“How are we going to explain our being here?”
Scott grinned at her. “I don’t have to explain myself. You’re the one with a cred problem. You and Hugo can sit this one out.”
“I don’t think so.” Cole shifted in the seat to look back at the covered kennels where Hugo and Izzy rode in back of the truck. “If we’re right, you’ll need backup. That’s me.”
He grinned at her. “I like it when you go all badass.”
She shrugged and checked her GPS. “So far, all we’ve got is speculation.”
“Don’t underestimate the intuition of a shrewd and seasoned DEA officer.” He winked at her, enjoying the edge his adrenaline surge in anticipation of a confrontation was giving him. “Jennifer and Lorene make ideal puppy smugglers when you think about it. They have mobility. They attend Agility competitions in different locations each week, which gives them access to lots of breeders and other dog people. No one is surprised to see them with dogs, or not. Jennifer as good as admitted not all their marijuana buys are legal. Maybe they set out to buy a little illegal weed and got sucked into something bigger.”
Cole frowned. “Remember what Lattimore told us about hoofbeats and horses.”
Scott laughed. “Yeah. But you said from the first that the task force’s focus was wrong. Lorene and Jennifer just may be the zebras no one is looking for.”
“Turn here.” Cole leaned forward, straining to see through the rain. “The RV section of the park should be up ahead.”
Scott drove past the turnoff to the RV park and then made a Y-turn to bring them back on the opposite side of the road, where he pulled over. “Izzy and I’ll walk from here. It’ll give us time to snoop around and pick up a scent. If she signs on something I’ll move in.”
“How can you be so certain the women will just let you into their RV?”
“Animal magnetism.” Scott’s dimples were on full display. “Jennifer’s got a thing for good-looking men. She’ll let me in.”
“Ego, maybe?”
He leaned and kissed her hard. “Lucky for me, you fill up my whole worldview.”
“And I’m just supposed to sit here while it all goes down?”
Scott thought of about a dozen flippant things he might say in answer to her hurt. But something stopped him. It was the thing that would have stopped him from trying to pretend a shitstorm was an April shower to a male partner. Sometimes it was enough to hunker down and ride it out together. They had done that. Now it was time to act. “I’ll call you. Be prepared to move quickly, and bring Batman.”
To his surprise, Cole reached out, latched a hand behind his head and hauled him in for a kiss. It wasn’t just a good-luck smooch, but a long, slow, thorough kiss that left them both breathing a little hard. When he looked at her, her gaze was full of him.
“Be careful.” Her voice was so low he felt more than heard the words because she spoke them against his mouth.
He brushed away a strand of hair clinging to her cheek with a finger then pulled the hoodie of her Montgomery County Police slicker up over her hair. “Let’s go kick some outlaw grandma butt.”
*
Jennifer opened the Winnebago door and blinked. “Why, what are you doing here, gorgeous?”
“You invited me to drop by sometime.” Scott tugged on his partner’s leash and Izzy came forward, her fur slick with rain. “I brought Izzy for a visit.”
“Well, isn’t that nice.” Jennifer’s expression wasn’t as welcoming as her tone. “I’m sorry, gorgeous, but now’s not such a good time.”
Scott put his foot on the step well. “We won’t take long. Is Mimi with you?”
“Uh, not this trip.”
As Scott stepped up onto the RV Jennifer automatically backed up but balked. “Say, you’re pretty wet.”
“Sorry about that.” Scott was inside with Izzy, who was already straining on the leash. They had done a preliminary walk around the vehicle and Izzy was signing. But he had to know for certain. And then wanted to see their faces when he confronted them.
The sound of yelping puppies was coming from a closed-off area in the back. He ignored that for the moment, pretending to look around. “Wow. This is really nice. I’ve never been inside one of these with the slide-out space. Must have cost a fortune.”
“We’re leasing.” Lorene sat in the lounge chair behind the vehicle’s passenger seat.
Scott nodded. “Still, for two ladies on retirement, must set you back a bit.”
“We manage.” Jennifer planted herself in front of him. “Look here. We’re busy.”
“So I hear.” Scott nodded toward the rear of the RV. “You whelp a litter since last week?”
“We’re just making a delivery for friends.” Jennifer’s eyes cut to Lorene. “Well, it’s the truth, Lorene. No need to lie about that.”