Page 6 of Scent of Evil (Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue #7)

The path grew steep, her feet sliding across the wet rocks.

Raine frowned, wondering how in the world Decker had gotten the ATV up this incline.

It seemed impossible, but she didn’t doubt Stone’s tracking ability.

From Justin’s encouraging words of praise, it was obvious Stone was still on the scent.

The loud roar of an engine abruptly broke through the drizzling rain. Panic hit hard, and she rushed forward, pulling on Timber’s reins to catch up to Justin and Blaze. “Do you hear that? He’s getting away!”

“I know. Stone, heel.” At Justin’s firm tone, the K9 whirled and loped back to his side. He praised the dog, then he took the reins from her hand. He quickly laced his fingers together to give her a boost.

Grabbing the saddle horn, she stepped into his palms and swung her leg over Timber’s wide back. Her thighs burned as she settled into the saddle, but she ignored the discomfort. Justin handed her the reins, then quickly mounted Blaze.

“Okay, Stone, search!” Justin’s tone was low and urgent. “Search Decker and Ginny!”

Stone eagerly complied, going back to work.

The dog’s keen nose led them horizontally along the slope, on what looked like a path wide enough for a four-wheeler.

The yellow lab picked up speed, as if the scent was stronger now.

After a few minutes, Justin urged Blaze into a trot. She winced when Timber followed suit.

Once again, settling into the horse’s rhythm wasn’t easy. Her backside slapped against the saddle until she managed to get in the groove. Even then, waves of pain clouded her vision. Or maybe it was the rain.

Likely both.

Raine grit her teeth and focused on Ginny. Her physical discomfort didn’t matter. They had to find Ginny.

Before it was too late.

* * *

When Stone stopped to sniff intensely at the base of a large tree, Justin slowed Blaze into a walk. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Raine was still with him. She was, but the pained expression on her face indicated she wasn’t doing very well.

He sympathized with her plight. Mountain riding was very different from trail riding, if that’s what she was accustomed to. She knew enough to keep up, but her muscles were probably screaming in protest now.

The whine of the four-wheeler engine was growing faint. Decker was back on the move, making a valiant effort to lose them.

Something they absolutely couldn’t allow to happen.

“We need to keep going,” Raine called, as if reading his thoughts. “We can’t let him get away.”

“I know.” He glanced down at Stone as the dog sat and let out a sharp bark. His alert! Had Decker stopped there momentarily? “Good boy!” He debated throwing the stuffed penguin as his reward, but the time crunch they were under had him deciding against it. “Search! Search Decker and Ginny!”

Thankfully, Stone enjoyed the search game and didn’t hesitate to get back to work. His K9 lifted his nose to the air, then quickly darted forward. Soon, he was on the scent trail, his tail wagging back and forth as he moved.

They rode for another eight minutes before he saw what appeared to be a rocky outcropping. Eyeing the location, he turned to glance behind him. It was difficult to know for sure, but that might have been the spot Decker had used as a hiding spot to shoot at them.

The guy was smart enough to know that if he kept shooting, they’d have little choice but to slow down and hang back. It wasn’t difficult to imagine Decker firing at them, then waiting a moment before jumping back on the four-wheeler to gain some ground.

Worse, the escaped convict knew they wouldn’t return fire while he had Ginny beside him. Justin wouldn’t put it past the guy to use the eleven-year-old girl as a human shield. The way a terrorist would.

Decker was scum, but he was also managing to stay a few steps ahead of them. What was his end goal? To hurt Ginny? That couldn’t be his only motive considering he’d escaped from jail.

Maybe Decker planned to use Ginny to lure them into a trap where he could kill them all. But then what? Where would he go from there? The large state of Montana stood between their current location and the Canadian border.

The four-wheeler wouldn’t get him that far.

As he continued following Stone, he eyed the rocky overhang. It took him a few minutes to realize the rain had stopped. Water still dripped off the leaves of the trees, but out in the open, there was nothing.

The storm had passed, which was a good thing. The ground would be soft now, so any tire tracks left behind by the four-wheeler would be easy to see.

He was about to stop to give his K9 a well-deserved break when he noticed Stone had abruptly turned to head up the incline.

To the rocky ledge above? His pulse kicked into high gear.

Using the reins, he turned Blaze and nudged him with his heels. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Raine and Timber were behind him.

This part of the slope was steep for a horse. Blaze reared his head in protest, but he held the reins firm. “Come on, boy. You can do this.”

Blaze nimbly cantered up the rest of the way to the rocky overhang. Justin cast his gaze over the area, noticing the deep tire marks in the earth off to the side of a shallow cave.

Stone sniffed the ground intently, then sat and let out a sharp bark.

“He was here, huh, boy?” Reaching into his pack, he found and tossed the penguin. Then he called, “Ginny? Are you here?”

No response.

“Whoa, Blaze.” He pulled back on the reins, stopping his horse, then dismounting. Letting the reins dangle for a moment, he carefully approached the opening. Stone had taken off with his toy, enjoying his reward for a job well done.

“Justin?” Raine’s voice held a note of fear. “Is she in there?”

“I don’t think so.” He turned to see Raine sliding down from Timber. This time, her legs didn’t collapse beneath her. But as she rushed forward to join him, her foot caught a rock, and she stumbled a bit. “Easy there.” He grasped her hand to steady her.

“I’m fine.” She impatiently shook free of his grip, her gaze focused on the dark opening. “Ginny? It’s Aunt Raine.”

Still no response.

Justin wished Raine would let him go in first, but she darted forward, entering the cave opening. He quickly followed, ducking to avoid striking his head on the low overhang.

