Page 44 of Fighting for Family

Sparky rose from her spot, feeling along the wall. Apollo walked beside her, watching her every move.

“You didn’t let Leo down or us,” she said quietly. “I disobeyed the order. I know you’ve lost your best friend. One of the best things about this team is how we work together. This doesn’t feel like teamwork anymore. It feels like you expect us to overthrow you at any moment. We need you to lead us. Leo’s gone. We may not be able to help him, but we can make the bastards who killed him pay. Someone didn’t want Hollywood near the area. He saw the rattle. What else might be there?”

Saint hung his head.

“I can’t let Leo down,” he said quietly. “This thing has turned into a shitshow.”

“Then let’s stop fighting one another and get on to business,” Sparky said gently. “If we put our heads together, we can take them down. You’re our leader. It’s time you take your place.”

“Let’s go back to the site. We’ll search for the rattle. Then, we need to figure out who’s visiting Sergeant Ford. Cole, did you get notice when someone of higher rank planned to visit when you worked there?”

Shaking his head, he answered, “No. Once we put the dogs in their crates for the evening, we went to our bunks. Four people watched them at night, plus the outside security. Colonel Rutherford visited, and they usually alerted us the day before. It gave us time to make sure everything appeared spic and span.”

“Then who visited in the evenings?” Taco said, thinking out loud.

Sparky smiled. “Cole, how did Sergeant Ford have an affair on the base? It’s remote. How many women did you see there?”

Cole considered her question. “We’ve housed two female trainers. One discharged about two years ago, and the other requested a transfer six months into her assignment.”

“Why?” Sparky asked.

Shrugging, Cole shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Do you recall her name?” she asked.

“No. I worked mainly in the field or went with a unit when needed. Sometimes we observed a K-9 in the field if the handler experienced any issues,” Cole explained. “Wait. I think her first name was Cora.”

Sparky glanced at Saint. “Can we ask Bear to find the woman?”

“It may take him a while,” Saint said, watching Ragu charge another of their phones.

“Do you think Cora returned to the unit and carried on an affair with Sergeant Ford?” Shadow asked.

“No. We need to know why she requested the transfer. Cole said he enjoyed working there and everyone got along until the months leading to his discharge. What if someone pressured her?” Sparky pondered.

“Did you have a high turnover rate? I imagine someone with your skills must be valuable to a team. What did she bring to the fold?” Saint asked, excited they seemed to have a lead.

“We didn’t. People vied for a position there,” Cole said. “We didn’t have colonel breathing down our necks. We became close with one another except for a few.”

“Let me guess, Fucker Ford didn’t,” Taco said, disgusted.

“When I first arrived, he seemed amiable. He didn’t seem to have a problem with me until Brody brought me the photos of his affair. I never said anything,” Cole explained.

“I imagine they have cameras in the facility,” Sparky surmised. “You say he gave you crap after you returned the images. Did he have access to the cameras?”

“Most likely. He headed the unit for the most part,” Cole said slowly, piecing together Sparky’s questions.

“Bear will reach out when he has the information. He’s contacted Tex to expedite the information. He sends his condolences and will let Ghost and Wolf’s teams know,” Saint informed them.

“If you saw the pictures again, do you think you’d recognize the woman?” Sparky asked.

“I didn’t gape at her,” Cole said uncomfortably. “I noticed her long black hair. On her right shoulder, I saw a tattoo of a flowery moon with a star.”

“Don’t worry, Cole, we won’t tell Stormy,” Taco teased. “If you saw it again, can you identify it?”

“Maybe,” he replied.

Saint dug into his pack for paper and a pencil. “Can you draw it?”