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H earing Bryce’s bark, Libby hurried forward, slipping a bit as she rounded the rock. There was no sign of Shane at first, just Bryce sitting straight and tall, but then she noticed the cave.

Heart thumping wildly, she edged closer and ducked inside. Shane was kneeling on the ground, picking something up from the dirt.

“What did you find?” She couldn’t tell what he had in his hand.

He hesitated, then reluctantly showed her the narrow strip of plastic. She frowned, then realization dawned.

“A zip tie?” Her voice sounded hoarse to her own ears. “You think it was used to bind Grandpa’s wrists together?”

“Could be.” He grimaced as he stood. “All we can do is bring it back to show the sheriff’s deputies.”

She swallowed hard, trying not to imagine her grandfather sitting with his wrists tied together. Turning, she glanced around the shallow opening of the cave. There appeared to be a small fire pit, but nothing else. “I’m trying to understand the timeline here. Grandpa’s glasses were found in the clearing where there were clear tire tracks from a large vehicle.” She threw her arm wide. “How long did they keep him here?”

“I was trying to piece that together too.” Shane stepped past her, leaving the cave. She followed, watching as he pulled the rubber ducky from his pocket and tossed it to Bryce. “Good boy!”

Bryce leaped into the air to catch the ducky, then ran around the woods. The dog’s antics never failed to make her smile.

Even now, despite knowing her grandfather had been confined with zip ties.

Shane pulled out his compass. “The clearing where we found the glasses is southeast of here.” He met her gaze. “We don’t know for sure when your grandfather was taken or lured into the woods. But I think he was brought here first. Then when the bad guys discovered we were searching for him using Bryce, they moved him to the clearing.”

“Two men for sure.” She could easily imagine the scenario Shane described. “One to bring the truck up to the clearing and the other to bring Grandpa from this cave down to meet him using the four-wheeler.”

“At least two men,” Shane agreed. “Maybe more. Although I have to admit, without knowing the motive, it’s difficult to understand why so many are involved.”

She shook her head. “I wish I knew why they took him too. The only thing of value that he has is the cabin and the land.”

“And you would be the one to inherit if something happened to your grandfather,” Shane said.

For a horrible moment, she thought he was accusing her of being involved. “I didn’t?—”

“I know you’re not responsible,” Shane quickly added. “I’m stating a fact. These guys must know about you, so taking your grandfather in some scheme to get control of his property doesn’t make any sense.”

She relaxed and nodded. “That’s true. Grandpa told me I would inherit the place when he was gone. I’ve been asking him to sell it outright to move in with me.” She abruptly turned toward Shane who was taking the rubber ducky from Bryce. “Could that be it? They took Grandpa to convince him to sell?”

“That’s a bit extreme.” Shane stuffed the ducky into his pocket. “And honestly, any legal transaction done under duress wouldn’t hold up in court.”

“Maybe the goal is to avoid court.”

“Hey, we’ll find him,” Shane said encouragingly. For a guy who seemed to expect the worst at every turn, he was strangely cheery. “I’ll give Bryce another search command. Maybe he’ll take us to another new location.”

She was so touched by his caring that she crossed to his side and lifted up onto her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Thanks, Shane.”

“You’re welcome.” His cheeks flushed, but he quickly turned toward his K9. He shrugged out of his pack, poured water into a bowl, and offered it to the dog. Bryce lapped at the liquid, then stared expectantly at Shane. After tucking the collapsible bowl away, he offered Bryce the scent bag. “This is Bad Guy. Search! Search Bad Guy!”

Bryce briefly sniffed the bag, clearly already having the scent locked in his mind. Then he lowered his nose to the ground and moved down the side of the hill. Shane stood, shouldered his pack, then headed after the dog.

Libby followed, searching the ground for signs the four-wheeler had gone this way. The ground was too covered with pine needles to reveal tracks. Lifting her gaze to the trees around them, she frowned when she saw several that appeared to be dead, which was why there were so many needles carpeting the ground.

Disease? Lack of water? She wasn’t sure.

