Page 24 of Scent of Evil (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #7)

Stone settled in the crate area, closing his eyes to sleep. Raine slid into the passenger seat and buckled in. It was nice to ride in a car for a while rather than on horseback, especially as a light rain continued to fall.

As Justin hit the road, turning to head northeast to Saddlestring, she hoped and prayed they’d get there in time to prevent Decker from killing more innocent people in his desperate attempt to avoid being caught and arrested.

* * *

Justin eyed Stone in the rearview mirror, grateful the dog had fallen asleep. He’d worked his K9 partner hard and knew that if they stumbled across Decker’s path, they’d need Stone’s nose again.

He winced as he remembered the stuffed penguin was in his saddlebag. At least Trevor would catch up to them soon enough.

“Rowe sent the file.” Raine peered at her phone screen. “It’s not as robust as I’d hoped.”

He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “He abducted Ginny who got away and identified him, correct?” When she nodded, he shrugged. “Could be that’s all that mattered at the time.”

She looked up from the screen. “But we interviewed him often, trying to ascertain how many other victims were out there that we didn’t know about.

Decker had claimed there weren’t any, that Ginny was his first, but I didn’t believe him.

After his arrest, we plastered his face all over the news.

Two young girls came forward naming him as their assailant, and we added those charges.

We found three other girls on a dark website but couldn’t link them to Decker.

He eventually pled no contest, and we put him away for ten years. ”

Ten years seemed light, but he kept that thought to himself.

“I know what you’re thinking, ten years is pathetic.” She sighed. “I always thought more victims would come forward. The two girls were older, and he’d abducted them when they were six and eight years old respectively.”

He nodded slowly, feeling sick at the thought of what those girls had suffered. “I’m sure there were others.”

“I know there were other girls who suffered at his hands. Guys like Decker don’t just stop.” Raine turned her attention back to her phone. “I always wondered if he didn’t start killing his victims when he was finished with them. That way they couldn’t come forward to testify against him.”

Another grisly thought. If Ginny hadn’t escaped... but she had. Justin kept his eyes on the road, more determined than ever to find Decker.

They drove in silence for several minutes as Raine reviewed Decker’s file. The distance between Saddlestring and Buffalo was only about thirty miles. He hadn’t noticed Trevor coming up behind him but figured it wouldn’t take too long for his brother to get the horses trailered.

When they were five miles outside of Saddlestring, he saw a sign for a gas station/convenience store. “How about we start there?”

Raine looked up and nodded. “Sounds good. I’m disappointed there’s nothing helpful in the file that I can see.”

He shrugged. “Maybe Griff will find something.”

“If there’s something there, he’ll be the one to find it.

He’s an excellent investigator. I’m impressed with what he’s done already.

” Raine set her phone in the center console.

She’d plugged it into the charger while she’d worked.

Every SUV had a phone charger even though half the time phones didn’t work in their search areas.

Slowing as they approached town, he eyed the gas station mini-mart. There was only one vehicle at the pump, a battered Chevy pickup truck. Realizing he needed to fill up his tank, he pulled in on the other side of the Chevy.

Raine craned her neck to better see the guy pumping gas. Justin had already noted he was young with a scraggly beard and wore a baseball cap rather than a Stetson. He shook his head. “He’s not our guy.”

“I can see that.” Raine sighed, grabbed her phone from the center console and pushed her door open. “I’ll head inside to flash Decker’s photo. Maybe he brought the four-wheeler here to get gas.”

They could only hope Decker had done that, although he doubted it.

“I’ll be there soon.” He scanned the area as he filled the fuel tank.

The town was smaller than he’d anticipated.

Homes here were likely isolated from each other.

And since it wasn’t far from Buffalo, he could easily imagine Decker coming here. Not for gas, though.

To find a new ride.

He opened the back hatch for Stone. His K9 awoke and jumped down. “Go on, boy. Get busy.”

Stone trotted to a grassy area and did his thing. The rain was barely a mist, and he wondered if that would be enough to continue keeping the forest fire at bay. The sky was dark overhead, and while he could certainly smell the smoke, he didn’t see any in the air, which he took as a good sign.

When he finished fueling the SUV, he called Stone and headed inside. Raine was at the counter talking to the clerk. Her name tag identified her as Dawn.

“You’re sure you haven’t seen or heard a four-wheeler,” she said.

“I’m positive. It would be unusual for someone to ride an ATV here to gas it up.” Dawn appeared to be in her early sixties, wearing her mostly gray hair pulled back from her deeply lined face. “I’ll keep my eyes peeled for that guy, though.” Dawn nodded at Raine’s phone. “He looks like a creep.”

“That he is.” Raine slid her phone away. “You know the locals well?”

“Of course.” Dawn looked affronted that she’d asked. “Everyone stops in here sooner or later. I’m the only gas station mini-mart in town.”

Raine pulled out a business card and slid it across the counter. “If you hear of any trouble, reports of a trespasser or stolen vehicle, will you please call me? As I said before, this man is armed and dangerous.”

“I can do that.” The clerk put the card on the edge of the register. “But you should know that if he tried something around here, he’s likely to get himself shot.”

Raine’s smile was tight. “I understand. And I hope you’re right in that Decker is the one who gets hurt and nobody else. Thanks for your time.”

Justin waited near the door for Raine. Her look of disappointment stabbed deep. “Hey, we’ll find him.”

“I know. I just hope it’s soon.” She grimaced, but then her expression softened when Stone nudged her, his tail wagging. “Hey, boy. You look well rested.”

“He’ll be ready to go when needed.” Justin pushed the door open for her.

