He guided her carefully and held on to her until she was safely seated. “Meds?” he repeated.

  “Bathroom cabinet. The only prescription bottle.”

  * * *

  KELL WENT TO get the pills and a glass of water for her. Now he understood even more clearly what she’d been through. A field hospital right near the action. And how did she deal with these episodes when she was alone? Crawl?

  He hated to think. She could be a danger to herself, weaving around this house, nearly falling over with every movement.

  After she took the meds, he sat across from her. Now he could see how her eyes were twitching back and forth.

  “It’s not this bad very often,” she said. “Honestly. Usually, it’s much milder and I can deal with it. This one’s just worse than most.”

  “Do you have vertigo very often?”

  “No, not even the minor episodes, but the mind’s an amazing thing. It can adapt. It is adapting. When the mild ones happen now, I hardly notice anymore. It has to get really bad for me to stop.”

  He thought he could understand that. “You served in a field hospital?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  He’d been inside them, once as a patient, other times to check on his Marines. He’d seen what was going on in there, particularly after a bloody encounter. It was as bad as any battlefield, and the hospitals were often under attack. He could easily believe she’d had a concussive trauma.

  “I can’t leave you like this, Jenna. You can barely stand up.”

  She could hardly look at him, the way her eyes were dancing around. Her voice was tart. “How do you think I managed before? I don’t need rescuing.”

  He sighed. “I’m not talking about rescuing you. I’m talking about helping you to avoid an injury. What’s so bad about that?”

  “You can go. I’ll be fine.”

  He doubted that, but further argument seemed pointless if she was going to react this way. He’d half expected she would get to this point, as tightly locked in as she seemed to be, given the way she avoided looking at people. “Okay, but I’ll be back to check on you later. You can’t deny me that.”

  At least she didn’t argue this time. Rising reluctantly, he said only, “Anything I need to leave for Misty besides water?”

  “Just water. No food until morning.”

  Misty was sitting right beside her, watching her intently. Dogs knew. Somehow they knew.

  “See you in a couple of hours.”

  “If you must.”

  “I must,” he said firmly. “Just let me be a good neighbor. Misty will need a walk anyway.”

  “I’d forgotten about that.”

  “So Misty needs me even if you don’t. I’ll go now.”

  Outside, with Bradley walking beside him off-lead despite his usual concern that people not get frightened, Kell wondered how to deal with such a stubborn woman. Well, he’d done the best he could. At least Misty’s needs had quieted her down.

  Something more had to be goading Jenna than her tour in field hospitals. Something that made her standoffish. Hell, she still hadn’t gotten in touch with her old friends, who must remain around here.

  Hell’s bells.

  As he was approaching his house three blocks away, he saw the swirling lights of an ambulance again. He hardly knew the guy. Another standoffish person. The world seemed to be full of them. And this guy, unlike Miss Hassen, had to be hardly more than fifty. Probably a heart attack.

  But he was dead, Kell saw that when they rolled the stretcher out and the guy’s face was covered. Grief was about to come to someone.

  A day that had begun so brightly had darkened emotionally for him.

  He turned toward his house when he suddenly realized Bradley wasn’t beside him. Turning around to find the dog, his heart plunged.

  Bradley had moved closer to the stretcher and was alerting.

  Damn it all! Again? What is going on with that dog?

  He gave a quiet command, and Bradley rose, returning to Kell’s side.

  Another mystery.

  “What’s going on, pal?”

  Of course, there was no answer. All he could do was wonder if Bradley was getting nervous about something else.

  Double damn it.

  Chapter Five

  In the morning, Jenna felt a lot better. She still needed to move carefully but was able to get around to feeding herself. Feeding Misty was more difficult since she needed to bend over to get the kibble and put both water and food on the floor. Clinging to the edge of the counter, she managed.

  Breakfast for her was a slice of buttered bread. She could manage that without too much turning around.

  No shower, though. If she’d had any thought of attempting it, that evaporated when she went to the bathroom. Too much, just yet.

  She took another dose of her medicine and prepared for a day of sitting on her butt again. She hated this. Well, these days she seemed to have a whole lot to hate, some of it nearly overpowering. Did she want to think about that? Not today. Problems were growing like weeds.

  But her eyes were still jerking around too much to read a book. Maybe the TV would have something to distract her.

  The front door opened just as she settled into the recliner with the TV remote in hand.

  “Good morning,” Kell said pleasantly. “I dare to enter where I’m not wanted. Had to check on you and Misty, though. I know you don’t want anything, but does she need a walk? Bradley is outside looking brokenhearted.”

  Well, that pulled a smile out of her. “I’m sure she does. The most I could manage was to let her out the back door.”

  “Looks like she’s eager. If that tail wagged any faster, she’d be flying like a helicopter. We’ll be back in forty-five minutes or so.”

  “Thank you, Kell.”

  “I’m a dog lover, if you haven’t noticed. Come on, Misty, before the two of you die on opposite sides of a screen door.”

  Jenna heard them leave and felt a moment’s embarrassment about the way she’d reacted to Kell last night. Even when he’d returned last night to walk Misty, she’d barely said a word to him.

