Page 25 of Scent of Evil (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #7)

R aine stared helplessly down at the image of the missing girl on her phone, only half listening as Justin called and filled in his brother Trevor on the latest abduction.

Amanda Cates had shoulder-length brown hair, wide brown eyes, and a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose.

She wore a blue shirt and had a matching blue barrette clipped in her hair.

There was enough of a similarity between Amanda and Ginny to make her stomach roll with wave after wave of nausea.

Did Decker have a type? Or would any young girl do?

She looked up, wishing the SUV could sprout wings so they could fly to Sheridan.

Justin was driving as fast as he could considering they were pulling a trailer.

She knew Trevor was hampered by pulling the horse trailer as well.

Even as she chafed at the delay, she didn’t mention leaving one of the trailers behind.

They had no idea where Amanda had been taken, and they may need either the horses or the four-wheelers to continue the search.

The Amber Alert would encourage the general public to keep an eye out for the girl, but Raine was concerned that Amanda was already missing for almost thirty minutes.

A long, terrible half hour.

Would the Sullivan K9s be able to follow Amanda’s scent? Maybe, but then again, it could be that Decker commandeered a car along the way. If so, she doubted the K9s could track someone who had been taken away in a vehicle.

How had this happened? She still couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that Decker had gotten all the way to Sheridan in the short time since he’d blown up his cabin and started a forest fire.

Griff was right. He must have had an accomplice.

Either that or he’d gotten incredibly lucky to come across someone in a car that he’d taken by force to continue his mission.

Her heart ached for the little girl, and she closed her eyes and prayed for God to watch over Amanda the way He had watched over Ginny.

Her phone pinged with an incoming email from Griff. She quickly opened it to find the scant details about the missing girl.

“Sounds like Amanda was walking home from a friend’s house when she was taken.” It hit hard that this abduction mirrored the way Decker had attempted to kidnap Ginny two years ago. Somehow, though, Ginny had managed to get away.

Amanda hadn’t, at least not that they were aware of.

“Okay, that helps narrow the initial search location. Do you have the address of her parents’ place?” Justin asked.

“Yes. Stay on this highway to Sheridan, then I can tell you where to turn when we get there.” She glanced at him with anguish. “Justin, it’s forty minutes away.”

“I know.” He shot her a commiserating look. “I’ll push our speed as much as I can. But I need to be careful, especially on the curves in the road. We can’t risk jackknifing the trailer and causing a crash.”

She nodded, knowing they didn’t have another option. Maybe Logan would be able to help. Of course, having air support would work better if they had some idea what Decker might be driving.

“Ask Griff to check on any reports of stolen vehicles,” Justin suggested.

Grateful for something to do, and knowing she should have considered that for herself, she made the call. Griff answered on the first ring. “Can you find out if anyone has reported a stolen vehicle?”

“I’ve been in contact with the local sheriff’s department about that, but so far they haven’t gotten any calls.

I also suggested they increase their patrols on all the highways leading out and around Sheridan, adding as many deputies as possible to search for any possible drivers who may have been carjacked, killed, and left lying somewhere along the side of the road. ”

“That’s good. And they should be on the lookout for an abandoned ATV as well.

” She sighed, wishing there was more they could do.

“We need something more to go on, so I almost hope they do get a stolen car report or find some poor victim along the side of the road. Anything to let us know what Decker’s driving. ”

“I agree. But keep in mind, it’s also possible his accomplice picked him up along the way.” Griff sighed. “I don’t like this new abduction, Raine. He could have that girl halfway to another city by now.”

“I know.” She swallowed hard. “Let us know if you hear anything, and we’ll do the same from our end.”

“Of course. You be careful out there.” Griff ended the call.

Seconds after she lowered her phone, it buzzed with another incoming call. The number wasn’t in her contact list, but she answered anyway. “Marshal Whitman.”

“Yes, this is Dawn from the mini-mart?” The clerk sounded nervous. “You left me your card?”

“Yes, I remember you.” Raine shot a puzzled glance at Justin. “Did you think of something that may help us find our escaped convict?”

“I saw the Amber Alert,” Dawn said, “but that’s not why I called.”

She bit back a flash of impatience. “Okay, then what is it?”

