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S eeing the man’s head popping up through her grandfather’s cellar had scared her to death. Libby had screamed, then wished she hadn’t when the guy broke into a run. As she bolted from her room to head outside, she heard gunfire.

“Shane! Bryce!” She wrenched the patio doors open.

“He’s gone.” Shane was crouched beside his K9, who stared intently at the location in the woods. He glanced over his shoulder to meet her gaze. “I couldn’t risk sending Bryce after him when he began shooting.”

“Of course not.” She didn’t blame him for protecting Bryce. “I can’t believe he was hiding in the cellar.”

“The cellar?” Shane rose to his feet and headed toward the side of the cabin. She joined him, reaching over to close the cellar door. “I didn’t notice this earlier.”

“I was shocked when I caught a glimpse of him as he emerged from the cellar.” She pointed to the window. “That’s the room I use when I’m visiting.”

Shane nodded thoughtfully. “I would have cleared the cellar, too, if I’d seen it. But why was he down there? I think he took off on the same four-wheeler we saw earlier.”

“But if that’s true, then where’s my grandfather?” Libby abruptly reached down to yank the door back up. “Grandpa? Are you there?”

“Hold on,” Shane said, but she shook off his arm and quickly clattered down the wooden stairs. The cellar was cool and dank.

And empty, except for the canned items her grandfather kept down there.

“He’s not here.” She felt Shane come down to stand beside her. Then she frowned as she realized the canned goods had been moved around rather haphazardly. “It almost looks like that guy was searching for something.”

“Yeah.” Shane’s scowl deepened. “That takes me back to my original question. Does your grandfather owe someone money?”

“No!” She tried to dial back her annoyance. It was a reasonable question based on the fact that they’d just stumbled over a stranger searching the cellar. “If Grandpa did owe someone money, he never said anything to me. And I would think he’d warn me, especially since he knows I come out to visit every week.”

“I don’t think that guy took anything with him,” Shane said. “The only thing I saw in his hand was the gun.”

She shivered, realizing how close they’d come to getting shot for the second time that day. “Do you think it’s the same man we saw earlier?”

“I don’t know. Let’s get out of here.” Shane turned to head back up the wooden stairs. Bryce stood to the side of the opening, his dark eyes watching as they climbed out.

Up close, Bryce’s teeth looked huge, but she swallowed her fear and offered a weak smile. “Good doggy.”

Shane smoothed a hand over Bryce’s fur, then reached over to close the cellar door. It dropped with a loud thud. In the distance, she heard a car engine.

“I hope that’s the sheriff’s department,” Shane muttered. “Come, Bryce.”

She followed the pair around the corner of the house to see that two SUVs had joined Shane’s in her grandfather’s driveway. One was pulling a huge trailer. A pretty dark-haired woman jumped out of the first SUV and was quickly joined by a beautiful white and black dog. Libby thought it may be a border collie, but she couldn’t be sure. She recognized Alexis from their high school days and lifted a hand in greeting.

“Hi, Libby. I brought lunch.” Alexis leaned into the front seat of the SUV and removed a large cooler. “Anna made enough to feed an army.”

“That was very nice of her.” Libby was touched by their generosity. She was the one needing their help, yet they’d brought food along with the supplies. “Thank you.”

“Hey, how about giving me a hand?” The driver of the second SUV must have been Shane’s brother Joel. He released the back hatch, and a pretty dog with a yellow coat jumped out. Instantly, Bryce rushed forward to greet the newcomers.

“Go ahead, Denali.” Alexis waved her hand. The collie turned and ran to join the fray.

“I’ll be right there,” Shane called. “Alexis, this is Libby. Her grandfather Marvin Tolliver is the missing man we’re searching for. Libby, my sister Alexis, her dog, Denali, and that’s Joel and his K9, Royal. Give us a few minutes to get the four-wheelers off the trailers. Then we’ll head inside to talk and eat.”

“No problem.” Libby was impressed to see the three four-wheelers that were strapped down on the long trailer. Then she turned toward Alexis. “Here, I’ll give you a hand with that cooler.”

