Page 2 of Scent of Evil (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #7)

“Okay, thanks.” Raine hesitated, then decided against going into the whole story. “If you see Ginny, please have her call me right away.”

“I will.” Nancy ended the call.

If Ginny wasn’t working, then why hadn’t she answered her phone? The thought nagged at her for the next several miles.

She was ten miles outside of Buffalo when her phone rang again. Seeing Ginny’s name on the screen had her quickly punching the button to answer. “Hey, Ginny. Thanks for returning my call.”

“Auntie Raine? He’s here.” Ginny’s voice was barely a whisper. “I’m hiding, but he’s outside, trying to get in.”

An icy wave of terror washed over her. “Who, Decker? Are you sure?”

“Yes!” There was no mistaking the panic in Ginny’s hushed voice. “What if he finds me?”

“I’m on my way and so are the police.” Raine wasn’t sure why the sheriff’s deputies weren’t there already. “Did you call 911?”

“Yes, but please hurry.” Ginny sounded desperate. Then Raine heard a crashing sound in the background. Had Decker kicked in a door or a window?

“Ginny? Can you hear me? Stay on the line?—”

But it was too late.

The other end of the call had gone dead.

* * *

Justin Sullivan made good time along the back roads to Buffalo despite hauling the horse trailer.

He had taken the pair of geldings to be seen by a blacksmith for new shoes.

As the third youngest of nine siblings, he had often sought solace in the barn with the horses when he was young, and now he was their primary caretaker.

He could do just about anything with the animals, except replace their shoes.

And if he were honest, he preferred animals over people most of the time.

Justin eyed his yellow lab, Stone, stretched out in the back crate area of his specially designed SUV.

His K9 was a great tracker, yet he couldn’t deny feeling a bit apprehensive about his upcoming mission.

He’d done hundreds of search and rescue missions over the six years he and his family had been running the ranch, but he had never gone after an escaped convict.

Not just any convict. A sexual predator with a nasty habit of attacking young girls. The thought of that man getting his hands on another young victim made him sick.

He pushed the speed limit as much as he dared, considering his cargo. He would have rather run the horses back to the ranch, but there wasn’t time. One of the problems of doing SAR missions in Wyoming was not only the mountainous terrain, but also the miles of distance between towns.

After bringing up Allen Decker’s mug shot on his phone, Justin made a point of eyeballing the drivers of the vehicles around him. None looked like Decker, although he knew it was possible the guy was using a disguise.

When his phone rang, displaying US Marshal Raine Whitman’s name on the screen, he answered. In the back crate, Stone lifted his head, his ears pricked forward with interest. “Raine?”

“Decker has Ginny.” Her voice held a note of panic. “He’s in Buffalo and has my niece.”

The statement shocked him. “Are you sure?”

“She called, said he was there. She was hiding, but I heard him breaking in.” Her voice trembled, then steadied. “The police should be there by now too. Maybe they’ll be able to stop him. How close are you?”

“Five miles.” Justin instinctively pressed harder on the gas.

“Hurry. I may be a few minutes behind you.” Raine abruptly ended the call.

Justin couldn’t believe Decker had gone after Raine’s niece in Buffalo. Why would he do such a thing? The perp had to know that Raine would anticipate his movements.

As the highway curved, he slowed, double-checking the trailer in the rearview mirror.

He used his GPS system to reach Raine’s sister’s home, nestled toward the back of a dead-end road.

He pulled over to the side and hit the release for the back hatch.

After the long drive, Stone didn’t hesitate to jump down.

“Come, Stone.” He ran toward the police cruiser, his lab keeping pace beside him.

There was the high-pitched sound of a small engine, maybe a four-wheeler or a motorbike.

He frowned when he saw a rusty black Ford F-150 truck.

The way it was parked down the street made him think Decker had driven it there.

He caught up to the sheriff’s deputy, someone he didn’t recognize.

His name tag identified him as Bolton. “Did you find Ginny?”

“Who are you?” Deputy Bolton frowned, then must have noticed Stone. “Oh, you’re one of the Sullivans I’ve heard so much about.”

“Justin.” He nodded and gestured to his K9. “This is Stone. We’re here because there’s a pedophile on the loose, and Ginny is in danger.”

He’d barely finished talking when an SUV zoomed up the street, stopping so abruptly the vehicle jerked.

A second later, a short slender woman with long dark hair strode toward them.

From the tense expression on her face, he knew she was Raine Whitman.

She was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with a marshal badge on her chest. Raine glanced from him to the deputy. “Where’s Ginny?”

Deputy Bolton threw up his hands. “I don’t know who Ginny is, but there’s nobody here.”

Raine paled, then bolted past the deputy and headed for the house. Instinctively, Justin followed with Stone beside him. When he noticed the damage to the front door, he feared the worst.

Allen Decker had been there.

“Ginny!” Raine shouted as she moved through the house. Stone sniffed with interest as they followed. His stomach twisted more when he saw that the back door was open. Raine ran outside, glancing frantically from side to side. “Ginny!”

Justin paused, scanning the interior. Aside from the broken front door, there was no sign of a struggle. Then again, Raine had said the guy was armed.

A young girl couldn’t fight against a man with a gun.

Raine whirled toward him. “Can you track him?”

“Stone can.” He gestured to his lab. “Do you want Stone to track your niece or the perp?”

“Both.” She dragged her hands through her hair, her expression grim. “They couldn’t have gotten too far on foot.”

“Are you sure they’re not using something else? When I got here, I thought I heard a small engine in the distance.”

