The Trouble With Tigers Page 6

  My office line rang. I picked up the receiver. “Finders Pet Detective Agency, we locate your beloved pets. How may I help you?”

  “This is Stephanie Boyd. Did Santa Fe Police Department find Karma?”

  “Detective Callaghan just arrived. Let me ask him and I’ll call you right back. Okay?”

  “If I don’t hear from you soon, I’m chartering a plane,” Stephanie threatened.

  “Please wait for my call.”

  “I’m not making any promises.” Stephanie disconnected.

  “Crap.” I rubbed my aching head. I needed some aspirin and a miracle.

  Dutch entered the office and handed me my cellphone. “Jana’s vocabulary is quite colorful.”

  “It can be. What exactly did you tell her?”

  Dutch smiled. “The truth.”

  “She’s coming here, isn’t she?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  I gave him the stink eye. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  “Immensely.”

  “I betcha there’s some pigeons in the area.”

  “If I find pigeon poop on any of my cars, you’re washing all of them for the next month,” Dutch said with a hint of menace in his voice.

  He wasn’t bluffing either. Dutch was anal when it came to his vehicles. God forbid you accidently drop a French fry on his floorboard or get ketchup on the seat. “Stephanie Boyd called for an update. Did Santa Fe PD find anything?”

  “There was no trace of the tiger or Archie Boyd,” Dutch said grimly.

  “She threatening to charter a flight to Santa Fe.”

  “While you do another search for Karma, I’ll call Stephanie and explain the facts of life to her.”

  “Just remember, Karma’s like a child to her.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Dutch walked out.

  Woof!

  “I’m coming. I’m coming.” I walked back to the kitchen and got the box of treats out of the cabinet.

  Tinkerbell hopped up and down in excitement.

  “You act like I never feed you.” I handed her a treat.

  She took it politely and trotted over to her doggie bed.

  “Kandi!” My dad bellowed.

  “Back here.” Please God, don’t let mom be with him.

  Dad stomped into the kitchen. “Why didn’t you tell me about that CIA prick?”

  “You didn’t bring mom, did you?”

  “No. She’s having lunch with Sally. Now answer the question.”

  “Who snitched me off?”

  “The cop and I had a chat.” A muscle in Dad’s cheek jerked. “Answer the question.”

  Dutch was a dead man walking. “I know you’re a badass, but so is Samson. If anything happened to you, mom would have a meltdown.”

  “You don’t think I can take him?” There was a touch of hurt in Dad’s voice.

  “I know you can take him, but Dutch is one hell of an investigator and I don’t want him arresting you for murder. Okay?”

  Dad grimaced. “Valid point. Now, what does the CIA prick want?”

  “Samson wants to use my talent to steal a dozen white tigers from a warlord in Pakistan.”

  “Why?”

  I shrugged. “Need to know, and evidently, I don’t need to know.”

  “Kandi,” Jana called.

  “In the kitchen.”

  Jana stormed into the room. “This craziness has to stop before you get hurt or killed!”

  “I wasn’t hurt. The idiots who tried to kidnap me have broken noses and one got his pinky toe shot off.”

  “You shot Harry? About damned time.”

  I tore open a packet of aspirins. “No, I shot his lowlife brother.”

  “Harry has a brother?” Jana held out her water bottle.

  With a grateful smile, I took it and washed down the aspirins. “He does.”

  “What does the brother want with you?”

  “Take a guess.”

  Jana rolled her eyes upward. “Your Doctor Doolittle abilities.”

  “Bingo.”

  “Pease tell me you’ve cut all ties with Harry?”

  “I have.”

  “That’s the first sensible thing you’ve done all year.” Jana turned to my father. “I’m going to kill Harry and his brother. Wanna help?”

  “Just say the word. I’ve got a spot all picked out in the desert.”

  “Not necessary. I’ll cremate the bodies. No muss, no fuss,” Jana said with an evil glint in her eyes.

  “You do realize Dutch is right outside?”

  Jana snickered derisively. “You? The voice of reason?”

  “I don’t want to visit you in prison and orange isn’t your color,” I retorted.

