Page 70 of Smoky Mountain K-9

“Jake’s going to send the drone up. We’ve still got ten minutes.”

Edginess filled Carter. That wasn’t a lot of time. “Tell him to hurry. I want time to get past anything she’s rigged up.”

Ben nodded and put his vehicle in park, getting out. In moments, Jake had a small black drone out of the rear of the car and in the air.

The three of them crowded around him, watching the image on the screen attached to the remote he held. It whisked above the treetops, quickly locating the cabin and Constance’s car. Jake brought the drone lower and confirmed her license plate, then circled the house. Carter took note of the doors and their lack of outside lighting. It would be harder to see, but it also meant she would have a harder time seeing him.

“You see any cameras?” Ben asked.

“Not on the main building.” Jake lofted the drone and flew it over to the small shed at the rear of the property. It, too, looked devoid of electronics.

“Switch to thermal,” Carter said. He wanted to know where they were, and if it was just Constance they were dealing with, or if she’d roped someone else into her scheme.

The screen changed, and a gradient of blues and greens appeared. Except in the main room of the cabin. There, two bright red, people-shaped blobs appeared. One was moving, the other stationary. Jake surveyed the shed as well as the immediate area around the cabin, but they only saw the two heat signatures.

“I’ve seen enough. Let’s go.” Carter walked around to the passenger side of his vehicle and removed the backpack he grabbed from his house. When he shut the door, the others stood near the hood of his car.

“You guys can follow, but don’t get close. Ben, I know this is your show, but none of you have experience with land mines and IEDs.”

The sheriff held up his hands. “By all means, lead us in.”

Tristan held up an ear piece, small microphone, and battery pack. “Put this on.”

Carter took the comm unit and donned it. “Are we ready?”

The others nodded. Carter took a step toward the rear of his vehicle and opened the kennel door. Maverick jumped down and barked.

“Mav,ruhig.”

Immediately, the dog quieted. Carter snapped the leash to his harness. “Fuss.”

Together, he and Mav made their way up the lane. Carter trained his eyes on the ground, sweeping the road with his flashlight. With where Constance’s car was parked, he figured the road to that point was clear, but he wasn’t taking any chances. She could have put mines where the car wheels didn’t travel.

They made it to the rear of the Ford SUV without incident, and he flicked off his light. He pressed the mic button on his comm. “Clear to the vehicle. Don’t enter the yard.”

Ben’s quiet affirmative came through the earpiece.

Keeping Mav tucked close, Carter edged his way past the car, using the moonlight as a guide and praying it was enough. Constance would see his flashlight if she looked out the front window, so he couldn’t use it. Watching every foot placement either of them made, they circled the cabin, staying in the shadows close to the tree line, and came up from the rear.

He repeated the commands for Mav to heel and to stay quiet, then slowly advanced. Back here, with the only window set into the back door, he chanced the flashlight. About twenty feet from the door, it glinted off a fine filament hovering just above the grass.

She was good. If he hadn’t been looking, he wouldn’t have seen it. Checking the ground beyond, he noted it running toward the house before he lost it in the low light. Carter grabbed the handle on Maverick’s vest and lifted the dog over the wire, carrying him a few feet before setting him down. He located the filament again and followed it to where it snaked under the door.

Carter let out a soft curse. There was no telling if the wire was hooked to a mine on the door, or if it was a decoy meant to scare him into going around front. Or knocking.

Backing up a few feet, he activated his mic. “I’m at the back door. It’s booby-trapped.” He crouched, opening the backpack to retrieve the small camera he took from the SWAT equipment room.

“Don’t go in.” Ben’s voice was stern in his ear.

“I’m using the snake.” Unfolding the camera, he turned it on and threaded the scope under the door, leaving it flush with the frame as he looked around. Mara sat tied to a chair near the fireplace. Constance paced, avoiding the windows, but stopping at the edge to look out.

He pressed his mic again. “Stay in the shadows. She’s watching out the front window.”

“Copy.”

Turning the thin cable, he found the filament. It wasn’t fixed to the door. Instead, it ran along the floor through a series of eye bolts and under Mara’s chair.

“Shit,” he whispered. His heart jumped into his throat. Mara was sitting on a mine. He pressed the button on his mic. They needed a better plan.