Page 33 of Scent of Evil (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #7)

It didn’t make any sense that he didn’t see her car in the distance. Even at night, her headlights would be easy to spot. How much time had passed since they’d spoken? Five minutes? Ten?

He continued driving as fast as possible. But as mile after mile whizzed by, his sense of dread grew.

Glancing at the clock, he realized he should be meeting up with her in the next few minutes.

So why couldn’t he see her car? Had she pulled off to the side of the road for some reason?

Maybe because she was feeling sick? His oldest sister, Maya, had suffered morning sickness that had lasted all day in the early days of her pregnancy.

What did he know about pregnant women? Just the little he’d absorbed from his sister’s pregnancies. And what he’d been taught in his EMT training.

After a full five minutes went by without seeing her vehicle, he wondered if he’d passed her.

Maybe she’d pulled off on one of the two-track roads.

Yet even as that thought crossed his mind, he dismissed it.

Bailey had wanted to meet up with him. Even if she wasn’t feeling well, she would have stayed on the main highway.

After trying her phone again, he slowed and pulled over. He’d walk along the side of the highway to see if he could find her.

Archie was looking at him, as if ready to play the search game. Too bad he didn’t have anything belonging to Bailey.

Wait a minute, he did! Trevor leaned across the seat to rummage in the glove box.

There was a red scarf in there that he’d kept meaning to return to her.

To be honest, he’d had it for years, well before she’d gotten married.

Despite knowing he should return it, he’d simply carried it around in his SUV.

Despite the length of time he’d had the scarf, he was convinced Archie would be able to home in on Bailey’s scent. Their K9s could differentiate between two hundred and three hundred million scents. And Archie had been near Bailey a few months ago.

Trevor pushed out of the driver’s side and released the back hatch.

Archie jumped down, wagging his tail with anticipation.

Trevor filled a collapsible bowl with water and offered it to his K9.

While his dog drank, he pulled out the backpack and shrugged into it, struggling to arrange the straps over his winter coat.

Then he grabbed his first aid kit too. He didn’t work as an EMT anymore, but he’d taken on the role of medic during their SAR missions.

Archie finished his water, then looked up at him waiting for his command.

“Are you ready, boy?” He didn’t bother with a bag, simply holding the scarf near Archie’s snout. His K9 sniffed it for a long minute, then his tail wagged with excitement. “This is Bailey. You know Bailey, don’t you? Search! Search Bailey!”

Archie whirled away and lifted his nose to the air.

There was a westerly breeze that Trevor hoped would work in their favor.

If Bailey had gone off the road, the wind should carry her scent toward them, rather than away.

Unless, of course, she’d crossed the road and went off on the other side.

Swallowing hard, he waited for his K9. After a few seconds, Archie trotted down the road, then veered over to sniff along the west side of the road.

Trevor followed, feeling sick to his stomach. The road had been plowed recently, so he alternated between looking for tire tracks heading off the road and watching Archie. As they made their way down the highway, Trevor lifted his heart in prayer.

Please, Lord Jesus, keep Bailey and her baby safe in Your care!

The prayer didn’t take the edge off his fear as he’d hoped. He couldn’t bear the thought of anything bad happening to Bailey and her baby. Not just because he’d promised his best friend to look out for her while he was in Alaska.

Because he’d always cared for her. Despite Miles making it clear she was way off-limits.

Archie moved quickly along the side of the road, his nose working eagerly. Trevor scanned the area, searching for signs of Bailey’s car. When he saw the indentation of tire tracks going over the edge of the road, his heart sank.

No, please, Lord, no!

He rushed forward even as Archie was already picking his way down the ravine. Seeing the silver SUV lying upside down confirmed his worst fears.

Trevor slipped and slid down the steep slope, following Archie. His K9 reached the vehicle first, sniffed intently at the driver’s side door, then sat and barked.

“Good boy!” He had to force enthusiasm into his tone at his K9’s alert and didn’t waste time pulling the stuffed otter from his backpack. Their K9s viewed searching as a game that resulted in a reward for a job well done. But his concern for Bailey and her baby overrode everything else.

When Trevor reached the bottom of the ravine, he dropped to his knees to peer into the driver’s side window.

Bailey was hanging upside down, the seat belt holding her in place.

He quickly shrugged out of his pack and found a knife.

He half crawled through the broken window to use his body as a cushion and cut the straps.

Bailey slumped against him without making a sound.

Was she dead? He gently eased her off him, turning her so that she was lying on her back.

Normally, it wasn’t a good idea to move an injured person, but he didn’t have a choice.

He pressed his fingers along the side of her neck, searching for a pulse.

When he felt her faint heartbeat, he silently thanked God, then reached for his phone.

He should have called 911 right away. He raked his gaze over Bailey’s still form as he waited for the dispatcher to answer. Bailey had a cut along the side of her temple, and he suspected there would be bruises to follow from the implosion of the air bags.

He could only pray the airbags had protected her and her baby.

“This is Trevor Sullivan. I’m at the bottom of a ravine with Bailey Adams. She was in a car wreck and is pregnant. Um, maybe six months? Or seven? Something like that. She’s alive, but I need an ambulance here right away!”

“Where exactly is your location?” the dispatcher asked.

“We’re on Highway 120 roughly fifteen miles outside of Cody. Please hurry. She’s unconscious, and I don’t know if her baby is okay.”

“I’ve dispatched a squad and ambulance to your location. Please stay on the line.”

