Nothing To Sniff At (Animal Instincts Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

a police dog and replacing it with another dog. Something to do with obstruction of justice or stealing police property, but it would be a difficult case to prove.
    The first house was in Library Village, a small community on the west side of Toledo that had been named after the West Toledo Branch of the library. It has been designated a historical area, but unlike many such neighborhoods, the houses are smaller and more affordable than some of the other such areas in Toledo. It didn’t seem a likely place for a dognapping, but I wasn’t sure what area of town did seem likely.
    I pulled up in front of the house listed on my paper. No dogs or people outside. I was going to have to be more direct. I got out of the car and walked up the front sidewalk to the door.
    The door opened before I even knocked. “We don’t want anything,” the man said before I could even speak. He was probably in his late 30s with a beard that had begun to gray. Dark colored bags under his eyes made it appear like he hadn’t slept in a while. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans.
    I cleared my throat to speak. “I’m not selling anything. I actually just had a question about your dog, if you don’t mind.”
    “What about him?” the man asked, still looking at me suspiciously. I don’t think that I’d ever had a door-to-door salesman who sold dog products, but he looked like I was about to be the first. He kept a firm hand on the edge of the door.
    “Your breeder, Mr. Johnson, said you would give him a reference. I’m thinking about buying a Beagle from him, and I always like to know something about the breeder before I do. Are you happy with the dog? Was the breeder okay to deal with?”
    The man opened the door wider. “Have a look for yourself.” A Beagle came walking to the door. He barked several times, and I bent down to say hello and get a closer look at the dog. Two features ruled him out almost immediately. His front paw was white, which was unlike the photos I’d seen of Barkley. Additionally, he had a small knick out of his right ear, which looked quite old. This dog definitely wasn’t the one I was looking for. My skills of observation definitely came in handy with this case.
    “So you’re happy with the breeder?” I asked.
    The man nodded. “Sure. He was great, and the dog’s great too. You could do much worse.”
    I quickly thanked him for his time and walked back to my car. I could feel the man watching me leave, but I didn’t look back. No use in giving him any more suspicions.
    I consulted my GPS again, and I headed off to Onyx, a neighborhood that had begun as a home for German and Slavic peoples in the heart of Toledo. Now it was another centrally located neighborhood in town.
    The house here was boxier and less cared for. Small patches of weeds had died with the onset of winter, leaving clumps of large, gristled weeds. I pulled up and looked around. The backyard was fenced in, and a Beagle was barking up a storm at the section of chain-link nearest to me. I got out of the car and walked over to him, which only served to make him bark louder. I bent down as I had with the previous dog, but this Beagle looked much more promising. In matching the characteristics I’d memorized of the dog, he looked like a match for Barkley.
    “Good dog. Good Barkley.”
    At the mention of the name, the Beagle’s eyes met mine, and I knew I had found the missing police dog. While I know that I can’t actually talk to pets (even though my ads say something to the contrary,) in that moment, I heard his pleas for help as clearly as if he’d spoken to me. He needed my help.
    I thought about taking him with me, but that would only have made the situation worse. First, I would be committing a crime, and while I cared deeply for the plight of any dog, I had no desire to go to jail for this case. I liked my life a little too much to give it up for a dog. Secondly, if I took the dog, the people who had swapped Barkley for the fake would