Page 8 of Scent of Death (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #5)

“Jump up!” Alexis gave Denali the hand signal to get into the back of Griff’s vehicle. The dog did so, then stretched out and rested her head between her paws. She stroked a hand over Denali’s soft fur. “You worked hard today, didn’t you? You deserve to rest now.”

Denali thumped her tail at the sound of her voice, then closed her eyes.

Alexis stepped back and closed the hatch. Then she shrugged out of the pack and her utility belt, setting both items along with the extra supplies on the floor of the back seat.

When they were finally on the road, she glanced at Griff. “Do you have any leads on this guy? A place to start looking for him?”

“Not exactly.” Griff sighed, then asked, “Is it possible you know him?”

She reared back in horror. “No! How could you ask me that?”

“Hear me out,” Griff said. “You grew up in this area. Is there anyone you can think of who is capable of this? A guy from your school maybe? Or working in the area? Maybe someone who gave off a bad vibe?”

She sat back in her seat. “Nobody comes to mind, but if we’re talking about high school, I need to think about it.

” She had done tutoring for several younger classmates in English and history.

A boy named Kyle had mentioned his dog had died recently, and when she’d expressed condolences, he just shrugged and changed the subject.

She hadn’t thought much about it. And his blasé attitude certainly didn’t make him a serial killer.

She couldn’t imagine anyone she knew on a first-name basis was capable of brutally murdering young women, then coming after her.

It seemed as if that would take someone evil.

Kyle had been appreciative of her help. So had her other students.

Not one of them had come across as capable of doing something like this.

Yet there have been some serial killers like Ted Bundy, who had displayed an outwardly charming and charismatic personality.

She shivered. It was horrible to think that someone she knew on a personal level had done this. But deep down, she knew anything was possible.

Griff navigated the highway back to Greybull. There was more traffic on the roads than usual, but that could be a lingering effect of the Fourth of July holiday. He was glad that was behind them, or it would have been that much more difficult to find a hotel room.

The tourist season in Wyoming was short. In the fall, hunters came out in droves too. Some of them, though, brought their own campers to stay closer to the areas where they planned to hunt.

Knowing there were many strange faces around town would make it difficult to pinpoint his unknown subject.

Was he wrong to believe the guy might be a local?

He wasn’t a profiler like Agent Cheri Artez, but it made more sense to him that the killer had chosen the dump site somewhere closer to his home base.

He kept a wary eye on the rearview mirror but needn’t have worried.

Joel stayed close behind them. He couldn’t see Denali and imagined she was stretched out and sleeping.

He didn’t blame the dog for being tired.

He was exhausted too. And hungry. The hour was going on five in the evening, and he hadn’t eaten anything substantial since breakfast.

He didn’t have Joel’s number, so when they approached the city limits of Greybull, he turned to Alexis. “Call your brother, have him meet us at Della’s Diner.”

“Okay.” She lifted her phone. “Joel? Griff wants to meet at Della’s Diner.” She listened for a minute, then sighed loudly. “Why on earth would Jess and Logan tell Chase? You know overprotective he can be.” Another pause, then, “Yeah. Okay. See you soon.”

“Problems?” Griff asked.

“No.” Alexis looked frustrated. “Chase wants me to call. Apparently, he’s upset I didn’t fill him in personally on everything that went down today. As if I’m not sitting next to the FBI.”

Griff shrugged. “He’s family. And somewhat of a father figure to the rest of you, right?”

“He’s family, and yeah, he and Maya stepped forward to keep us together after our parents died, but sometimes he takes it to an extreme.” She tucked the phone away. “I’ll call him after we eat and are settled in the hotel.”

He would have encouraged her to call now, but the sign for Della’s Diner was up ahead. Despite the early hour, the parking lot was packed. He swallowed a groan, hoping there would be at least one empty table available.

“Please open the hatch for Denali.” Alexis pushed out of the passenger seat.

He did so, then shut down the engine. Joel had to settle for a spot farther down because of the limited options.

“Don’t worry, girl,” Alexis said to her dog. “You can sleep under the table while we eat.”

Joel and Royal strode toward them. “Too many tourists,” Joel grumbled. “I hope we don’t have to wait.”

“Me too.” Griff headed to the door, holding it open for Alexis.

Thankfully, a table of four stood to leave when they walked in.

Alexis slipped past them to snag the booth, stacking the few empty dishes to the center of the table.

Griff was a little surprised that Royal and Denali crawled beneath the table to sleep.

He’d figured they’d want to play, but the events of the day had worn them out.

It didn’t take long for a young, harried server to clear the dishes and wipe the table down. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll have the chicken sandwich with fries, thanks,” Alexis said.

“Cheeseburger and fries for me,” Griff said.

“Add another cheeseburger with fries for me,” Joel added. “Thanks.”

“Anything other than water to drink?” Griff could see the server’s name was Cyndi. She was young enough that he wanted to warn her to be careful. “Iced tea? Soft drinks?”

When she’d gotten orders for a ginger ale for Alexis and iced teas for him and Joel, Cyndi hurried away.

“It’s hard not to look at her and see a potential victim,” Alexis said in a low voice.

“I had the same concern.” Griff scrubbed his hands over his face. “I need to figure out who this guy is and where he’s holding these women before he kills them.”

“Do you think the profiler will help with that?” Alexis’s expression held doubt. “What can she tell from three victims?”

“In theory, the profiler can narrow down the suspect pool, but in this case, I’m not sure that will help.

” He didn’t want to disparage a colleague he hadn’t even met.

