I love the early morning! I’m Rainbow Sanderson, and I work for the Timber Creek County Sheriff’s Department in Timber Creek, Colorado. I live outside of town in a log cabin on the edge of the creek that the town and county are named for. I rise before dawn, write in my journal by the light and scent of my patchouli candles, and then take a brisk walk along the creek bank. While I walk in the meadow, I see deer, rabbits, and birds of all kinds, my favorite being the meadowlark. I can’t linger, because I need to arrive at my shift as dispatcher by six o’clock AM.
I love my job, and my favorite law enforcement officer at the station is definitely Robo, a huge German shepherd who can take a bite out of crime. But he’s a gentle love bug when he’s with me. His handler, Deputy Mattie Walker, has given up on trying to keep him from kissing me on the cheek when we see each other in the morning. Now she sighs and looks the other way when Robo and I giving each other hugs and kisses. But I don’t think she truly minds. She just has to act like she cares, since it’s important that Robo knows she’s in charge. I understand that their lives depend on it.
Speaking of saving lives, Mattie and Robo saved mine once. I will never forget that, and I’ll love them for it forever. Mattie has become one of my best friends, and she asked Detective Stella LoSasso and me to stand up with her during her wedding. I feel like I’ve known Mattie my whole life. We both grew up and went to school in Timber Creek, although I was five years behind her. I could’ve been four classes behind, but my parents march to their own drumbeat, and they believed that age five was too early to send a child off to school. So, Mattie and I didn’t run in the same circles during our school years.
I always looked up to her during her high school career as a cross-country track star. She didn’t pay attention to me back then, because I was just a kid. But thank goodness we’re friends now. I’ve never met anyone with her amount of heart and courage before or since. She’s the best!
At the office, I sit most of the day at a computer, taking calls for dispatch and calling in officer units to help people in this town. I’m happy at work, and I admire our boss, Sheriff Abraham McCoy. He’s fair, honest, and just. And thank goodness the people in this town recognize that. He’s been elected sheriff for years, and it seems like he will be until he decides to retire. But that’s enough about me. I’d better get going. I’m never late for work, and I often arrive early. The community depends on me. I like that too.
FIGHTING EDGE
Series: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery, Book 11
Genre: Police Procedural
Release: September 2026
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link
Major crimes intersect in this nail-biting installment of the Timber Creek K-9 mysteries by award-winning author Margaret Mizushima.
A routine welfare check becomes a nightmare when Deputy Mattie Walker finds a young mother dead and a hysterical toddler, possibly the only witness to a brutal crime. Before the investigative team can start piecing together what happened, Mattie discovers another criminal act in Timber Creek.
During a traffic stop for speeding, Mattie observes a nervous driver and a teenage passenger frozen with fear. A quick sweep of the car with her K-9 partner, Robo, reveals a dangerous mix of drugs and suspected human trafficking, providing Mattie with grounds to arrest the driver. After she places the teenager in protective custody, the sheriff’s department hands the case over to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
As the team gathers evidence and information, Mattie’s husband, veterinarian Cole Walker, notices suspicious activity during ambulatory calls at dog kennels, indicating yet a third crime lurking in the shadows. What begins as isolated incidents quickly reveals a chilling truth: Organized crime has infiltrated their rural mountain community.
Every clue leads to more questions, and each answer brings them closer to greater danger. Do Mattie and her law enforcement partners have what it takes to shut down this criminal ring before it claims more victims? And could its next victim be someone Mattie loves?
About the author
Margaret Mizushima writes the award winning and internationally published Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries. She served as a past president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and was elected 2019 Writer of the Year by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. She and her husband moved from Colorado, where they raised two daughters and a multitude of animals, to a home in the Pacific Northwest. Find her on Facebook/AuthorMargaretMizushima, X @margmizu, Instagram @margmizu, and her website www.margaretmizushima.com.