Page 6 of Scent of Death (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #5)

Griff suppressed a sigh. His boss was all about looking good to the upper brass.

Tex wanted nothing more than to be promoted within the bureau.

Griff liked his post in Cheyenne, which was generally considered a bottom-of-the-barrel assignment.

“Not much. The two victims that were found with the help of Denali, one of the Sullivan K9s, are being taken to Greybull where the medical examiner will perform full autopsies. They appear to have been strangled, and both of them were wearing clothes, which tells me if he sexually assaulted them, he took the time to put their clothes back on.”

“That would be unusual,” Holden, a.k.a. Tex, admitted. “I’d like those autopsy reports ASAP.”

Griff rolled his eyes since Tex couldn’t see him.

After a moment, he decided to come clean about the shell casing.

“Royal is another Sullivan K9. He found a shell casing. Someone shot at Alexis Sullivan, and we think it could be our guy. I’ll send that to the lab as soon as we get off the mountain. ”

“That’s good work,” Tex said. And since compliments were rare, Griff knew his boss would use that information to assure the higher ups they were close to nailing this guy. “I need you to keep me in the loop.”

“You know as well as I do there isn’t cell service in the mountains.” Griff kept his tone reasonable, although he was irritated at knowing his boss would be hounding his every move throughout the investigation. “I just now got into range. What about that profiler I requested?”

“Yes, a woman named Cheri Artez will be flying into Cheyenne.”

“Have her fly into Yellowstone,” Griff said.

“Cheyenne is too far away. I’m not leaving to pick her up.

She can either change her flight in Denver or drive up herself from Cheyenne.

” He was annoyed all over again. Tex never seemed to appreciate Wyoming being vast and rural, despite having come from a similar state.

“Okay, I’ll let her know.” There was a pause, then Tex added, “Artez is young and relatively new in her role.”

Griff ground his teeth. He knew that if he was in LA or Chicago, he’d get someone higher up the chain to help. Instead, he was saddled with a rookie.

As if reading his silence, his boss added, “I hear she’s good. Knows her stuff. Did some great work on a case in Orlando earlier this year. She’s heading out first thing in the morning.”

Griff sighed. What could he do? A rookie was better than no one. “Okay, give her my cell number. She can call me when she gets in the area.”

“Will do. Don’t forget to keep me informed,” Tex reiterated. “It’s only a matter of time before the press gets wind of this.”

“I know. Thanks.” Griff ended the call. Feeling Alexis’s gaze, he forced a smile. “The FBI is sending a profiler out to help us. She’ll be here tomorrow morning.”

Alexis nodded. “I heard.”

He didn’t want to air his grievances with the bureaucracy with her. Most of the local people here didn’t appreciate having the federal government poking its nose in their business. Most of the frustration was with the EPA and the DNR. But the FBI wasn’t well loved either.

Until they were needed, as in a case like this.

Griff had to admit the Sullivan family had always treated him kindly and with respect.

There was none of the avoidance some of the other residents had shown over the course of his career.

During the first year after his wife’s death, Griff had walked around in a fog without even noticing the hard stares.

It was only after some of that grief faded that he’d understood how many people wished he’d get lost.

Pushing that aside, he focused on the dogs. It didn’t take long for him to recognize their surroundings.

“Are we close to the campground?” Griff asked.

“I believe so.” Jess elbowed Logan. “We know this area well, don’t we?”

“Yep.” Logan gestured to a bat house mounted in a tree up ahead. “A few years ago, one of the campers put that up to help keep the mosquito population at bay.”

“It does look familiar,” Joel agreed. “We’ll need to take another break soon, though. Royal is getting tired.”

“Teddy is too.” Jessica frowned. “Both dogs have black coats, which makes searching in the summer more difficult.”

Alexis glanced at Griff, expecting him to be frustrated at the delay. Instead, he looked relieved. “Works for me.”

