Olivia’s bedroom to see what the excitement was about. “Ready to go for a walk, boy?”
Harley yawned.
Kendra grabbed the leash from Olivia’s desk and clipped it to Harley’s collar.
Olivia ejected a USB drive from her computer. She turned back to Kendra and shook her head. “Never mind the bomb. If I were you, I’d be more worried about the condo association.”
“Ah, you’ll vouch for me.”
Olivia’s brows rose. “Again?”
They took the stairs down and crossed the street, where several of their neighbors had already begun to gather. From the snippets of conversations Kendra overheard, they clearly hadn’t been told why they’d been rushed from their homes.
An elderly neighbor, Irene Mero, who lived across the hall from Kendra, glared at her. She was protectively holding her white Persian cat as far away from Harley as she could manage. “This is because of you, isn’t it?”
Kendra sighed. “Hi, Irene.”
“It’s always because of you. Care to tell me what’s going on?”
“I’m really not at liberty to say.”
“And I suppose you won’t tell me if it’s anything I should be concerned about?”
“They’re just being cautious,” Kendra said soothingly. “I’m sure we’ll all be back in our condos very soon. This is all much ado about nothing.”
Kendra heard a swell of excited chatter from residents on the sidewalk behind her. She turned. A large black truck had pulled in front of their building. Bold lettering on the side read FBI BOMB TECHNICIANS.
Kendra shook her head. “Subtle,” she said under her breath. “Real subtle.”
“Shit!” Irene grabbed her cat tighter and started pushing her way toward the nearest policeman. “Cautious!”
“What am I missing?” Olivia asked Kendra.
“Not much. Just the FBI doing what they do best. Scaring the hell out of people.”
“That must be their truck I heard roll up in front of our building.”
“Yep. And they don’t mince words. ‘Bomb Technicians’ is in bold, scary lettering. I think the font is Helvetica ‘You’re All Gonna Die.’”
“Awesome.” She suddenly flinched. “Ouch, I think Harley just stepped on my foot.”
Kendra looked down at Harley, who was constantly maneuvering himself between Olivia and everyone who walked by on the crowded sidewalk. She smiled. “He’s just doing his job, and doing it pretty darn well. He’s protecting you.”
“Is that what he’s doing? I wish he could do it without stepping on my toes. I thought he was just agitated from all the activity.”
“No, only when anyone comes near you. It’s pretty crowded here and he probably couldn’t avoid stepping on you. He’s really bonded with you.”
Olivia clicked her tongue. “He probably bonds with anyone who feeds him.”
“I doubt that. I told you his history, he’s very loving. He almost died of grief when he lost that little boy in the explosion. He hasn’t bonded with anyone else since then, not even Elaine. He accepted her, but she wasn’t his chosen person.”
“Knock it off, Kendra,” Olivia said, exasperated. “I get what you’re doing here. How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t need a guide dog?”
“Of course you don’t need one,” Kendra said quietly. “But maybe he needs you. He was selected and trained for only one thing. To serve and protect. Perhaps with you he’s realizing instinctively it’s time for him to reach out again and do what he does best. It just seems…right.”
Olivia was silent. “Damn, you’re good. Now I’m supposed to perform therapy on Harley? Not likely. You might be right, but it only means we’ll have to find him someone else he’ll accept to guide him through his therapy sessions.” She held up her hand. “No more. You struck out again. Now talk about something else.”
Kendra shrugged. “Okay, it just occurred to me that it could be a reason for Harley’s occasional rather peculiar behavior.”
“It’s because he’s peculiar,” Olivia said flatly. “Now change the subject.”
They stood on the sidewalk for another thirty minutes until Metcalf stepped outside with a bullhorn and made a brief announcement. “You may now return to your homes. Thank you for your cooperation. Have a good night.”
“That’s it?” Olivia asked.
Most of their neighbors waited a few minutes until they saw the bomb technician truck start up and roll away. Then they slowly crossed the street and moved back into the building.
Kendra patted Olivia’s arm. “Go home. I’ll give you an update when we’re done, okay?”
Olivia smiled slyly. “Hey, need a bomb-sniffing dog?”
“Bye, Olivia.”
Kendra entered her garage and ducked under the yellow crime scene tape stretched near her car. Metcalf and the other agents were still there, hunched over a small plastic