Quickening her pace, she caught up to Shane and Bryce. They were moving faster now. The dog apparently was on a mission, sniffing intently as he trotted through the brush. Thinking back to the shallow cave they’d left behind, she realized that while the search was continuing, she’d know next to nothing about her grandfather’s disappearance if not for Shane and his K9, Bryce.

Reinforcing the incredibly valuable service the Sullivan family provided to the community.

They walked in silence for several minutes. The image of the zip tie flashed in her mind. It wasn’t easy to focus on the positive when she had no idea how these guys were treating her grandfather. If they wanted something from him—what she no idea—it made sense that they’d give him food and water at the very least.

When Shane signaled for a break, she let out a sigh of relief. She walked around town to stay in shape, but this was a whole new level of hiking. Maybe she needed to rethink her exercise plan.

“Down, Bryce,” Shane said. The dog lowered himself to the ground, his tongue lolling to the side as he panted. The expression made Bryce appear to be smiling.

“How much farther?” she asked as Shane handed her a bottle of water from the pack.

He shrugged. “I think we’ll run into the clearing soon. I was hoping this guy had spent time elsewhere, but Bryce is heading toward the clearing.”

She took a long drink of water before handing the bottle back. “I was afraid of that.”

“Me too.” Shane drank from the water bottle, too, then poured the rest into the collapsible bowl for Bryce. “I was hoping this guy had other hiding spots in the woods. But it seems as if he stayed at the cave last night so that he would be close enough to try to sneak into the cabin.”

She nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Except for what he’s looking for in the cabin.” He sighed. “I’m starting to think we need to tear the place apart.”

“I already searched the place, Shane. I didn’t find anything that would explain this.” She waved a hand at the woods around them. “Certainly nothing that justifies why anyone would go as far as to kidnap my grandfather.”

“This guy has come back twice that we’re aware of.” Shane held her gaze. “His attempt to get inside early this morning indicates we’re missing something.”

She wanted to argue, but he had a point about the guy coming back to the cabin on two separate occasions, most recently in the middle of the night. Possibly wearing night-vision goggles to enable him to see clearly.

Maybe the guy had gone back while they’d been driving around searching for the four-wheeler trailer. She hadn’t noticed anything out of place inside the cabin, but that doesn’t mean someone hadn’t been inside to look.

“Okay, fine. We’ll go back and look again.” She sighed. “It doesn’t make sense that Grandpa would have hidden something like this from me.”

“You mentioned not seeing the photos and newspaper clippings in the box you found in his closet,” Shane reminded her. “I know you said your grandfather was adopted as a young boy, but maybe he knows more about his real parents than he told you.”

“Maybe, but I don’t see how his elderly parents could possibly pose a threat.” She shook her head. “No, I’m not buying that. I’m more inclined to think this is a case of mistaken identity. That these guys who took Grandpa think he’s someone he’s not.”

Shane shrugged without saying anything more. She sensed he didn’t agree with her. Then she remembered the sister she’d uncovered. A woman who would be her great-aunt. “I think we should go back to that DNA report. Maybe this is related to my grandpa’s sister. Or her kids.” The more she turned that idea over in her mind, the more she glommed onto it.

Maybe this was about simple greed. It could be that her grandpa’s sister or her family believed they deserved the cabin and ten acres of land.

And if that was the case, she’d gladly hand it over in exchange for getting her grandfather back safe and unharmed.

* * *

Shane wasn’t convinced the DNA report was related to Marvin’s kidnapping, but he was ready to head back to the cabin. He still felt like searching the place was their best chance at finding something helpful.

He rose to his feet and set the bowl of water near Bryce. “Are you ready to work?”

Bryce eagerly jumped to his feet and eagerly lapped at the water. When Shane offered the scent bag, he barely sniffed the strip of denim. Shane had wondered if Bryce’s alert at the cave was for the bad guy’s scent or Marvin’s.

Likely both. Bryce was smart enough to keep the two scents separate in his mind.

