“It could belong to any one of those teens or even one of the other volunteers who come in,” Jim stated. His gaze shifted from Melody to Parker and back to the captain.
The idea that one of the adult volunteers who came to the center to help the kids would be involved with drugs made Melody cringe. “I can’t believe that.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?” Parker’s voice held a note of cynicism. Sherlock sat at his master’s heel. He seemed to be staring at her with the same cynical look as his handler. Great. Now a dog was judging her, too.
“Both,” she shot back, resenting his insinuation. She understood where his animosity stemmed from, but it didn’t stop her from wishing he had some confidence in her. Though why she felt the need for his approval, she didn’t know. She hardly knew the man. His opinion shouldn’t matter in the least.
She turned her attention back to her captain because his opinion did matter. “Sir, I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“How do you propose to do that?” Drexel asked, stepping forward until his thighs hit the edge of the table. His sharp gaze speared through her.
Good question. She racked her brain for ideas. Her gaze landed on the bookshelves behind where Captain McNeal sat. “More education. More security measures.”
“Like?” Drexel pressed.
Before she could answer, she felt something nudge her ankle. Sherlock had moved closer. His nose pushed at her pant leg, hiking the material up until he could lick her skin. His wet tongue was warm and rough. She lifted her eyes to meet Parker’s.
Mild surprise reflected in his chocolate eyes. “He likes you.” He gave a slight tug on the leash, bringing the dog back to heel.
An idea formed. “A formal demonstration of how easily drugs can be detected by the police would be a start.”
Parker’s eyes widened, then a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth and knocked some of the air out of Melody’s lungs. Boy, talk about devastating.
“Sherlock and I could do that,” he said.
“That takes care of the education part,” McNeal conceded.
“We could search the kids as they come in,” Jim suggested.
Melody’s gaze snapped to Jim in disbelief, then to Captain Drexel. “We can’t treat the kids like criminals. That will only drive them away. We’ll keep a closer eye on things and manage the facility better.”
With a thoughtful expression, Drexel exchanged a glance with McNeal. “Okay. For now. But there can’t be a repeat of this incident.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to see that drugs never make their way through the doors of the teen center again.”
“And I hope, Officer Zachary,” Drexel intoned with a good dose of censure, “that you will think twice before confronting known drug addicts alone.”
“Yes, sir,” she assured him with a sidelong glance at Parker. Obviously, he’d informed them of the need to run off Zane and his buddies when he’d called the captain earlier.
“Drug addicts?” Jim interjected harshly. Clearly he was affronted that his partner would act without him. “What’s this?”
She slid him a glance. “I was asking Zane Peabody questions about Daniel.”
“Your nephew?” He shook his head. “You need to let that go.”
Anger bubbled and threatened to explode like a geyser. This was an old argument. He’d made his position clear on her quest to find her nephew’s murderer a long time ago. “I can’t.”
The empathy in Jim’s gaze made it clear he thought she was working a lost cause. “You’ve done everything you can and still haven’t been able to solve this crime. You need to accept the fact that you’re not going to.”
“You don’t know that,” she shot back, hurt by his lack of faith in her abilities. Captain Drexel had given her permission to work her nephew’s case on her own time when she’d hired on with the department. “This case isn’t unsolvable. No case is,” she said. “It just takes time and effort. It’s not a waste.”
“Time and effort away from your responsibilities,” Jim reminded her with a pointed look.
She gritted her teeth. Meeting her captain’s arched eyebrows, she winced. The fact that she’d done some investigating today during working hours was something she was going to have to answer for, she knew, but letting Jim’s negativism influence the captain wasn’t something she planned to let happen.
“With the exception of today, I’ve only worked on Daniel’s case after my shift.”
Captain Drexel held up a hand. “I trust you’ll use better judgment from now on.”
The gentle chastisement hit its mark. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. I understand you closed the youth center for the night,” Drexel said.
“Yes, sir.” Aware of Parker’s gaze on her, she added for his benefit, “Just for the night. It seemed the prudent thing to do given the circumstances.”
Her captain nodded. “Agreed. And it will give you time to do a thorough search of the facility to make sure there are no other drugs hidden on the premises.”
“We can help with that,” Parker spoke up.
Remembering how Sherlock acted at the boys’ locker-room door, Melody decided having the supersniffing dog’s help would be a good idea. “We’d appreciate the help, Officer Adams.”
If there were more stockpiles of drugs in the center, she wanted to know. Parker Adams and his dog, Sherlock, were the best means of uncovering any illegal substances. Even if spending time with the handsome detective and his police dog put her on edge.
“Parker, a word?” Slade said as Melody and Jim filed out of the office. Captain Drexel paced back to the window.
Parker nodded and waited until the others were out of earshot before saying, “Yes, boss?”
“What are your thoughts on the center?”
Aware of Drexel’s scrutiny, he replied honestly, “Mixed. I know the center fills a need and provides a safe place for the teens. But finding those drugs leaves me with a bitter taste. Something’s going on over there.”
“Do you think Officer Zachary is involved?” Drexel asked, his deep voice reverberating through the room.
Remembering how upset she was when they opened the locker gave him hope she wasn’t. “I don’t think so. But I know not to come to any conclusions without more information.”
“And Officer Wheaton?” Slade asked.
“Again, without evidence to the contrary, I have to believe both officers are on the up and up.”
The two captains exchanged another look. Drexel gave a slight nod. Slade turned back to Parker. “Given the break-in this morning and now the drugs, I want you to stick close to the center. If something illegal is going on, and if either Officer Zachary or Officer Wheaton is involved, we want to know about it ASAP.”
“Yes, sir.”
With the captain’s backing, he hoped she would accept his protection more easily. Though he had a feeling easy wasn’t going to apply when it came to Melody Zachary. The detective seemed to have an independent streak as wide as the Rio Grande.
Parker started to leave but then turned back to ask, “Any word on Rio?”
Distress clouded Slade’s blue eyes. “No. Not since Jackson spotted him last month in the Lost Woods.”
Fellow K-9 officer Jackson Worth and his