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

A lexis shivered despite the hot July sun beating down on them. The location of the shell casing indicated the serial killer was standing there when he’d taken a shot at her.

Turning, she looked back at the graves. There was a clear line of sight, so she wasn’t sure how this guy hadn’t hit her or Denali.

As if reading her thoughts, Griff scowled. “Either he’s not a good shot or the sun was too bright. We’re facing east, and Alexis is wearing green. Maybe he hadn’t been able to see her clearly because of the foliage nearby.”

“Maybe,” her brother Joel admitted. “But if he’s a hunter, he should have hit his target.”

“Gee, thanks,” Alexis muttered. “I’m glad he didn’t, but I’m sure he was just trying to scare me off.”

“There’s that.” Griff nodded in agreement. “If this is our suspect, he likes to kill his victims up close and personal.”

That observation did not make her feel any better.

She’d seen the ligature marks around the victims’ throats.

She hated to imagine the last image those girls had seen was an evil man’s face looming over them.

Swallowing hard, she turned to Joel and Jess.

“Let’s keep following his trail. Maybe he owns a place nearby. ”

Her siblings glanced at each other, then nodded. “After we take a quick break,” Jessica said. “The dogs are hot.”

“I understand.” She knew Denali was getting tired too.

Griff stared down at the shell casing in the evidence bag. “Hopefully, the lab can do something with this.”

“Prints?” Alexis asked. “I doubt this guy was wearing gloves in the middle of summer.”

“That’s my hope,” Griff said. “Although I’m not sure this guy is in the system.”

She sighed. The trees offered plenty of shade. They sat beneath them on the ground with the dogs to rest.

“You have no idea who this guy is?” Jessica asked Griff.

“Not yet.” Griff frowned. “But we need to find him soon. I’m hoping he lives here in the area.”

“Tell us about Wendy Evers,” Alexis suggested. “Do you have a picture of her?”

“Yes.” Griff pulled out his phone and swiped at the screen. Then he passed it to her. “She’s blond and has a nose piercing. The three girls don’t look anything alike, other than being in their late teens or early twenties, so he’s not picking them based on a type.”

She gazed at Wendy Evers’s smiling face, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. Then she passed the phone to Joel. He winced, then passed the device to Jessica who also looked somber before she handed it to her husband, Logan.

“Her grandmother claims Wendy wouldn’t have left without telling her.

I guess Wendy lives on her own, but she and her grandmother are close.

” Griff tucked the phone back into his pocket.

“The other two women were also single and lived alone. I think that may be something he looks for in a victim. But it’s gnawing at me that we don’t know what made him decide to pick these specific girls in three different cities across the state. ”

There was a long silence as they digested that bit of information.

“We’ll find him,” Joel said with confidence. Then he jumped to his feet. “Let’s go. The dogs should be able to follow the scent trail since he was here recently.”

Alexis agreed. The three of them went through the routine of offering water to the dogs, then revving them up for the search.

Joel’s Royal took the lead with Jess and Teddy close at his side. She and Griff and Denali were last. Yet as they walked, it was obvious that both dogs were hot on the same scent.

“I can’t get over how well they track people.” Griff shook his head, his green gaze full of admiration. “They’re amazing.”

“Yes.” She bent to smooth her hand over Denali’s soft fur. “We’re very blessed.”

He nodded without saying anything. She didn’t know if Griff was a believer. They’d worked together before, and he always participated in before-meal prayers, but he also didn’t say much about his faith.

She wanted to ask but was distracted by the sound of rushing water. “Is that a river?”

“Up ahead,” Joel said. “More of a creek, but it’s deep enough that we’re going to let the dogs cool off in the water.”

“Good idea.” She knew Denali would love to splash in the water.

They quickened their pace, still following the scent trail. Ironically, Royal reached the stream first. He let out a sharp bark, then sat, staring back at Joel.

“Good boy.” Joel pulled the stuffed beaver from his pocket.

He tossed it for Royal, who leaped up to catch it.

Royal ran in a circle with the brown beaver in his mouth, then he dropped it to jump into the stream.

Without hesitation, Teddy and Denali jumped in behind him.

