Page 13 of Scent of Death

“Our guy drives a vehicle that leaks oil.” He sighed, rising to his feet. “I guess that’s something.”

The parking lot was three-quarters of the way full, but there was nobody around now. He figured most of the cars belonged to those staying in tents.

“I’m sorry.” Alexis touched his arm. “I know this doesn’t give you anything to go on.”

“Not your fault.” He forced a smile. “I know more about our perp now than I did when I set out this morning.” He thought of the shell casing and pulled the evidence bag from his pocket, glancing at Logan. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to fly this to Cheyenne tomorrow to drop this at the evidence lab?”

“I’d be glad to,” Logan agreed.

“Thanks.” The bag had a label, so he signed it and then had Logan do the same. “Have the lab call me if they lift a print.”

“Will do.” Logan pocketed the bag and glanced at his wife. “Ready to go?”

“Wait, I don’t want to forget the bone either.” Alexis dug in her pack. “Ask Chase and Doug if we can get it tested for DNA.”

“It would be amazing if it belonged to our parents,” Jess said.

“That or the pilot.” Alexis shrugged. “Or none of them. Like I said, it’s a long shot.”

Nodding, Jessica pocketed the fragment. “Okay, we’ll see you back at the ranch.”

Joel and Royal stayed back. Griff glanced at Alexis. “Are you ready to head back to our SUVs?”

“Yep.” Alexis had her compass out. “We’re going to backtrack a bit, but they’re closer than the plane.”

He agreed with her assessment. Joel and Royal were a few feet away, playing with Royal’s stuffed beaver. The dog had alerted after all.

They turned to head back into the woods. Alexis and Denali took the lead. Griff stayed close behind her, leaving Joel and Royal to follow them. Joel didn’t know the location of the SUVs as he’d come via the plane.

To Griff’s surprise and supreme gratitude, the hike didn’t take as long as he had feared. The roads out here took many twists and turns, going around extremely large trees and fallen rocks. When they reached the road, he realized it was an offshoot of the one leading to the campground.

He’d been in such a hurry, he hadn’t noticed before.

“The car is up ahead,” Alexis called. Then she frowned. “Hey, Denali, where are you going?” The dog had begun to growl.

Alexis veered to the right to follow her K9 just as a crack of gunfire rang out.

“Down, get down!” Griff shouted as he threw himself toward Alexis who in turn was covering Denali with her body while trying to get the dog to safety behind a nearby tree.

“Where’s the shooter?” Joel asked.

It was a good question. And Griff had no doubt in his mind the serial killer had found Alexis’s vehicle and had waited for the opportunity to attack.

The earlier shooting may have been a warning, but not this one.

This time, Griff knew the guy had intended to take Alexis out of the picture, permanently.

4

Where was the shooter? Sandwiched between Griff and Denali, she couldn’t see much beyond the tree she’d used as cover. She knew her brother Joel and Royal were nearby, too, not that she could see them either.

The twelve-inch-wide trunk wasn’t enough coverage. If this guy had a scope on that rifle of his, he could easily kill her and Griff.

Maybe with one shot.

Her stomach knotted as she realized this guy had come there to wait for her. She had put the people she cared about and her dog in danger.

Griff pushed her closer to the ground. “Stay down.” Then he took aim and fired. She had no idea if he could see the killer or not. The gunfire was deafening. She wondered if any of the campers nearby would run over.

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