  Why? She guessed she hated to reveal weakness of any kind. Maybe that was a weakness in itself?

  God, if there was one thing she’d learned in the military, it was how much a soldier had to rely on comrades.

  Until that reliance turned into a nightmare.

  She had to stop thinking about it. It couldn’t be dealt with any longer, so she needed to let go of the scalding scar. The burning memory. But there was nothing quite like betrayal. Nothing. She wondered how much she’d ever trust again.

  Nearly an hour later, Kell and two dogs burst into the house, clearly happy.

  “It was a sniffing walk,” Kell told her after he filled the water bowl for the two of them and returned to sit across from her. “I doubt Misty has as much stamina as Bradley. She isn’t trained to it.”

  Her curiosity piqued. “Are scout dogs trained to have more?”

  “To their physical limits. Which is not to say they don’t need to be rested. But I know for sure that Bradley will push himself further than he should. Under some circumstances that can be good, but under others not so much.”

  Being afraid to move her head too much, she couldn’t nod her understanding. “What happens if they do too much?”

  “They collapse. Or they stop being as alert as they should be. Gotta watch out for it, if it’s possible. K-9s are very task-driven. And I do mean driven.”

  “Like soldiers.”

  “They are soldiers.”

  “And Marines,” she added with a faint smile. “I know you guys are particular about that.”

  He laughed. “You bet. I was lucky to get Bradley. He’d trained with another guy, one who got killed in a road accident. It doesn’t always happen, but Bradley was willing to train with me. My second K-9.” His face darkened then.

  “Second?” she prodded gently.

  “Second,” he repeated grimly. “My first, Junior, got too close when he was sniffing out a roadside bomb.” His eyes closed.

  “That must have been awful.” She ached for him, which should have been a warning sign about how much she was becoming involved, but the warning passed her by with merely a thought.

  “It leaves a hole in you when a buddy dies, whether he’s furred or not.” His eyes snapped open. “To be honest with you, I didn’t want another K-9, not ever. But then they tossed Bradley in on me while I was refusing to continue. Good handlers can be hard to find, and they didn’t want me to quit. Anyway, they brought Bradley into my barracks room, and that, as they say, was that.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “Couldn’t resist that dog.”

  “I can see why.”

  Both dogs had come to join them and were sharing Misty’s large pillow bed, snoozing happily.

  Kell startled her. “Bradley alerted again last night. At a corpse.”

  “What?” She nearly sat up, but her vertigo reminded her that might be a mistake.

  “Exactly. What? Second time he’s alerted to a corpse. I hope he’s not developing a new problem. Anyway, they were carrying out this guy from across my street. Not that old, but he lived alone and hardly talked to anyone. I’ve been there a year and I don’t even know his name, which tells you something. Hard not to know everyone around here.”

  She remembered that to be true, at least while she’d grown up here. “That’s sad. The man, I mean. As for Bradley...”

  “Yeah, as for Bradley. This is so unlike him, at least unlike his training.”

  She drummed her fingers, one of her few safe movements at the moment. “Are you losing your trust in Bradley?” She saw the dog’s ears perk as he heard his name, but he never opened his eyes.

  “No, I’m not. It’s not a matter of trust. I’ve trusted that K-9 with my life and the lives of many others. But this is different. He might be developing a new fear. Or he might be sensing something he hasn’t been trained to do. Something his mind is recognizing all on its own. I think I mentioned once before that these guys can act on their own intelligence outside their training. As if once they know their regular targets, they can recognize other things.”

  “It’s possible. I’ve never thought extensively about K-9 intelligence.”

  “I’ve had plenty of reason to.” Kell sighed, looking at his dog. “Bradley, you worry me. Too often lately.”

  Jenna saw the grooves of concern on Kell’s face and wished she could help in some way. Any way.

  Kell stirred. “What next?”

  Jenna bit her lip before answering. “I’m not sure, but I suggest we treat these alerts on Bradley’s part as being valid. As yet, there’s no reason to think otherwise.”

  “All I can do,” Kell agreed. “Time will tell. I guess I should tell Gage Dalton about this. He can at least do another screening for toxins. Then I’ll know.”

  Jenna realized her vertigo was beginning to settle down, which was a relief. A long way from being gone, and she’d have to be careful for a few days, but it was improving. Almost cause for celebration. Almost, but not quite. She knew how fast these episodes could resume.

  “You know,” Kell said a while later, “I’ve been thinking, what if there could be a link between these two deaths, something that Bradley might have sensed?”

  “A link? How is that possible? Did they even know each other?”

  He shrugged. “Damned if I know. No, I was just thinking that they were both recluses. Speaking to almost no one. They couldn’t possibly have any enemies if they didn’t go around anywhere to make them. So it must be natural causes. Certainly in the case of Miss Hassen. The other guy...well, I don’t know. I guess I could try to learn a little about him.”

  Jenna closed her eyes, a big mistake, because without her jumpy eyes to tell her approximately where she was in space, her messed-up head took over and made her feel even more like she was spinning. She snapped them open immediately. “What good will that do? Especially when there’s no evidence of any wrongdoing.”

