s mouth.

She pondered on the likelihood. “Can we take a swab of his mouth for DNA?”

McGaven kneeled down to pet the dog. “I don’t know.”

“It’s worth a try. I’ll text John and ask him.” She began composing her text.

McGaven smiled at her.

“What?” she said.

“John, huh?”

She made a face at him. “He said to call him that. What’s the big deal?”

“Nothing. He’s not married, you know…” He continued to smile.

Katie hugged Cisco close to her, relieved that nothing had happened to him. There were many questions that needed answers: Who was the intruder? Why was Cisco outside? And what was the primary motive for the break-in? Unfortunately, she knew the answer to that one.

Sirens approached in the distance.

Thirty-Seven

Katie was instructed to hold the swab stick firm and keep it in Cisco’s mouth for forty-five seconds, petting him the entire time. She made sure that she moved the stick around the dog’s cheeks and gums to pick up anything of significance.

“You’re such a good boy, Cisco,” she praised.

She put the swab stick into a tube and sealed the top. It was headed to the forensic lab for testing for blood or anything foreign that might identify the intruder. It was a long shot, but no clue was overlooked.

“Wow, a real military hero,” said Jamie as he took the tube and put it into the chain of custody with the rest of the evidence from Katie’s house.

“He definitely saved my life on several occasions,” said Katie, petting the dog energetically.

She stayed out of the way as the team of professionals went to work. Someone had been inside her home, her sanctuary—her parents’ house, where she was raised. It angered her as much as it chilled her. He’d torn things up, touched her personal belongings, and spent time looking around.

The CSI team had completed their search of the property. Nothing tangible had come to light, but it was obvious that the front door had been pried open with a special type of tool—not an ordinary screwdriver or crowbar.

Katie waited patiently with Cisco in the one area of the living room that hadn’t been trashed. Cisco’s ears were poised and alert, waiting for anything out of the ordinary. He seemed to be more protective of Katie than usual.

She watched her uncle checking that everyone did their job correctly. He moved with purpose and gave orders to the patrol officer to make sure they didn’t miss anything in the surrounding properties’ searches.