  Jana shot back, “With my mocha skin tone I can wear orange. If there’s no forensic evidence, the detective can’t arrest us.”

  “Gee, I wouldn’t count on that. The detective’s a very patient and efficient hunter. One tiny mistake is all he needs to slap the cuffs on.”

  Dutch walked into the kitchen and eyed us warily. “What are you planning?”

  “How to keep Kandi safe,” Jana answered.

  “Uh huh.” Dutch turned to me. “Did you figure out where Karma is?”

  “Not yet. I’ve been kinda busy,” I snapped.

  “Well, get a move on it, before Stephanie does something stupid.”

  Giving him the one-finger salute, I marched back to my desk and picked up the chew bone. Was it too much to ask for time to eat something and do the mental exercises Miranda had taught me before I did my woo-woo stuff again?

  Dutch asked impatiently, “Well, what do you see?”

  Arrrgh! I linked with Karma. My head spun dizzily, and I got a brief glimpse of the cargo hold of an airplane before my knees hit the floor. Whoa! They had drugged Karma. Everything was fuzzy and out of focus. There were two human-sized blurs sitting not far away.

  I was dimly aware of Dutch grabbing me and my dad shouting, “Dammit Kandi break the link. If anything happens to my daughter, I’m holding you responsible detective.”

  Dutch shook me gently. “Open those beautiful blue eyes for me Kandi. C’mon, sugar babe, wake up.”

  Sugar babe? That was the best he could do. I felt Tinkerbell lick my face anxiously. Alarm swirled through me. The tranquilizers were affecting me as much as Karma. The ability to think rationally was fading away and I instinctively drew on my crystal amulet. It was like my aunt Lily’s medical alert bracelet. When in trouble, I could use it to summon assistance. “Miranda. I screwed up big time and need some help. I’m trying to find a stolen tiger and when I linked with her, I found out she’s been drugged. I can’t break the link.”

  Karma’s hunger, pain and fear became mine. A low growl rumbled in our chest as the tormentor approached our cage.

  A halo of power engulfed me, and Miranda snapped, “You foolish, foolish girl, I taught you better than this.”

  “You did.” A wave of exhaustion hit me, and I could barely keep my eyes open. “Tired. So tired.” I yelped when a bolt of energy zapped me.

  “You will not go to sleep. Do you hear me?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Do you know where the tiger is?”

  My mind was clearing rapidly. “She on an airplane but I need to know where it’s headed.”

  “Look around. What do you see?”

  “My suspect Trixie and some black dude,” I answered.

  “Do you see any boxes or crates with an address label?”

  “Yes.” I blinked to clear my vision. “Longhorn Exotic Hunting Ranch, Chico, Texas.”

  “Now you know where this airplane is going to land. Use your crystal to free yourself. Unless you want to be a cat forever,” Miranda added sarcastically.

  “No. ma’am.”

  “Don’t forget we have a training session Monday,” Miranda said and vanished from my head.

  And I bet I would
get a lecture too. I drew heavily on the crystal’s powers and began to ease my way out of Karma’s mind. I frowned when Trixie sauntered over to the cage and held up a grisly skull. “Hungry girl?”

  Karma roared in fury and lashed out with her six-inch claws.

  “Bad kitty.” Trixie jabbed us with a cattle prod.

  The electrical charge seared through me; disrupted my nerve ending and every muscle in my body seized up in a gigantic charley horse. I screamed in agony and everything faded away.

  Chapter Seven

  The overpowering smell of ammonia shocked me awake. I bolted upright and accidently headbutted Dutch.

  “Whoa!” Dutch touched his nose gingerly. “You should be classified as a lethal weapon.”

  Jana crowed, “Told ya smelling salts would work.”

  Tinkerbell placed her paws on my shoulders and yipped.

  I hugged her close. “I was worried too.”

  Dad shook a finger in my face. “You ever pull a bone-headed move like that again and I’ll put you over my knee.”

  “Yes, sir.” I shook my head to clear it. “That bitch is so going down.”

  “Bitch?” Dutch asked.

