Tesha bumped against his leg as they walked, as though she wanted to keep close.
“Yeah. We’re gonna get you all cleaned up, checked out by the doc. You’ll like her. Nice woman.” He peered down. “Safe to say, you’ll be spoiled. Just wait till JJ gets a look at you. You’ll like her, too.”
They continued to walk.
“However, I won’t be cookin’ your dinner every night. And those burgers you scarfed … only on special occasions.”
Someone cleared their throat and Reese looked up to see Brantley standing a few feet away.
He felt his ears flame from embarrassment, but he shoved it down, cleared his throat, and said, “You find out anything?”
Brantley grinned, nodding. “Yeah. That you like talkin’ to the dog.”
Reese canted his head to the side. “About the kid.”
“Right.” Brantley fell into step with them as they made their way back to the Tahoe. “Chatted it up with Tanner’s friend Reggie. Turns out, there really is a girl. The name she’s got online is fake, which explains why Gallegos couldn’t find her.”
“She go to his school?”
“Nope. Private school. Little Catholic girl. Reggie said she hangs out in that online group for their school.”
“You gotta watch out for those private-school girls,” Reese said, feeling a bit lighter. “And?”
“I called JJ. I gave her what to look for and she confirmed it from what she found. And I called Gallegos, gave him the details. According to Reggie, Tanner’s just fine.”
“You know this for a fact.”
“Based on the text messages the kid showed me, yeah. Tanner Wright’s bein’ rebellious while, at the same time, losin’ his virginity.”
Reese laughed.
“Never in my life did I meet a teenager who talked as much as Reggie. If I would’ve wanted to stick around all day, I could’ve gotten the full backstory on Tanner and Reggie both.”
“Well, I’m glad he’s safe and sound.” Reese exhaled. “Think we should get eyes on the boy though. Before we close it.”
“Agree.”
“Wasted trip, though, huh?”
Brantley glanced down at Tesha. “I wouldn’t say it was completely wasted.”
To his surprise, Brantley opened the doors for them, waited until they’d both gotten in before he sauntered around to the driver’s side.
Reese smiled as he relaxed against the seat. “You know Travis is gonna have a conniption when he finds out we’ve got a four-legged travel companion on his brand spankin’ new jet.”
“Not if he doesn’t know about it,” Brantley countered. “So let’s keep it to ourselves, shall we?”It took roughly three and a half hours for them to tie up all loose ends and get back to Coyote Ridge. Brantley hadn’t been willing to leave until he had a chance to talk to Tanner personally. The kid admitted that yes, he was hanging out with his new girlfriend. Yes, he had told his parents, actually. No, they never listened but he wasn’t surprised they lied to the police. They liked drama. Turned out, the girl’s parents had taken a cruise, leaving their sixteen-year-old home alone, and she’d taken advantage of the freedom, inviting Tanner over.
Reese wished all missing persons cases went like that.
Once they were back at the house, while Brantley went to the barn to fill JJ and Baz in on what happened, Reese made a call to Kennedy, who kindly offered to see Tesha today if he could get her over there now.
Reese shot a quick text to Brantley, letting him know, then loaded Tesha into his truck and made the quick trip into town.
When they stepped into the waiting room, it was to find the place looked like a ghost town. Kennedy and her tech, Olivia, were sitting behind the reception desk drinking coffee and chatting. Both women stood up when he stepped inside.
“Well, well, well,” Kennedy said with a wide grin. “Who do we have here?”
Although she wasn’t an imposing woman, Tesha still backed away when Kennedy approached. That didn’t seem to faze the vet one bit. She simply took a seat in one of the reception chairs, leaning down with her elbows on her knees.
“Hello, young lady,” she said softly, letting her hand dangle, her fingers fluttering as though enticing the dog to come greet her. “How’re you doin’ today?”
Reese didn’t force Tesha over, but he did encourage with a couple of words. “She’s good. We can trust her.”
He could feel Kennedy’s eyes on him momentarily before they shifted back to the dog. “You said you found her in someone’s backyard?”
“Tied to a stake,” he said, unable to hide the anger in his tone. “Water and food bowls were bone-dry and just out of reach.”
She didn’t appear pleased with the news. “Around here?”
“No. Case we had in Houston. Found her when we were doin’ an interview.”
“How’d you get her?”
“I walked in the backyard, unchained her, and carried her out.” He waited to see if she would chastise him. When she didn’t, he added, “I … relocated her.”
