Elena watched from the glass doors, arms crossed tight, until they vanished into the wet gray afternoon. She hated the sudden emptiness at the ICU window. The girl stirred once in her sleep, as though sensing the absence. “Your doggy friend’ll come back,” Elena whispered.
The convoy wound out of town—two cruisers, an animal control van, and the handler’s SUV. Valorian sat in the back, calm but watchful, head occasionally lifting to test the wind from the half-open window. “He’s reading something,” the handler murmured. “See that? He’s onto something.” The detective nodded, hopeful but silent.