Page 1 of Scent of Peril

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Jessica Sullivan frowned when she spied Logan Fletcher’s plane making a wide arc above the ranch. Logan hadn’t mentioned stopping by, so she wasn’t sure what had brought him to their neck of the woods. Since losing their parents five and a half years ago, she lived on the Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue Ranch with her eight siblings. They’d turned the family’s former lush dude ranch into a renowned search and rescue operation.

Eyeing Logan’s plane, she had to acknowledge her feelings toward Logan were—complicated. She’d had a crush on him in high school—while he’d been dating her best friend, Ella. Then Ella had died of a drug overdose. Losing her friend had killed her crush, as Jess had held Logan responsible.

But he’d claimed he wasn’t involved. That he’d never done drugs and hadn’t even known Ella had started using them. Ella’s brother, Ethan, had also blamed Logan. Eight years later, she’d managed to forgive him to a point. But their once close relationship had been lost forever.

With a sigh, she glanced down at her K9, Teddy, a black Belgian sheepdog that had been trained as a narcotics dog. She’dworked for the TSA prior to her parents’ death. Since returning to the ranch, she’d begun cross-training Teddy on people scents to help their search and rescue operations. She might be biased, but Teddy was a quick learner. Eager to please, unlike Chase’s K9, Rocky. Spring was in the air, but there was still plenty of snow on the ground. Logan would land his prop plane on the makeshift air landing strip they kept plowed year-round specifically for this purpose. When it came to search and rescue, they never knew what method of travel they’d need to use.

“Come, Teddy.” She turned her back on her three-bedroom cabin to trudge across the ranch yard. As she approached the airstrip, she watched Logan land the plane with grace and skill. She had flown with him several times, along with Teddy, making sure her K9 wore earphones to protect his ears. She trusted Logan’s piloting skills. Standing off to the side with her dog, she waited for Logan to jump down from behind the pilot’s seat.

“Jess!” He jogged toward her. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I live here,” she said dryly. When he flushed, she waved a hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound sarcastic. What’s going on?”

“I was flying near the Bighorn Mountains earlier when I spotted what appears to be a piece of a tail fin from a plane.” His green eyes locked on hers. “I immediately thought of you. I think we should head over to check it out.”

A piece from her parents’ plane? Her heart thumped in her chest. Five and a half years ago, she and her siblings had scoured the mountainside searching for their parents and the plane without success. As it happened, her parents were flying with a friend who had not installed a black box, which would have helped them locate the wreckage. “Where exactly did you spot it?”

“Easier if I show you.” At her look of impatience, Logan shrugged. “To be honest, it’s several miles from the projectedpath of your parents’ route, so it’s not within the usual search zone. But I circled around twice to log the location before heading here.”

That made her frown. “It could be from any plane.”

“Maybe.” He agreed. “I still think it’s worth checking out.”

“Okay. Let me grab Teddy’s gear.” She didn’t want to leave her K9 behind. “I’ll make a few sandwiches too.”

“That sounds good. I’ll wait here.” Logan gestured to his plane. “I’ll do a quick maintenance check.”

Jess knew Logan took his charter flying business seriously. He was more than the pilot; he performed all the maintenance work on his three different planes himself. She appreciated the extra safety precautions.

Despite losing her parents to a small plane crash, she wasn’t afraid of flying. Thankfully, Teddy didn’t mind flying either.

Returning to her cabin, she threw extra dog food, water, and K9 protective gear into a duffel. She took a few minutes to slap a couple of thick ham sandwiches together and packed them along with some additional items in a smaller backpack for herself. She already wore all-terrain boots but swapped out her regular hat and gloves for woolen ones. The weather was mild now, but it was better to be prepared.

“Come, Teddy.” As she turned to head back outside, she debated letting Maya or Chase know her plans. Then she decided against it. There would be plenty of time to fill them in if they were able to find and retrieve the plane debris.

If she and Logan couldn’t find it, there was no sense in getting her older siblings’ hopes up. As a family, they’d come to grips with their loss. Their faith in God and in knowing their parents had everlasting life with Jesus helped. It was the not knowing what had happened or why their parents’ plane had crashed that hurt the most.

A mystery that remained unsolved all these years later.

She quickened her pace with the backpack snug over her shoulders and the duffel thumping along her side. Teddy trotted next to her, his snout in the air. Even when he wasn’t working, Teddy eagerly explored his surroundings with his nose.

Logan stepped back from the plane, then crossed over to take the duffel from her. “I’ll store this in the back. Go ahead and jump in.”

This was a routine they’d done often, but Teddy’s ears pricked forward as he sniffed the passenger seat of the plane. Then he abruptly sat and let out a sharp bark.

What in the world? That was Teddy’s alert for scenting drugs.

She took a step back, wondering if something else had caught the K9’s attention. Logan was still storing the duffel in the back, so she held Teddy’s gaze. “Search! Search for peppers!” Peppers was the word she used for drugs. She didn’t like calling them candy, the way some narcotics handlers did. She personally hated peppers, so that was the term she’d used for drugs, which she also despised. It seemed the most appropriate for working with Teddy.

Teddy jumped to all fours and sniffed the area around the plane again. Then in almost the exact same spot, he sat and let out a sharp bark.

“What’s up with Teddy?” Logan asked.

She whirled to face him. “You tell me. He’s alerting on drugs. Drugs, Logan. Since when do you transport drugs?”

“What are you talking about?” Logan reared back as if she’d slapped him. “I have never transported drugs.”

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