Page 18 of Scent of Fear

He jumped down and crossed over to where his dog waited. There were some crisscrossed footprints in the ground, none as distinctive as the heel print from earlier, but Shane didn’t doubt Bryce’s nose.

If his K9 said Marvin had been there, then he believed him. “Good boy,” he praised, tossing the rubber ducky. But even as he searched the two-track road, he realized the search was likely over.

The tire tracks here were large and wide, belonging to a truck or an SUV. Whoever had taken Marvin had driven the old man out of there.

Leaving them with nothing to go on.

5

Libby hopped off the four-wheeler to join Shane near the two-track road, her stomach tight with fear and dread. She’d been convinced that Bryce and the other K9s would be able to find her grandfather.

But seeing the truck tires on the ground was disheartening.

The rest of the team got off their machines as well, crossing over to examine the area. She noticed Joel and Alexis spread out with their dogs to expand the search of their surroundings. Bryce knew his job was done, as he shook his head from side to side with the rubber ducky in his mouth.

“Can we follow the road?” Libby asked.

“We can take the four-wheelers down the two-track, but does anyone know where it leads?” Shane glanced at Deputy Paul Holland. “Do you know if this goes all the way to the highway?”

Paul shrugged. “I believe so. Can’t say that I’ve been in this exact location before, though. I can say that Highway 14 is to the south of us. If this road doesn’t lead to the highway, it could be connected to another parcel of land.”

The possibility of finding her grandfather at some cabin lifted her spirits. “Shane? Can we check it out?”

He exchanged glances with his siblings who had joined them after their fruitless search of the clearing. “Sure.”

“Thank you.” She couldn’t tell if Shane was just being his usual grumpy self or if there was a reason he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of pushing forward. She told herself it didn’t matter as long as he and Bryce got the job done.

“Come, Bryce.” Shane waited for the dog to bring the ducky back. He put the toy in his pocket, then gestured to the ATV. “Up, boy.”

The dog gracefully jumped up onto the bench seat. She took a step back, wondering if he expected her to jump on a different ATV. But no, Shane looked at her. “He’ll sit between us; you’ll need to hold on to him.”

“Me?” Her voice came out in a squeak.

“He won’t bite.” Shane looked exasperated. “He’s a sweetheart.”

“Yeah, with huge teeth,” she muttered under her breath. She stepped up and onto the four- wheeler, sliding in next to Bryce. The dog sniffed her curiously, but as promised, he didn’t try to bite. She slipped her arm around the back of the dog. His fur was softer than she’d anticipated. “Good boy.”

Shane jumped behind the wheel and started the machine. Minutes later, they were back on their four-wheelers and heading mostly downhill on the two-track road.

She held on to Bryce with one hand and the roll bar in front of her with the other. It wasn’t easygoing. The two other dogs were running alongside the machines, seemingly full of energy. She understood why Shane wanted to rest Bryce. The dog had worked hard searching the mountainside all day.

Libby didn’t begrudge Bryce a break. She just wished his strong jaw full of sharp teeth wasn’t so close to her face.

Turning away from the dog, she scanned the area. The thick foliage made it difficult to see any dwellings. She thought there would have to be a driveway of sorts leading to the property, so she concentrated on looking at both sides of the dirt road.

But after a long twenty-minute ride, she could see the highway up ahead. Her spirits plummeted to the soles of her feet.

Whoever had taken her grandfather was long gone.

Shane stopped the four-wheeler, lifting his hand so the others behind him took note and did the same. Doing her best to hide her depression, she was about to slide out of her seat when Bryce turned his head and licked her cheek.

She couldn’t help but smile, even as she wiped the moisture away. The big, scary-looking dog was clearly a softy at heart.

“That’s Highway 14.” Shane jumped down and examined the two-track road. “I see the tire tracks, but it’s hard to tell if the poacher was hauling a trailer.”

“He must have a trailer, or he wouldn’t be able to get the four-wheeler and Marvin Tolliver out of here,” Joel said.

Libby noticed Alexis was bent over her dog, Denali, speaking in low tones. Then Alexis threw out her arm. “Search napoo!”

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