Lea wondered if her husband was right.

Am I going against my better judgment checking out our neighbor’s claim of suspicious activity at the house under construction?

She parked in front of the empty lot beside the site and got out of the car to get a better view. Her two dogs, Spirit, a golden retriever, and Gracie, a border collie, jumped out to follow.

What she saw made her heart skip a beat. Our neighbor was right. There are lights on in the building, and there’s a van parked in the driveway with its loading doors open. It can’t be the construction crew at this time of day.

“Hurry up, Miguel,” a voice hollered. “We’re done here. We’ll be late for the meetup.”

Lea whispered an urgent summons to the dogs. “Come on, you two. We need to go.”

Hearing the urgency in his master’s voice, Spirit turned to obey. But the border collie’s instincts kicked in. Gracie went racing toward the site, barking loudly.

The commotion caused an instant reaction.

Two hooded figures ran out of the house, glancing frantically in the dog’s direction before racing to the van. Without bothering to secure the back doors, they jumped in and revved the engine.

Lea yelled as the border collie raced toward the van. “Come back, Gracie.”

But it was too late. The strength of Gracie’s hind legs propelled her into the back of the van as the vehicle leaped to life, weaving crazily down the street.

The last thing Lea saw as the van swerved around the corner was her border collie struggling to keep her balance in the back of the careening vehicle.

“Spirit, come.” She slid behind the wheel of her car, opening the other door. “We’ll catch them before they get to the freeway.”

Lea flattened the gas pedal, throwing Spirit back against the seat. “Sorry, big guy, but I don’t have time to put your seat belt on.”

Spirit dug his claws into the car seat and held on for dear life, staring straight ahead in the direction where Gracie had gone.

“There are four lights before the freeway,” Lea reasoned aloud. “Hopefully, we can intercept them.”

Spirit cocked his head, listening attentively without averting his eyes from the road.

But just as she sensed they were closing the gap, a motorcycle roared around her, forcing her to jam on the brakes as the light turned red.

Lea’s hands sweat as she gripped the wheel. Come on, come on. Time stood still as the van disappeared from sight.

Gunning the engine again before the light changed, her heart dropped as she realized how close they were to the highway. “I’m afraid we’ve lost them, Spirit. I guess I was wrong in my theory about their escape route.”

She rounded the curve and sped past the Pier’s parking area.

That’s when she saw it.

A van parked at a hasty angle in the otherwise empty lot.

She swerved into the lot so fast that Spirit pitched across the seat and landed against the door.

In the excitement of discovering the van, Lea lost all sense of caution. She jumped out almost before her car rolled to a stop, leaving Spirit behind barking anxiously.

Approaching the vehicle, which appeared to be abandoned, she found the front doors open and the interior lights on. There was no one inside. She moved to the rear of the van with apprehension until she heard the familiar sound of Gracie barking.

Throwing the doors open, she suddenly found herself on the ground with a fifty-pound dog sitting on top of her, licking her face.

“I’m so glad we found you,” she exclaimed happily. “But don’t ever pull a stunt like that again. I was scared to death.”

To celebrate Gracie’s rescue, she agreed to walk the excited animals on the beach. As they neared the Pier, the dogs ran ahead to chase seagulls.

After a brief respite during which she enjoyed the ocean view, the dogs began raising a ruckus and Lea was forced to walk faster to catch up. She grew impatient as her shoes filled with sand, certain the dogs had found a leftover scrap of food to scuffle over.

But when she discovered the cause of their agitation, her body began to shake.