Page 8 of So Savage (Faith Bold #21)

Lieutenant Torres was wearing civilian clothes today, a pair of jeans and a fur coat with a wool scarf and gloves that looked exactly like the ones Marcus told Faith were too small. Torres looked perfectly comfortable in that outfit and even took the jacket off when she entered the office. Maybe Marcus knew that someone like Faith who wasn’t local wouldn’t have the same tolerance to cold as a native would.

“I was across the street at the taco place,” Torres explained, “and I saw you two pull in. It hit me that I actually did know of a reason why someone might want to kill Reeves and Torres. I figured since I was across the street, I would stop by and tell you in person instead of calling.”

She took the other seat. “I’m sorry for not remembering this earlier. I was just in so much shock, and at the time everything went down, no one thought about it. It didn’t seem like a big deal. Guess we were wrong.”

Turk trotted over to Torres and rested his head on her lap. Torres looked at his big brown eyes, and all of the tension in her body melted away. If Turk ever retired, he would have an excellent second career as a therapy dog.

“That’s all right, Lieutenant,” Marcus replied. “Tell me what you remember.”

Torres lifted her gaze from Turk’s. “The review board that Reeves and Walsh were a part of was convened because of an incident involving a botched mission against ISIS. Seven U.S. soldiers were killed and three K9s were lost. The review board was convened to investigate Army training practices and determine if the Army was at fault for the K9s’ failure to detect the IEDs that killed the servicemembers.”

“They convened that review board here?”

“It was convened at the US Army Department building in St. Paul two and a half hours south of here,” Torres replied. “The unit involved was a Minnesota reserve unit—not ours—that was on active deployment. There was some friction over the review board selection because of Master Sergeant Reeves’ inclusion. A lot of people thought it sent a poor message to have a Marine Corps NCO on an Army review board.”

“Did the Army give a reason for his inclusion?” Faith asked.

“He’s a— was a very well-respected leader in military K-9 training programs. He would have made a warrant officer if he'd asked for it. At least, that's what Kevin always said. He really admired Reeves. Anyway, the Army didn't back down on his inclusion, so I guess the brass felt the same way."

“Where does Walsh fit into this?” Faith asked.

“I don’t think it’s Kevin specifically,” Torres replied. “The board found that the Army was not at fault for the loss of the dogs. They found that it was the handlers who made an error by using the dogs incorrectly and not conducting a sensor sweep of the area before sending the dogs. That set one of the handlers off.”

“Who?”

“Staff Sergeant Eric Davidson. One of his dogs was killed in the mission, and he’d been very vocal about his belief that the Army’s training program needed to be updated to adapt to the new threats that soldiers faced in Iraq. He argued that since the Army refused to allocate the necessary budget to update the curriculum, then they were morally, logistically and financially responsible for the loss of the dogs and for the mission’s failure.”

Faith lifted an eyebrow. “Financially? He was asking for compensation?”

Torres sighed. “To be honest, no one was really sure what he was asking for. I don’t think he was entirely sure what he was asking for. It became clear early on that Sergeant Davidson was deeply affected by the loss of his dog and was likely to be declared psychologically unfit for further service. His actions at the review board hearing confirmed it.”

“Did he assault the board members?” Marcus asked.

“He tried to. He was intercepted by security, but he was saying a lot of horrible things.”

“What horrible things.”

Torres shrugged. “Oh, you know. The usual bullshit.”

“I know it’s probably hard to repeat,” Faith said, “but we need you to be specific. This could be important later.”

Torres's lips trembled, and she stroked Turk's fur a little faster. "Kevin was really upset after that review board. He came home and said that… that Sergeant Davidson had threatened to kill him and everyone else on the board. He didn't believe that Sergeant Davidson would try to carry out that threat, and neither did I, but still, it's a heavy thing to hear one of your own tell you that they think of you as an enemy. The Army is a brotherhood. We stand with our own, not against them."

“It looks like Sergeant Davidson thought that the Army was standing against him,” Marcus surmised.

“We weren’t, though. The whole point of the review board was to detect a problem if there was a problem to begin with. They weren’t trying to pin the blame on anyone. They were just trying to figure out where the weak link in the chain was so they could fix it.”

“I’m not suggesting that the board did anything wrong,” Marcus assured her, “but understanding our killer’s motive is critical if we’re going to catch him.”

“And you didn’t remember this until just now?” Faith asked. “Someone threatened to kill both of our victims, and you only just now remember?”

“I’m sorry,” Torres replied, lips trembling. “I just didn’t think anything of it. Combat is stressful, and people say shit. We—Kevin and I—felt bad for him more than anything. You know as well as anyone, I’m sure, how close the bond is between a dog and a handler. Their board found that Davidson had killed his dog by not using him properly. That’s a very hard thing to hear. We thought he just needed time to grieve.”