Was Decker shorter than him? He didn’t remember the guy’s height and weight listed on his mug shot. Granted, he’d focused mostly on the guy’s facial features, specifically his creepy narrow and soulless brown eyes.

“She’s not here.” Raine’s shoulders slumped with disappointment. “I thought maybe he’d left her behind so he could move faster.”

Somehow, he didn’t see Decker letting Ginny go anytime soon, but he decided against voicing his dark thoughts. He scanned the interior of the shallow cave, noting there were small puddles on the ground.

Even if Stone hadn’t alerted, he’d know Decker and Ginny had been there. Water didn’t just pool in the middle of a cave with no reason. They’d all suffered the impact of the downpour; Decker and Ginny were not immune to getting soaked.

Lowering to a crouch, he searched for signs of a struggle. The pools of water appeared undisturbed. No sign of a struggle, which he considered good news.

Remembering the gunfire, he rose and kept his head down as he went back to stand just outside the cave opening.

From this vantage point, the path below was easy to see.

So much so that he was surprised Decker had missed.

Not complaining, but still unusual for those who grew up in Wyoming. He turned to his K9. “Stone, come.”

His K9 loped toward him, the stuffed penguin still in his mouth.

“Drop.” He held out his hand. Stone dropped the toy so it landed in his palm, then he gazed up at Justin expectantly. “Good boy. Now search for gold, Stone. Search gold, okay?”

Stone wagged his tail and lowered his head to sniff the ground.

“What is he looking for?” Raine asked.

“Gold is our term for brass shell casings,” he explained. “Our dogs are cross-trained to identify other scents along with tracking people. I want him to find the shell casings from Decker’s weapon.”

She frowned. “We don’t need them; we already know he’s the one shooting at us.”

“We suspect that based on Stone’s following the scent trail and the sound of the four-wheeler,” he agreed. “But it doesn’t hurt to have proof.”

“We’ll be able to match his weapon to that taken from the scene of the crash.

The one he used to escape. I’d rather get back on the trail.

He’s already too far ahead of us.” She waved an impatient hand toward the wooded mountainside.

“We need to keep pace with them as that ATV is bound to run out of gas sooner or later.”

He shared her sense of urgency. Turning toward Stone, he noticed the dog had his nose buried in a patch of tall grass next to the rock. Then Stone sat and barked. He crossed over to retrieve the shell casing. After tucking it into his pocket, he turned to face Raine.

Her gaze lingered on the interior of the shallow cave as if imagining the worst-case scenario.

“Don’t torture yourself, Raine. There’s no sign of a struggle, and I don’t think they were here for long.” He gestured toward Timber. “Let’s go. I’ll give you a leg up.”

She straightened her shoulders and nodded. “You’re right. I’m going to stay positive. We’ve kept him on the move, which must be working in Ginny’s favor.”

“Exactly. Decker is feeling the pressure of us tracking him, or he wouldn’t keep stopping to shoot at us.” Justin helped her mount Timber, then bent to check on his K9. He’d considered carrying the dog for a while, but Stone looked eager to go. “You okay to keep going, boy?”

Stone wagged his tail.

“Okay, then, search! Search for Decker and Ginny!” He swung into the saddle, wheeled Blaze around, and waited for Stone to pick up the scent trail.

His K9 led them downhill for several yards. The engine was still rumbling in the distance, but he noticed it now came in waves. Louder, then softer. Testing the wind, he grimly realized it was now coming from the northwest, hitting them from behind.

Carrying the sound farther away.

He was about to call a halt to their progress when Stone picked up his pace. Something had caught the dog’s attention, so he nudged Blaze with his heels, urging the equine into a trot.

Behind him, Raine let out a low moan.

“What is it, boy?” he called encouragingly to the dog. “What did you find?”

Stone kept moving, sweeping his nose from side to side. Then he abruptly stopped, backtracking a bit to sniff at what appeared to be a small rock.

His K9 sat and barked.

It was an odd spot for Stone to alert. Pulling back on the reins, he brought Blaze to a stop and quickly dismounted. He stepped closer, scanning the ground. The rock was small and so similar to others on the mountain that he didn’t understand why Stone had alerted there.

“What did he find?” Raine’s voice was tense.

“A rock.” As he crouched beside it, he noticed there was a mahogany-colored stain along one jagged edge.

Blood?

A chill snaked down his spine as he glanced around. After a moment, he stood and retrieved the penguin, tossing it for Stone.

“Good boy!”

“I don’t understand.” Raine scowled down at him. “Why is he alerting on a rock?”

He hesitated, not wanting to worry her. He stared down at the dark stain concluding the blood must be fresh. The earlier deluge of rain hadn’t washed it away.

Stone’s alert meant it had been dropped and recently.

“Justin?” Raine sounded impatient.

“There’s a small amount of blood along the edge of this rock.” He picked it up and carried it over so she could see for herself.

“Blood!” Her voice came out in a horrified croak.

“Don’t panic, it could be Decker’s blood,” he said, although he didn’t necessarily believe it. “We don’t know for sure that Ginny has been hurt.”

The stark expression in Raine’s eyes indicated she believed the blood was Ginny’s.

The only way to know for sure was to catch up to their quarry. He bent to scoop Stone into his arms. The dog had done his job very well. The tire tracks were deep enough that he thought they could follow them for a while, giving his K9 a break.

Yet the bloodstained rock sent a renewed sense of urgency washing over him. If Ginny had been hurt in some way, it was imperative that they caught up to them as quickly as possible.