Stealth Moves by Sanna Hines

protectee. “I’m sorry,” Holly said. “They must have told us a thousand times in criminal justice classes to preserve a crime scene, not muck it up. I…” She looked at Jim, sheepishly wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “I just acted on instinct.”
    “Knew I couldn’t trust you,” Liv said.
    “You weren’t in danger,” Holly shot back. “Not fair.”
    “Is it fair Natalie’s dead?” Liv raged. “That’s her, isn’t it? Has to be—the plaid skirt, St. Winifred’s uniform. And Teddy—” Liv clutched the gray snowball in her arms. “He was in Boston. He’s the one Ari saved. I’ll bet they kidnapped Teddy, too, and left him there to die!”
    “Liv, put the dog down. He could be sick.” The corpse had to be days, maybe a week, old. A dog locked inside would have to eat.
    “No!” Liv said. “He’s just a puppy, and he’s all alone. I’m not going to let anything happen to him.” Her hold tightened. “We didn’t save Natalie. We didn’t bring her back alive. We’ll find Ari like that, and Kyle. Nothing we’ve done matters!” Liv’s eyes filled up. She blinked furiously, but the tears just kept building. As they fell down her cheeks, she muttered, “I have to sit down.” Moving to the far side of the street, she sat cross-legged on the gravel shoulder, still hugging the dog.
    Holly didn’t know if Liv was comforting the puppy or the puppy was comforting the girl. Either way, they clung together. “Uncle Jim?” she asked, turning to check on him. “You all right?”
    “Yeah, yeah. Just feel like a fool.” He shook his head. “I don’t understand it! I searched these buildings for salvage material not two weeks ago. Looked like nobody’d been in ‘em for years: no trash, no graffiti. I thought ghost hunters for sure would’ve sneaked in to do their voodoo.” Jim rolled his eyes. “Those people are everywhere these days.” He stepped back, looking hard at the front wall of the crime scene. Turning to Holly, Jim said, “There was this one window, though. Busted out when the roof sagged and put pressure on the frame. Gotta be what saved the dog; otherwise, he’d be starved.”
    “I’m calling this in,” Holly said, pulling her phone from her purse. “The police know me.”
    “ Do they?” Mike said in the same icy tone. He looked at Holly with narrowed eyes.
    “My dad,” Holly hissed between her teeth, “was a cop. They know the family.” She lifted the phone.
    “Wait.” Liv scuttled back to join the group. “Don’t tell them about Teddy. They’ll put him in the pound, and then he’ll be killed.”
    Holly said, “He’s evidence. They’ll want to look him over.”
    “We need to take him to Boston,” Liv said. “He could lead us to the kidnapper, you know, using his nose or something.”
    “The kidnapper might not be in Boston,” Holly said slowly, as a staggering thought dawned. “He could be here in Portsmouth.” Her eyes searched the nearby houses. Did a murderous psycho live in one of them? Was he watching them even now?
    Holly squared her shoulders. She couldn’t help the dead girl, but she could protect the living one—do her job. Liv shouldn’t be exposed to public attention. It the killer spotted her again, she’d be a target for sure. Holly told her, “Give your uncle the dog. No, he’s not taking the puppy away, just holding him. Use this.” Holly pulled her keys from her pocket to detach the lanyard and hand it to Mike. “Make a leash.”
    “Liv, pull your sweatshirt hood up,” Holly continued. “We don’t want anyone around here recognizing you—anyone connected to the kidnappings, I mean. We need to get you away, not wait for the police, not wait for neighbors to take pictures and post them online. We’ll go to the station to report the death. You understand?”
    Liv’s eyes opened wide, but she did as Holly instructed. Mike flinched when the filthy dog pawed at his neat denim shirt until Holly told him to return the leashed