Parker (The K9 Files Book 6) Read online

  She pulled out her passport, then wallet. Checked inside. “Everything is still here, even the picture of my brother and all my cash,” she said with a big smile. She slung her purse strap over her head to rest against her body.

  “What about the rest of our bags?” He crouched, twisted his head down and looked under the cots. “No sign of them.”

  “Let’s keep looking,” she said. “If we never get anything else back, I’m totally okay with this.”

  He understood how she felt. These were his sentiments exactly. The picture of her brother, her passport, IDs, wallet, all of that was much more important. She clutched the purse to the front of her body. “Good,” he said. “Hang on to that.”

  She gave him the briefest of smiles. “Don’t worry. I intend to. I’m hanging on to you, and I’m hanging on to my purse.” Then she laughed. “And you’re hanging on to me, and you’re hanging on to Samson. We are quite the trio.”

  “And let’s hope that we are completely overreacting,” he murmured. As they stood outside the building where they found her purse, he looked around. “What do you want to do now?”

  “More empty barracks are here. What do you think?”

  He nodded. “As long as they’re empty, we can do a quick check.”

  They proceeded to check nine more empty barracks, and, when they came to one that actually had a voice on the other side, at Parker’s knock, the voice stopped.

  Parker said, “We’re looking for two missing bags. Any sign of them in there?”

  A tousled head popped out, looking like he had just woken up. “I don’t know, man. Let me check.” He came back out a few moments later with two bags. “Are these yours?” He looked back inside. “You guys supposed to be here?”

  Sandy gave a cry of joy, reaching for her bag, and slung it over her back.

  Parker reached for his own. Still holding Samson’s leash, they were forced to separate slightly. Parker looked at the guy and grinned. “No. We got moved up to the front, but our bags didn’t come with us.”

  The guy just rolled his eyes and said, “Figures. If you don’t mind, I’m heading back to bed now.” The door slammed in their face.

  But they had what they needed, and they were happy. So, with no more wasted time, Parker grabbed Sandy’s hand and marched a steady pace to where the ceremony would be, Samson happy to join them.

  “Right. We’re almost out of time, aren’t we?” she asked, walking faster to keep up.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I don’t mean to make you run.”

  “We don’t have time for niceties,” she stated and started to gain speed on him.

  He gave her a crooked grin, picked up speed, and within minutes they were almost where the ceremony would take place.

  Slightly out of breath, they arrived a hair early to stand, bags at their feet, breathing hard, as they were confronted with the sight of six coffins.

  Parker heard Sandy catch her breath. Almost like a physical blow to both of them.

  He gripped her fingers hard. “Stand steady,” he whispered.

  Maybe that was what she needed to hear. Maybe he needed to hear that himself. He watched her back stiffen, and her shoulders straighten. She gave a hard nod. “It’s what he would want too.”

  Parker stared at the names on the tops of the coffins. Hating to see his brother like this. Hating this end for him. To know she was going through the exact same emotions helped but also hurt. He’d have done anything to have saved people from this. Other men and women stood at the other coffins. Other family members.

  He could almost hear his brother’s voice in the back of his head, whispering against his ear, Who’d have thought we’d get to this point, bro?

  He smiled, forcing back the emotions. Down the road, when Parker was away from the immediacy of it all, he’d take time to grieve, time to remember his brother for who he was.

  He could feel fingers gripping his and realized, for all her attempts to be strong, tears slowly rolled down Sandy’s cheeks. That made it that much harder to keep his own back.

  She gripped his hand and walked forward to the second coffin where she dropped his hand and placed hers on top of the coffin and bowed her head for a long moment. He placed his on the same coffin beside hers. This had been Parker’s brother’s best friend. He deserved as good a send-off as anybody could give him. Silently Parker and Sandy stood shoulder to shoulder, and then he shifted to his brother’s coffin and held out his left hand so he had one hand on each.

