Page 5 of Scent of Peril

“Are there any markings on it?” Jess was breathless as she joined him. Teddy, too, sniffed at the metal with interest.

He carefully turned the tail fin in his hands. “No, I don’t see any markings. Other than the rust from being in the elements.”

Jess frowned. “So we really can’t say for sure that this is a part of my parents’ plane.”

“No, we can’t. But we can have it tested. Maybe there’s a forensic way to identify how long this has been lying here.”

“I like that idea.” Jess’s blue eyes filled with hope. “I’m so glad we came.”

He was too. Anything for her to look at him like that.

A crack of gunfire rang out. Dropping the tail fin, Logan grabbed Jess’s arm, pulling her toward the closest tree. But she jerked free to turn toward her dog. “Teddy, come!”

The dog ran toward her as another shot rang out, striking the tree not far from Jess. She threw herself over Teddy, hauling the dog behind the tree. Logan covered Jess’s body with his, his mind racing. That last bullet had been too close for comfort. Whoever was shooting at them wasn’t hunting for wild turkeys.

Was this about his recent charter? Or something else?

Logan could only hope they’d survive long enough to find out.

2

Who was shooting at them? Jess huddled between Logan and Teddy, sweeping her gaze over the landscape. Two shots fired, but now there was nothing but silence.

“What’s going on?” She peered up at Logan. He was close, covering her body with his. She was touched by his protective gesture. “Did you see anything?”

“No. I only heard the shots.” Logan’s expression was grim. “I think they’re from a rifle, not a handgun.”

She frowned. “How do you know?”

“It’s a guess.” He grimaced. “The gunshots weren’t as loud as they would be if fired from a handgun at close range.”

“A hunter?” She found that hard to believe.

“No. I don’t think any hunter would be stupid enough to fire at two people. The bullet struck a tree branch over our heads.” There was a pause, then he lifted his chin to the right. “I think the shots came from that ridge up there.”

She quickly scanned the ridge but didn’t see anything. “Are you sure?”

“Not for certain. See that outcropping of rock? That would be a good position for someone to use for a rifle shot.”

“I could ask Teddy to search for gold,” she said.

“Gold?” He frowned.

“Maya has encouraged us to cross-train our dogs for other scents. We use the term gold to identify gunpowder and gun oil,” she explained. “Teddy has a good nose. I’m sure he’d be able to locate the bullet.”

“That’s not necessary. I don’t think the bullet will tell us much. Besides, it could have gone another hundred yards before stopping. No sense risking our lives by sticking around for much longer.” He straightened and lightly rested his hand on the center of her back. “Stay here with Teddy while I check it out.”

“No, don’t.” She grasped his arm to prevent him from leaving. “As you pointed out, there’s no reason to stay here. If that outcropping along the ridge is where the shooter had been standing, then we need to get out of here. I don’t want to leave the metal part of the plane behind, though. We need to take that along with us.”

He hesitated, his gaze sweeping the ridge. Then after a long moment, he nodded. “You’re right. It’s smarter for us to head back down the mountain. But we need to stay in the trees as much as possible.”

No argument from her on that plan. “Give me a minute to grab the piece of plane we found.”

“I’ll do it.” Before she could protest, he darted out into the clearing. Snagging the plane part up from the ground, he spun and ran back to the cover provided by the trees.

“It’s bigger than I thought,” she confessed. “Do you think it will fit in one of our backpacks?”

“Oh yeah.” He shrugged out of the pack and began rearranging the items inside. She held the tail fin in her hand, examining it again more closely. There was plenty of rust, butno markings. She’d hoped that finding this would help them identify if the part came from her parents’ plane.

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