Page 26 of Scent of Evil (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #7)
The driveway wasn’t paved, but it was covered in a layer of gravel that wasn’t too badly rutted. The driveway curved around a large tree, and soon the brown house came into view.
The place looked deserted. There was no car in the driveway, but the attached garage door was closed. When Justin braked to a stop, she pushed open her passenger-side door.
“Wait for me.” His sharp tone surprised her. She was the cop here. Not him. “The last time we approached a place we suspected Decker was hiding out, it exploded and nearly killed us.”
Hard to argue with his logic. She was convinced that God had been watching over her at the cabin, sparing her life when she wasn’t entirely sure she deserved it.
With a reluctant nod, she slid out of the seat, withdrawing her weapon from its holster.
Justin opened the back hatch for Stone, who gracefully jumped down.
She abruptly realized his K9 would be able to tell them if Decker had been there.
“Search Decker.” Justin’s voice was soft but firm as he gave the command. “Search!”
Stone lifted his nose to the air, sniffing with interest. She divided her attention between watching the dog and scanning the house and outlying property for any sign of Colin or Decker.
Stone trotted toward the side of the house that was opposite the attached garage. She shot Justin a curious look as they both followed the dog, weapons in hand.
When Stone picked up his pace, she knew he’d caught the scent. The way his nose swept along the ground was exactly the way he’d searched for Ginny. Within seconds, Stone buried his nose in the grass along the side of the house, then sat and let out a sharp bark.
Decker had been there!
“Good boy,” Justin called softly. He didn’t throw the stuffed penguin, and she belatedly remembered it had been in the saddle bags that were right now heading toward Sheridan, Wyoming. “Search Decker.”
Despite not having his favorite toy as a reward, Stone jumped up and went back to work. She caught sight of something blue buried in some brush along the back of the property. Before she could move closer, Stone headed in the same direction.
Her breath caught in her throat as Stone once again buried his nose near the bush, then sat and barked.
“That’s the four-wheeler.” She ran forward to see the machine for herself. Then she turned toward Justin. “Did you get a look at the ATV? Was it blue like this one?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t see it. I only heard it from a distance. But Stone alerted on it, so I’m sure that’s the one Decker had been using.”
She agreed with that assessment. A sense of dread washed over her. If Decker had been here, she felt certain the convict had taken Stringer’s Ford Explorer. “Let’s keep going.”
“Good boy!” Justin bent to lavish the lab with praise, then stood and gestured toward the house. “We need to be careful. I don’t trust Decker not to have booby-trapped the place.”
“He wouldn’t have had time or the materials for that.
” She moved swiftly toward the back of the house, closest to the four-wheeler.
“And really, there’s no reason for him to cover his tracks.
He picked a place that’s isolated from the others.
If not for Dawn missing Colin’s routine visit to the mini-mart, we’d never know Decker was here. ”
“Still, we can’t afford to take any chances.” Justin’s jaw was set in a stubborn line. “This guy is capable of anything.”
“I know. But I need to search inside.” She cautiously approached the set of patio doors. There wasn’t a formal deck, but the ground was packed down, and a few chairs were set up in a circle around a small fire pit.
The patio doors were closed. Cupping her hands around her face, she peered inside.
Her heart sank. Colin’s body was lying on the floor near the patio doors.
He was lying on his back, face up with what looked like gunshot wound in the center of his chest, blood spread across the hardwood floor beneath him.
Colin had been shot at close range, just like the first victim had been. The one found at the side of the road.
Decker had been there and was likely using Colin’s black Ford Explorer as an escape vehicle.
As awful as she felt about Colin’s murder, she was grateful for the lead. Maybe they’d find the Explorer in time to save Amanda.
* * *
Justin helped Raine clear the area, verifying the Explorer was missing and was likely being used by Decker. He shouldn’t have been surprised Decker had killed another man. The guy was evil and cold-blooded in his desperate need to escape.
He had no doubt the convict would continue to leave a string of bodies behind. Hopefully not Amanda’s. Please, not Amanda’s.
For the second time since learning about the girl’s abduction, he silently prayed. Please, Lord Jesus, keep Amanda safe in Your care! Guide us so we can find and rescue her before it’s too late!
He listened as Raine pulled out her phone and called Griff. “Colin Stringer has been murdered, and Stone alerted on Decker’s scent near an abandoned four-wheeler. We have reason to believe Decker is in a black Ford Explorer owned by Stringer. We need to issue a BOLO on that vehicle ASAP!”
He couldn’t hear Griff’s side of the conversation but figured his brother-in-law was already following through on their new intel. The air wasn’t smoky there, and he felt certain the forest fire had been mostly extinguished by the storm.
Ironic how Raine’s decision to head into the mini-mart to talk to Dawn and handing over her business card had led them there.
That thought made him wonder how long ago Stringer had been murdered. At least an hour, likely longer. Yet he wasn’t sure how Decker had gotten to Sheridan to snatch another girl so quickly.
“Good, thanks. Let us know if Logan sees anything.” Raine finally lowered her phone. “Every cop in the state will be searching for the Ford Explorer.” Their phones buzzed as the Amber Alert was updated to include the vehicle information. “I’m hopeful we’ll find Decker.”
“Good. If anyone deserves to rot in jail, it’s him.
” Jail was almost too good for him, but it wasn’t up to him to be judge and jury.
He’d settle for Decker being stuck in solitary for a long time.
He gestured to the patio doors where they’d found Colin’s body.