  She followed suit until they were both standing in the circle of his arms, each with a hand on the two coffins. It was one of the most emotional and momentous moments of his life.

  Trying to say goodbye to his brother and yet not ready to let go. He wanted to be strong for his brother. In the background he could almost hear his brother saying, You’re trying too hard, bro. Let it go.

  Parker sniffled slightly. Sandy turned in his arms, reached up and kissed him on the cheek. He tightened his arms around her and cuddled her close. When they could, they both stepped back, an arm still wrapped around each other, and they stood tall.

  The ceremony itself was quick, emotional and incredibly powerful. When they were done, he watched as the crowd slightly dispersed. But he had absolutely no inclination to move. Neither did Sandy. She stayed with her head tucked against his chest.

  Samson lay at their feet. He’d been at attention up until everybody started to disperse, and then he relaxed.

  Parker resolved to do some training, so he was up to speed with a dog like Samson. He was extremely well-trained. And it shouldn’t take too much for Samson to learn to work with Parker too. Maybe he could talk to somebody back home about that. It would be a good investment in both him and Samson. Potentially they should be contracting their skills out. Or rather, Samson’s skills out.

  Parker squeezed Sandy gently and whispered, “Are you ready to leave?”

  She reached up, brushed away the tears and smiled gently. “There won’t be much point in staying,” she whispered.

  As they turned to look, only family members remained. It looked like they didn’t want to leave either. “Do you want to talk to them?”

  Sandy nodded. “Sure,” she said and slipped out of his arms, walked over, spoke quietly to the other grieving family members, hugged them and returned to Parker. She smiled up at him. “We don’t leave for another four hours, right?”

  “They moved our flights earlier, I thought …” He checked his watch. “We leave at five o’clock.”

  “Good. The sooner, the better.” She walked over to her brother’s coffin, placed the image on top, secured by the double-stick tape on the back, and kissed the wood, then pressed her hand to it gently. “Bye, Jeremy,” she whispered hoarsely. She walked back over and looped her arm with Parker’s. He leaned in and softly kissed her forehead.

  “They will load the coffins in the trucks. We can grab something to eat, since we missed lunch, then head to the airport.”

  “My stomach is in knots, but I go where you go.”

  They watched as the coffins with their brothers’ bodies inside were loaded into trucks. It was a somber moment. It still didn’t feel final because they hadn’t had their funerals in the States yet. Parker and Sandy clung to each other, and Samson seemed to just know it was a moment to be quiet. He stood tall, whining slightly. Parker pet the dog on the top of his head. “Good boy,” he said.

  “It’s hard to leave them,” Sandy said, “but it’s time.”

  Sergeant Hall came up behind them. “You found your bags,” he said, surprise in his voice. “Where were they?”

  Parker explained how they found them, and Sergeant Hall frowned. “More bad news,” he said. He shook his head. “We do have more men in the colonel’s office. So, if you’ve got a moment, we should go over and take a look. Maybe you will recognize one of them from being here at the base.”

  “Lead the way, Sergeant Hall.”

  He nodded solemnly. “Of course.”

>   They fell into step behind him, now holding hands, Samson eager to be moving forward and quite comfortable in the circumstances. The sergeant looked down at Samson and said, “He appears to be behaving himself.”

  “Considering we were instructed to keep him in the cage at all times, he’s been incredibly easy to work with.”

  “Most of the K9s are extremely well-trained,” Sergeant Hall said. “It’s hard to go wrong having a dog like him at home.”

  “I have to talk to Commander Cross when I get stateside,” Parker said.

  “Right.” Hall shook his head. “It’s too bad that division shut down. I understand why but …” His voice trailed off. He motioned up ahead. “We’re just down around this corner.”

  They followed him to the colonel’s familiar office and stepped inside. The colonel greeted them and pointed at a corner. “Feel free to drop your gear there.”

  Parker placed his stuff down, then grabbed Sandy’s to-go bag and stacked it on top. He knew she had no intention of leaving her purse anywhere but strapped around her body.

