Page 20 of Smoky Mountain K-9

The dog’s ear twitched his way, then faced forward again.

“It’s probably just the horses.”

Carter shook his head. “No. This is alert behavior.” He unfurled the leash. “Mav,such.”

“Zook? What does that mean?”

“Find.” He kept his eyes on his dog as they moved a few feet down the corridor.

“What is he looking for?” Mara kept pace with him.

“Most likely narcotics.”

“What? We don’t use anything like that on the horses. Not even CBD rub. Why would he smell narcotics?”

Maverick stopped outside a stall before Carter could answer. The young man inside looked up, and the dog’s butt hit the floor.

“Sir, I need you to come out of the stall, please.” Carter motioned the man forward, who looked at him with wide eyes.

“Can I finish dressing Maisie down first? I’m almost done.” With the brush in his hand, the man motioned to the chestnut-colored horse.

“I’m afraid not. My dog alerted to the odor of narcotics. I need you to come out now.”

The man’s eyes darted between Carter, the dog, and Mara, who stood to Carter’s right.

“It’s all right, Scott. Just do as Deputy Townsend asks.”

Carter could hear in Mara’s voice that she thought this was some sort of misunderstanding. But from Scott’s posture and the wary look in his eyes, Carter knew the kid knew he’d been caught. With what, though, remained to be seen.

Scott put the brush on the ledge and stepped forward, shoulders slumped.

“I’m only going to ask this once. Do you have anything on you? And before you say no, keep in mind, my dog knows you do.”

The man’s face fell. “Yeah.” He reached for his front pocket.

Carter held up a hand. “I’ll get it.” He turned the man around. “Put your hands on the wall and spread your feet.”

Mara made a strangled sound. Carter spared her a glance and saw her close her eyes and press a hand to her forehead. He felt bad about upsetting her, but was glad he was here to catch the guy. She didn’t need drugs circulating here.

After a quick pat down, Carter recovered a bag of pills from Scott’s pocket. He handcuffed the man and read him his rights, then turned him around and held up the bag. “What are these?”

Scott stared at them, lips pressed together.

“Oxycodone, right?”

Again, Scott said nothing.

“Where did you get them?”

“I want a lawyer.”

Carter’s shoulders sagged, and he lowered his arm. “Fine.” He stowed the bag in the pocket of his pants and grabbed Scott’s arm. “Come on.”

Mara stepped in front of them, her eyes glittering as she leveled a look at Scott. “Why? Why would you bring that stuff here? There are children here! You could have dropped one—or more—and one of them could have picked it up and ate it, thinking it was candy.” She clenched and unclenched her fists, twin pops of color erupting on her cheeks.

Scott glanced away, his throat working. “I’m sorry, Ms. Mara. I didn’t mean no harm. It was just a way to make some extra money.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait. You’re not just using it? You’ve been selling it?” She took a step forward, anger making her cheeks turn bright red. “You’ve been selling drugs out of my facility? To whom?”