Ryan let out a chuckle of amusement, having never been subjected to such close attention from Domino. ‘Christ, has he never been trained?’
Jenna grinned. Domino was perfectly well trained. He did everything he was told. Until he didn’t want to. But enough was enough and she needed to move.
‘Domino, get in the back.’ Jenna put on her voice of command and the dog instantly leapt into the back seat to join the other two.
Ryan threw her a grateful glance. ‘Better drive carefully. None of them are strapped in.’
Jenna turned to glance at the furry friends on the back seat, the little shih-tzu looking at odds between the two huge dogs.
Ryan was right. Domino normally sat in the boot of her car with a small black dog guard across the back seats, so he didn’t leap over. She couldn’t do that with the police vehicle. ‘Do you want to tether them?’
‘Will they sit with a seat belt around them?’ Ryan squinted at her.
‘I don't know.’ She shrugged. How was she supposed to know? She wasn’t the damned oracle.
‘Perhaps we should have called the dog handler.’
‘Chris is occupied at the moment. I don't think we’ve got anybody else on shift today. We’d have to call them out of area and that means waiting.’ She turned to check on the animals again. ‘We’ll just go steady.’ She put the car into gear and set off at a sedate pace. ‘I thought I might take Domino back home, drop him off there first, but then I just realised SOCO are going to have to check him over. We're going to have to take all three of them back to the station. It could take bloody hours if we can’t get hold of SOCO. I bet they’re all tied up with the fire.’ She slid a sly glance at her passenger of the human variety, hoping he might take the hint to contact his dad, Chief Forensics Officer, Jim Downey.
Head down and self-absorbed, Ryan tapped at the screen on his phone.
Ryan needed more than a hint, he needed a good hard shove. Dispensing with subtleties, Jenna got to the point. ‘Is your dad about?’
Without raising his head, Ryan continued to tap. ‘He’s probably tied up on the fire.’
That’s what she’d said. He wasn’t listening. Evidently whatever was on Ryan’s phone was more interesting than what she had to say. She made loud tutting noises to grab his attention.
He jiggled his shoulders in a self-conscious shrug. ‘He’s not going to be able to drop everything for a five-minute job. I don’t like to ask.’
Jenna chewed her lip as she glanced over her shoulder and pulled out into the overtaking lane, cruising at a steady fifty-five miles an hour. Decision made, she reached forward, scooped up her radio and offered it to Ryan. ‘Give the station a shout. Ask who is about.’
Ryan raised the radio to his mouth and depressed the button. ‘Juliet Alpha 77 to Control.’ Static crackled in the background to join the gentle whine from the little shih-tzu.
Jenny glanced at the back seat. ‘I hope she doesn’t get car sick.’
Ryan opened his mouth to answer, but the radio kicked back in.
‘Control, go ahead.’
‘Control, could you check if there’s anyone from SOCO available to carry out drugs forensics on three dogs we’re bringing into the station?’
A long stream of static filled the pause on the other end of the line. ‘Juliet Alpha 77, please confirm you wish SOCO to check three dogs.’
Ryan chuckled as he glanced at his watch. ‘Confirmed, Control. We’ve picked up three drug-pushing dogs.’ He clicked off the speak button and snorted out a laugh.
Jenna stared at him. Who was this person in the car with her? It appeared young Ryan had found his place in the team, his effervescence spilling out.
After a moment, he sobered and spoke into Airwaves again, only to take her by surprise. ‘One of them belongs to DS Morgan.’ This time his laughter pushed out to fill the car.
Jenna shook her head as she pulled the car out onto the main ring road towards Malinsgate Station. ‘Thanks, Ryan. You big kid. I’ll never live this down.’ Every last person in the station would take pleasure out of ribbing her about it. There had to be a bright side. ‘At least he got his walk.’
Ryan’s laughter came harder as he shook his head. ‘I’d love to see your sister’s face when you tell her Domino has been making his own living. Bad boy.’ He tossed over his shoulder at the dogs on the back seat. ‘He’s moved over to the dark side.’
Domino’s ears flicked back in complete understanding.
Jenna joined in Ryan’s laughter and let it roll off her, happy with the momentary distraction. It was an eon ago they started work and yet they hadn’t managed to get into the station so far. Some days went like that. ‘Who would have known the day would go this way?’
Ryan turned to face her, and Domino stuck his snout between the two front seats to snag a quick kiss with him. With another hoot of laughter, Ryan reared his head back out of the way of the errant dog tongue.
‘I fucking love my job.’ A happy grin settled across his face as the laughter died out. ‘I fucking love it. There's never two days the same.’
She couldn’t agree more. Nothing ever remained the same. Some days floated past on paperwork and politics, others on domestics and theft. Very rarely did they catch a big case. She suspected the fire was about to become one of their biggest.
Although… she snapped out a grin of her own. Who would have suspected she’d rumble an entire drugs ring, including the drug-pushing dogs when she picked up her coffee that morning? Kudos to the team for jumping on board so quick. Task Force couldn’t have done any better. But they’d be picking the up-line drugs ring up if they could through young Shaun.
Jenna glanced in the rear-view mirror at the two large dogs posed to perfection on the back seat, staring out of the side windows as though it was their right to ride in a police vehicle, and assumed Lily was somewhere on the back seat between them.
Her gaze flickered down to her handbag wedged on its side against Ryan’s leg in the passenger footwell, the contents spilling out. Resigned to the loss of her lunch, Jenna sighed as she raised her gaze again to the pure innocence of the panini-loving Dalmatian on the back seat.
Airwaves sprang back to life and the deep tones of Morris King, the communications operator, flowed over them. The best voice in the station, deep and sexy with the melodic undertones of Wales filtered through. Used to his five foot five square frame and bald head, his appearance still managed to disappoint every time Jenna saw him, but she could listen to his voice forever.
‘You’re in luck, DC Downey. Jim Downey’s just walked in the station for his refs break. He says to tell DS Morgan he’ll take your three dogs and raise you a few dead bodies at the scene of the fire.’
The smile wiped from Ryan's face. He fell silent. No evidence left of his humour.
A wave of sadness brought her exhilaration crashing to the floor as she pressed down on the accelerator, every minute of those twenty-four hours she had at her disposal needed to count.
26
Monday 20 April 1050 hours
Jenna leaned in through the back door to pick up the leads of the three dogs. They bounded out of the car and Domino high-stepped his way proudly by her side in through the station’s front doors, where Jim Downey stood, hands in pockets, waiting for them to arrive.