  Colonel Barek said, “Take a seat beside me.” Two chairs were to the side of his desk. He motioned at Sergeant Hall. “Let’s begin.”

  The sergeant disappeared through the open door.

  The colonel said, “We will bring in each soldier. They will identify themselves. They will make a turn so you can take a look at their profile, and then they will step out. At any point, if you want to see somebody longer or again, just let me know.”

  He could feel Sandy’s startle of surprise. But Parker knew this needed to happen. He wrapped his hand with hers, holding on tight, giving her support through his grip. She did not have to be afraid. He was staying.

  The first corporal came through the door, stopped in front of them. “Corporal Jarvis, sir.” He turned ninety degrees, then walked out. This happened for each man.

  Parker looked at her, and she shook her head. The colonel looked at her and asked, “Anybody?”

  “Not yet,” she said. But, as soon as the next man stepped in, she stiffened. And a strangled squeak escaped.

  “Corporal Rodgers, sir.” He turned a full circle and started to walk away.

  The colonel looked at her. “We will have him sit off to one side.”

  She nodded, but her fingers were gripping Parker so hard that she was leaving indents from her nails. The next one came in and then two more. She shook her head after each one left.

  Sergeant Hall stepped back in. “We have one more,” he said. He pulled open the door and let the last man in.

  He spoke his name. “Corporal Daley, sir.” He turned and walked away.

  Sandy nodded her head as soon as he turned away.

  Sergeant Hall stopped him at the doorway and signaled for the other corporal to return.

  Parker faced her. “Are you okay?”

  She let out a slow exhale and turned to look at him and the colonel. “Yes, I’m fine. Those are the two men who kidnapped me.”

  Chapter 8

  The colonel looked at her, his voice hard, his gaze even harder. “Are you certain?”

  She studied the two men, both of them staring straight ahead, but she could see the muscles twitching in their jaws.

  She nodded emphatically. “Yes,” she said. “They are the men who kidnapped me, who took me to another building and who gave me the third degree about Parker and why we were here. When they suspected they were about to be caught, they dragged me from the first building, smacked me hard on my cheek”—she turned to show the colonel the bruise on her slightly puffy face—“then they dragged me to another barracks.”

  The colonel stood, walked around to stand in front of the two men. “Soldiers. What do you two have to say for yourselves?”

  The men looked at him but didn’t say a word. Silence ensued for a long moment, and the colonel finally nodded and said, “Fine. Don’t speak. You will eventually.” He turned to face the door and called out to Sergeant Hall.

  The sergeant stepped back in. “Take them to the brig,” he said. “I want to know who is in their circles and what business they have to do with the theft going on in this base. And what was their role in Ronnie’s death.”

  As the corporals left with the sergeant, Corporal Daley turned back and said, “Sir. I had nothing to do with his death.”

  With a hand motion at his sergeant, the colonel had both men separated. He brought Corporal Daley back in. “Explain, Corporal?”

  “I am part of a team stealing supplies from this base,” he said painfully. “But I had nothing to do with Ronnie’s death.”

  “Who did?” the colonel demanded.

  The man shrugged. After that, the colonel didn’t show any mercy. He fired question after question at the corporal.

  When he was done, Parker asked a few of his own.

  Sandy had nothing to say; she just watched as this soldier was pummeled with questions. She had her phone in her hand and was videotaping it. Not to have for later but to make sure she understood what was going on.

  At one point, the corporal seemed to falter. The colonel pounced. “I want names. I want dates. I want details,” he ordered.

  The sergeant returned with a notepad, pen and a tape recorder. He sat Daley down and said, “From the beginning, Corporal.”

  The corporal, by now, realizing just how extremely serious his state was, said, “I’m willing to help on everything. But I did not have anything to do with Ronnie’s murder.”