Alexis allowed her to take one end. It wasn’t as heavy as she’d expected, but together they carried it inside and set it on the counter.

“I’ll grab some plates,” Libby said as Alexis opened the top.

“Thanks.” Alexis began pulling large containers from the cooler. “Anna made chicken salad, fruit, fresh baked rolls, and there are chips and cookies too.”

Libby’s stomach growled with anticipation. Then she thought of her missing grandfather who probably wasn’t getting anything to eat. For all she knew, her loving grandpa was lying in the brush somewhere unconscious.

“Sounds great.” She had to force herself to sound cheerful.

“I know it must be hard.” Alexis lightly touched Libby’s arm. “We need to have faith in God and in our K9s’ abilities to follow his scent. We’ll find him.”

“I know we will.” Libby did her best to shake off the feeling of despair.

Outside, the loud sound of two four-wheeler engines could be heard. Libby moved to the window to watch as Shane and Joel each drove the machines up to the house. Then Joel jumped off and went to get the third one. Shane called his dog, and Bryce came bounding over.

“I’d better get Denali too,” Alexis said. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Libby set four plates out on the table, along with silverware. Alexis had already set most of the containers on the table, but there were also several bottles of water inside the cooler.

When she had everything open and ready to go, she glanced outside again. Alexis and Shane appeared to be in deep conversation. Joel jumped off the third four-wheeler and called his dog. The yellow lab named Royal came running toward him. Then the three Sullivan siblings came inside the house.

“Hi, Libby.” Joel reached for the chair directly across from where she stood. “Royal, lie down.”

The yellow lab stretched out on the floor, tongue lolling to the side.

Shane took the seat to her right. Alexis dropped into the chair to her left. Each of the three dogs were well trained enough to lie down next to each other.

Libby had honestly never seen anything like it.

“Anna packed a feast,” Joel said with satisfaction. When he reached for a roll, Alexis slapped his hand.

“Grace first, remember?” She gave her brother an exasperated look.

Joel flashed an unrepentant grin. “Go for it, sis.”

Shane had been silent during all of this and now folded his hands in his lap, looking at Alexis expectantly.

If she was annoyed, Alexis didn’t show it. “Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food we are about to eat. We ask for Your strength and guidance as we search for Libby’s grandfather. Please keep Marvin safe in Your care. Amen.”

“Amen,” Libby said. And the two Sullivan brothers echoed the sentiment. “Thanks, Alexis, that was nice.”

“Anytime.” Alexis lifted the basket of rolls before Joel could grab one. “Ladies first.”

Joel sighed loudly. “Hurry up, I’m starving over here.”

“You?” Shane spoke for the first time. “Libby and I have already hiked several miles this morning. What have you done?”

“I waited for you to call me back. That was stressful.” Joel helped himself to some fruit, then handed that bowl around the table. The chicken salad went around after the rolls, and soon everyone had plenty of food piled on their plates.

“Not as stressful as being shot at,” Shane muttered as he lifted his sandwich.

“I think you need to fill us in on what you know so far,” Alexis suggested.

Libby thought the chicken salad sandwiches were amazing, especially the homemade rolls. She nodded, chewed, and swallowed, then began. “I grocery shop for Grandpa every Saturday. When I got here, he was gone. One of the patio chairs was overturned, and his coffee mug was broken on the concrete.”

“We left everything in place for the sheriff’s deputies,” Shane added. “They should be here soon too.”

“That’s fine; we have plenty of food,” Alexis said. “Go on, Libby.”

“I called the ranch, your Anna sent Shane and Bryce.” Libby quickly explained how they’d headed off into the woods. “Bryce was amazing in following Grandpa’s scent.”

Shane picked up the thread of the story, giving her time to eat. “We were about ninety minutes in when some idiot took shots at us. We considered the possibility that Marvin had caught a poacher in action and took off to follow him. We wondered if the same poacher was trying to warn us away. We continued the search and shortly after that heard the rumble of a gas engine. Eventually, Bryce found the spot where the earth was trampled down, and there were tire tracks from a four-wheeler. No sign of the machine, the poacher, or Marvin.”

