Page 14 of Trap ’N’ Trace

Her smooth brow wrinkled. “He asked me where it was.”

“It?” Paulson looked up. “It what?”

“I don’t know. I told him we don’t keep cash here, but he said he didn’t want cash.”

“Is there anything else here of value?” Dayne asked. “A safe?”

“No, nothing. We don’t even require a fee to adopt any of the dogs here, so there’s no need for one. The only things we keep here are dog food, bowls, leashes, collars, toys, and other supplies.”

“What about drugs?” Paulson asked. “Do you keep any painkillers on site? Injectable or pills?”

“Yes, but not in this building.” She pointed to the other side of the vestibule. “We have an infirmary attached to the main kennel. Everything stronger than over-the-counter meds is kept in a locked cabinet. I can show it to you.”

Paulson nodded, making a few more notes. “Could be the guy was looking to score some prescription meds.”

“Could be.” But Dayne didn’t think so. Two women murdered on the same day and less than five miles apart… This area wasn’t exactly the homicide capital of the county.

“I’ll need the names of everyone who works here,” Paulson said, and Kat gave him six names, two that worked full time, the others part time.

“Where are the recordings for your security cameras maintained?” Dayne tipped his head to a camera on the ceiling.

“In a closet next to the storage room.” She pointed to the corridor then turned her hand over, looking oddly at it.

Dayne watched her, curious. “What?”

“I forgot. I hit him in the nose with a palm strike. I may have broken his nose. He was bleeding. Not much, just a little trickle from one of his nostrils. I was looking to see if there was any blood on my hand that you could get DNA from.”

“You hit him?”

“I told you Emily and I did kickboxing together.”

He had forgotten about that.

“I’ll make sure the CSU guys check her hands and under her fingernails for blood.” Paulson made another notation. “Meantime, don’t touch anything.”

“While you’re at it,” Dayne said, “I don’t see any blood on Remy’s muzzle, but I can swab her in case she got a piece of the guy.”

A team of CSU officers came through the door, each carrying a large duffel and a black hard-sided plastic case.

Paulson motioned them over to Kat. “Swab her hands and take nail scrapings. Then swab that K-9’s mouth.”

“You got it.” The older of the two CSU techs perched his duffel on the desk and took out gloves, Q-Tips, and plastic evidence bags, handing one set to his partner for Remy while he got to work on Kat’s fingers. The younger technician didn’t get the swab within two feet of Remy when she lowered her head and growled. The tech jumped back.

“Better let me do that.” Dayne dug out another pair of gloves from the tech’s bag and slipped them on. He held out his hand for the swab, which the other man gratefully turned over.

Dayne knelt in front of Remy. “Smile.”

Remy pulled back her lips, exposing her teeth and looking exactly like she was grinning.

The tech shook his head. “That’s some trick.”

“Makes this a lot easier.” He made quick work of swabbing Remy’s teeth and gums. After depositing the swab in the evidence baggie, he tugged off the gloves and tossed them in a nearby garbage can.

The other tech still worked on Kat’s fingers and nails. They looked clean, but maybe she scraped some DNA off the guy’s face after all. “How much of a look did you get of him?”

“A few seconds, maybe.”

He and Paulson exchanged knowing looks. They might not get any DNA, but maybe Kat could ID the guy.