Read Visible Threat for Free Online

graduation when Milo, in his dress uniform, had shaken her hand.
    As she listened to Gracie, the tone of reverence in hervoice, and heard the girl tell Tracy, “I want to be just like Officer Caruso when I grow up,” she was overcome by an uncomfortable feeling that made her hands clammy. A burden of responsibility settled on her soul like a heavy weight.
    Is this how Milo felt when I looked at him like this little girl is looking at me? she wondered. Did he feel totally inadequate to live up to my expectations, as I do to live up to Gracie’s? For so long, he never failed me. I can only hope that Gracie can say the same thing about me many years from now.
    The effusive thanks she got from Gracie’s parents was easier to accept than the naked hero worship. They posed together for pictures and Gracie beamed. She asked Brinna if she would sign one picture before it was framed.
    Brinna left the meeting feeling somber and serious   —and hoping that any and all decisions she made from this time forward would never crush or disappoint the girl who idolized her.

7
    B Y THE TIME B RINNA FINISHED at community relations, her shift had started and been in service for an hour. A message from dispatch asked her status. She couldn’t enter starving as a status, so she simply punched the 10-8 in-service button. By now the last remaining clouds had burned away and the sky was a brilliant blue. A message on her computer told her Maggie and Rick had gotten a radio call right out of the gate but that they would meet her for dinner. She reached behind her and scratched Hero’s head, fighting the lump in her throat and the tears that threatened to spill out when she thought of him not being there. There had to be a way to save this partnership. Had to be.
    *   *   *
    “No more Hero?” Maggie and Rick were as surprised as Brinna had been.
    “Yep, no more federal dollars, so no more search-and-rescuedog.” Brinna sat back in the restaurant booth feeling bone-tired and a little numb.
    The waitress came and took their order. Brinna gazed out the window at a world drying out in fresh sunshine. It did nothing to lift her mood.
    “You knew this might happen,” Rick said with a shrug. “And you’re still a cop. I can think of several guys who’d make good partners.”
    “Yeah, but then Brinna wouldn’t be in control,” Maggie said with a twinkle in her eye. “There aren’t many guys working afternoons who will let her lead them around on a leash or who wouldn’t mind sitting in the back of the Explorer for the whole shift.”
    “Ha-ha.” Brinna glared at Maggie. “It’s more than working with Hero. If I have a regular partner, I’ll be assigned a beat. No more keeping an eye on sex offenders or searching for kids.” She sprinkled a pink pack of sweetener into her iced tea.
    “Rodriguez did say you could do that on your own time.” Maggie held her hands out, palms up. “Time for the glass-is-half-full person.”
    “You’re right,” Brinna conceded. “I did decide a while ago to look on the bright side more often. And six weeks is a long time. Anything can happen.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll be the optimist. I’ll hope the city decides to pick up the tab for Hero.” She waved at the window to navigate away from the painful subject. “It’s nice to finally have a dry day. If we get much more rain, all of us will be working the city in kayaks and rowboats.”
    “It sure came down last night,” Maggie said. “And it waswindy. My street lost two trees. Roots were so saturated they just fell over.”
    Brinna nodded. “The public service channel on my scanner was going crazy early this morning. I think trees fell all over the city. There’s a lot of cleanup and clearing to do.”
    “I like the rain,” Rick said. “It’s a nice change.”
    “I like it too,” Brinna said, “just not in buckets.”
    “Well, I got up early this morning and went to watch the swift-water rescue team practice,” Rick