Page 35 of Smoky Mountain K-9

Mara giggled and turned around. “It’s close enough.”

“Good.” Because he was hungry, but for much more than just food.

Nineteen

Maverick’s toenails clicked on the hallway floor alongside Carter’s footsteps as they walked toward Ben’s office. Rounding the corner, Carter paused and rapped his knuckles on his boss’s door.

“Come in.” Ben’s voice carried through the wood and glass.

Carter twisted the knob and stepped into the doorway.

“Hey.” Ben looked up with a frown. “What are you doing here? You’re on the evening shift tonight, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I wanted to talk to you, though. And do a little research.”

“Oh?” Ben sat a little straighter. “Have a seat.” He motioned to the chair in front of his desk.

Stepping deeper into the room, Carter sat down. Maverick laid down next to him.

“What’s up?”

“So, I’ve been thinking about the vandalism. Both at my house and at the equestrian center. The city department has mostly been looking into Mara, since two of the three directly involved her. I want to look at me, though. Past cases I’ve worked, people I’ve put in jail who could hold a grudge. I think it would be smart to take a closer look at Scott Sears too.”

“Hold up.” Ben waved a hand. “This is the city’s case. I can’t just throw my hat into the ring and start investigating.”

“I know. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do a little of their legwork and give them some suspects.”

“You can give them your opinion, but they’re still going to go through all your old cases in case there’s someone you didn’t think of who actually has a solid motive and means.”

“Right, but at least this is a place to start.”

Ben sighed and sat back, folding his hands over his chest as he stared at Carter. “You really think this is about you?”

Running a hand over his jaw, Carter glanced out the window, then at Ben. “I know I don’t have anything to support it, but yes. The paint was on my house, not Mara’s. If this was about her, wouldn’t it have been her house?”

“True, but there’s also nothing to say the incidents at your house are connected to the equestrian center. You brought up a valid point in Scott Sears. I’ve been keeping tabs on him—my wife does work for the place where he was trafficking drugs—and he made bail the day after his arrest.”

Carter’s eyebrows drew together. “Who posted it?” With the charges the kid was facing, it had to be several thousand dollars.

“He did.”

“Bullshit.” There was no way a stable hand had that kind of cash.

“That’s what I said. But the money came from his bank account. And I don’t have a reason to subpoena his bank records to find out where he got it. Yet. That might come from the feds, though. I called Agent Porter—the ATF agent leading the task force formed after the bomb in Piper Riordan’s car—and alerted him to Sears. He called his DEA counterpart, and they posted an agent on the kid, hoping to catch him meeting with other cartel members.”

Carter let out a snort. Maverick lifted his head and tilted it, then laid back down with a sigh. “Would he really be stupid enough to meet with them now?”

Ben shrugged. “He was dumb enough to bring drugs to work, knowing the sheriff’s wife worked there. Who knows? Tristan and Jake are working things from our end, and Porter promised to share anything the task force discovers.”

“Good. So, that just leaves the incidents at my place.”

“I know I can’t dissuade you from digging into your past cases. Just make sure you turn overallyour cases to the local police and not just the ones you like for this.”

“Will do. I plan to check with Fort Carrington too. See if anyone I put away there has it out for me. There were a few who I can see holding a grudge long enough to come after me after they served their time.”

Ben’s head bobbed once, and he sat up. “Sounds good. Thanks for the heads-up.”

Carter stood. Maverick got to his feet and shook, ridding himself of sleep. “Yep.” His mind was already on who he would look up first as he turned and headed for the door.