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“Umm… May I ask what this is about?” the homeowner asked.
“We’re investigating the murder of Maria Gonzalez,” Faith said. “She was your next-door neighbor?”
“Yes, I remember her. The police talked to me a year ago. When did you guys take over?”
“Another woman was killed early this morning,” Faith said. “We believe the two murders are connected.”
“Okay.” He looked warily between the three of them. “Any reason why you’re talking to me specifically?”
“Our K9 unit picked up a scent at the most recent crime scene. He found that same scent here and followed it to your porch.”
“To my porch? I was home all night last night. I have a security camera, I can prove it.”
“We don’t suspect you of being involved,” Michael said. “We just want to know what you saw the night of the murder.”
The homeowner looked between them for a moment, trying to decide if he was going to let them in. Finally, he unlatched the door and motioned with his head for them to enter. "Come on in," he said. "I'll talk to you, but I think your dog might have just smelled my dogs."
No sooner had he said that then three German shepherds barreled around the corner and greeted Turk with all the enthusiasm that three giant puppies showed when another dog was around. Turk reacted the same, wagging his tail happily and exchanging canine pleasantries with the trio.
The homeowner relaxed when he saw that. He was a short, rotund man of around fifty with graying hair, jowls and square-rimmed reading glasses. He smiled slightly at the dogs and said, “They never stop being puppies, do they?”
"No, they don't," Faith agreed, "and you might be right. That being said, Turk's shown great intuition before. Even if you're not directly involved with the murder, there's a reason he's here. Maybe you noticed something. Maybe the killer walked across your lawn, or your dogs picked up his scent."
The homeowner’s ears perked up at that. “Actually, that might be true.”
Faith lifted an eyebrow. “Do tell.”
“Well, the night the murder happened, the three of them began causing a racket. I had to bring them inside.”
“They were barking a lot?”
At first it was just barking. I thought maybe they had seen a possum. They used to get real upset when possums would get into the yard, but eventually, I trained them not to go haywire. Can’t really have dogs barking all night when you have neighbors on three sides.”
“I get that,” Faith said. “So did you come out to investigate or did you just bring them inside?”
“Well,” he chuckled. “The first thing I did was shout at them to quit making noise. It was three in the morning. I was tired too.”
“I’m guessing they didn’t quit making noise,” Michael said.
“No, they didn’t. They started barking again. Then they started whining. But not like they wanted an extra treat. Whimpering like they were hurt. Josie, that’s the lighter colored one, she stepped on a wasp once and got stung. She spent the next week limping and whimpering something awful. That was the noise they were making.
“Well, I started to freak out. Not like, freak out, I guess, but I got worried. We had a black bear wander in here about”—he cocked his head—“Oh, fifteen years ago, I guess. Got the Jacksons’ Golden Retriever and mauled her nearly to death before Greg shot it through the skull. Everyone kept their dogs inside for two years after that. Kids too.”
“I can imagine,” Faith said. “So they started whimpering, and what did you do?”
“That’s when I brought them inside. I came downstairs and opened the back door. I was scared to death, I don’t mind saying. I don’t own a gun. I don’t believe in guns. No offense,” he added quickly. “I get that law enforcement has to carry them. I just don’t see a reason why normal citizens do. Anyway, I was scared, because if a bear came down, I wasn’t going to be able to do anything about it.” He chuckled. “Almost bought a gun the next day, I’ll tell you what.”
“So you opened the back door,” Michael prodded.
“Right. I opened the door, and the dogs were all acting strangely. Pacing around and shaking their heads, whining, whimpering and barking. Fern and Garth were rubbing their ears on the ground. I called them a few times, but they didn’t listen. Almost like they couldn’t quite hear me. They’d look at me, then look away.”
Faith frowned. “Interesting. Did you hear anything?”
“Not a damned thing. Just crickets. And the dogs, of course. So I got even more scared, right? I called them and called them, but they wouldn’t listen. Finally, I ran out after them and grabbed them one by one and brought them inside.”
“Did they calm down once they were inside?”
“Not right away. They kept whimpering for about five minutes or so, but then they calmed down. Wouldn’t leave my side for the rest of the night. Not that I minded that.” He chuckled. “Hell, I sat right on the couch with my arm around Fern and Garth and Josie lying across my feet. Put on Star Trek reruns—that was all that was on that early—and watched Captain Kirk fight the Klingons until the sun came up. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life.”