“Most serial killers are usually white males between the ages of twenty and forty who tend to be loners who don’t mingle well with society. ”

“Unless he’s that old guy in New Jersey who had a wife, kids, and still killed women,” Joel drawled.

“Or Ted Bundy who charmed women into his car,” Alexis added.

“I know. There are plenty of serial killers who don’t fit the typical profile.

” Griff shook his head, feeling helpless.

“Which makes our job more difficult. And out here in Wyoming, there are more men than women in general, so that makes it even harder to narrow the pool of suspects. Not to mention being a loner out here isn’t that unusual.

Avoiding the crowded city is a big reason people move here in the first place.

” The more he thought about how he’d find this guy, the more he feared his efforts would be too little too late.

For Megan and anyone else who may have caught this guy’s attention. Like Alexis , he thought grimly.

Cyndi returned with their order. The food smelled amazing, making Griff’s mouth water. But he knew better than to snitch a fry. He folded his hands and looked at Alexis and Joel. One of them would want to say grace.

The Sullivans always said grace.

“Your turn,” Joel teased.

“Okay.” She bowed her head. “Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food we are blessed to eat. We ask that You keep Wendy Evers safe in Your loving arms. And please guide Griff and the other police officers as they seek to find her. Amen.”

“Amen,” Joel echoed. A half second later, Griff added, “Amen.”

Was God really listening to Alexis’s prayer? He wasn’t sure, but at this point, he would take all the help he could get. Wendy didn’t deserve whatever she was suffering through.

No woman did.

Taking a large bite of his burger, he tried not to moan with appreciation. He drank half his tea in one long gulp, then reached for his water. He felt dehydrated from being out in the sun most of the day and knew Alexis and Denali had been out there longer.

“I can’t think of anyone who could be involved in this,” Alexis said, after they ate in silence for a few minutes. “I mean, sure, there were a couple of kids who didn’t fit in with the rest of us. But I can’t see any of them doing something like this.”

“Why do you think Alexis knows the guy?” Joel asked with a frown.

“Not just Alexis, you and even your other siblings,” Griff said. “If this guy is native to the area, it’s likely one of you has run into him at one time or another.”

“Local to Greybull or Cody?” Alexis asked. “The two towns aren’t that close. And they have their own high schools. Although, I know some of the kids from outside Greybull preferred coming to Cody, despite the distance. Cody had better sports teams.”

“Both, I guess.” Griff munched a french fry.

“Maybe you’re right and I’m grasping at straws.

I don’t have much to go on.” He abruptly pulled the second shell casing he found from his pocket and pushed it across the table to Joel.

“I need a favor. Take this back to the ranch so Logan can drop this off at the lab with the first one. I’m really hoping we get fingerprints off them. ”

“Sure.” Joel nodded, stuffing it into his pocket. “Happy to help.”

The shell casings were the best lead he had. Unless there was something more to be learned from the autopsies. He made a mental note to check in with the ME’s office first thing tomorrow.

He reached for his wallet, but Joel snatched the bill before he could look at it. “We’ve got this.”

“I can pay,” he protested.

“Too late.” Joel grinned as he tossed cash onto the table. “Let’s go, there’s a line forming at the door.”

“What’s the hotel situation in this town?” Griff asked Alexis once they were back in his SUV.

“I think there’s one on the west side of town. Not that I’ve personally stayed there,” she hastily added. “So don’t blame me if it’s a dump.”

He didn’t want to take Alexis to a dump, but he suspected there weren’t many options. The town of Greybull was much smaller than Cody. Was his unknown subject here or in Cody? Or somewhere else entirely? For all he knew, the killer could be halfway to Sheridan or some other town by now.

The hotel wasn’t as bad as he’d feared, and Griff was able to get a small suite on the ground floor to accommodate Denali. He carried in the extra dog supplies, leaving her to bring her backpack.

“A suite?” Alexis shot him an amused look as she fed Denali. “Expensive.”

“Necessary.” He could feel the tips of his ears burning with embarrassment. “You and Denali can have the bedroom. I’ll make do with the sofa sleeper.”

“Okay.” She yawned, shrugged out of her backpack, and plopped onto the couch. “I’m too tired to argue with you.”

“Good, because that wouldn’t change my mind anyway.” He stifled a yawn, knowing he was tired enough to sleep anywhere. He set the dog supplies on the table and dropped beside her, rubbing his sore knee.

“Oh, that reminds me.” She pulled her pack over and rummaged inside. “I have ibuprofen for you.”

“Really?” He gratefully accepted the bottle. “Thanks.”

Denali finished eating and came over to stretch out on the floor at their feet. Alexis sighed. “I don’t know about you, but I think we’ll go to bed early.”

“I’m with you on that.” He downed the pills, hoping they would kick in fast.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. But then Denali went to the door, looking over her shoulder at Alexis. “Time to go out, huh, girl?”

Griff accompanied the pair outside. There were lots of people milling about, which wasn’t helpful as he tried to be on alert for danger. But they weren’t out there long. Denali got down to business, and Alexis quickly cleaned up after her. Less than five minutes later, they were back inside.

“Good night, Griff.” Alexis gave him a quick smile, then disappeared into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

He unfolded the sofa bed and took off his shoes and set his gun aside, before stretching out with a low groan. Why did he feel every one of his thirty-seven years? He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, sharp barking woke him.

Denali? Griff rolled off the sofa sleeper and reached for his gun. The last time Denali had growled and barked, the perp had been nearby and tried to shoot Alexis.

Could his suspect be outside now? He lunged for the door, quickly flipping the locks and heading down the hall. If this guy was out there, he was determined to get him into custody.