“Search! Search for Bad Guy.” Shane tucked the collapsible bowl back into his pack as Bryce lowered his nose and set off on the trail.

Consulting his compass, he estimated they’d reach the clearing in about ten to fifteen minutes. Following Bryce up and around the rock outcropping to the cabin had taken them at least a mile or two outside their normal search area. But from the clearing, he could easily find his way back to Marvin’s cabin.

As he followed Bryce through the trees, he pulled out his phone. Like yesterday, there was no service in the area. He made a mental note to touch base with Deputy Paul Holland. They’d left well before the deputy would have been on duty.

If the police hadn’t found the truck or trailer, then they were pretty much back to square one. Which led him right back to his idea of searching the cabin.

Bryce made an abrupt turn to the east. With a frown, Shane adjusted his course. “Search Bad Guy,” he called encouragingly.

The dog kept going at a brisk pace. Shane rested his hand on the butt of his weapon, ready for anything. They were making more than enough noise that the bad guy could easily hear them coming.

And he could very well be hiding nearby.

Yet he felt certain Bryce would growl in warning the way he had earlier this morning. Still, he didn’t like risking his dog. Or Libby.

Once more, he found himself leaning on prayer in a way he hadn’t for several years. Dear Lord, keep us all safe in Your care!

His heart lodged in his throat when he lost sight of his dog. He leaped over a fallen log, then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Bryce sniffing something on the ground. Then his dog turned, sat, and let out a sharp bark.

“Good boy!” Shane carefully scanned the area but didn’t see anyone hiding nearby. He glanced back to make sure Libby was coming, then approached the location where Bryce alerted.

There was nothing obvious on the ground. With a frown, he wondered what had caught Bryce’s attention enough for an alert.

A dark crimson stain on a leaf caught his gaze. He knelt to get a better look. Then he saw another drop of reddish brown a foot away.

Blood? He frowned, glancing at Bryce. His K9 sat straight and tall, his dark eyes boring into Shane as he waited for his reward.

“Good boy!” He pulled the ducky out and tossed it. “Good boy, Bryce.”

“What did he find?” Libby asked.

He hesitated, then remembered his promise to keep her informed. He gestured to the leaf. “Looks like a small amount of blood.”

“Grandpa’s blood?” Her face paled.

“No, I believe it belongs to our bad guy.” Shane pulled the scent bag containing the scrap of denim from the pack and lifted it for a closer look. “There’s a little bit of blood on this piece of denim fabric, too, see?” He handed it to her. “I think Bryce got a piece of him when he tried to take him down.”

“Then he really is a good boy.” Libby nodded in satisfaction.

“For sure. Interestingly, I don’t remember seeing any blood in the cave.” Shane turned to scan the area. “Could be our perp didn’t stop to examine his wound until he reached this location.”

“Maybe his leg wound will get infected!” Libby winced, then added, “I shouldn’t have sounded so excited about that. What I mean is, if the dog bite is bad enough to need antibiotics, the police might be able to grab him at the hospital.”

“Good point.” He pulled his phone out again. Still no service. But he used the device to take pictures of the leaves with blood on them. Maybe the deputies would be interested in seeing them. “We can’t call anyone yet. Let’s keep pushing forward. The sooner we put the sheriff’s department on notice about that possibility of this guy needing medical attention for a dog bite, the better.”

“Great.” Libby looked relieved to have another plan other than searching the cabin. He wasn’t sure why she was so resistant to that idea. “Bryce really is amazing that he was able to find the scent here.”

“For sure, he’s amazing.” Shane would praise his dog any day. “Come, Bryce.”

The shepherd trotted over and regurgitated the yellow ducky into Shane’s hand.

“Good boy.” He gave the dog a good rub. He decided against telling Bryce to search for the bad guy. The guy may have taken a different route down the mountain. Yet chances were good that Bryce would simply lead them to the road, the way he had yesterday. Knowing their bad guy had been injured, Shane figured it was more important to get in touch with the police. “Let’s go.”

Bryce sniffed the air with interest but didn’t resist as Shane turned back in the direction of the clearing.

