Page 65 of Smoky Mountain K-9

“Carter?” Tristan’s voice carried from the arena.

Pivoting, he jogged back to the arena. The fierce frown that crossed Tristan’s face when Carter exited the stables said it all. It echoed the giant, heavy pit in Carter’s stomach.

“She’s not back there?”

“No.”

“That’s her horse.” Tristan pointed to the animal still trotting through the dirt.

“I know.”

Cursing, Tristan took his phone from his pocket. “I’ll call Gemma. Get her down here so we can gain access to the security camera feeds.”

Nodding, Carter looked at Jake. “We need to catch her horse. Put him back in his stall.”

Jake held up his hands. “I’m gonna leave that up to him.” He pointed a finger at his partner. “I don’t ride.”

Tristan hung up, shaking his head. “She’s on her way. I really need to get you both some lessons.” He walked toward the gate and let himself into the arena. Stinger stopped and eyed him. Using a gentle tone, he moved toward the horse and snagged his reins. Tired, the animal didn’t resist and followed Tristan into the stables.

Carter tried not to pace while they waited for Gemma. Instead, he put himself to work, helping Tristan unsaddle Stinger. They’d just finished putting his tack away when the rear door opened and Gemma walked in, her infant daughter, Meredith, strapped to her chest.

“Thanks for coming, Gems.” Tristan held up a hand in greeting. He smiled at the baby, running a hand over his niece’s dark head.

“Of course. Come on. Let’s go look at the cameras. I want to know what happened too.” She tipped her head toward the main offices, then set off toward them.

The three of them, plus Maverick, followed her deeper into the building. She led them to the reception desk and sat down, logging into the computer. Carter and the others crowded in behind her as she pulled up the security cameras.

“Rewind to closing time,” Tristan said. “If anyone was still here, they’d have noticed Stinger running around riderless.”

Nodding, she did as he asked, then hit play. They watched Pam leave, locking the doors.

“Split the screen to show all the interior cameras. Sync them up to this point.” Tristan pointed at the screen.

Gemma typed some commands into the computer. “I’m glad I learned how to work this software.”

“I’m glad Ben convinced Mara to upgrade the security system,” Tristan muttered.

So was Carter.

Once she had the cameras synced, Gemma hit fast-forward. Fifteen minutes after Pam left, a figure appeared at the front door.

“Slow it down.” Tristan put a hand on the desk and leaned forward.

Carter did the same on her other side, and Jake leaned over her back. Gemma slowed the video down to normal speed, and they watched.

The figure hovered near the door for several moments, then the door opened and the person walked inside. They had a hood drawn over their head, obscuring their identity, but Carter could tell it was a woman.

“Dammit, she covered her face. Again.” Carter sighed.

“Who is this chick?” Jake grumbled.

Gemma followed her on camera as she walked inside and went down the hallway, disappearing through the door to the arena. The cameras there were limited to the aisle that ran down the stables.

“Fast-forward again,” Tristan said. “Let’s see if she comes back this way or goes out the rear door.”

Hitting some keys, Gemma made the video go faster. A couple minutes after she entered, they watched her come back into the main office with Mara.

Carter’s heart picked up speed. He stared at Mara’s face on the screen, noting the anger in her expression and in the set to her jaw.