They waited under umbrellas while the rain returned in thin, slanted sheets. Valorian didn’t flinch, only stared at the dark hollow beyond the trees. “You think he’ll recognize the guy if we bring him?” the younger detective asked. “Wouldn’t surprise me,” the handler replied. “He would be able to sniff him out.”
When the evidence team arrived, Valorian stood quietly aside, watching them bag the candy wrappers, the bits of rope, and a torn strip of cloth that looked too small to be a blanket. The rain turned the mud into a mirror. Somewhere behind the clouds, the day dimmed into early dusk.