“How long before the locals to show up? It would be nice to have an estimated time of death.”
“Soon, but we’re not waiting.” Raine turned to head to the front of the house. “I want to get to Sheridan.”
“Come, Stone.” He waited for the yellow lab to bound over, then quickly caught up to Raine. “Trevor will start the search for Amanda.”
“I know. But I can’t help but feel guilty that Decker has been on the run for this long already.” She shook her head wearily. “Most convicts are caught within the first few hours. It’s rare that they escape for this long, much less continue to commit crimes.”
Frustration laced her tone. He opened the back hatch with his key fob. “Up, Stone.”
His lab leaped inside the crate area, tail wagging as if ready for the next search game. His K9 was raring to go, his previous exhaustion sated after his long nap.
“Soon, boy. We’ll play again soon.” He closed the hatch and quickly slid in behind the wheel. It took him a few minutes to back up the trailer so they could leave. As soon as they hit the highway, a pair of police cars raced past them.
Raine’s phone rang, and she answered, “Yeah, Griff. The cops have just arrived on scene. We didn’t stick around, have them call me with questions. We need to get to Sheridan as soon as possible.”
Justin glanced over as she listened intently to whatever Griff was saying.
“Okay, I’m glad Logan will be flying over Sheridan soon. Thanks.” She lowered the phone and sighed. “What are the chances that Amanda is still in Sheridan?”
He grimaced. “You tell me.”
“Probably not good.” She bit her lip and turned to gaze out at the passing scenery. “I can’t stand the thought of Decker getting away with this. It’s not right that he’s been able to stay one step ahead of us this way.”
“I understand, but we’re getting close.” He offered her a reassuring smile. “We know the vehicle he’s likely driving. We’ll find him. Especially if we have additional support from the air.”
“That reminds me. I need to call my boss to get choppers up.” She pulled out her phone. “They can generally fly at lower altitudes than fixed wing planes.”
He nodded, having learned a lot about flying over the past few months since Logan had become a part of their family when he and Jessica had gotten married. Knowing his brother-in-law, Logan would try his best to fly as low as possible, risking his life to save that of an innocent girl.
“Mike, it’s Raine. We have a lead on Decker, he’s in a black Ford Explorer, the plate number has been included in the Amber Alert, but we could really use choppers to cover the area. Call me as soon as possible, thanks.”
He glanced at her in surprise. “He didn’t answer?”
“No.” She blew out a breath. “Probably on another phone call with the governor or someone equally important.”
“Your boss isn’t anything like Griff. He’s always in the center of things.”
“Tell me about it. Griff is on his way to Sheridan, he left a few minutes ago.” She frowned at her phone. “We really need those choppers.”
He silently agreed, pushing their speed as much as he dared. The wind was still brisk, buffeting against the four-wheeler trailer. Glancing up at the cloudy sky, he hoped Logan would get there soon.
Ten minutes later, he caught a glimpse of a plane overhead. He grinned. “That’s Logan.”
“Good.” She watched the plane as it banked into a turn overhead. “We need eyes on that Explorer.”
“The windy mountainous roads lined on both sides with towering trees will make spotting it difficult.” He glanced at her. “It’s not as easy as following a car driving on a four-lane highway, but he’ll do his best.”
“That’s all any of us can do.” Raine shifted in her seat, looking at the cars up ahead of them. “Although I really wish there weren’t so many black cars and trucks.”
He’d noticed that too.
They were going faster than the traffic up ahead, and as they gained on the vehicles, he searched for the county code of 13 followed by the letters JKD.
None were a match.
He had to slow down when the truck in front of him turned off onto a side street. He caught up to the next vehicle, but it was white and not a match either.
“How much longer to get to Sheridan?” When he arched a brow, she flushed. “Sorry, I sound like Ginny.”
“It’s okay, we have twenty minutes to go, maybe a little less.” They’d made good time so far, but their progress had slowed as they came upon more cars.
“Trevor should be there by now, though, right?” She gripped her phone so tightly her knuckles were white. “I hope he’ll call us with news.”
Before he could assure her, his cell phone rang. Using the hands-free function, he quickly answered it. “What’s up, Trev?”
“I’m here, and Archie was able to pick up Amanda’s scent along the road between her home and the friend’s house. It’s only a three-quarters of a mile, but a little curvy, which Decker may have used to his advantage.”
Justin didn’t take the time now to fill his brother in on the dead body of Colin Stringer. “Do you know where the scent trail ends?”
“Oh yeah. Unfortunately, the scent trail stops in the middle of the road.” Trevor sounded frustrated. “I’m still scouting the area to make sure he didn’t pick her up and haul her into the woods, but I think he picked her up in a car.”
“We believe Decker is driving an older model black Ford Explorer. The license plate is on the updated Amber Alert message.” Justin glanced at Raine to see her cradling her head in her hands.
“Are the police there? Have them canvass the area asking if anyone has seen a black Ford Explorer about the time of Amanda’s disappearance. ”
“I will, but I think they’re already on that. A deputy passed me and pulled into the driveway of the neighbor’s house where Amanda had been.” Trevor paused, then added, “I’m sorry I don’t have better news.”
“It’s okay. Keep searching until we get there.” He ended the call, looking over again at Raine. She shook her head as she fought back tears.
“Please, Lord Jesus, help us find Amanda soon.” Her whispered prayer touched his heart.
And he echoed the sentiment as he pressed harder on the gas pedal to meet his brother. They were running out of time, and they weren’t any closer to finding Decker and Amanda.