“I can’t. I need to provide first aid. Just send help.” He ended the call, stuffed his phone away, and then crawled back out of the car. He glanced around for a level spot on the ground. He couldn’t fully examine Bailey until he got her out of the wreck.

He bent again to look at her head and shoulders.

Reaching in, he slipped his hands beneath her back and pulled her through the window, inch by slow inch.

He supported her head as much as possible.

Her puffy winter coat was snug against her rounded belly, and he couldn’t stop thinking about the fate of her baby.

When he had her head and shoulders free, he repositioned his grip and pulled her the rest of the way out of the wreck.

He continued dragging her across the ground to the flat part of the ravine, then ran back for his first aid kit.

With the light gone other than what the moon provided, there wasn’t moment to waste.

First, he used his penlight to examine Bailey’s pupils.

They were equal but a little sluggish to react, indicating she’d sustained a mild head injury.

From there, he checked her pulse and blood pressure—both were elevated, which wasn’t a surprise.

He ran his hands over her extremities but didn’t detect an obvious fracture or open injuries.

Lastly, he unzipped her coat and examined her pregnant abdomen. He swallowed hard when he saw the darkening bruise along the lower portion of her belly. Likely from the seat belt. Was it enough to have harmed the baby? He didn’t know.

He placed the diaphragm of his stethoscope on her belly, listening intently. Archie stayed close to his side, as if sensing the seriousness of the situation. He didn’t hear anything for a long minute, but then he felt the baby kick.

Thank you, God!

He blew out a sigh of relief while continuing to listen.

He finally heard what he thought was the fast beat of the baby’s heart.

At least, by his count, the rate was faster than Bailey’s.

It wasn’t always easy to tell if he was hearing the mother’s heartbeat or the baby’s.

He pulled the edges of the coat together and zipped it to keep her warm.

Then he rummaged in his backpack for a foil blanket.

They were thin enough to carry, and the shiny part of the blanket helped reflect the sun to keep a person warm even in the winter.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t any sun to help him now.

When he’d done all that he could to mitigate whatever injuries she’d sustained, he took her hand in his. “Bailey? Can you hear me?”

Her eyelids fluttered, but she didn’t say anything.

Was her head injury worse than he’d thought?

He released her to reach for the penlight.

Her pupils looked the same as before, but he understood head injuries could evolve over time.

Bleeding into the brain could be slow and sometimes took a while to manifest as signs and symptoms.

The only way to know for sure would be to get a CT scan of her head. Something the hospital would do once they’d arrived. Same thing in relation to her pregnancy. Internal bleeding could also take time to impact her baby.

Time was of the essence, but there wasn’t anything he could do until the ambulance arrived.

He couldn’t see the road from the bottom of the ravine. Somehow, Bailey had gone over the edge of the road at the steepest part of the culvert.

Then he remembered what she’d said about the black truck. Had the driver pushed her off the road? Had the Black Hat guy done this?

“Bailey, you’re going to be okay.” His training instructor had emphasized the importance of talking to patients. That even if they appeared unconscious, it was possible they could still hear. “Your baby seems fine, and the ambulance is on the way.”

Archie pressed his nose against Bailey’s cheek.

“You’re a good boy, Arch.” His voice was low and thick with emotion. A few minutes later, he heard the faint wail of sirens. He leaned over Bailey, stroking her hair from her face. “Do you hear that, Bailey? The ambulance will be here very soon.”

Her eyelids fluttered again, and this time her eyes opened. She stared up at him in confusion. “What—happened?”

“You were in a car crash.” He searched her gaze. “Do you remember the black truck? Can you tell me if the truck hit you?”

“Truck?” Her brow furrowed, and she looked around at the culvert. “I’m hurt?”

“You’re doing okay, but the ambulance will be here soon. We’ll take you to the hospital where they can make sure you don’t have any internal bleeding.” He placed his hand on her belly. “I felt your baby kick, though, so I think you’re doing okay.”

“Really?” She winced as she lifted her hands and placed them on her abdomen.

“Yes, I felt the baby kick. Are you having a boy or a girl?” He remembered Miles saying something about a baby girl but had mentioned that she’d need a follow-up ultrasound to be sure. To his shame, Trevor hadn’t asked about the baby’s gender during their last conversation.

“Oh, I feel the baby moving.” Her eyelids drifted closed. “Tired...”

Head injuries could cause sleepiness. “Bailey, open your eyes for me. I want to check your pupils again.”

Her eyes opened, and again, she stared at him in confusion. “You know me?”

That took him aback. “Yes, of course. You’re Bailey Adams, Miles’s little sister.”

She didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Bailey,” she finally repeated.

His concerns about her head injury ratcheted up several notches. He used his penlight to examine her pupils. He took his time lest he miss something.

They looked the same as before. Which was good and bad. Why was she so confused?

“I hear sirens,” Bailey murmured.

“Yes, help will be here soon.” Archie pressed his nose against her belly, and she looked at the dog with a soft smile.

“What’s your dog’s name?”

Huh? He frowned. “Archie. You remember my K9, Archie, don’t you?”

A flash of annoyance crossed her features. “How would I know your dog when I don’t know you?”

The tiny hairs on the back of his neck lifted in alarm. “I’m Trevor Sullivan. Your brother’s best friend. You’ve known me for years.”

At that, her eyes widened. “I don’t understand. What’s wrong with me?”

He slowly shook his head. “Don’t stress. You’ve been through a traumatic event. You’ll remember everything soon.” He’d wanted to reassure her, but deep down, he wasn’t convinced. He had heard of patients experiencing temporary amnesia, but he had never experienced the phenomenon.

Until now.