Page 48 of Smoky Mountain K-9

The dog tipped his head, then barked.

“I think you’re right. A long walk sounds nice.” He didn’t want to tax the dog’s lungs too much yet with a run, but he could handle a walk. They could wander down to the station where he could run the name of that woman who donated to the equestrian center. “Come on.” Motioning for the animal to follow and repeating the command in German, he led Maverick to the kitchen, where he’d hung his harness and leash. Once the dog was ready, he locked the house and left.

Foggy Mountain wasn’t a large city. Mara’s house was about a mile from the sheriff’s office, which made for a decent walk for the recovering Malinois.

Warm air blasted Carter in the face as he let them into the station.

“Hey, Townsend.”

Carter paused as Jake Maxwell greeted him. “Hi, Jake.”

“How’s Maverick?” The younger man motioned to the dog, who stood next to Carter, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

“He’s doing well. Should be back on patrol by the end of the week.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Me too. Hey, did you get any more on who threw the tear gas into my house?”

Jake’s mouth flattened, and he shook his head. “No. We’ve got a BOLO out on the car, but it’s a pretty common make and model. We can’t pull them all over.”

“No. What about that woman I mentioned to Ben. Amy Spalding.”

“She had a solid alibi. She was at work. Dozens of people saw her.”

Carter bit the corner of his mouth, then nodded. “Okay. Well, keep me posted, yeah?”

“Of course.”

With a nod, Carter walked away, heading for his desk, feeling a little dejected. She’d been his best suspect. Releasing a breath, he sat down. Maverick curled up into his bed at the end, and Carter logged into the system. He ran Constance Miller’s name and came up with several hits. He used her husband’s name to narrow the search. When he did that, he got zero results. Frowning, he widened the search to neighboring states, and still came up empty.

“Okay, fine. Let’s see if there’s a record of the husband’s death,” he muttered. Guessing at the age range, he input the husband’s name and went back five years. There were several Kyle Millers, but none had a wife named Constance. He searched again, going back another five years, but still found nothing; not even when he widened the age range.

Tapping his fingers on his desk, Carter stared at the screen. He knew there was something off with that woman. Had she given Mara a false name? But why? What was her aim in scamming the equestrian center? None of the money Mara spent would go back to her; it would all go to the bank. All she’d succeed in doing was hurt the center’s credit rating and put them in a financial bind.

“Damn.”

Maverick raised his head at Carter’s exclamation.

“I was hoping she was on the up and up for the center’s sake,” he told the dog. Logging off, he pushed away from his desk. He told Maverick to stay, then went to Ben’s office.

The sheriff looked up when Carter rapped his knuckles on the doorframe.

“Hey, Carter.”

“Hey. Got a minute?”

Ben groaned. “I’m not going to like this, am I? I can see it on your face.”

Carter grimaced. “Probably not.”

“Come in.” Ben motioned him inside. “What’s up?”

Quickly, Carter relayed his concern with the equestrian center’s newest donor, and the background search he ran. Ben’s frown deepened with each word.

“I guess my biggest concern is I can’t verify her identity. I don’t want Mara cashing a check that large if we don’t know who it came from.”

“I agree. Did you get the woman’s phone number?”