Scott reached down and unleashed Izzy.
Izzy took off like a rain-slicked bullet. When she reached the closed door, she sniffed and then barked brightly and bounced repeatedly against the frame. Finally, she dropped into a full prone position. Drugs, definitely drugs behind the door.
Scott turned to the women and pushed the edge of his open parka back so that they could see his holstered weapon. Then flashed his ID. “I’m DEA agent Scott Lucca. I need both of you to move over to the sofa and sit side by side while you answer a few questions.”
Jennifer’s lips twisted. “We heard about your girlfriend being a cop. You, too, hot buns?”
“All day long. Now sit down.” When he was satisfied he had the situation under control, Scott punched a number into his cell to alert Cole. “They’re dirty. Bring it.”
*
“We wouldn’t do anything to hurt dogs. We love them.”
“You have a strange way of showing it.” Cole and Hugo had joined Scott. She stood with her back to the door while Hugo watched the women from his heel position.
Scott came back down the hallway, carrying a frisky bundle that was a three-month-old boxer puppy. His face was grim as he flipped the little fellow over. There was a long sutured incision there.
Jennifer stood up. “That’s just a neutering incision. They all have them.”
Scott looked at Jennifer. “Why would you think I might think it was anything else?”
“Well, I—” Jennifer clamped her mouth shut but anger narrowed her eyes.
“Sit down, Mrs. Lutz.” Cole pointed with her finger.
The woman subsided onto the sofa and crossed her arms. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing here but you have no right to break into our home like this. You’re already in trouble, young woman.”
“Not as much as you two are about to be.” Scott gently squeezed the boxer’s tummy. “Feels like something’s in there. Want to tell me what it is, Lorene?”
Lorene didn’t make eye contact. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. He’s a healthy fat puppy.”
“We think it’s something else. We think it’s drugs. In fact, we know you’ve got an RV full of puppy drug mules.”
“That’s a goddamn lie!” Jennifer jumped to her feet with surprising agility for a woman her age. “Just because we’re trying to save some puppies from being destroyed is no reason to call us dirty names. We sure as hell aren’t drug smugglers.”
“Izzy says different. She’s a trained drug detection dog. She picked out your trailer on scent alone.”
Jennifer eyed the chocolate Lab. “She could be wrong. You’re all wrong. Now I want you out of my RV this minute. Lorene, call the real police.”
“If you do that, you’re going to lose an opportunity the local police won’t have to offer you.” Cole moved from her position by the door and pulled a manila envelope from under her parka. Scott recognized it was the one he’d given her weeks ago. Out came the photos of the dead and mutilated pups.
Cole handed a few of them to each woman. “This is what is happening to those puppies. We’re willing to bet there’s up to a pound of heroin stuffed into each of the dogs you have back there. No one will be looking out for their welfare, believe me.”
The women gazed in horror at the photos and then at each other.
“I don’t know anything about this.” Jennifer dumped them on the floor. “That’s disgusting.”
“Utterly,” Lorene agreed with a shudder as she tossed them aside. “We would never have anything to do with something like that.”
“Want to explain where the puppies came from?”
“We picked them up in Philly.” Lorene sniffed and touched her friend’s arm. “Go on, Jennifer. Tell ’em the rest.”
Jennifer shifted her weight, as if trying to get comfortable, and then mopped her face with a tissue she pulled from her pocket. “We don’t know anything about that ugly business.” She toed a photo with her jelly sandal. “We’re part of a secret animal rescue group. They rescue purebred pups that aren’t up to national breed confirmation standards from puppy mills and we get them to safe shelters.”
“Do you know what happens to pups that aren’t up to standard?” Lorene’s eyes again brimmed with tears. “They’re drowned, or their necks are broken. Thousands a year. If that’s not animal abuse, I don’t know.”
Cole pointed to the floor. “That is.”
Scott followed up with another question. “Who runs this organization?”
“We don’t know the leader, if that’s what you mean.” Jennifer’s gaze slipped sideways toward Lorene, who shook her head. “They said it was safer that way.”