Scent of Murder by James O. Born

investigation, and he absently rubbed Rocky’s head. Rocky had the same effect as a tranquilizer on Hallett in situations like this. He had to keep the dog close and continue to rub his head in order to keep his cool. It was a crutch, but one Hallett never wanted to give up.
    The sergeant said, “We believe the incident yesterday is connected with two earlier abductions that happened over the course of two years. I think you’ve read the briefing. The fact that it was different police departments working each case didn’t help anything.”
    Hallett controlled a shudder when he thought about what the creep did to the girls.
    Fusco said, “Katie Ziegler sealed it in my mind. We’re dealing with one suspect. That makes this a serial case. Not only will everyone in the sheriff’s office be looking to me for results, the media will be all over it.”
    Hallett said, “Where does CAT come in?”
    The sergeant said, “We’ll use you in several different areas. But mainly, like I said last night, we have a list of potential suspects, our usual suspects, convicted child predators living in the county and matching the vague description Katie Ziegler gave. Although I told the captain you and the CAT would be available for other emergencies, I hope we have full use of you for at least a week or two. We want to try to wrap this up as quickly as possible.”
    Hallett couldn’t resist looking across at the sharply dressed detective and saying, “We’ll be happy to bail out Detective Fusco. This is exactly what our unit was made for. It doesn’t matter what kind of mistakes he’s made in the case already, we’ll help grab this guy, especially if it’s Arnold Ludner.” He noticed the sergeant didn’t say anything and was trying to hide a smile. She probably realized this arrogant ass needed to be put in his place.
    Fusco nearly jumped to his feet, saying, “I wasn’t even working the case for the first two abductions. And Ludner wasn’t even considered a suspect as far as I can tell. The girls that have been kidnapped by this guy were older than the ones Ludner liked. The first girl was seventeen”—he looked at some notes—”the second girl was twenty, and Katie Ziegler is eighteen.”
    Rocky reacted to the outburst by standing and flexing his back. It had the desired effect on the detective, who immediately regained his composure.
    Hallett said, “What about forensics? There really wasn’t any DNA found?” Now he was just trying to rile the detective.
    â€œThis ain’t CSI: Miami. We did a rape kit on all three girls, but there wasn’t anything obviously worthwhile. The first girl, two years ago, admitted to consensual sex with two other men before she was grabbed. Plus he never penetrated any of the girls vaginally. As far as we can tell he prefers oral sex and leaves no semen at the scene. The second girl waited eight days before she even reported it. And Katie got away before the asshole could do anything.” He waited a moment and threw in a halfhearted “Thank God.”
    Hallett knew that a guy like Fusco only cared about clearing the case. He really wasn’t happy that the girl hadn’t been raped, because a rape would’ve provided him with some decent DNA to enter into the database run by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Detectives like Fusco saw victims as potential evidence and not much else.
    Fusco said, “I think the guy was even smart enough to pick up the blindfold that Katie had ripped off. All we have is the one rag that may, or may not, be from our suspect. And your dog sniffed it. Maybe he can match us up with Ludner when it’s time.”
    Hallett said, “You think the plaster cast of the shoe is anything worthwhile?”
    Fusco just snorted.
    Sergeant Greene said, “We’ll look at it. One of the techs pointed out that it’s a hiking