Page 15 of Scent of Evil (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #7)
I gnoring Ginny’s frightened expression, Raine pulled her weapon and moved swiftly forward, determined to back Justin up. She should be the one facing off with Decker, not him. He was there to guide her in searching for the killer, not to take the escaped convict down.
Yet she had to admit that she’d allowed Justin to take the lead on this entire venture because of Stone. Now, if things went sideways, she’d have no one to blame but herself.
“What did he find?” She moved closer to see better.
“A boot print.” Justin had his phone out and was taking a photo of the indentation.
“And you’re sure it’s Decker’s?”
Justin arched a brow. “Yep. I trust my dog. Stone alerted, which means Decker was here.” He slowly rose from his crouch. “The problem is that I can’t tell you when Decker left the print behind. Other than it had to be after the storm, or the rain would have pounded it away.”
“That makes sense.” She frowned and glanced around. “I’m sorry to say I can’t figure out exactly where we are.”
“Good boy, Stone!” Justin praised the dog, then pulled out his compass.
“I can tell you we’re about a half mile from where the wrecked ATV was left behind.
So it could be that Decker hasn’t been here since then.
Maybe he came this way searching for Ginny, before giving up and disappearing in the opposite direction. ”
That made sense too. She appreciated Justin’s expertise. “Thanks, I guess I’m glad Decker wasn’t waiting for us.”
“Me too. I was worried he’d shoot my dog.” Justin turned to head back to where they’d left Ginny and the horses. “Although we still need to find and arrest him.”
“True.” She crossed over to look at the boot imprint, mentally gauging the size and matching it to Decker’s. Then she followed Justin back to the horses.
“Everything is fine,” Justin was saying to Ginny. “Stone found a boot print, that’s all.”
Ginny looked relieved. “I hope I never have to see Decker again.”
Raine didn’t want to mention the possibility her niece would likely be asked to testify against Decker again once they found him. She decided there was no point in worrying Ginny now.
But silently vowed she would not stop until she had Decker back in custody.
Her thigh muscles screamed in protest when she stepped into Justin’s laced fingers to get back up on Timber. What she wouldn’t have given for a hot bubble bath or an ATV.
Gritting her teeth, she wrapped her arms around Ginny and took over the reins.
She waited for Justin, who tossed the stuffed penguin for Stone, watching with a wry grin as his dog ran around with the toy.
She had to admit that it was interesting how Stone viewed the whole mission as a game. Something fun to do.
“Hand.” Justin waited for Stone to drop the penguin into his palm. After tucking the toy into the saddle bag, he swung back up onto Blaze. “Ready?”
She managed a smile when Justin glanced back at them. “Yep. We’re good.”
Clucking his tongue, Justin continued along a path that she couldn’t see, but obviously he could. She trusted his judgment and realized she probably needed to do better if she was to continue her search for Decker.
They rode for a good twenty minutes in silence. Ginny seemed lost in her thoughts, and Raine wished she could read her niece’s expression. But as Ginny was riding in front of her, she couldn’t tell if the girl was thinking about Decker or something better, like being reunited with her mother.
Knowing Cami, Raine suspected she’d insisted on coming along with the search party who was hopefully meeting up with them. She didn’t blame her sister for being concerned. This was the second time Decker had gone after Ginny, and that was two times too many.
Just as she was about to ask for a break, Stone leaped forward, dashing through the trees, his tail wagging madly. He didn’t bark, so she knew this wasn’t an alert, but the K9 was clearly excited about something.
“What’s going on?” No sooner had the words left her mouth than she saw another dog running toward them with Stone hot on his heels. It took a moment for her to realize the dog with a reddish coat was also a lab.
And no doubt belonged to one of the Sullivan siblings.
“Trev, is that you?” Justin called.
“Yep.” A moment later, two riders came cantering forward. “Archie scented Stone and took off like a shot. I figured that was a good sign we were close.”
“Ginny!” Cami Clark reined in her horse and slid out of the saddle with an ease Raine envied. She knew her sister and Ginny often rode horses at the Lucky Charm farm. A hobby Raine wished now she’d participated in.
“Mom! You came!” Ginny’s voice choked up.
Justin stopped Blaze and dismounted to head over for Ginny.
It only took a moment for him to lift her niece out of the saddle and set her on the ground.
The reunion between her sister, Camille, and Ginny made Raine’s eyes fill with tears.
She blinked them back and found herself raising her gaze to the sky.
Thank you, Lord Jesus.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt?” After hugging Ginny tightly, her sister leaned back to rake her gaze over her daughter.