“And we found these.” Libby tugged the broken eyeglasses from her pocket. “They belong to my grandfather.”

“I gotta say, it makes no sense that a poacher would take your grandfather,” Joel said between bites.

“Oh, there’s more.” Shane’s expression was grim. “We came back here and didn’t see anything unusual. Then I heard Libby scream. Some guy was down searching in the cellar. I sent Bryce to get him but called the dog back when the intruder fired his weapon.”

There was a long silence as the Sullivan siblings looked at each other. “Any idea why the guy was in the cellar?” Alexis asked.

“No, but he was searching for something,” Libby said. “Cans and jars had been moved around.”

“No idea what he was looking for?” Joel asked.

“I wish.” Libby sighed. “I’m telling you, my grandfather leads a dull and boring life. He doesn’t drink, other than the occasional beer, and doesn’t gamble. There’s absolutely no reason for anyone to target him like this.”

“Maybe they mistook your grandfather for someone else?” Alexis suggested.

“After he’s lived here for the past forty years?” Libby shook her head. “I can’t imagine that. Unless, of course, this is the work of some newcomer to the area. Someone who doesn’t know the locals.”

“Anything is possible,” Shane said.

“What I can’t figure out is how the same guy who took shots at us up on the trail managed to get back here to the cabin without us hearing his four-wheeler.” Shane scowled and popped a grape into his mouth. “The time frame doesn’t seem to work. It didn’t take us that long to get back to the cabin.”

“Yeah, and sound carries for a long way out here,” Joel added.

“Unless there were two men,” Libby said.

All three Sullivans turned to look at her. Shane asked, “What makes you think there’s more than one man involved in taking your grandfather?”

“Because like you said, that guy couldn’t have ridden that four-wheeler past us, we’d have seen or heard him.” She sighed, then added, “I really want to believe the one guy has taken my grandfather to the hospital, leaving the other guy to search the cellar. But I haven’t heard from the hospital, so I don’t know what’s going on. It was just a thought.”

“She has a point about two men,” Alexis said. “Maybe they split up earlier. One took off with Marvin while the other lagged behind long enough to search the place.”

“Great,” Shane said in a sour tone. “Now we have to worry about two armed men skulking around in the woods.”

Libby fought the sudden urge to cry again. She glared at Shane. “You either keep a positive attitude or stay here while we go out looking for my grandfather.” She jumped to her feet. “Excuse me.”

She hurried into the bathroom, resisting the urge to slam the door behind her. She closed her eyes, leaned on the sink, and took several deep breaths to get her emotions under control. She refused to let Shane bring her down. She needed to believe her grandfather was going to be all right. That they’d find him very soon, alive and well.

Alive and well , she silently repeated. That was all she could ask for.

* * *

“What is wrong with you?” Alexis demanded in a low voice. “Can’t you see she needs your support right now?”

Shane grimaced and nodded. “I know that. It’s just—you both know the odds are not in our favor. If there really are two men involved in this mess, then it’s not looking good that we’re going to find Marvin alive.”

“You gotta have faith, bro,” Joel drawled. “Alexis is right. Doesn’t do us any good to have Libby falling apart.”

“I’ll talk to her.” Shane stood, but Alexis beat him to it.

“I’ll go.” At Shane’s narrow look, she added, “Don’t worry, I won’t mention Denali is a cadaver dog. You’re right that Libby doesn’t need to know that yet. It’s more important that she holds on to her faith that we’ll find her grandfather.”

“Okay, thanks.” Shane was glad she agreed with him on that much. When he’d first explained his intent to keep Libby in the dark, Alexis had argued that Libby should know the truth. But then after he’d explained about the glasses and how Libby had already been through a lot, his sister had relented. He felt bad about adding to Libby’s distress by his thoughtless comments.

He was an idiot. Why couldn’t he keep his grim thoughts to himself?