  After a moment, Kell laughed quietly. “I’m going over the top here, huh?”

  “Only because of Bradley,” she said. “I get it. You want answers and you don’t want to wait.”

  “Seems like I won’t have another choice. I need to get back to repairing that damn house I rented. You wouldn’t believe how many things deteriorate when a house is left empty for a few years. Anyway...” He rose. “Anything you need before I leave? Water? Coffee? Some kind of food or snacks?”

  Bradley was already rising, stretching from head to foot, recognizing the signs that he and Kell would soon be on the move.

  Jenna accepted the offer of water gratefully, and a box of whole grain crackers would come in handy, too.

  “See you later. I’m off to walk Misty,” Kell said on his way out the door. “Call me if you need anything.”

  What a nice man, she thought after he left.

  Then, Have you lost your mind, girl?

  She stared at the bottle of meds Kell had left right beside her and decided not to take them. They always made her sleepy and she didn’t want that.

  Instead, she wanted think about two recluses who had died within days of each other. She wasn’t one to believe in coincidences, especially when Bradley had alerted.

  That troubled her.

  * * *

  KELL WAS THINKING about that, too. Coincidence? He didn’t much believe in coincidence. He had to find out more about these two people. There might be no connection of any kind, but Bradley had alerted. That had to mean something, even if the answer caused him more worry about his dog.

  He looked down at his K-9. “You know, pooch, you’ve got enough trouble to deal with without adding more to the pile. I honestly hope you were right.”

  But right about what? He headed once more to the sheriff’s office.

  Facing Gage Dalton across his desk, Kell wondered if he was just wasting the sheriff’s time.

  Dalton looked at Bradley, who had parked himself at attention beside Kell.

  “Okay,” Gage said. “I get the whole thing about K-9s, but twice? Are you sure he’s okay?”

  “That’s what I need to find out,” Kell admitted. “Has he got a new problem, or is there a good reason for his reaction?”

  Gage nodded slowly, his pencil once again tapping the desk. “Heard you were working on training him for rescue work. Maybe that’s what’s happening. Search and rescue dogs alert to the dead as well.”

  Gage had been checking him out, Kell realized. “Yeah, I am. Bradley needs to work. But we haven’t gotten that far along yet. First, I need to get him over his fear of sudden loud sounds. In the meantime, the only searches we’re working on is finding a live human.” He smiled faintly. “Your deputies are willing to help out with that.”

  “I heard. The guys kinda like it.” Gage sighed. “Doctor said Mr. Zeb’s death was a heart attack. Seems he’s been having a heart problem for some time.”

  “And maybe that’s all it was.”

  Gage sighed. “Okay, for your peace of mind, I’ll get another toxicology done. But that’s the only reason. Neither death is suspicious, you know. Fits right in with prior health problems.”

  “Anything on Miss Hassen?”

  “Low blood sugar. Very low, which isn’t unheard of in a diabetic. Too much insulin, maybe not eating enough. Dangerous recipe.”

  “It’s possible,” Kell acknowledged. “Maybe that’s all Bradley was sensing.”

  A few minutes later, he was heading back home with his dog, unsatisfied in a way he couldn’t explain to himself. Worried about Bradley.

  And frankly worried about Jenna.

  Today, he decided, he’d bring her some lunch. She oughtn’t be teetering around her house to feed herself, and crackers weren’t enough.

  For now, he could look at tearing out that rotted floor beneath the bathtub at his place and start toting up what he’d need. At least the property owners were paying for the supplies. Of course, when you thought about it, labor was a hell of a lot more expensive than the parts.

  And tonight he was going to start a few conversations with his neighbors about the late Mr. Zeb. Kell had only been here a year, but they’d been here a lot longer. They must know something about the guy.

  * * *

  JENNA WAS ACTUALLY glad when Kell and Bradley showed up around one in the afternoon.

  “I hope you like burgers,” he said. “Bradley has a passion for them. He could hardly keep his nose away from the bag.”

  Jenna arched an amused eyebrow. “Failed training?”

  Kell laughed. “Nope. I just didn’t command him to leave it.”

  Misty was hopping all over the place around Bradley.

  “No walk yet,” Kell said. “We need to eat while it’s still hot. Jenna? Bring it to you here?”

  “If you wouldn’t mind.” The swimmy feeling still hadn’t entirely lifted, and her one trip to the bathroom had been a challenge. Soon it would pass, she promised herself. This wasn’t going to last forever. Unlike other things.

  A few minutes later, Kell handed her a plate covered with a large burger and fries, as well as a napkin.

  “Dig in,” he said cheerfully as he went to get his own meal.

  Seated across from each other in the living room, they ate for a while in silence while the dogs’ eyes begged from the pillow.

  Jenna spoke. “It always makes me feel cruel, the way Misty looks at me when I’m eating.”

  “How do you think dogs have survived for so many thousands of years? Excellent beggars. And of course, there’s that grin and wagging tail.”

  “And the love. They’ve got that down, too.”

  “Loyalty,” he added.