Lamp Light

Haven Point Lodge, How May I Help You?

Jaimie Carrigan stands on the edge of an ice-covered Adirondack pond, listening for the awful scream that was called into dispatch. Standing next to her is K9 Moe, a hundred and fifty five pound Rottweiler.

He knows something is wrong.

But they are too new. Too raw. Too body-silent, both of them, to be able to communicate the disquiet each feels down to the bone.

On paper, Officer Carrigan looks like an exemplary rookie. Technically, she is. She’s also the target in the small Sub-station full of old-time officers and firemen. And has been for the past fifteen months. As the rookie, even after all this time, it’s her duty to cover shifts, deal with a whacked-out, ever-changing schedule that rarely involves daylight hours, and run long patrol routes with only Moe to keep her company in the moonlit hours.

Living with her Aunt Jesse in Haven Point Lodge has its advantages. A room with a bed that she has to share with the huge canine. The most important is that, even with the trial-and-error position that might end at any point, she can keep Moe as hers- her partner, her K9, her companion. The second is being able to pay off the hefty school loans.

When Aunt Jesse’s lover trips in the snow and nearly lands on a gruesome body half-hidden in a thicket, Jaimie’s life is forever changed. She is partnered with Homicide Detective Drew McLaughlin- a stoic, marble-faced man that hasn’t laughed in years. He knows nothing about dogs. Or about being a partner to anyone.