Page 20 of Scent of Death (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #5)

Alexis crossed over to her dog. “Good girl, Denali! Good girl!” She tossed the pink piggy behind her to keep the dog from messing up any potential evidence.

“Is this the end of the trail?” Griff joined her near the road.

“Yes.” Dropping to a crouch, she examined the ground. There hadn’t been any rain recently, but she could still make out the barest image of a tire track. She glanced at Griff, who’d knelt beside her. “Is it possible this belongs to a Ram truck?”

“I’m not a tire expert, but we can hope it’s a match.” Griff took pictures with his phone, then fiddled around with it for a few minutes.

She straightened, watching Denali play. She felt sad, angry, and full of despair over Maureen’s abduction. And other than the light-colored Ram truck, they had nothing to go on to find this guy.

They were running out of time to rescue Maureen. The only idea she could come up with was to use herself as a lure to draw him out. And now that there was another missing girl’s life on the line, she would not accept no as an answer.

Griff had found the tires that were typically used on Ram trucks, and to his inexpert eye, they matched the track Denali had found. He’d need the lab to tell him for sure.

Even that wasn’t something he could use in court.

Not unless they found the actual truck used in the abductions.

There was always the possibility the owner of the truck had changed the tires to a brand that wasn’t standard.

Out here, tires needed to be replaced more frequently than those driving in the city.

He turned as Alexis and Denali joined him. Alexis had the pink piggy in hand. Under different circumstances, he’d have smiled at the way she carried Denali’s reward.

There was nothing to smile about now. Maureen Kaufman was the serial killer’s next victim, and if they didn’t figure out who this guy was soon, they’d likely find her dead body.

He drew in a deep breath, fighting to remain calm.

He couldn’t let this case get to him on an emotional level.

He needed to think like this guy. To figure out who he was.

Based on the two most recent abductions being here in Greybull, he leaned toward believing the killer lived here or at least used the town as his home base.

He’d taken the other victims from Casper and Jackson.

Simon was also from Jackson, but Griff didn’t see him as the killer.

Hopefully, the list of Ram trucks would point them to a suspect.

“We need to head back. I need to let the Kaufmans know that we lost the scent trail and that we know there’s a serial killer in the area.

” A pit of dread formed in his stomach. He hated this part of the job. The news would terrify them.

Especially since he didn’t have much of a lead. He’d gotten the list of light-colored Ram trucks, so he and Alexis could work on that.

It seemed too little, too late.

He walked in silence for a minute, dreading the conversation looming before him. Then he sighed. “Maureen’s abduction is likely to hit the news very soon.” He had hoped for more time before the media frenzy descended on the town.

“Will that work against us in finding him?” Alexis asked.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “To be honest, it doesn’t matter at this point.

Maureen is his fourth victim, unless there are others we don’t know about.

I’m surprised we’ve been able to contain the news this long.

Some serial killers enjoy the attention.

It makes them think they’re smarter than the cops and federal agents. ”

Alexis grimaced as they hopped over the fallen log. “I don’t like giving him anything he wants.”

“I don’t either. But it’s time to put the entire state on high alert.

” He worried the killer was spiraling out of control.

The only good news was that being rushed might cause the killer to make mistakes.

“Teenage girls need to be careful and stay close to home or make sure they’re with friends until we catch him. ”

“It’s not like Maureen wandered away from the campsite.” Alexis frowned. “The smashed cinnamon roll tells me he caught her there and somehow managed to get her away without waking up her family.”

“I noticed. And I’m not sure how he’s managing to get these girls to go along with him.” They continued retracing their steps. A few minutes later, the campsite came into view. The minute the Kaufmans noticed they’d returned, the three of them rushed over.

“Did you find anything?” The hope in Beth’s expression ripped at his heart.

“Denali followed the scent to a dirt road about a hundred yards from here.” He forced himself to hold her gaze. “I’m sorry to say, it appears Maureen’s abductor had a truck waiting there.”

Beth Kaufman gasped and buried her face in her hands. Her husband stared at him. “You’re saying Maureen has been kidnapped?”

“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “I’m very sorry, but you need to know there’s been three teenage girls who went missing. We’ve found their dead bodies buried in a field near the Bighorn Mountains. We have reason to believe the same man who killed them has Maureen.”

“No, no, no.” Beth moaned and began to sob. “This can’t be happening.”

“I’m sorry,” Griff repeated. Lindsey’s eyes filled with tears, and she looked as if she was going to break down too.

He lightly grasped the girl’s arm. “Lindsey, I really need your help. Do you know what a Ram truck looks like? It’s big and has the word Ram in the chrome along the front grill.

” He pulled out his phone and used his thumb to bring up the picture.

“Like this. Can you remember seeing something like this in the parking lot when your sister said goodbye to Simon?”

Lindsey swiped at her face and peered down at the screen. After a long moment, she shook her head. “I know there were a couple trucks parked in the lot, but I can’t remember if they looked like this one. I mean, I didn’t pay attention to if they were Ram trucks or some other kind.”

“That’s okay, what color were the trucks you saw?” Griff pressed.

“One was gray; the other was black.” Lindsey sniffled loudly again. “Are you going to find my sister?”

“I promise I’m going to do everything I can to find her.” He pocketed his phone. Nate Kaufman held his wife, his own expression full of anguish.

“How did this happen?” Nate asked. “I don’t understand.”

“I—we have been searching for him for the past twenty-four hours.” Griff couldn’t help feeling guilty that they hadn’t gone to the press sooner.