Ten minutes later, the path widened into the clearing. Bryce sniffed the ground, then sat and let out a sharp bark.

“You’ve already alerted here.” Shane frowned, eyeing his dog. “And I didn’t tell you to search.”

Bryce simply sat staring at him expectantly. The best dog stare came from Maya’s dog, Zion, but Bryce was a close second. Shane debated for a moment, then decided it was best to keep the dog engaged. He dug the ducky from the front pocket of his pack and tossed it into the air. Bryce jumped up as if he hadn’t seen the ducky in hours rather having been rewarded a few minutes ago. “Fine, but hurry up and celebrate. We need to keep going.”

Libby grinned. “You’re such a softy when it comes to Bryce.”

Didn’t he know it. With a grimace, he nodded. “Yeah, well, it’s all about the search game. I need him to be excited to win.” He shook his head at how Bryce ran around with the ducky in his mouth. “Let’s go. Bryce will catch up.”

Shane double-checked his compass again before taking the lead. Thankfully, he had a good sense of direction, even back when Chase was teaching them how to avoid getting lost during night searches.

And it was easy to see the path they’d taken twice the day before.

When they reached the halfway point, his phone vibrated. He stopped and turned to pull the device from his pocket. There were several text messages from Joel and Alexis. “We have cell service.”

“Do you want me to call the deputy?” Libby reached for her phone too.

“Yes, please do.” He scrolled to his recent calls and found Alexis’s number. Taking a few steps away from Libby who was already speaking to the sheriff’s department, he called his sister.

“Hi, Shane,” Alexis greeted him. “We’ve been waiting to hear from you. Do you have another search expedition in mind?”

“Not yet.” He glanced at Libby, then gave his sister the abbreviated version of recent events, hitting the high points of Bryce taking off after the guy and coming back with a strip from his jeans. And the blood they’d found on the trail. “We’re heading back to the cabin now. We’re hoping this guy seeks treatment for his dog bite.”

“Good for Bryce,” Alexis agreed. “Joel wanted you to know we’re hanging around the ranch in case you need us. Maya and Chase left bright and early for a search and rescue mission in Jackson; two groups of tourists got split up in the mountains. Don’t worry, Maya promised to be careful,” Alexis added. Shane knew his sister was referring to Maya being four months pregnant. “Because of the recent calls, we’ve put the ongoing search for our parents’ plane recovery on hold for a while. Trevor and his K9, Archie, are working a missing hiker northwest of Cody, and Justin has his K9, Stone, in Yellowstone. As you know, Jessica and Logan are still on their honeymoon, so that means you have me, Joel, and Kendra if needed.”

As the baby of the family, Kendra tended to be used in search and rescue missions as a last resort. Not that she wasn’t smart and capable. Her K9, Smoky, was a great tracker. It was partially because they sought to protect her. Especially after Kendra had taken a bad fall in November of last year.

Still, he also knew that keeping Kendra out of the search would hurt his sister’s feelings. “Thanks, but I think we’re good for now.” He didn’t want to waste his family resources in the height of tourist season. Summer was the easiest time for them to search for their parents’ plane or any of the remains from the crash, but it was also when their search and rescue services were needed the most. Having several searches going on throughout the state wasn’t unusual. “I appreciate you and the others sticking around the ranch for a while, though. If things change, I’ll reach out. And if you get a call out, let us know too.”

“Sounds good. Later.” Alexis disconnected from the call.

“I spoke with the sheriff’s department dispatcher.” Libby crossed over to join him. “She agreed to get the message to all local hospitals to be aware of a guy with a dog bite on his ankle or lower leg and to call the police if he shows up seeking treatment. However, she also warned me not to get my hopes up because a patient presenting with a dog bite wasn’t an automatic report to the police.”

