From Down Here Chapter 4

Kojo was asleep, but he isn't now. He's heard loud noises before. He's even felt the ground move under him sometimes when what Tim called earthquakes happened. But the two things have never happened together. Tim and Lucy come running out of where they sleep and mate. Tim has his phone in his paw and Lucy looks out the window. "It was the house across the street," she tells Tim. "It blew up."

Kojo's not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds bad. As he talks into his phone, Tim's face looks like it does when something bad happens.

"The house gets robbed yesterday and blows up this morning," Lucy says. "That can't be a coincidence."

Tim finishes talking on the phone before he talks to Lucy. "It's worse than that. Reports of explosions are coming in from all over LA."

"We should cross-check them with houses that were burgled. Maybe the thieves left hidden bombs behind after they robbed them," Lucy says. Kojo doesn't understand a lot of what they're saying, only that they're very upset. "Look," Lucy goes on, "I checked in on Nolan last night. He said he went after the burglars before he had backup because Kojo knew something was happening, like they were coming out."

Kojo barks at his name and Lucy pets him while Tim goes on. "Yeah, he probably smelled them coming out. He knows when I've got meat in the groceries while it's still wrapped and in the car."

Kojo barks again at "meat," but Lucy starts talking very fast. "Lopez and Harper brought in the burglars and questioned them, especially the guy who shot Nolan. They refused to say a word except for "lawyer." But maybe Kojo smelled something or someone that was at the other scenes."

Kojo watches as Tim does the thing with his head he does when he doesn't like what someone says. "That's a reach, Lucy."

Lucy looks mad. "At least it's worth finding out, isn't it? Bailey's supposed to be bringing Nolan home from the hospital this morning."

At the words "Nolan, hospital," and "home," Kojo wags his tail and yips.

Lucy gives him her happy face. "Yeah, that's good news, Boy. Tim, I want to go talk to Nolan and find out exactly what Kojo did."

"You'll have to clear it with Grey. It's going to be all hands on deck and I already got my emergency call-in from Metro. Yours should be coming from Mid-Wilshire any minute." Kojo isn't sure exactly what Tim meant, but he got that Tim and Lucy will be leaving soon.

A loud sound comes from near Tim and Lucy's bed. "That's the alert on my phone now," Lucy says. "I want to take Kojo with me. That will make it harder for Grey to say no about using him at the scenes of the other burglaries. If Grey lets me go see Nolan, I can take Kojo with me there too."

The conversation is starting to sound exciting to Kojo. But he's hungry. He goes over to his dish and looks up at Tim and Lucy. "You better hurry up and feed him before you go," Tim urges Lucy, to Kojo's joy. "And you'd better take him out to drop one before you put him in a car. I've got to get some clothes on and get to Metro five minutes ago."

"I'll take care of it," Lucy says. She fills his bowl from the big bag, but Kojo is happy. He understood enough to know that he's going places with Lucy. That's always fun. But he'll have to be careful not to chew anything that makes her mad. Maybe he can remind her to take one of his toys along.

Even though he's only been there once before, Kojo recognizes the building. It's where Lucy gave him to Tim. The scents of so many humans including Tim, Lucy, Nolan, and Lopez are unmistakable, but there are so many others, including some he smelled before Nolan was hurt.

Lucy opens a door Kojo can see through. All the humans with things on like he's seen on Tim, Lucy, and some of the humans who came when Nolan got hurt, are looking at Lucy. She doesn't look back or talk to them. She holds Kojo close on his leash until she comes to another door he can see through.

Lucy uses her paw to make a noise on the door like people who come to Tim's place sometimes make on his door. A big human that Kojo doesn't recognize waves at Lucy. She goes through the door with Kojo. The human looking at Lucy is dark like Thorsen but bigger and he has no fur on his head. "Why did you bring the dog, Chen?" he says in a voice that sounds a little like a bark to Kojo. He recognizes the word "dog, and 'Chen.' Tim calls Lucy that sometimes.

Lucy isn't showing her throat and belly, but she's still acting like she's submitting to the other human. "He smelled a lot when Nolan was shot and I realized he might have smelled what blew up across the street from Tim's house. I thought he might be able to help track down the bombs or who planted them."

Kojo doesn't understand a lot of what Lucy is telling the big human, but he thinks she's talking about him. "We have explosives-sniffing dogs, Chen," the big human says, not sounding friendly.

"But Kojo may have smelled something we have no sample for," Lucy says, sounding mad. "And he smelled people's scents too. It can't hurt to have him try."

"Who and what do you want him to smell?" the big human says sounding like Tim does sometimes when something goes wrong in one of his games.

"All the recently burgled houses. Maybe one of them has a hidden bomb that hasn't exploded yet. If Kojo finds it, the lab may be able to get some evidence off it."

The big human's chair makes a loud high noise as he pushes back in it and makes the sound Tim makes before he gives Lucy what she wants. "All right, Chen. Get a list of those houses from Carradine. He's been supervising the burglary investigations. And I'll give you until the end of your shift for the dog to come up with something."

Lucy looks excited. "Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir. Oh, and I'd like to take Kojo to see Nolan."

"Don't thank me, Chen," the big human responds, reminding Kojo of growling. "If you don't find anything you'll have to work twice as hard on the street to make up for lost time."

Lucy sounds unhappy again. "Yes, Sir."

"And you won't have to go far to see Nolan," the big human says. "He's here."

Lucy talks to the human she calls Carradine, who gives her a paper. As she starts to go back toward where she brought Kojo in, he detects a familiar scent. Barking happily, he pulls Lucy toward Nolan who's sitting at a table with more papers. "Hey, Nolan, why are you here? You just got out of the hospital," Chen says.

"I couldn't stay at home with all the bombings," Nolan tells Lucy before reaching down to pat Kojo. "Hi, Boy. Lopez said you told Tim to ask about me."

Lucy gives Nolan a look Kojo doesn't remember seeing before. "The doctor must have given you some good drugs."

"Just Tylenol," Nolan says "Lopez told me about a call she got from Tim, asking about me. He claimed Kojo made him do it." Kojo recognizes Lopez's name and his. He yips approval. "Maybe you should ask your boyfriend about it. And anyway, Grey said I could be here as long as I stay at a desk. Right now he needs all the help he can get."

Kojo wags his tail hard as Nolan and Lucy smile. "Maybe he'll get it," she says.