Trail Of Danger. Valerie Hansen

      “What do you girls want, huh? A drink of water? I can probably manage that, but I’d better ask the officer first.”

      Jessie stayed in place. Midnight, excited by the kind tone of voice, wiggled and circled at Abigail’s feet. Then she glanced over at her canine buddy and managed to resume a seated position without quivering too badly. The pup was smart, all right. She’d learned to beg after one impromptu lesson.

      Waiting to see what happened next, Reed was startled by the loud ringing of a cell phone. He watched Abigail pale as she set the water bottles aside, reached for her phone and looked at the number. It must have been familiar because she quickly answered.

      “Hello?”

      Whatever the caller said caused her to lean against the counter. Was she shaking? Perhaps it was bad news and she needed moral support. Convinced he was right, Reed joined her and the dogs.

      “I—I can’t. I’m not ready,” Abigail said, listening to the caller’s reply before she added, “Are you sure?”

      Apparently the answer was affirmative because her tight grip on the phone began to whiten her knuckles. He gently cupped her elbow and mouthed, “What’s wrong?”

      Distracted, she lowered the phone. Her eyes were wide and moist, her lower lip quivering slightly. “It’s one of my kids. A girl I’ve been working with for several months. She insists she has to talk to me in person.”

      “Where?” Reed asked.

      “She’s at the AFS office where I work. That stands for A Fresh Start. It’s only about six blocks away, right here in Brighton Beach. I usually walk, it’s just that...”

      “I understand. How about if we go with you?”

      “You’d do that? Really?”

      “Of course.”

      Abigail lifted the phone to her ear again and agreed to the rendezvous. “All right. I’ll manage. Tell her to meet me there in thirty minutes.”

      Her blue eyes were still wide and misty when she ended the call and looked at Reed. “I hope that’s enough time.”

      “It will be if we drive instead of dragging this pup on a leash. I’d like to see her relate to teens.”

      “Some of them are very troubled,” Abigail told him.

      “All the better for temperament testing.”

      “Right.”

      He saw Abigail standing very still and eyeing a purse that sat at the end of the kitchen counter. Clearly, she was far from over the trauma of nearly being abducted.

      “Tell you what,” Reed said, keeping his voice light and pleasant, “I’ll go get my car and come pick you up. How does that sound?”

      The smile she gave him showed great relief. “Sounds good. That way we won’t have to drag Midnight and get her all dirty from the sidewalks.”

      He matched her smile with a wider grin. “I’ll leave them both with you so Jessie can help influence the pup.” After snapping short leashes on his K-9’s collar and Midnight’s harness, Reed handed the opposite ends to her. “You’re in charge.”

      “Hey! Wait. I don’t know what to do.”

      “It’s easy. You just stand where you are or sit back down on the couch. They’ll follow you.”

      “Like this puppy followed you up the stairs, you mean?”

      Reed chuckled. His ploy had worked. Abigail was concentrating on handling the dogs instead of dwelling on her pending trip outside. Anything he could do to relieve her angst was a plus. It was likely that her healing would depend upon taking baby steps, such as initially venturing out with him as her companion and the dogs for distraction. She was certainly acting less afraid than she had when she’d first taken the phone call.

      He gave Jessie the hand signal to stay, turned, and was almost to her door before Abigail called, “Hurry back.”

      That sounded so much better than the state in which he’d found her when he’d first visited, he was thrilled. The sooner she got over her fright and regained her memory of the incident at the carousel, the sooner the NYPD would be able to locate and arrest her assailants. At least, he hoped so. No matter how much he enjoyed the young woman’s company, he was going to have to back off soon. His official duties didn’t allow for much of a social life, not to mention the inadvisability of spending free time with the victim of a crime.

      Jogging along the narrow sidewalk and dodging pedestrians, Reed realized he felt the absence of his K-9 partner. Jessie was so much a part of him, on and off duty, it was as if a critical element was missing. He could count times like this when he’d left her behind on the fingers of one hand.

      The faster he moved the stronger his sense of foreboding grew. He had to get back to Abigail—and to Jessie—as fast as possible.