“I know you might think I’m overreacting, but one of the locals by the name of Colin Stinger comes to the mini-mart every afternoon for coffee and a donut.

I mean, he never misses his afternoon coffee.

He works second shift as a mechanic for the small airport outside of Buffalo.

He lives here in Sheridan, though, and stops here before making the trip to work. ”

“Colin Stinger.” Raine repeated the name for Justin’s sake. “Do you know what sort of car he drives?”

“Oh yes, he drives an older model black Ford Explorer.” Dawn sounded confident. “It’s a little rusty, but Colin keeps the engine purring like a dream. He’s worked on my car for me over the years. He’s so smart about that sort of thing.”

Raine wondered if the fact that Colin had missed his usual afternoon stop was significant. Then she decided they couldn’t afford not to check it out. “Do you have Colin’s phone number? Can you call him?”

“I did call, but he didn’t answer.” Dawn sounded nervous again. “I wasn’t sure if I should keep bothering him.”

Not answering his call ratcheted her concern up a notch. Although a lot of older guys weren’t as tied to their cell phones as the younger generation was. “How old is Colin? And where does he live? I need his address.”

At that, Justin slowed his speed, glancing at her with an arched brow. She made a circle in the air to indicate they’d need to turn around.

“Colin is forty-five, divorced with no kids. He lives alone after inheriting the house he lives in from his father who passed away three years ago. Rather than selling the place, he moved from Buffalo to live there.” Dawn carefully recited the address.

“His house is set several yards off the road with a lot of woods stretching along the back of the property. I’ve been there with my car when he agreed to look at it for me,” Dawn repeated.

“That’s why I have his cell number. Colin is a nice guy, and I guess I’m just worried something may have happened to him. ”

A familiar buzz of adrenaline coursed through her.

There was enough there that Raine shared Dawn’s concern.

Yet it still didn’t make sense that Decker had attacked Colin, taken his car, and made it all the way to Sheridan in time to snatch Amanda.

Regardless, she didn’t want to leave the town of Saddlestring without following up.

“I understand, Dawn. Thanks for calling. We’ll check Colin’s place to make sure he’s okay. ”

“Thank you.” Dawn sounded relieved. “Will you let me know if you find him?”

“Yes.” It was a rash promise, but she didn’t care. “Thanks again.”

“We’re turning back?” Justin said as he pulled over to the side of the road. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Yeah, I think so.” It wasn’t an easy decision to make.

Yet she had a feeling Dawn was right about Colin being a creature of habit.

If he was home sick with his ringer off his phone, then she’d have wasted time for nothing.

But the alternative was far worse. “Will you ask Trevor to keep heading toward Sheridan? Maybe he can use Archie to track Amanda’s scent. ”

Justin nodded and made the call. “We’re heading back to check on a possible lead but would like you to keep going to Sheridan. Archie is a good tracker and will find her scent without a problem. Raine will text you Amanda’s home address.”

“Fine with me,” Trevor agreed.

“I’m texting it now.” Raine thumbed the phone screen and sent the message. “Trevor, what happens if Amanda was taken away by car?”

“That could be a problem,” Trevor said with regret. “It’s rare for K9s to be able to follow the scent trail from someone in a moving vehicle. I was already thinking that while we needed to try, the result may not be as helpful as we’d like.”

“I was afraid of that.” Raine had taken that angle into consideration when deciding to turn back to look in on Colin Stinger. “We’ll be in touch after we follow up on this Colin guy who may or may not be another of Decker’s victims.”

“Sounds good. Be careful.” With that, Trevor ended the call.

“Hang on, it will take me a minute to turn around with the trailer attached.” Justin waited for Trevor to pass, then went to work. She noticed he’d pulled over near an overgrown two-track road that gave him extra room to with the maneuver.

Three minutes later, they were heading back toward Saddlestring. Raine hoped this wasn’t a fool’s errand. Especially when they knew for certain there was a young girl critically missing.

Her stomach knotted as she consulted her phone. According to the map app, the Stringer family home wasn’t too far. As they approached the next intersection, she glanced up at Justin. “After we go past here, we’ll take the next left-hand turn into the driveway.”

“Got it.” He slowed as a car moved across the intersection ahead of their arrival. It wasn’t a black Ford Explorer.