“Just my hand. And I was sick last night.” Ginny clung to her mother. “Aunt Raine, Justin, and Stone saved me.”
“Thanks, both of you.” Cami’s voice was thick with gratitude. “I’ve been crazy with worry.”
“I can imagine.” Justin nodded at Trevor. “You may need to look at Ginny’s hand. I appreciate you heading out to meet us. But I thought you’d be riding Scout and Stella.”
“Glad to inspect Ginny’s wound.” Trevor looked to be a year or two younger than Justin, but he had the same rugged good looks as his older brother. “I brought the trailer with a couple of four-wheelers, rather than adding more horses to the mix. These mounts belong to the Lucky Charm farm.”
Four-wheelers! Raine wanted to kiss Trevor for bringing them but managed to refrain from acting on the impulse. From the way Justin grinned, she understood her relief was plain on her face.
“Thanks for that, although I’m not sure if the four-wheelers are going to be enough.” At Justin’s words, her relief popped like a balloon. “Decker ended up abandoning his, and I am not sure there would have been enough fuel in the tank for him to reach his destination anyway.”
Raine swallowed hard, hating to admit Justin had a point. Horses only needed grass and water, not fuel.
“Griff is waiting back at the house,” Trevor said with a shrug. “Sounds like he has some possible search locations mapped out, and they are reachable via the ATVs. Up to you, though.” Trevor grinned. “I know you prefer horseback riding.”
Of course, he did , Raine thought on a sigh.
“Let’s get back so we can plan our next move.” Justin glanced over at her. “I can’t lie, we could use some breakfast and coffee, not necessarily in that order.”
“No problem.” Trevor nodded at her sister, Cami. “Ms. Clark has graciously allowed us to use her home as a base of operations.” Trevor slid from the saddle and took a moment to look at Ginny’s hand. “This should be okay until we get back to the house.”
“Great.” Justin glanced at Ginny. “Do you want to ride back with your mom?”
“Yes, please.” Ginny glanced at Raine, then said, “I hope you don’t mind.”
“You should ride with your mom,” Raine hastened to reassure her. “Poor Timber here needs a break.”
Ginny smiled in relief, then crossed to a bay gelding that looked similar to Timber. Cami helped her daughter up into the saddle first, then used Trevor for help to swing up behind her.
Moments later, they were back on the path toward Cami’s house. Maybe it was Raine’s imagination, but she could swear she smelled bacon and eggs as they ventured forward.
Trevor and his K9, Archie, took the lead, and Justin seemed content to stay back alongside her. She was grateful they didn’t trot. Her backside may not be quite as sore as it was last night, but the mere thought of bouncing up and down while trying to get in the rhythm made her grimace.
“We know Stone has locked on Decker’s scent,” Justin said in a low voice. He clearly didn’t want her sister and Ginny to overhear. “That means I’m coming with you so we can use Stone to track this guy down.”
As much as she wanted to protest out of concern for Justin’s and Stone’s safety, she couldn’t. “I appreciate that. But when we get close enough for Stone to alert, you’ll need to stay back so that I can grab him.”
Justin’s blue eyes flashed with annoyance. “That’s not happening. I’m not going to sit back and let you face that animal alone.”
She sighed. “Justin, you’re not a law enforcement official. I can’t risk you getting hurt.”
“It’s my risk to take.” Justin’s narrowed gaze indicated he wasn’t backing down. “I want that guy as much as you do.”
Sensing further arguing was useless, she gave him a curt nod. “Fine.”
He eyed her suspiciously for a moment but then let the subject drop. She was glad, determined to find a way to keep Justin safe from danger.
How, she wasn’t exactly sure.
As they rode, she noticed the two K9s stayed close as they trotted through the trees. The yellow and red labs were clearly buddies and accustomed to working together.
For some reason, the ride back to Cami’s home didn’t seem to take as long. Yet her watch told her that the trip since they’d met up with her sister and Trevor was a solid forty minutes.
“We’re home,” Ginny cried out.
“That we are,” Cami agreed.
“I’m so hungry,” Ginny said as the trees thinned. Soon, they were passing the shed where Decker had stolen the four-wheeler.
Now that they were there, the scent of bacon and eggs was stronger. Raine wondered if she’d been so hungry she’d caught the scent from the wind.
The moment they were in the clearing, she tugged back on the reins and slid from the saddle. Her legs didn’t collapse beneath her, which was a good sign.
Justin flashed a smile as he took the reins from her fingers. “You did great. Is there a water source nearby?”