Special Agent. Valerie Hansen
worked at a diner, eating might have been, too. Not that she wanted anyone to know. The way she looked at it, as long as she had a roof over her head and enough to eat, she was blessed.
If the K-9 cop/agent was surprised by the appearance of her current dwelling in contrast to the posh Garwood Ranch he hid it well. That pleased her. She’d already had so-called friends from her ranch days turn up their noses at her efforts to make a home out of a veritable hovel. This handsome man with his perfectly pressed uniform and gleaming car never batted an eye.
“I’ll get Opal.” He eyed her scrubs and smiled. “That shade of green sure isn’t your color.”
Katerina returned his grin. “Oh, I don’t know. It matches my skin whenever I move too fast and get dizzy.”
He was chuckling to himself as he opened the hatchback and released his dog. Katerina waited to see what a boxer in uniform looked like. Since the idea was ludicrous she assumed the image would be, too. Opal, however, jumped down on command and stood at the ready, a picture of the perfect canine standing at attention as if she were a seasoned soldier ready to do battle.
“Can I pet her?” Katerina asked. “I don’t want to mess up her training.”
“Glad you asked. When our dogs are wearing their vests or special harnesses like this it’s best to keep your distance. I’ll let you play with her later. Okay?”
“Okay. She really is beautiful and impressive. I’m sorry I made fun of her breed.” Katerina continued to smile, only this time she was focused on the dog. “Please convey my sincere apologies?”
“Opal never holds a grudge,” Max said with a slight smirk. “I think you’ll enjoy watching her work. She’s intense when she’s on the trail of dangerous substances.”
“Wonderful. Well...” She eyed the building. “I’ll go on up and change before we go back to look at the ranch. That was what you wanted to do, right?”
“Right. After Opal and I have scoped out your apartment.”
It was hard for Katerina to stifle an unladylike snort. “I don’t think there’s much danger of anybody even finding this place, let alone wanting to blow it up. It will probably fall down on its own soon enough.”
“Still, we should go with you. Opal can always use the practice and there’s no lead on whoever was in your hospital room yesterday.”
Reminded of this, Katerina was willing to let him accompany her. After her recent close calls she was unsteady in more ways than one. Her nerves were firing like kernels of popcorn in a pan of hot oil and she didn’t like the feeling one bit.
“Okay. I have an outside stairway in the rear. That way I don’t have to bother opening the old hardware store to get in.”
“It looks unique.” Max squinted to peer through the dusty windows. “I almost expect a prospector to step out carrying a pickax and a gold pan.”
“You aren’t far wrong. The date over the doorway says the building goes back to the mid-1800s. I suspect it was expanded as needed during the gold rush.” She paused when she reached the base of the wooden stairway in the rear. “Single file from here. Be my guest.”
Max hesitated and raked her with a solemn stare. “If I didn’t have Opal to alert me, I might wonder if you wanted me to go first because you already knew it was dangerous.”
“Oh, for...” Katerina pushed past him and stomped up the stairs in her loose boots. The door wasn’t locked. Almost nobody in South Fork locked their homes. She straight-armed the door and barged in. One gasp and she skidded to a halt.
Max caught up. “What’s wrong?”
“Look! It’s awful!”
He took one peek and agreed. “Wow. I take it you’re usually a neater housekeeper than this.”
“Well, duh.” Katerina rolled her eyes cynically. “I never tear the stuffing out of my only chair just for fun. And I don’t have a pet tiger, so those slashes must have been made with a knife.”
He drew Opal closer with the leash and placed his other palm on the grip of his sidearm. “Wait here.”
He didn’t have to tell Katerina twice. Her boots felt nailed to the floor. Trembling, she watched the dog put its nose to the carpet and lead the handsome agent toward her bedroom. Was it simply searching for a scent or had it picked up the odor of an explosive? What if there was another bomb? What if it went off? She shivered involuntarily. The old hardware store was rickety at best and there was no telling what kind of combustibles might be stored below. She had never wondered before. Now she wished she’d been more paranoid.
Taut nerves insisted she not linger despite the agent’s orders to the contrary. Checking to see if he was visible and not seeing him or his dog, she began to sidle out the open door. One step. Two...
Max’s shout of “Hey!” startled her and she thought he was yelling at her until he added, “Federal agent. Freeze.”
Katerina tensed. A darkly clad figure came barreling toward her. There was no time to move before the onrushing man lowered a shoulder and smashed into her like a quarterback trying to make a touchdown. She spun. Fell. Heard more shouting and sensed someone jumping over her prone figure.
Wood cracked. Splintered. The outside railing gave way. A dog yipped. Opal!
Katerina flipped over and scrambled for footing. Her head was pounding. Her vision blurry. Unsure, she blinked rapidly, astounded.
Max was hanging from the remains of the broken railing by one hand while his canine partner clung to the partially collapsed stairway edge, legs splayed and claws digging in.
The moment Katerina peered over at him he shouted, “Get the dog!”
It never occurred to her to argue or hesitate. Only after she had hold of Opal’s harness and was hauling her to safety did she wonder why she hadn’t been bitten. As soon as the K-9 was out of the way, the agent swung a foot onto the edge of the step Opal had vacated and pulled himself up.
All three sat there, catching their breaths. Only the dog seemed unperturbed.
“Thanks,” Max said. “You okay?”
Katerina began to nod, then thought better of it. “Just peachy. I have a pounding headache, the whole county thinks I’m a crook, somebody is out to make an even bigger mess of my life than it already is, my ex sent a thug after me and we all could have been killed just now, even poor Opal. Otherwise, I guess I’m fine.”
“You guess?” His tone was gruff.
“Hey, don’t snap at me. I just saved your partner.”
“Did you get a look at the guy? Was it the same man as at the hospital? All I saw was a black hoodie and jeans.”
“I have no idea,” Katerina insisted. “He rushed me so fast I hardly knew what was happening. Where was he hiding?”
“Beats me. Must have been in the kitchen. He wasn’t in the living room or bedroom.” Standing, he reached for her hand. “Come on. You need to go in and see if anything’s missing. Since he was still here, I assume he didn’t find whatever he was looking for, but you should take a look.”
“I’m not going to like what I see, am I?” she asked warily as he pulled her to her feet.
“No, you’re not. Watch your step.”
Max kept hold of her hand as he led her back into the apartment. Opal followed, no longer acting concerned or even interested. That was a relief. Katerina was actually feeling pretty good until she saw her bedroom. Or what was left of it.
* * *
Max was impressed by this young woman’s inner strength. Most would have wept over the mess the thieves had made. Someone had destroyed her thin mattress down to the box springs, then torn the covering off it,