Page 18 of Scent of Death (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #5)

“A valuable service.” Griff smiled. “From the moment I was assigned here, your family was all I heard about.”

She flushed and sipped her water. “I guess we’ve made a name for ourselves.”

“You have.” He stopped talking when Ellen brought their plates. “Looks great, thanks.”

Alexis smiled, then reached for Griff’s hand. “I’d like to say grace.”

He nodded and bowed his head. She understood why his faith had stumbled; it wasn’t easy to move on after losing someone you loved. “Dear Lord Jesus, we ask You to continue to guide us to seek this evil man who harms others. Please grant us the strength and wisdom we need to find him. Amen.”

“Amen.” Griff’s fingers tightened on hers for a moment before he withdrew. “Thanks, Alexis. I hope we are able to find him soon.”

Their burgers were good, and they ate in silence. Alexis was surprised her appetite had returned. She wasn’t sure how Griff handled the violent crimes he investigated.

Not that searching disaster sites with Denali for victims was easy.

When they finished, she headed for the restroom with Denali on her heels.

When she emerged, she saw Griff was already at the bar, chatting with the customers.

He crossed over to join her. “Nobody knows anyone living in the area with a light-colored Ram truck, and the town is small enough that they would.”

“Maybe he lives in Greybull after all.” She started the SUV remotely as they walked toward it.

“I need to talk to Barbara Evers,” Griff said, his expression grim. “After that, we’ll go over the list of light-colored Ram trucks.”

“Okay.” The description was their best lead. Everyone in Wyoming drove trucks, vans, or SUVs. The weather made them a necessity. But the state also wasn’t as highly populated as Colorado or others. Maybe they would find something to go on.

They quickly covered the distance between Shell and Greybull. Griff gave her directions to Barbara Evers’s home. When she pulled into the driveway, she noticed an older woman peeking out the window.

“Wait here.” Griff pushed out of the car and strode to the front door. Barbara had already opened it and stepped out. The hopeful expression on her face collapsed as Griff spoke. Then she was sobbing into her hands. Griff pulled her close and patted her back.

Alexis blinked away her tears. Three dead girls and only a vague description of a car and the man responsible to go on.

She closed her eyes and prayed again for strength and guidance.

Giving death notifications was the worst part of the job. Griff had done it more as a cop than in his role within the bureau. Yet he was shocked by the strength of Barbara’s faith as she pulled herself together. “Thanks, Griff. I’m going to take some comfort in knowing Wendy is with God now.”

“I’m doing everything possible to find this guy.”

“I know you are.” Barbara offered a watery smile. “Will you let me know when that happens?”

“Of course.” That was the least he could do. “Please take care of yourself.”

“You be careful too.” Barbara patted his arm, then stepped back. “You know, I had a bad feeling she was dead. I didn’t want to believe it, but I knew she was gone.”

He didn’t know what to say, so he simply nodded and turned to head back to the SUV. He drew in a deep steadying breath before opening the door. That Barbara could find peace knowing Wendy was in heaven humbled him.

Maybe it was time for him to accept the idea Grace was in a better place too.

“Are you okay?” Alexis’s gaze mirrored concern. “That must have been difficult.”

“Barbara Evers shares your faith.” He eyed the small house as Alexis backed out of the driveway. “She’s dealing with the loss better than I could have imagined.”

“Faith and prayer can ease the grief,” Alexis murmured. “We leaned on our faith after losing our parents, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t miss them. Barbara will miss her granddaughter for a long time.”

He nodded, tearing his gaze from the Evers’s home. “I hope I can figure out a way to narrow that list of trucks.”

“We will.” She sounded confident, but he wasn’t convinced. Checking his phone, he grimaced when he didn’t see the email yet. Being back in Greybull was unsettling. It was only a few hours ago that the killer had tried to poison Denali.

Was he still in the area? “Keep your eye out for big trucks.”

“I’ve noticed two black Ram trucks.” She glanced at him. “They’re rather distinctive, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, that’s the one thing in our favor.” He scanned the vehicles as she drove through town. “As much as I’d like to keep driving around, we need a hotel. I want to print the truck list when I get it. That way we can both look it over.”

“We could go back to the hotel where we spent the night. Could be our guy won’t expect us to return there.”

Griff mulled over that for a moment. It wasn’t as if they had many options. Maybe she was right that the killer would think they’d avoid the place. “Okay, that works.”

Alexis drove through town, past the campground and the hardware store. There were more vehicles out and about, and when he caught sight of a large Ram truck sitting in the parking lot of the Attwell Restaurant, he grasped her arm. “Turn in there.”

She hit the brake and made the turn. The truck looked new, which didn’t match the description provided by Tim Johnson. Yet it had been dark, close to midnight. Maybe the kid had made a mistake.

Then he noticed the vehicle didn’t have a trailer hitch. Still, he decided to call in the plate number. “I need to know who this truck is registered to. Name, age, and residence.” He rattled off the plate number. After a few seconds, he had his answer.

“That truck is registered to Gerald Harp, age sixty-three from Cody. Does that help?”

“Only that we can rule him out. Thanks.” He lowered the phone. “False alarm on my part. This isn’t our guy. Keep going.”

Alexis nodded and made a turn in the parking lot of the restaurant. They passed a couple of other Ram trucks, but they weren’t the right color.

Hopefully, Tim Johnson hadn’t been wrong about that , he thought grimly.

The clerk at the hotel agreed to give them the same room back, mostly because the housekeeping staff hadn’t gotten around to cleaning it. “We’ve had several rooms turn over today. Suites aren’t in high demand.”

“We’ll take it without being cleaned, thanks.” He paid for another night, then led the way down the hall. Alexis and Denali followed.