  “If it is connected, Corporal, it won’t make a damn bit of difference. Because, once you are in, you are in. You don’t get to pick and choose which part the gang does that you do not partake in. You don’t get to say I am part of the making money but not part of the taking the responsibility for the gang. It does not work that way,” the colonel said and glared at him.

  He got up and walked over to Sergeant Hall and discussed something quietly off to the side. The sergeant walked over and stood in front of Parker and Sandy. “Let’s take you two to the mess tent. We have more business to conduct here.”

  Parker stood, and Sandy did too but slower. She hooked her arm through his and let the sergeant lead them in another maze back to the mess hall. It was already three-thirty p.m. “Wow. Time is flying.”

  “It is, indeed. We have to get to the airport soon.”

  “We need to get some more food for Samson.”

  “Shit,” Parker said. He sat down and pulled Samson over and gave him a rub on his face. “I’m not used to looking after a dog. It’ll take me a bit to get used to. Sorry, bud. Maybe if the sergeant comes with us, we’ll get something from the supply clerk.”

  The sergeant nodded. “I can even get paperwork if need be. We can’t have the dog starving, now that he’s back safe.”

  “Exactly,” Sandy replied.

  “We should grab a few bottles of water for him too,” Parker said.

  The sergeant grabbed several bottles of water, a plastic dish and brought it all back. He opened up one of the bottles, filled the dish and put it down in front of Samson.

  Samson emptied it in no time.

  “Now let’s get him some dry kibble.”

  “A few sample bags would be great,” Parker said.

  “We’ll stop at supply on our way,” the sergeant said.

  That was the first inkling that Hall wouldn’t be cutting loose from them at any point. Sandy smiled up at him. “Sorry that you’re on babysitting duty.”

  Hall chuckled. “I’m okay. Gets me out of a lot of paperwork.”

  Parker laughed. “I won’t miss that.”

  “I understand you are leaving the service?”

  Parker nodded. “I wasn’t really thinking about it before, but my brother’s death cinched it for me.”

  “I understand,” the sergeant said. “We find deaths like that either send you one way or the other. But rarely do you ever waffle in the middle.”

  “With good reason,” Parker said. “Jerry gave his life to the military. I�
�m not sure I want to end up in the same place. I loved it here. I loved my years here, but I think it’s time to move on. There’s just me and my dad now. I would hate to die in combat and have a stranger arriving at my father’s door to let him know his other son is now gone.”

  “Good point,” the sergeant said. “The military’s been my life, but I’m one of four boys. So my family would be fine.”

  “I’m glad you have a big family, but even the loss of one member is never good,” Sandy said, smiling up at him. “Make sure you stay safe. Life is short, and the loss of my brother has shown me that I still want to do a lot of things, and it’s not all tied to the military.”

  “That is the one thing about it,” the sergeant said. “It’s all encompassing. It’s a completely different world. The rules are different. The punishments are different, but the one thing that you do have to do is follow the rules or else.”

  “As we’ve come to see,” she said. “What will happen to those young corporals?”

  His face turned grim. “Nothing good,” he said. “They threw their lives away, and not just because of the theft but being involved in the murder of a fellow serviceman …” He shook his head. “Well, you can just imagine.”

  “Those men couldn’t have been more than twenty-five years old,” she protested.

  “They may not have been,” Parker said at her side, “but they were certainly old enough to know right from wrong. Yes, there is a lot of peer pressure, and, yes, they might have gotten in with the wrong crowd, but that’s no excuse …”

  “I understand,” she said, but her heart was heavy. “It’s just hard when you are taking home two servicemen in boxes, as we are. Seeing the coffins all lined up, you realize what these men are here for. It’s just a shame Rodgers and Daley started out like our brothers and yet are now involved in this mess.”

  “They also likely benefited quite a bit from it too,” the sergeant said. “Keep that in mind. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to matter how big a machine, and maybe because this machine is too big, but there will always be corruption to be corralled, and liars and cheaters have to be dealt with. But to murder one of your own countrymen, who’s over here in service of our country, that’ll never go down well,” he said.