“You said it became clear early on that Sergeant Davidson was going to be declared psychologically unfit for duty,” Faith said. “Was he declared unfit?”

“Yes. He received a dishonorable discharge from the service three weeks after the board convened.”

“And did you ever hear from him after that?” Marcus asked.

“No. He disappeared. We figured he had his outburst and just…” She lifted a hand to her eyes and tried to stifle her tears. “We just didn’t think anything would come of it.”

Turk whined softly and shared a downcast look with Faith. Faith had a feeling she’d be seeing a lot of those looks from him in the coming days.

“It’s a long shot, I know,” she said, “But do you know where Eric Davidson lives now?”

Torres shook her head. “No. He wasn’t part of my unit. I never even interacted with him.”

“What about the other members of the review board?” Marcus asked. “Do you have that information for us yet?”

She shook her head again. "I put the request in this morning. If they expedite it, I should have an answer tomorrow. If it's normal bureaucracy it could be anytime between now and the heat death of the universe." She chuckled a little at her own joke, but with the tears running down her face, it sounded like more of a sob.

“Thank you for coming to us, Rebecca,” Faith said. “Are you going to be able to take some time off for Kevin’s memorial?”

She nodded. “Like I said, I only work for the Army on weekends. His memorial is on Wednesday, and then I’m taking the following two weekends off. I’ll get some time.” Tears welled in her eyes again. “It just sucks. I mean, I know you never know what the future holds, and Kevin and I were still fairly new, but I had this dream that he and I would end up together. I thought we had all the time in the world to figure that out. And now it’s all gone. Just like that.”

Faith felt an odd mix of sympathy and guilt. Her own relationship was nearing its second anniversary, and Faith was still resisting David’s efforts to move in together—a fairly normal next step at this point. She loved him, but she wasn’t really sure she even wanted to marry. She liked her time with him, but she liked her time alone too.

She wasn't here to debate the merits of committed relationships, though. She was here to catch a killer. "Go home and get some rest, Rebecca. We'll find this guy."

Rebecca smiled through her tears. “I know you will. Thank you. On behalf of myself, Kevin, and the unit, thank you.”

She gave Turk a final hug, then left the office. When she was gone, Marcus turned to his computer. “Okay, Eric Davidson, former Army K9 handler. Let’s see what we find here.”

Turk trotted to Faith and sat next to her, staring glumly out of the window. She reached down and stroked his fur. “It’s a rough one, huh, boy?”

Turk whined softly and nuzzled her legs. She patted his head. “I’m not going anywhere, boy. I promise you. You won’t lose me.”

With the wisdom of age, Turk lifted his eyes to hers. Those eyes told Faith that Turk appreciated the promise but knew as well as she did that her promise was one over which she had no control. People made mistakes. Sometimes it wasn’t a mistake. Sometimes people did everything right and still lost. It was one of life’s most brutal truths.

“All right,” Marcus said. “I have an address and a phone number. Which one do you want first?”

“Address.”

He read it off to her, and she asked, “Is that close by?”

“Yep. Hermantown is the next town over. We can be there in twenty minutes.”

“That long to reach the next town over?”

“Lunch rush,” he explained. “Also, it’s on the western end of Hermantown. Still within a half hour of both crime scenes, even in traffic. Maybe ten minutes in no traffic.”

“All right,” Faith said. “Let’s head there.”

Traffic was indeed busier than before. For the first time, Duluth seemed like an actual city to Faith. She considered telling Marcus to use his lights to clear some space, but that would be the opposite of laying low and depending on his department’s policy, it could land him in trouble. So, she bit her lip and waited.

Her phone buzzed while they drove. Michael.

Found a lead. Going to talk to her right now.

Faith texted back. Be careful, please.

I will.

Not just with this interview. If West knows about the Messenger Killer, he could be influencing things behind the scenes. If he isn't now, he will eventually. He could target you El, lie, or David.

After a brief pause, Michael replied, I'll be careful. Ellie's being careful, too. She always is after being married to West. As for David, I'll check in on him as often as I can, but it might be worth it for you to send him a message warning him.

Faith sighed. David would no doubt be very irritated to hear this information. He hadn’t taken very well to it the last time she warned him about a killer. That was another reason why she wasn’t too enthused about moving in with him. Living with a law enforcement officer took a different kind of commitment.

But that was for later. She had a killer of her own to catch. She looked at Turk and saw the same determination in his own eyes. If Davidson was the asshole targeting handlers in front of their K9s, then he would get the punishment he deserved.