The current wasn’t brisk enough to worry about.

That was more of an issue in the spring when the thick layer of snow began to melt.

Usually by July, the water level was lower.

“Wait, let me look for footprints,” Griff said, holding up a hand to keep Joel from going any closer.

Her brother nodded and crouched to peer at the ground. Griff did too.

“I don’t see anything,” Joel said.

“Me either.” Griff grimaced as he stood. He bent to massage his left knee, making Alexis frown. Was he hurt? If so, he shouldn’t be hiking in the mountains. When he noticed her looking at him, Griff dropped his hand and gestured to the river. “Looks like the dogs have the right idea.”

“They do.” Jess dropped to her knees. “The water is nice and cold.”

Jess used her cupped hands to splash water on her face. Alexis joined her. And soon the guys were crouched at the bank too.

“We know our perp was here.” Griff wiped the water from his face and rose to his feet to look around the area. “I wish we could have found boot prints.”

“We’ll keep the dogs on his scent.” Joel grinned as Royal splashed through the stream. “Cooling them down will help.”

Alexis looked for familiar landmarks but didn’t see any. They had been heading in a general western direction, which in theory would eventually lead to the area where she’d left her SUV and the others likely had too.

“Come, Denali.” Alexis didn’t bother to try to avoid the droplets that pelted her when Denali shook herself to get rid of the excess water. “Good girl.”

Joel and Jess called their respective K9s too and were subject to the same drenching. In truth, the cold water felt good. Soon, Joel and Jess had their dogs back on the scent. Alexis wasn’t surprised when the dogs followed the stream.

She wasn’t sure how they’d followed the scent, other than the shooter must have been sweating to the point that some of those particles hit the earth near the stream. Often people purposefully walked through water to avoid leaving a trail.

And this guy must have known something about that strategy to have tried it here. Thankfully, July was hot enough to work in their favor.

They walked in silence. Joel and Jess kept an eye on their dogs while the rest of them followed. After about twenty minutes, Royal abruptly stopped, turned, and walked through the creek to the other side.

Jessica’s Teddy did the same thing.

“Our guy got out of the stream here?” Griff hurried ahead to peer at the water’s edge. “I don’t see footprints, but the ground is damp here.”

Alexis eyed her watch. “It’s been several hours since he took that shot.” She shrugged, then added, “I’m surprised the sun hasn’t dried it up completely by now.”

“Yeah. Good point.” Griff stood for a moment with his hands on his hips. “It makes me wonder if he stayed back at the location where we found the shell casing for a while. Maybe watching you, Alexis.”

“Maybe.” The last thing she wanted was to capture the attention of a serial killer. Griff had mentioned he wasn’t sure how this guy was choosing his victims, other than they were young and lived alone.

She didn’t live alone, considering there were nine other cabins on the ranch housing her siblings. And nobody could get on the ranch without at least one of the dogs, and more likely all of them, raising the alarm.

“I don’t think you should go anywhere alone, Alexis,” Griff said in a low voice. “Not until we get this guy.”

She arched a brow. “Just me? Or all young women who might be targeted by this sick guy?”

“All women, yes”—Griff held her gaze for a long moment—“but especially you. He likely watched you from afar, the way he must have observed his earlier victims before making his move.” Griff reached for her hand. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I promise.” She couldn’t deny being disturbed over the idea of this guy becoming obsessed with her. The one good thing was that she never went anywhere without Denali at her side.

If this guy tried anything, he’d be in for a rude awakening. Denali might look harmless, but the K9 would protect Alexis from a threat.

She only hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

Griff was tired, sore, and hungry. But, of course, he didn’t complain. With the Sullivan K9s following the scent trail, he had no intention of stopping. The stream was well behind them now, as the dogs continued moving southwest.

His phone rang, catching him off guard. They must have reached a location with cell service. He ducked under a low-hanging branch as he reached for his phone. Seeing his boss’s name on the screen, he quickly answered. “This is Flannery.”

“Did you find anything more?” His boss was Special Agent in Charge Holden Ring. He was originally from Texas, and the other agents who reported to him secretly called him Tex.