Page 24 of Wired Justice

“I see why this area is called a rain forest.” Sophie spotted the mile marker where Webb and Rayme claimed they had let Julie Weathersby out. “There! They said she ran away into the jungle as soon as they opened the door of the car.”

Jake navigated over to the side of the road. They sat, waiting for the rain to lighten up, and eventually it did. Ginger whined to be let out, and they walked back and forth near the mile marker sign as Sophie searched for any hint of Julie’s presence. With the recent rainfall and the intervening hours, there was nothing to see.

Ginger squatted, doing her business on a rock near the signpost, and then gave a sudden bark. She yanked the leash right out of Sophie’s hand and charged into the deep brush, jumping over a roadside ditch. Sophie rolled her eyes. Here we go again. “Ginger! Come back!”

Sophie jumped the overgrown ditch and ran after her dog, feeling a familiar discomfort in her belly as she remembered that the last time Ginger had acted like this, they had found a massacred family.

Sophie tripped over something and drew to a halt because Ginger had stopped and was waving her tail.

The pack lying on the ground was a serious hiker’s model with a carbon-fiber frame, and the compartment done in camouflage greens. Ginger nosed around the pack, sniffing thoroughly. This was Julie’s pack! Sophie recognized it from the photo they’d been showing around. Making a visual survey of the area, she spotted Julie’s boots tossed aside, and a scatter of discarded clothing.

This could be a crime scene.

Sophie stood very still. “Come, Ginger.”

The dog finally came. She caught the Lab’s leash and held it close.

The story told by this scene did not match the couple’s description of abandoning the girl after just taking her cash and jewelry. Wherever Julie was now, she was naked and unshod—and that was not a good sign.

Sophie tightened her grip on the leash, afraid to let go—would the next thing Ginger found be Julie’s body?