Shane had lost his appetite but forced himself to finish the meal. He suspected they had a long afternoon and evening ahead of them. Even with the four-wheelers, he doubted they’d be back much before dark.

Hopefully with Marvin riding alongside them.

“A sheriff’s deputy squad just pulled in.” Joel waved a potato chip toward the window.

Shane glanced at the hallway where Libby and Alexis had disappeared, then stood. At his movement, Bryce jumped to his feet too. “Come, Bryce.” He headed outside to greet the sheriff’s deputy. There was only one who’d responded to the call, which he thought was odd. Usually, they sent deputies out in pairs. Then again, summer was the busiest time of the year with tourists flocking to the area.

Recognizing Deputy Paul Holland, he nodded a greeting. “Hey, Paul. Thanks for coming.”

“Shane.” Paul was a few years older than Shane, and they’d worked together on a case related to a missing hiker last fall. The outcome of that search had been good. They’d found the hiker with a broken ankle but otherwise unharmed. Paul frowned. “I expected to see Libby Tolliver here. She’s the one who called the dispatcher.”

As if hearing her name, Libby came out of the cabin to join them. Shane was secretly glad she didn’t appear to have been crying. Shane quickly made introductions. “This is Libby Tolliver, she’s Marvin Tolliver’s granddaughter, and yes, she made the call to the dispatcher about how her grandfather went missing. Libby, this is Deputy Paul Holland.”

“Deputy, thanks for coming.” Libby shook the deputy’s hand. “Has Shane explained what happened?”

“Not yet,” Paul drawled.

“Come inside,” Libby suggested. “Have you had lunch?”

“I could eat,” Paul said with a grin.

Shane and Bryce trailed behind Libby and Paul. He’d wanted to apologize to Libby but couldn’t find the words. He wished he could feel more optimistic about her grandfather’s chances of survival, but he couldn’t help expecting the worst.

But Alexis was right in that he needed to keep his trap shut.

By the time Paul had eaten, and they’d filled the deputy in on what had transpired, the hour was going on two in the afternoon. Shane was itching to hit the trail, and he could tell Libby wanted that too.

Paul wasn’t enthusiastic about taking the four-wheelers to search for Marvin Tolliver with two armed and dangerous poachers on the loose, but he finally relented.

Shane jumped up as Libby began to clear the table. “Joel, let’s get our gear strapped down on the ATVs.”

“What can I bring?” Paul asked as he hurried to keep up.

“Your badge and gun,” Shane said bluntly. “If we catch one or both of these guys, we’ll need you to take them into custody.”

“Yeah, okay.” Paul grimaced. “Works for me.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were finally ready to roll. Shane helped Libby step up onto the two-seater four-wheeler beside him. Alexis drove her own machine, leaving Joel to bring Paul.

“I’ll have Bryce to lead the way,” Shane suggested. “Denali and Royal can follow along.” He gave Alexis a look that indicated her dog would be up next.

“Fine with me.” Alexis gave him a tiny nod back. “Let’s do this.”

Shane revved his dog up, offered the scent bag and water, then gave Bryce the search command. “Search, boy. Search for Marvin!”

Bryce eagerly trotted off toward the woods following the same path as he had earlier. The dog didn’t seem to mind that they were retracing steps he’d already taken. Bryce was eager to lead the way.

It was impossible to carry on a conversation over the roar of the engines. The trip was much faster using the ATVs, though, and for that, Shane was grateful. He braked to a stop near the fallen log when Bryce sat and barked his alert.

“Good boy!” He praised the dog and tossed his rubber ducky. Leaving the engine idling, he gestured for Paul to come over. “See this red thread? We think this came from Marvin’s red plaid shirt.”

“I double-checked earlier, and the red shirt is missing from his closet,” Libby said. “I’m sure that’s what he’s wearing.”

“Okay, so we know for sure Marvin got this far,” Paul said.

“Oh, we know he came farther than this.” Shane turned and mounted the four-wheeler. “Let’s go.”

