Wonders Never Cease
"Count on a Cop"
May 2002
ISBN 0373710615
For journalist Jill Martin things go from bad to worse when she meets hunky K-9 cop Ben Jacobs.
Yes, he's gorgeous, and yes, his dog, Czar, greets her like a long-lost friend, but Jill has this mystery to solve and an annoying ex-husband to deal with and a missing friend-slash-source.
Oh, and there's the small matter of the attempt on her life that left her in
a coma. Jill does what anyone would do, right? She calls on man's best friend
for a little help.
WordWeaving's "Award for Excellence"
"WONDERS NEVER CEASE is another cutting edge romance from DEBRA SALONEN, who manages to take the classic boy-meets-girl storyline and make it exciting, passionate and bursting with unique characters."
—Pamela Cohen, Romantic
Times
"Author Debra Salonen constructs a usual and intriguing plot and then pulls
it off with aplomb in WONDERS NEVER CEASE. ...As the author reminds us, "wonders
never cease when you have a little faith," as she so deftly proves. WONDERS
NEVER CEASE earns the Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence."
—Cindy Penn, WordWeaving.com
Ben faced his commanding officer. "I would like to go on record protesting the idea of using Ms. Martin in the bite suit. It's always best to use someone who is familiar with the dogs and knows how to react defensively."
Ben didn't want to take the fall for what most likely would happen. She'd get hurt, and the department would blame him and Czar.
Jill Martin approached him slowly -- the exact opposite of how she approached his ferocious police dog. "Would you go over each step of the training procedure and tell me what to expect and what to do? I don't want to get hurt nor do I want to do anything that could compromise the department or reflect badly on your program."
That was a very generous and unexpected sentiment on her part, but Ben didn't believe her. She might not want to be the cause of any problems, but she'd sure as hell write about them if they came up.
He pulled the forty-pound suit from the bag and described what she could expect to feel. "The most important thing to remember is to lie still once he has apprehended you. The dogs are taught to apprehend and guard. He will circle around you until I get there, but if you move he'll pounce on you."
She never looked directly at him; she was taking notes and examining the padded suit. "Will he attack from behind?"
"He doesn't attack. That's the worst perception going against us at the moment. People have this distorted Hollywood image of trained killers who go for the jugular. Sort of lethal weapons with fur. These dogs use their speed, their bite power and their looks to intimidate and hold a suspect until the foot patrol can make the arrest. If a suspect is fleeing and the dog has made visual contact, he will chase that suspect, pulling him down to stop him, if he has to, but it's not a random attack.
"I'd honestly prefer you did your story with the two of us on patrol. You could see Czar bully his way through a gang of thugs with his sheer presence then play with a group of school kids. He's gentle, respectful and playful with people, but he knows his job and how to do it."
He took a deep breath and waited for someone to say something.
"I'll take those kind of pictures, too, but couldn't we get at least one
shot of Jill being tackled? You don't know how happy it would make some of the
people back at the paper. I already have requests for four eight-by-tens,"
the photographer said, a wry grin on his face.
Jill swatted him with her notepad. "You just wait, Mosely. My next batch of cookies will have a special treasure in one, just for you. Won't they, Czar?"
For a moment, Ben thought he might have talked his way out of this fiasco. They
might have gone for it, if not for the mayor who seemed to have his own reasons
for wanting to see Jill Martin flattened.
"Oh, we're here now," the man said. "Let's just do it. I haven't gotten to see a practice session and Jill's the one who insisted on being the dummy. No pun intended." He laughed at his own joke.
Ben liked the shape of Jill's face, but he'd overlooked the strength of her jaw until he saw her eyes narrow and jaws clench. There was no love loss between those two, and it had nothing to do with this matter. Ben was curious, but he didn't have a chance to do more than wonder.
"Let's do it." Jill yanked the suit out of Ben's hands.