Denali sniffed the room for a few minutes, then settled down as if recognizing they’d been there before. Smart dog , he thought. Alexis’s K9 was their best chance of finding the killer.

He only hoped Alexis and Denali wouldn’t get hurt in the process.

“There’s one way we can draw this guy out of hiding.” Alexis dropped onto the sofa. Denali curled up at her feet. “He wants me, right?”

“No.” Griff was shocked she’d suggested it. “I’m not placing you in harm’s way.”

“Take a moment and think it through.” Her voice was calm. “I trust you to keep me safe, and we can use local law enforcement as backup. My biggest concern is Denali.” She frowned as she bent to stroke her dog. “I don’t want to send her back to the ranch, but I don’t want her to get hurt either.”

“No,” he repeated. She was worried about the dog? He didn’t want this killer anywhere near Alexis. “We’ll find him using good old-fashioned police work.” He stared at his phone, willing the list of vehicles to pop up on the screen. “There’s no reason to use you or anyone else as bait.”

“Why not? You’d rather some other girl be taken against her will?” She shot him an exasperated look. “You want to find another dead body in his burial site?”

“No, but I don’t think he’s looking for anyone else.” Griff held her gaze. “We both know he’s focused on you. Maybe he is someone you know from Cody or from somewhere else. Maybe he delivered supplies to your ranch at some point.”

She sighed. “I hadn’t thought of the delivery angle. We’ve had plenty of supplies delivered over the past few months. Maybe he has been at the ranch. Unfortunately, I don’t see how that helps us find him.”

“Can you get records of those deliveries?” Griff wasn’t entirely convinced this guy had been on the ranch, but it was another angle to pursue.

He didn’t dare ignore a potential lead.

His phone rang, jarring him from his thoughts. “Flannery.”

“Griff? It’s Sue in the lab. I have the results on the dog food that was brought in an hour ago.”

He wondered how the Sullivan twins had gotten the evidence to Cheyene so quickly. Likely Logan had made the trip via plane. He really needed to reimburse the guy for fast-tracking his investigation. “What did you find?”

“The dog food was laced with arsenic. I believe a highly toxic brand of rat poison was used. Not a lot, but it would have been enough to kill the dog.” Sue hesitated, then asked, “Was one of the Sullivan dogs targeted?”

“Yes. Thanks for the information, I’ll pass it along.”

“I hope you get him, Griff.” Sue sounded upset. “Bad enough he’s killing women, but dogs too? The Sullivans helped my sister find her son when he got lost in the woods. I can’t believe anyone living in the area would target them.”

“I know, it’s not a good situation, but I’ll find him.” Griff strove to sound confident. “Thanks again, Sue.” He lowered the phone. “You were right. The dog food was laced with arsenic, likely from rat poison.”

Alexis nodded. “I knew it would be something like that. Although I don’t know who would have that type of rat poison around. Maybe the hardware store?” She jumped to her feet. “We should check. See if the clerk remembers anyone buying any today. I can’t imagine it’s an item that’s purchased often.”

“That’s a good idea.” He grinned. “You’re starting to think like a cop.”

“That’s what happens when you work with siblings who are in law enforcement. Come, Denali.”

The trip to the hardware store didn’t take long. It was fairly busy, and they had to wait in line before they could talk to a clerk. Griff flashed his badge. “I need to know if anyone bought highly toxic rat poison today.”

“Not while I was here but let me call the manager.” The clerk turned, and yelled, “Tony? The FBI wants to talk to you.”

Customers turned and stared, making Griff wince. He moved to stand next to Alexis and Denali so those behind him could pay for their purchases.

“FBI?” An older man came over, his expression alarmed. “Why do you want to talk?”

“You’re not in trouble, but I’d like to know if anyone purchased toxic rat poison today.” Griff tried to look reassuring. “We’re following up on some poison found at a nearby campsite.”

Tony frowned. “I’m surprised something like that would bring the FBI here.

To be honest, I had some rat poison stolen early this morning.

I was in the back when I heard the door open.

Less than a minute later, I heard the door again.

I didn’t think much about it, but when I went through the aisles straightening items, I noticed the empty space and realized a box was missing. ”

Griff ground his teeth in frustration. He hadn’t anticipated the killer would have stolen the poison. “What time was that?”

“Like five minutes past nine.” Tony looked from Griff to Alexis. “I still don’t understand why the FBI is involved.”

“Did you notice a truck or some other vehicle in the parking lot?” Griff pressed, avoiding his question. “Anything that might help us find him?”

“I didn’t call the local police to report the theft.” Tony frowned. “I hate to say it, but shoplifting isn’t uncommon. And no, I didn’t see a car. I don’t have cameras either.”

Griff tried not to show his disappointment. “Here’s my card. If you think of anything else, please call me. We appreciate your time.”

“Sure.” Tony still looked perplexed as they left.

“Another dead end,” Alexis murmured as they climbed back into the SUV.

“Yeah.” His phone rang again, and his boss’s name flashed on the screen. Were they having trouble getting the list of trucks from the DMV? He quickly answered. “Flannery.”

“I just got a report of another missing girl. We’ve issued an Amber alert.” As his boss spoke, his phone buzzed with the emergency alert. “Her name is Maureen Kaufman, seventeen years old, taken from the campground in Greybull.” A pause, then, “That’s where you are, right?”

“Yes, I’m very close to the campground in Greybull. Send me her information and a way to contact her parents. I’ll get right on it.” Griff lowered the phone, feeling sick as he looked at the photo of the girl who’d gone missing. Or more likely had been taken against her will.

His theory of the killer being focused on Alexis had been proven wrong. The killer had struck again.

And he couldn’t bear the thought of being too late to save Maureen the way he’d failed Wendy Evers.