  I met his worried gaze. “Trixie.” The muscles in my left leg suddenly seized up. Yeow! Just what I needed sympathy pains from poor Karma.

  “Forgot to eat again, didn’t you?” Jana gave me a chocolate bar.

  I tore the paper off. “I’ve been kinda busy.”

  Dad glared at me. “Too busy to take safety precautions?”

  “I was in a hurry and I had no idea the drugs they fed Karma would affect me too,” I replied.

  Dad was on a roll. “Do you think Miranda would consider that a good excuse?”

  “No, sir.” I took a big bite of the candy bar and groaned. God, did it hit the spot.

  “Here. Sugar is good for shock.” Dutch handed me a bottle of pop and waited until I had drunk half of it to ask, “Did you locate Karma?”

  “She’s in the cargo hold of an airplane which should be landing in Chico, Texas in another hour or so. Trixie still has Archie’s skull and she’s real fond of that cattle prod.”

  “Skull?” Jana rubbed her hands together gleefully. “We have a murder to solve?”

  “No! You don’t. I do,” Dutch corrected her.

  Jana scowled at him. “I’ll have you know I’m working on a forensic science degree.”

  “You’re a mortician not a detective. Leave the investigation to the professionals,” Dutch replied.

  Jana gave him the stink eye.

  I grimaced as another muscle spasm hit my left leg. “Before y’all blow a gasket, we don’t know where or how Archie was killed.” I rubbed the knotted tendons.

  “Did you see who Trixie’s partner is?” Dutch moved my hands aside and massaged my leg.

  My eyes fluttered shut. The man had magic fingers. “My vision was mucked up and all I could see was he’s black.”

  “You think it’s Kuti, don’t you detective?” Dad’s voice had a note of testiness in it.

  I opened my eyes. Eeek! Dad was giving Dutch his death stare. The idiot detective was totally ignoring him, and his talented fingers never stopped. It was like Dutch was letting dad know he was claiming me. Not a smart move in my opinion. People who pissed off my father tended to end up in an unmarked grave.

  “Kuti runs a very successful smuggling operation. We know he has provided exotic animals for trophy hunts all over the world. Last night he lost his nightclub, his weapons stash and the lion he was auctioning off. Karma’s just what he needs to start recouping his losses.” Dutch tilted my chin up. “Where’s the lion?”

  “I have no idea.” And it was true.

  His fingers tightened on my chin. “I don’t have time for games.”

  “She’s telling the truth. Harry never tells her where he takes the animals,” Jana interjected.

  Anger flared in Dutch’s eyes. “The dog catcher is one of the animal activists?”

  “Ah, maybe. Being stunned is kinda messin’ with my memory.”

  Dutch turned his attention to my bigmouth best friend. “Jana?”

  “Harry’s the boss.”

  “Jana,” I cried in horror.

  “Well, he’s dangerous.”

  “He wasn’t until his brother showed up,” I countered.

  Jana threw her hands up in disgust. “How about the time you rescued those mountain lions from that militia group? They were shooting at you for God’s sake. With AK-47 rifles. I could hear everything that was happening on my phone. Harry didn’t do squat to help you.

  “It wasn’t necessary. I sic’d a big-ass hornet’s nest on the militia’s soldiers, and they ran away.”

  Dutch and my father wore the same appalled expression on their faces as they bellowed, “You were shot at?”

  “Yeah, but they were piss-poor shots. They didn’t even come close to hitting me.”

  “And that wasn’t the first time either,” Jana blabbed.

  I squawked in horror, “Have you lost your mind?”

  “No, you have. Two months ago, you came home with your van riddled with bullet holes.” Jana shuddered.

  “No, I didn’t,” I protested.

  Jana crossed her arms and gave me “the look”.

  “Okay, there might have been a couple of bullet holes, but it’s not my fault Harry got bad intel. How was I to know the carnival workers would be armed to the teeth or they would hide their drugs in the animal cages?”

  “You’re grounded for life,” Dad growled.

  Dutch added, “She needs a keeper.”

  “You think you’re up for the job?” Dad asked seriously.

  Dutch nodded. “I am.”

  “You’ve got my blessing to court her.”

