Officer Brinna Caruso has built a reputation at the precinct as the cop to call when a child goes missing. For Brinna, it’s personal because she was once one of them. Brinna and her K-9 search and rescue dog, Hero, will stop at nothing to find a missing child, no matter the stakes. Detective Jack O’Reilly isn’t ready to return to his homicide duties, after losing his wife to a drunk driver. He’s on the downside of his career, and bent on revenge, when he’s assigned as Brinna’s partner. While on patrol, Jack struggles between his quest for personal justice and his responsibility to those around him, especially his partner. Skeptical of Jack’s motives, Brinna isn’t sure she can rely on her new partner, whose reckless abandon endangers the safety of those around him. But when a man surfaces with an MO similar to the criminal who abducted Brinna twenty years earlier, Brinna and Jack must cast aside previous judgments and combine efforts to catch the kidnapper, and finally allow Brinna the peace stolen from her as a child. Officer Brinna Caruso has built a reputation at the precinct as the cop to call when a child goes missing. For Brinna, it’s personal because she was once one of them. Brinna and her K-9 search and rescue dog, Hero, will stop at nothing to find a missing child, no matter the stakes. Detective Jack O’Reilly isn’t ready to return to his homicide duties after losing his wife to a drunk driver. He’s on the downside of his career, and bent on revenge, when he’s assigned as Brinna’s partner. While on patrol, Jack struggles between his quest for personal justice and his responsibility to those around him, especially his partner. Skeptical of Jack’s motives, Brinna isn’t sure she can rely on her new partner, whose reckless abandon endangers those around him. But when a man surfaces with an MO similar to the criminal who abducted Brinna twenty years earlier, Brinna and Jack must cast aside previous judgments and combine efforts to catch the kidnapper and finally allow Brinna the peace stolen from her as a child. CRITICAL PURSUIT By Janice Cantore Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2013 Janice Cantore All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4143-7553-3 CHAPTER 1 Seventy-four percent of abducted children who are murderedare dead within three hours of the abduction. The grim statistic rumbled around in K-9 Officer BrinnaCaruso's brain like a hand grenade without the pin. Therewas no evidence that six-year-old Josh Daniels had beenabducted, yet the statistic taunted her. Brinna and her K-9, Hero, a four-year-old Labradorretriever, were part of a team of officers fanned out acrossEl Dorado Park, the largest city park in Long Beach,California, searching for Josh. He'd disappeared from anafternoon family picnic two and a half hours ago. The huge park successfully created the illusion of wilderness,dense in some places, open in others. There were athousand places to hide—or be hidden. Brinna normallyloved the park, the smell of pine trees and nature, the illusionof pristine innocence and safety. Today all she couldthink about was how quickly innocence could be lost or,worse, stolen. Hero trotted ahead on a well-beaten path, panting in thesummer heat. Brinna and Officer Maggie Sloan followed afew feet behind. Maggie had left her partner back at the picnicsite with the boy's family. "You are so intense it's scary," Maggie said. "What?" Brinna glanced from Hero to Maggie, whoregarded her with a bemused expression. She wasn't justanother officer; she was Brinna's confidante and best friendon the force. "I'm just keeping an eye on my dog," Brinna explained,wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "He's definitelyfollowing a scent." "That's good news, isn't it?" Maggie asked. "It means weshould find the boy. Why the frown?" Brinna shrugged. "I want to find a boy and not a body." "Harrumph." Maggie waved a hand dismissively. "There'sno indication Josh was snatched. The best guess is he got lostplaying hide-and-seek. El Dorado is to parks what Disneylandis to carnivals. He could be anywhere. You always imaginethe worst where kids are concerned." Brinna gritted her teeth. "Because you know as well as Ido, if a kid is abducted, the chances are overwhelming thatthey will be a victim of murder." Jaw set, Brinna returned her full attention to the dog.She'd had this conversation before, with Maggie and others,almost every time a child went missing. The guys on herteam liked to say that since Brinna didn't believe there was aGod watching out for kids, she'd given herself the job. "The operative word is if . You're such a glass-is-half-emptyperson." Maggie slapped Brinna's shoulder with the backof her hand. "What about the ones found alive? ElizabethSmart, Shawn Hornbeck, Brinna Caruso?" "For every three of us rescued, there're nine who die,"Brinna shot back. "You know my goal is 100 percent saved." Maggie snorted in exasperation. "All the time you spendriding rail on registered sex offenders and