She ducked and ran to the SUV. He turned to follow, opening the back hatch for Stone. They’d known finding Decker wouldn’t be easy but had to admit this was a lackluster start to their search.

He waited a minute when he noticed a vehicle approaching from the direction of Buffalo. It didn’t take long to recognize the SUV pulling a horse trailer. Trevor had caught up to them and pulled in beside the set of pumps the bearded guy had used earlier.

“Learn anything?” Trevor asked as he jumped out to top off his gas tank too.

Justin rolled down his driver’s side window so they could talk. “Nope. But keep your eyes open as we head through town. For all we know, Decker has already gotten ahold of a replacement vehicle.”

“I passed a Chevy a few minutes ago,” Trevor said. “But it was a younger kid driving it.”

“Yeah, we saw him here.” Despite the fall weather and open bowhunting season, there weren’t nearly as many people out and about as usual. Granted, it was a Sunday afternoon, but still, he’d expected to see more hunters in the area.

Raine abruptly jumped out of the car. “I forgot something,” she called over her shoulder as she strode back into the gas station.

Trevor frowned. “Is she okay?”

“As good as she can be.” He wasn’t sure what she’d forgotten to tell the clerk. He pushed open his door to follow. “Keep an eye on Stone.”

Trevor nodded. Justin lengthened his stride to catch up with Raine.

“What’s up?” he asked, holding the door for her.

“I saw those signs for the dude ranch and forgot to ask about it.” She brushed past him to approach the counter. “Excuse me, Dawn, but can you tell me about the dude ranch? Would they have families staying there as guests?”

“Oh yes, lots of families stay there.” Dawn spread her hands. “But the season is over. They’re only open in the summer months. By September 1, they’re closed.”

“Okay.” Raine’s shoulders relaxed. “I’m glad to hear it. Thanks again.”

Justin understood her concern. “Are there other young girls living in the area?” he asked as they headed back outside. “We can stop there to check on them.”

“I have the address of a couple with two daughters; it’s not far.” A wry smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she glanced at him. “Great minds think alike.”

He ached to pull her into his arms, but he managed to ignore the urge. She looked both frail and strong at the same time.

“How far is the address?” Justin opened her door for her.

“Just a few miles up the road and to the left.” She slid into the passenger seat. “It won’t take long, but I need to make sure the girls are safe.”

He wasn’t about to argue. He quickly clued Trevor in on the detour, then settled in behind the wheel. Moments later, they were on the road heading through the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town of Saddlestring.

“Up there, turn left on Bear Creek Road.” She leaned forward as he made the turn. “It’s a brown house about a mile down on the right.”

He nodded, noting that Trevor followed behind them. Finding the house wasn’t difficult. A pretty woman and her teenage daughter were working in the garden. That was when he noticed the rain had finally stopped.

“Nothing appears amiss.” He pulled over to the side of the road and put the SUV in park.

“I know, but I want to talk to them anyway.” She opened her door. “There’s another daughter here, too, that I don’t see.”

Before he could respond, she shut the door and crossed over to the woman and her daughter.

He climbed out of the driver’s seat but couldn’t hear the details of the conversation.

The woman and her daughter greeted Raine with a smile at first, then frowned as she explained the purpose of her visit.

The mother instinctively wrapped her arm around her teenage daughter, pulling her close.

A second girl came out of the house, younger than the one who’d been helping in the garden. She had a book tucked under her arm and was heading for the hammock when her mother called her over.

It didn’t take long for the woman to hustle both girls into the house. Raine returned looking grim. “I’ve warned them about Decker. They promised to help spread the word to other families.”

“You did good.” He reached over to touch her arm. “Best that they understand the risk.”

“Yeah.” She sighed and turned to look back at the house. “I just pray they stay safe.”

As he was about to give her a reassuring hug, her phone rang. She pulled it out and said, “It’s Griff.” Then she answered, putting the call on speaker. “Hey, Griff, did you find something that will help us find him?”

“I’m afraid I’m calling with bad news,” Griff said. “An eight-year-old girl was abducted from Sheridan, Wyoming. Her name is Amanda Cates, and she’s been gone about thirty minutes.”

As if on cue, their phones buzzed with the Amber Alert.

“Sheridan? That’s miles from here.” Raine lifted her tortured gaze to his. “How could Decker have gotten that far in such a short time?”

“We don’t know for sure Decker’s behind her abduction,” Griff said. “Nobody saw anything useful. No description of the guy either. Just a frantic mother reporting her missing.”

“If it’s not Decker, it’s a strange coincidence,” Justin said. “But I agree with Raine, there’s no way Decker could have gotten as far as Sheridan on a four-wheeler. Not without help.”

“Maybe he has help,” Griff pointed out. “I’ve been trying to see if he has other aliases out there but haven’t found any yet. In the meantime, I’d like you to drive to Sheridan to help search for her.”

“Absolutely,” Justin agreed. “We’ll get there as quickly as possible.”

“Send me all the information you have on Amanda,” Raine said. “And is there any way to get Logan over there to do a flyover? At the very least, he should be able to see if Decker is still on the four-wheeler.”

“I’ll ask him to do that, but I doubt Decker still has the ATV.” Griff sounded almost apologetic. “As you said, a four-wheeler wouldn’t get him that far.”

“Understood. Thanks for trying.” She ended the call, her expression stricken. “Another girl, Justin. I can’t stand knowing he’s taken another girl!”

“I know.” He pulled her in for a quick hug, his heart aching for the missing Amanda.

The embrace ended quickly, and he gestured for Trevor to follow as he slid in behind the wheel.

There wasn’t a moment to waste.