  “What!” I shot to my feet. “Don’t I get any say in this?”

  “No!” Dutch and Dad yelled in unison.

  “I’m an adult and I’ll date who I want.”

  Dutch leaned down until his nose touched mine. “Wanna bet?”

  I was ten seconds away from summoning a flock of pigeons when Jana grabbed my arm and pulled me away. “C’mon, you need to change for the funeral escort.”

  “We’re coming too,” Dad announced.

  “Fine,” I huffed. I knew Samson would be back and having backup was a damn good idea.

  Chapter Eight

  The motorcade uniform is almost identical to what a motorcycle cop wears. Navy blue shirt and pants, knee-high boots and a white helmet. I even had a weapons belt. I got dressed and eyed myself in the mirror. Because I was so pint-sized, I looked like a kid pretending to be a cop. In my line of work, looking harmless was useful. Most men underestimated me. The exception was Dutch who seemed to have a sixth sense about me. If something blew up, he’d call to see where I was.

  I still couldn’t believe my father had given a cop permission to court me. I’ll admit I wanted a relationship with Dutch, but on my terms and not if it put dad in prison. Mom reacted badly when her family was threatened. The last time that happened, she had emptied a double-barrel shotgun full of birdshot into a burglar. I knew she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot Dutch if she thought he was a threat. Her goodwill only went so far.

  Tinkerbell trotted in with her helmet. Arf.

  I took it from her, settled it on her head and fastened the chin strap. “Lookin’ good.”

  Arf. Tinkerbell stood up on her back legs.

  I picked her up and slid her into the pooch pouch. It was a doggie version of a baby carrier I wore on my chest whenever we rode a motorcycle.

  The doorbell chimed. Must be Dutch. Adjusting the pooch pouch straps, I hurried down the stairs. Dad had done escort duty before and had his own uniform. Dutch said he’d dig out his old patrol gear. This I had to see.

  I opened the door and my jaw dropped. Wowzers! Dutch’s uniform fit him like a glove, emphasizing every bulging muscle. Could you fall in lust?
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  Dutch posed like a bodybuilder. “Like what you see?”

  “Hubba-hubba.” I ran my hand down his chest in disbelief. “My God! You actually tailored your shirts?”

  “I had an image to uphold.” Dutch leaned down and whispered in my ear. “And women dig a tight-fitting uniform.”

  “Bet you had to beat them off with your nightstick,” I whispered back.

  “I did.” Dutch flexed his biceps.

  I laughed. “You’re such a horndog.”

  “I was until I met you.”

  I blinked. He was dead serious. “What’s up with all the charm?”

  “I’m a charming guy.”

  “No. You’re a butthead most of the time,” I retorted.

  “That’s because you drive me crazy. It’s my job to arrest bad guys and you’re out there aiding and abetting them. You make up some of the wildest stories I’ve ever heard. Do you really think I’m that gullible?”

  I shrugged. “Not really, but it’s fun messin’ with ya.”

  “Fun?” Dutch pointed to his hair. “Do you see all that gray hair?”

  “I see some gray at your temples. It gives you a distinguished air.”

  “I’m thirty-six and you’re turning me into an old man with all the risks you take. You constantly bend the law and there’s no telling how many times you’ve broken it.”

  “Helping critters is what I do. If I pick a lock or two, so be it.”

  Dutch rolled his eyes. “You stole that lion.”

  “I liberated him from a known poacher and kept him from being slaughtered in a so-called hunt.”

  Dutch rubbed the back of his neck. “Why didn’t you come to me for help?”

  “Aw c’mon. You would have thrown us in jail.”

  “Kuti was already being investigated for murder, money laundering and weapons sales. With your information, I could have gotten a search warrant and shut him down,” Dutch responded.

  “Not in time.”

  “Maybe. We’ll never know now. Next time ask me. I promise I won’t arrest you. Harry’s another matter. If there’s no alternative, I’ll dress up like a demonic clown and we’ll free the lion, bear or whatever together.”

  To say I was shocked would be an understatement. “Seriously? You could lose your job.”

  “You’re more important to me than any job.”