Would doing so have kept Maureen safe? He swallowed hard.

“The first two girls went missing from other cities far from here. The third victim lived in Greybull. We’re following up on leads, and I have a profiler flying in from DC very soon. ”

“My God,” Nate whispered.

“My K9 knows his scent,” Alexis said, speaking up for the first time.

She rested her hand on Denali’s head as the dog sat tall at her side.

“Denali followed his scent from your campsite all the way to the dirt road. She’s super smart, and I trust her ability to follow scents.

I’m sure Denali will help us find the man who took your daughter. ”

Beth lifted her head from her husband’s chest, a bit of hope lightening her eyes. “Your K9 knows his scent? You can use her to search every house in town?”

Every house would be impossible, but Griff had no intention of mentioning that. If they had a general area in mind, yes. But they couldn’t randomly comb the entire town.

“As Agent Flannery said, we’re following up on every possible lead.” Alexis gave the Kaufmans a reassuring look. “We won’t stop until we find him.”

Griff pulled a business card from his pocket. “You can call me anytime. And I’ll need your contact information as well.”

A few minutes later, Griff led Alexis and Denali back to the parking lot. As she opened the back hatch for Denali, he quickly scanned the vehicles. The black Ram truck was still there. There was no sign of the gray one.

“I have the list of Ram trucks,” he told Alexis as they piled into the SUV. “I think we start with those who are in the Greybull area.”

“Good idea. We should start with the ones registered to young men.” Alexis put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot.

“I’m not sure narrowing the list by age of the registered driver is a good idea,” Griff said. “What if this guy is driving a truck registered to one of his parents? No, I think we cover each one of them. I’ll even recheck the one truck owned by the sixty-three-year-old man.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Alexis admitted. “Good plan. Once we find them, I’ll have Denali search the area nearby to see if she alerts.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He didn’t like having Alexis and Denali near this guy, but they were running out of time. Maureen’s abduction changed everything.

He pulled the list up on his phone. It was longer than he’d have liked, but starting with those registered to people living in or around Greybull would help.

They were back at the hotel a few minutes later.

Instead of heading straight to their room, he detoured to the small business center.

The computer was available, so he logged into his email.

He’d already sent the list to his personal email.

Doing that was against policy, but he didn’t have time to waste.

When he opened the attachment, he winced when he noticed there were just over fifty trucks listed. Fifty-two to be exact. The list was in a spreadsheet format, so he took a minute to sort the file by city. There were six trucks in Greybull.

Six was doable. He requested two copies, then hit the print key. He waited impatiently for the printer to warm up and spit out the document.

“Here.” He handed one copy to Alexis who stood with Denali off to the side of the small space. “Six trucks registered in Greybull.”

“I see that.” She frowned. “None of these names are familiar. The older guy, Gary’s name isn’t on the Greybull list either.”

“That’s okay. With only six trucks listed, we’ll drive around until we find them all.” He rose. “Do you need anything from the room?” He was anxious to hit the road.

“More water for Denali.” Alexis turned to head toward their suite. “I’ll refill the empty water bottles from the sink.”

He didn’t argue, knowing that giving the K9 water was part of the search routine. Alexis had mentioned how important it was to keep the dog’s mucous membranes moist. Something even more crucial in these hot summer months.

Five minutes later, they were back in the SUV. He’d completely forgotten about taking ibuprofen for his knee and decided it could wait.

Maureen could not.

He scanned the six addresses and plugged them into the map app on his phone.

After taking a moment to get his bearings, he chose the address closest to their current location.

Interestingly, it was also the closest house to the campground where Maureen had been taken.

He doubted this guy would be that stupid, but stranger things had happened.

Especially since he knew this guy was spiraling out of control.

“Okay, turn right on 2 nd Avenue. The house we’re looking for is halfway down. ”

She nodded and made the turn. Upon reaching the halfway point, she slowed to a stop. “Which side of the street?”

“North side.” He checked the address, then eyed the house numbers. “That’s it, the dark-brown two-story.”

“I don’t see a truck,” Alexis said. “It’s either in the garage, or the owner could be at work. But we can see if Denali alerts.”

Going up the truck owner’s driveway would technically be trespassing, but he didn’t hesitate. “Go ahead. See what she does.” Even as he said the words, he knew he was pushing it.

Maybe they couldn’t use the search in court, but Maureen’s life was at stake.

As far as he was concerned, the missing teenager along with Lindsey who saw a large gray truck was more than enough of a coincidence to use exigent circumstances to do what might otherwise be considered an unlawful search.

And if Denali alerted, he wouldn’t hesitate to break down the front door to search inside the house.

Alexis parked and released the hatch. He got out of the car, standing nearby to watch Denali work. He found himself holding his breath as the K9 sniffed along the end of the driveway, then made her way up to the closed garage door.

He half expected someone to come out of the front door, demanding to know what they were doing. He alternated between watching Denali and the main entrance.

Unfortunately, the dog didn’t alert, even when Alexis had the dog sniff along the closed driveway door and all the way up the front walkway. Nobody came out of the house either. Or peered at them through the windows as far as he could tell.

He swallowed a groan. One down, five more to go.

Griff tried not to think about what his next step would be if Denali didn’t alert on any of the vehicles here in Greybull. Sure, they could check Cody next as that town wasn’t too far away, but after that?

He scanned the list. There was no feasible way they could check every single one of the fifty-two trucks scattered across the state in eight different cities.

If they didn’t find something soon, he feared Maureen Kaufman would pay the price.