Page 16 of So Savage

“It’s a long shot, I know,” she said, “But do you know where Eric Davidson lives now?”

Torres shook her head.“No.He wasn’t part of my unit.I never even interacted with him.”

“What about the other members of the review board?”Marcus asked.“Do you have that information for us yet?”

She shook her head again."I put the request in this morning.If they expedite it, I should have an answer tomorrow.If it's normal bureaucracy it could be anytime between now and the heat death of the universe."She chuckled a little at her own joke, but with the tears running down her face, it sounded like more of a sob.

“Thank you for coming to us, Rebecca,” Faith said.“Are you going to be able to take some time off for Kevin’s memorial?”

She nodded.“Like I said, I only work for the Army on weekends.His memorial is on Wednesday, and then I’m taking the following two weekends off.I’ll get some time.”Tears welled in her eyes again.“It just sucks.I mean, I know you never know what the future holds, and Kevin and I were still fairly new, but I had this dream that he and I would end up together.I thought we had all the time in the world to figure that out.And now it’s all gone.Just like that.”

Faith felt an odd mix of sympathy and guilt.Her own relationship was nearing its second anniversary, and Faith was still resisting David’s efforts to move in together—a fairly normal next step at this point.She loved him, but she wasn’t really sure she even wanted to marry.She liked her time with him, but she liked her time alone too.

She wasn't here to debate the merits of committed relationships, though.She was here to catch a killer."Go home and get some rest, Rebecca.We'll find this guy."

Rebecca smiled through her tears.“I know you will.Thank you.On behalf of myself, Kevin, and the unit, thank you.”

She gave Turk a final hug, then left the office.When she was gone, Marcus turned to his computer.“Okay, Eric Davidson, former Army K9 handler.Let’s see what we find here.”

Turk trotted to Faith and sat next to her, staring glumly out of the window.She reached down and stroked his fur.“It’s a rough one, huh, boy?”

Turk whined softly and nuzzled her legs.She patted his head.“I’m not going anywhere, boy.I promise you.You won’t lose me.”

With the wisdom of age, Turk lifted his eyes to hers.Those eyes told Faith that Turk appreciated the promise but knew as well as she did that her promise was one over which she had no control.People made mistakes.Sometimes it wasn’t a mistake.Sometimes people did everything right and still lost.It was one of life’s most brutal truths.

“All right,” Marcus said.“I have an address and a phone number.Which one do you want first?”

“Address.”

He read it off to her, and she asked, “Is that close by?”

“Yep.Hermantown is the next town over.We can be there in twenty minutes.”

“That long to reach the next town over?”

“Lunch rush,” he explained.“Also, it’s on the western end of Hermantown.Still within a half hour of both crime scenes, even in traffic.Maybe ten minutes in no traffic.”

“All right,” Faith said.“Let’s head there.”

Traffic was indeed busier than before.For the first time, Duluth seemed like an actual city to Faith.She considered telling Marcus to use his lights to clear some space, but that would be the opposite of laying low and depending on his department’s policy, it could land him in trouble.So, she bit her lip and waited.

Her phone buzzed while they drove.Michael.

Found a lead.Going to talk to her right now.

Faith texted back.Be careful, please.

I will.

Not just with this interview.If West knows about the Messenger Killer, he could be influencing things behind the scenes.If he isn't now, he will eventually.He could target you El, lie, or David.

After a brief pause, Michael replied,I'll be careful.Ellie's being careful, too.She always is after being married to West.As for David, I'll check in on him as often as I can, but it might be worth it for you to send him a message warning him.

Faith sighed.David would no doubt be very irritated to hear this information.He hadn’t taken very well to it the last time she warned him about a killer.That was another reason why she wasn’t too enthused about moving in with him.Living with a law enforcement officer took a different kind of commitment.

But that was for later.She had a killer of her own to catch.She looked at Turk and saw the same determination in his own eyes.If Davidson was the asshole targeting handlers in front of their K9s, then he would get the punishment he deserved.

CHAPTER EIGHT

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