Raine’s blue eyes widened in horror, and she spun around to head back outside. There was a shed off to the side, the door hanging ajar. It only took her a moment to look inside and glance back at him. “The four-wheeler is gone.”

Not good. Justin jerked his thumb toward the road. “I hope you can ride because our best chance at finding Ginny is to use my horses.”

“Horses!” Raine looked relieved. “I can ride.”

“Good. I’ll get them out of the trailer and geared up.

” He was glad he’d included saddles and bridles for the trip.

He’d intended to ride Blaze in the area where the piece of his parents’ crashed plane had been found but had put that aside once Griff’s call had come through.

“You need to get Stone a scent source for your niece. Dirty socks or a shirt would work. I’ll need something for Decker too. ”

“Okay.” To her credit, Raine didn’t waste time arguing.

“Come, Stone.” Justin jogged around the house to his horse trailer. He opened the back and quickly led Timber and Blaze from the trailer. The horses stomped their feet and tossed their heads as if glad to be out of the trailer.

Justin had just finished saddling and bridling them when Raine returned holding two bags of clothing. Seeing the faded orange fabric in one bag, he realized that one held Decker’s scent. The other bag was smaller and contained a green T-shirt and pair of dirty socks inside.

“We need to hurry,” Raine said, her expression anxious. “I don’t know how much of a head start he has.”

Considering Decker was on a four-wheeler, Justin understood her concern. Especially since he knew what that creep was capable of. “Here, hold the reins for Timber. You’ll use him; I’ll ride Blaze. Before we saddle up, though, I need to gather some items for Stone.”

A look of impatience flashed in her eyes.

Ignoring it, he turned to his SUV. His backpack was ready to go, but he took a moment to check the contents, then rummaged for extra items, specifically water bottles.

He tucked extra water bottles into Blaze’s saddle bag.

Lastly, he removed his side arm from the pack and quickly slipped his belt through the holster and snaking the belt back through his jeans.

Then he stuffed the backpack into the saddle bag.

Taking the two plastic bags from Raine’s hand, he used Decker’s first, offering it to Stone. “Decker,” he said. “This is Decker.”

Stone sniffed for a long moment, then looked up at him, tail wagging. The grim situation wasn’t completely lost on Stone, as the dog’s ears were perked forward. His K9 was all about playing the search game.

He poured some water into a collapsible bowl. Stone lowered his head, took a few laps, then looked up expectantly. Justin opened the second bag. “This is Ginny.”

Again, Stone sniffed the contents of the bag. Justin used the time to pack the collapsible bowl away, then rose to his feet. He threw out his hand. “Search! Search Decker and Ginny!”

Stone lowered his nose to the ground and trotted toward the black Ford truck. Justin decided to let the dog alert there, knowing it would help ramp up Stone’s excitement for the search to come.

Justin had subtly pulled the stuffed penguin from his pack, anticipating Stone’s alert. The dog sniffed along the bottom of the driver’s side door, sat, and let out a sharp bark.

“Good boy!” He tossed the penguin for Stone who leaped up to catch it. “Good boy, Stone. You found Decker.”

Stone frolicked with the toy for a moment, then trotted back to him. After regurgitating the toy into his hand, the dog waited. “Search! Search Decker and Ginny!”

This time, Stone turned and sniffed along the path to the house. Justin hurried over to where Raine stood next to Timber, trying to get her foot into the stirrup. “Do you need a leg up?”

“Please.” She reached up to grasp the saddle horn. He laced his palms together so she could step into them, then hoisted her up onto Timber’s back. He quickly adjusted the stirrups, then swung up onto Blaze.

“Stay close,” he advised.

“Don’t worry, I will.” Raine looked determined to keep up, no matter what.

Stone was all the way up to the house now, sniffing along the front porch. Stone sat and let out another sharp bark.

“Good boy, Stone.” Justin didn’t reward the dog this time. The job was far from done. “Search! Search Decker and Ginny!”

His K9 lifted his nose to the air. Justin took note of the breeze coming from the east and hoped Decker wasn’t smart enough to stay downwind. Stone trotted around the side of the house. Giving Blaze a gentle nudge with his heels, Justin urged the gelding to follow.

“Wait, what are we supposed to do?” Deputy Bolton asked.

“First call FBI Agent Griff Flannery, let him know where we are and that we’re following Decker. Then get more cops into the woods,” Justin suggested. “We’re going to need backup.”

“Also, please call my sister, Camille Clark,” Raine added. “She works at the Wild Buffalo Hotel. She needs to know Ginny is missing.”

Justin kept his gaze on Stone. His K9 trotted at a quick pace, one he could easily keep up with on Blaze. He made a note of the time, knowing he’d have to give Stone frequent rest breaks.

Maybe even carrying the dog on his saddle for a while if needed.

He and Raine didn’t talk much as he followed Stone into the wooded terrain.

He caught the occasional glimpse of tire tracks in the earth.

Stone was hot on the trail, which was good.

But the hour was already going on two in the afternoon, and he didn’t want to imagine what would happen if they didn’t find Ginny before dark.

Especially since there were dark clouds to the west.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he was glad to see Raine was keeping up. Timber was a calm and steady equine.

He ducked beneath a low-hanging branch as Blaze got too close. Then his mount gathered himself to climb a steep incline. Stone was still leading the way, and he kept his eye on his K9’s yellow coat.

When they reached the top of the ridge, he pulled up on the reins, searching the ground for tire tracks.

They veered off to the right, and that’s where Stone was headed too.

He turned Blaze in that direction when the sharp echo of a gunshot rang out.

He instinctively ducked as a bullet whizzed past.

Decker was shooting at them!