Joel headed to a grove of trees offering a plethora of shade. They shrugged out of their packs and sat with their backs up against a tree. Griff massaged his left knee. She frowned and gestured to it. “What happened? Did you injure it recently?”

He sighed, but this time, he didn’t stop kneading the joint. “Knee surgery back in January. I tore my ACL and needed surgery to repair it.”

“Ouch.” Her gaze was sympathetic. “Playing basketball?”

“I usually run, but this happened when I was skiing in Jackson.” One of his few ski trips over the winter. “I may have started running again too soon, though. I should have waited.”

She grinned. “You? Impatient? Go figure.”

“You and the rest of your siblings seem to have the patience of a saint,” he said. “Except maybe for Chase.”

Joel barked out a laugh. “You got that right. Chase is more like his K9 Rocky than he cares to admit.”

“We have to be patient when it comes to the dogs,” Alexis said. “They’re great at their jobs, but they can’t be rushed.”

“I see that.” Griff wondered if he’d have the patience to handle a K9. Logan handed out more snacks, and he offered a piece of his protein bar to Denali. The beautiful collie simply cocked her head without making any effort to take the morsel.

“We don’t give our dogs table food.” Alexis shook her head for emphasis. “And our dogs are trained not to take food from anyone but us.”

“It’s for their safety,” Jessica added. “Some people might try to harm a dog or shake the K9 from their scent trail by leaving poisoned or bad food out. Our dogs will sniff at it, but they won’t eat.”

Griff hated the idea of someone purposefully harming a dog. “Sorry. I should have known.” He popped the piece of protein bar into his own mouth. “You’ll have to tell me what brand of dog food you need. I’m not sure where this trail ends, but I’ll likely need your services again.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Alexis waved a hand. “This is different. We’re the ones who stumbled across the first dead body.”

He knew the shooter hadn’t anticipated that Alexis and her cadaver dog, Denali, would come across his burial site. “Yeah, well, the government should reimburse you. Especially since my boss denied my request to get a K9 of my own.”

“You asked for one?” Alexis asked in surprise.

“Yep. But my boss said”—he used his fingers to make air quotes—“‘That’s not in the budget.’”

“In his defense, having K9s isn’t cheap,” Jess said. “Training is a huge initial investment, but even after that, food, vet bills, and gear. It all adds up.”

“Dogs need a lot of attention,” Alexis said. “Beyond the initial training, we’re always working with our K9s to keep them interested in playing the search game.”

“Thankfully, the dogs are much like four-year-olds who can play the same game over and over and over again,” Joel joked. “It’s crazy-making.”

“Okay, you’re right. I probably didn’t think it through.” He stroked a hand over Denali’s fur. His job required him to travel around the state, which made it difficult to have a dog as a pet.

Joel pulled an old topographical map from his backpack. After studying it for a few minutes, he nodded. “We’re only a mile or so from the campground.” He glanced at Griff. “That’s not where you and Alexis left your SUVs, is it?”

“No. They’re farther south.” He nodded at Alexis. “I followed her lead.”

“I chose the search area based on the plane piece you and Logan found back in April,” Alexis said. “I moved a few miles away, though, to search a new area we haven’t been to yet.”

“I landed the plane in the same area we used back then,” Logan said. “It’s not that far from here.”

“Okay.” Griff hid a wince as he rose to his feet.

“I think we need to follow this guy’s trail until it ends.

From there, you can head home.” He glanced at Alexis, including her in that plan.

“Thanks for your help, but there’s nothing more that you and Denali can do.

I’d feel better if you would head home with the rest of your siblings. ”

She frowned but didn’t argue. He was relieved she’d planned to uphold her promise not to head out alone.

“Royal and I can drive back with you,” Joel offered. “Jess and Logan can fly back via the plane.”

“Sure.” Alexis sighed. “I guess I can cross that section off the list as far as searching for our parents. Well, except for the bone I found.”

“What bone?” Jess asked.

“It’s probably nothing.” Alexis patted the pack. “I’ll have you guys take it back with you to be tested.”