“That’s true. The only automatic reports are knife and gunshot wounds. But maybe the doc will be worried about a dog bite enough to make a call to the authorities.” He eyed his watch. They’d set out with Bryce at six thirty, and it was barely eight fifteen now. How much of a head start did this guy have on them? Hopefully not too long. “If they can put the hospitals on alert, we still stand a good chance of getting him in custody. By the time he made it off the mountain to reach the road and his vehicle, the closest hospital is at least sixty to seventy miles away. And even then, with it being tourist season, there’s a good chance he might have to wait for a while to be seen.”

“I hope you’re right about that.” She didn’t look encouraged. “I keep thinking if he’s smart, he’ll choose to hit an urgent care clinic. If that’s the case, he could have walked in and already be out by now.”

“Hey, where’s that positive attitude I’ve come to appreciate?” he asked with a half smile. “We know more now than we did when we headed out. Especially the part where Bryce left teeth marks on the guy.”

“Yes, that’s true.” She managed to smile back. “I’m grateful for everything you and Bryce have done for me and my grandfather.” She tilted her head to the side, regarding him thoughtfully for a long moment. “You know, Shane, you should smile more often. You look very handsome.”

He twisted his expression into an exaggerated smile that felt more like a grimace. “Like this?”

She threw back her head and laughed. “No, now you look like a crazed maniac who chases people through the woods with an axe.”

Since that was his intent, he smiled for real. Her comment about his looks shouldn’t have mattered, but it did. Strangely, he enjoyed spending time with Libby. Even with the seriousness of her grandfather’s disappearance, her cheeriness was rubbing off on him.

Something he never would have thought possible.

The memory of her quick kiss on his cheek made the back of his neck grow hot. He’d liked that, too, a little too much. He had chosen this career of search and rescue. Libby didn’t owe him anything.

“We should keep going.” Now that they’d come this far, he was anxious to get back to the cabin. “Bryce, come!”

The dog bounded toward him, dropping the rubber ducky into his outstretched hand. Bryce was well trained compared to Chase’s Rocky who would drop the toy on the ground rather than handing it to Chase.

“Good boy.” He stuffed the ducky away and hurried down the trail. He glanced at Libby. “Paul hasn’t reached out with an update?”

“No, but I mentioned that to the dispatcher too. About how I’d like an update on the investigation,” she clarified. “She promised someone would get back to me.”

He nodded without expressing his concern that in this situation, no news was not a good thing. Okay, maybe it was a relief that they hadn’t discovered Marvin’s dead body tossed along the side of the road, but it seemed to him that the police were no closer to locating Libby’s grandfather than they were.

“I’m sure we’ll hear from Paul soon.” He forced himself to sound positive.

She shrugged. As they rounded a cluster of aspen trees, her expression brightened. “I can see Grandpa’s cabin from here.”

“Great.” He was glad to know they were close. He glanced over to where Bryce was nosing the aspen trees with interest. “Come, Bryce.”

The dog immediately trotted over, his tail swooshing from side to side. As they emerged from the woods to cross the grassy area of the backyard, Bryce abruptly began to growl.

“Stop, Libby.” He halted in his tracks, his hand going to his gun. “You better stay here with Bryce while I check it out.”

“Wait, take Bryce with you,” Libby urged. “I don’t want you facing off with this guy alone.”

Unwilling to put her or his dog in harm’s way, he shook his head. “Stay back.” Before she could mount another argument, he broke into a run. His goal was to cross the open area as quickly as possible.

When he reached the back side of the house without anyone shooting at him, he considered his mission to be a success. Taking a deep breath, he edged toward the patio doors. Then he ducked back when he realized one of them was open a half inch or so.

Hadn’t Libby locked them? He couldn’t remember.

Holding his weapon ready in his right hand, he reached out to open the patio door with the other. Then he quickly stepped over the threshold. The interior of the cabin looked about the same. The blanket Bryce used for a bed was still on the floor, and the pillow and blanket he’d left on the sofa were still there.

Shane quickly moved through the house, making sure nobody was hiding there. He was about to head outside to check the cellar when he noticed something was different.

The box of pictures and newsletter clippings Libby had left on the kitchen table was gone.

Someone had come inside for the sole purpose of taking it.