Shane didn’t linger at the second place where Bryce alerted but pushed on. When they reached the clearing where they’d found Marvin’s broken eyeglasses, he stopped. Bryce did his alert again, so he rewarded the K9 and then gestured for Paul to join him.

“See these tire tracks?” He gestured to them. “They’re about the same size as the ones on our machines. I’m sure that’s the engine we heard.”

“I see them.” Paul frowned. “And this is where the glasses were?”

“Yep.” Shane turned and gestured to the path ahead. “I assumed they took off in that direction.” He glanced at Alexis, then added, “I think we should ask Denali and Bryce to keep searching, see if they can pick up the scent trail.”

Alexis nodded and told her collie, Denali, to get down from the four-wheeler. She bent over the dog, speaking softly. With the three engines idling, Shane couldn’t hear her, but he knew she was asking her to find napoo. Rather than using the word dead body, cadaver handlers used napoo which meant finished, done, dead. It was better to use something that most people didn’t recognize, especially when working large disaster scenes.

“Bryce, come.” He waited for his K9 to bring his ducky back. “Good boy. Are you ready? Let’s search! Search Marvin!”

Bryce wheeled toward the path ahead. Not to be outdone, Denali joined him. The two were searching for different scents, hopefully leading to the same person.

“Shouldn’t Alexis have used the scent bag?” Libby asked as he hopped up into the seat and took off to follow Bryce and Denali.

“She used the scent from the clearing,” he lied, avoiding her gaze. Obviously, he’d have to tell Libby the truth eventually. Especially if Denali was successful in finding her grandfather’s remains.

He wanted to pray that they’d find Marvin alive. Too bad God had stopped answering his prayers a long time ago.

“The dogs are amazing,” Libby said in awe, interrupting his dark thoughts.

“Yeah. Good thing they love this game.” He kept his gaze on Bryce. It seemed as if the dog was following Marvin’s scent, which was good. Maybe they would reach the old man in time to save him.

They followed the path for fifteen minutes, covering the distance quicker than he’d anticipated. Then Bryce let out a sharp bark.

Shane’s pulse kicked up as he stopped the four-wheeler and put the machine in park. Then he jumped down to see what had caught Bryce’s attention.

His shepherd stared at him intently, as if Shane could read the dog’s thoughts. He swept his gaze over the ground and saw the indentation of a heel print in the soft earth.

He frowned, trying to imagine why the poacher/gunman/intruder had stopped there with Marvin. He turned and eyed Alexis, who shrugged helplessly as Denali sniffed the area with interest.

But the female border collie didn’t alert the way Bryce had.

“What did he find?” Libby asked.

“Not sure.” Maybe they’d stopped for a bathroom break. It was the only explanation he could come up with. There was nothing but woods surrounding them. No sign of a road or a dwelling that he could see. “Good boy, Bryce. Search! Search for Marvin!”

Bryce dropped his nose to the ground and sniffed for a full minute. Then he trotted forward, moving along the path that was occasionally marked with tire tracks from the four-wheeler the poacher had ridden.

He jumped back behind the wheel and put the machine in gear, anxious to keep up. Denali seemed eager to keep moving, too, and he wished he knew which dog would find Libby’s grandfather.

The trail turned to the right, then headed downhill. They rode for another ten minutes, following Bryce and Denali.

Then Bryce let out a sharp bark. He’d lost sight of the dog for a moment. He drove up and over the edge of a hill, then stopped.

Bryce was sitting on the ground near a two-track dirt road. Denali was nearby but didn’t seem interested in whatever scent had caught Bryce’s attention.

He jumped down and crossed over to where his dog waited. There were some crisscrossed footprints in the ground, none as distinctive as the heel print from earlier, but Shane didn’t doubt Bryce’s nose.

If his K9 said Marvin had been there, then he believed him. “Good boy,” he praised, tossing the rubber ducky. But even as he searched the two-track road, he realized the search was likely over.

The tire tracks here were large and wide, belonging to a truck or an SUV. Whoever had taken Marvin had driven the old man out of there.

Leaving them with nothing to go on.