“That’s interesting.” Jessica’s gaze turned thoughtful. “I guess it can’t hurt to check it out.”

The Sullivan siblings got their dogs ready to go. Moments later, Royal and Teddy were back on the scent trail. Griff was surprised even Denali seemed to be sniffing the same areas as the other dogs.

As he and Alexis followed the others, he nodded at Denali. “Can she track live people?”

“That’s not her specialty, but she can.” Alexis shrugged, glancing at him. “When we worked the tornado scene in North Carolina, Denali found both live and dead victims.”

“Interesting.” He hoped that meant Denali would alert if this guy got anywhere near Alexis. He was glad she’d be on the ranch with her siblings close at hand.

Fifteen minutes later, he could see the campground. The place was packed with tents, small campers, and even larger campers. There was so much activity, he wondered if any of the visitors had seen the killer.

But it soon became apparent that the scent trail circumvented the campground itself. Royal and Teddy led them in a roundabout path toward the parking lot.

And that’s where the scent trail ended.

“This is it,” Joel said as Royal sat and let out a sharp bark. “This guy must have left his vehicle in this spot.”

Griff scanned the asphalt and noted a couple of small oil spots. It wasn’t much, but as he squatted beside them, he could see they were fresh.

“Our guy drives a vehicle that leaks oil.” He sighed, rising to his feet. “I guess that’s something.”

The parking lot was three-quarters of the way full, but there was nobody around now. He figured most of the cars belonged to those staying in tents.

“I’m sorry.” Alexis touched his arm. “I know this doesn’t give you anything to go on.”

“Not your fault.” He forced a smile. “I know more about our perp now than I did when I set out this morning.” He thought of the shell casing and pulled the evidence bag from his pocket, glancing at Logan.

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to fly this to Cheyenne tomorrow to drop this at the evidence lab? ”

“I’d be glad to,” Logan agreed.

“Thanks.” The bag had a label, so he signed it and then had Logan do the same. “Have the lab call me if they lift a print.”

“Will do.” Logan pocketed the bag and glanced at his wife. “Ready to go?”

“Wait, I don’t want to forget the bone either.” Alexis dug in her pack. “Ask Chase and Doug if we can get it tested for DNA.”

“It would be amazing if it belonged to our parents,” Jess said.

“That or the pilot.” Alexis shrugged. “Or none of them. Like I said, it’s a long shot.”

Nodding, Jessica pocketed the fragment. “Okay, we’ll see you back at the ranch.”

Joel and Royal stayed back. Griff glanced at Alexis. “Are you ready to head back to our SUVs?”

“Yep.” Alexis had her compass out. “We’re going to backtrack a bit, but they’re closer than the plane.”

He agreed with her assessment. Joel and Royal were a few feet away, playing with Royal’s stuffed beaver. The dog had alerted after all.

They turned to head back into the woods. Alexis and Denali took the lead. Griff stayed close behind her, leaving Joel and Royal to follow them. Joel didn’t know the location of the SUVs as he’d come via the plane.

To Griff’s surprise and supreme gratitude, the hike didn’t take as long as he had feared. The roads out here took many twists and turns, going around extremely large trees and fallen rocks. When they reached the road, he realized it was an offshoot of the one leading to the campground.

He’d been in such a hurry, he hadn’t noticed before.

“The car is up ahead,” Alexis called. Then she frowned. “Hey, Denali, where are you going?” The dog had begun to growl.

Alexis veered to the right to follow her K9 just as a crack of gunfire rang out.

“Down, get down!” Griff shouted as he threw himself toward Alexis who in turn was covering Denali with her body while trying to get the dog to safety behind a nearby tree.

“Where’s the shooter?” Joel asked.

It was a good question. And Griff had no doubt in his mind the serial killer had found Alexis’s vehicle and had waited for the opportunity to attack.

The earlier shooting may have been a warning, but not this one.

This time, Griff knew the guy had intended to take Alexis out of the picture, permanently.