Page 62 of Scent of Peril

About what? She hoped she wasn’t reading into his comment as she nodded, then pushed away. “I’d like that. Very much.” She cleared her throat and turned toward her K9. “Here, Teddy.” She waited for her K9 to bring his stuffed moose back. “Hand.”

Teddy regurgitated the moose so that it dropped into her palm. She tucked it away, then stroked her palm over the animal. “You’re a very good boy.”

Teddy wagged his tail with enthusiasm.

“He found me in the tunnel and made it clear I was to follow him back to rescue you,” Logan said as they headed back down the tunnel. Logan used his flashlight to illuminate the way. They had to step around Benton’s dead body to continue. “I find it amazing how he can make himself understood without saying a word.”

“It’s his eyes,” she agreed, suddenly feeling weary. The adrenaline that had zipped through her bloodstream while she’d been tied up and fighting for her life had faded fast. “They bore into yours as if he’s determined that you’ll read his mind.”

“Yes. How does he do that?” Logan shook his head. “It’s amazing and a little creepy at the same time.”

“Teddy is not creepy,” she protested. “He’s the best dog ever.”

“Yes, he is.” A smile tugged at the corner of Logan’s mouth. “But that stare of his is still unsettling.”

Hard to argue that. They walked in silence for a few minutes, Logan playing his flashlight off the walls ahead. She felt certain they were on the right track, but as the minutes ticked bywithout any sign of the cave opening, a wave of apprehension washed over her.

“Wait.” She grabbed the back of Logan’s jacket. “I’m not sure we’re going the right way. Each of these tunnels looks the same to me. And since I didn’t have a flashlight, I didn’t notice any of these markings.” She waved a hand toward some of the marks and holes in the tunnel walls.

Logan played his light over the cave floor, but the damp, packed earth didn’t reveal any clues. He met her gaze. “Will Teddy lead us out?”

“It’s worth a shot.” She knelt beside her dog, trying to come up with a way to get him to head outside. “Do you need to get busy? Huh, boy? Get busy.”

Teddy stared at her for a moment, then turned to head back the way they’d come. Sensing Logan’s concern with Teddy’s taking them backward, she shrugged.

At this point, she trusted Teddy’s instincts far more than her own.

Logan knewthere were worse things than being lost in an old gold or silver mine, but he was hard-pressed to come up with one at the moment. Maybe because there was still at least one gunman at large.

With the distinct possibility of many more. After seeing the staging area, he was convinced the actual drug manufacturing was being done by others close by.

Yet it was odd that they didn’t hear anything, not the murmur of distant voices. Not even the rest of the law enforcement team. He didn’t like spending time down here anymore than Jess did.

And really, he’d expected Doug to be there by now. The plan was to tell the others to find another entrance into the mine and then to come after them. Had something bad happened? He decided not to mention that possibility to Jess. She had enough on her mind. Not least of all being forced to shoot Benton.

Their main concern had to be getting out of this cave alive. From there, they could discuss their next steps. As far as he was concerned, they’d found Benton and the drug stash, so there was no reason to keep Jess and Teddy on the search team.

He’d ask Shane and Doug to send them back to Cody as soon as possible. Granted, that would mean hiking back through the forest, but that had to be safer than sticking around the mine.

When Teddy turned at the next corridor, he frowned. Had they really taken a wrong turn at this Y in the tunnel? As much as the K9’s scent tracking impressed him, he wasn’t totally convinced the dog would be able to find their way out.

Playing his light down the right side of the tunnel, he could just make out the lump of Benton’s body. Seeing the dead guy brought a sense of relief.

They had taken a wrong turn.

“Get busy, Teddy,” Jess said encouragingly.

The dog trotted down the other branch of the tunnel. Presumably the correct one that would lead to the outdoors.

Once they reached the room with the boxes, Logan was glad to realize they were on the right track. They crossed through the open space, entering the tunnel on the opposite side. The boxes were evidence, but there was no point in trying to haul them out now.

That was a job for the law enforcement officials.

After walking for a full ten minutes, Teddy lifted his nose to the air. Then his tail began to wag.

Logan cupped his hands around his mouth. “Doug? Doug, are you there? Can you hear me?”

“Logan? Jess?” Doug’s voice reverberated off the walls. “Everything okay?”

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