Page 14 of Scent of Death

No, they’d more likely run away from the sound. Or assume it was a hunter. Not that July was hunting season.

A second shot rang out. At first, her pulse spiked in alarm, until she realized Joel had joined the fight. She understood Griff and Joel were trying to warn the killer that there were two of them who were armed.

She prayed their plan would work. As the ringing in her ears faded, a heavy silence hung over the area. Seconds ticked off in her mind. She could barely see the wheels of her SUV. Or Griff’s. Hard to say for sure.

“Is he gone?” She spoke in a hushed whisper. Denali remained remarkably calm, despite the gunfire. That was due to Maya and Chase who had insisted they train their dogs while other members of the family were doing target practice at their firing range.

“I’m not sure.” Griff’s voice was low and grim. “I’d like to know how he found your vehicle.”

She frowned. Her car did not have the Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue logo stenciled along the side. The logo had been Chase’s idea, but after Maya was targeted back in January, her brother had realized announcing who they were to the world was a mistake. Over the past six months, the entire fleet of SUVs had been repainted in basic black. “I have no idea. My car does have the crate area for Denali, but how would he even know to look here?”

“I don’t know.” Griff shifted his position. “Joel? Do you see anything?”

“Negative,” her brother responded. “If he’s smart, he took off upon learning the odds were stacked against him.”

Griff grunted but didn’t let her up. After another long five minutes, Griff finally stood. “Stay here for a minute. I’ll try to draw him out.”

“What?” She lifted her head and grabbed his arm to stop him. “You can’t use yourself as bait.”

“Why not?” He shook off her hand and stepped out from behind the tree. She swallowed hard and watched as Griff slowly made his way to the SUVs.

His was parked beside hers and happened to be closer. He unlocked the car, then ducked inside to check the interior. After a few seconds, Griff gestured to her for the keys. She tugged the fob from her pocket and threw it toward him. He caught it and repeated the process of checking the interior of her vehicle.

When that was finished, he turned. “Joel, I’d like you to ask Royal to track for this guy’s scent.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Alexis quickly stepped forward. “This guy is armed and has not hesitated to shoot at us. He could take Joel and Royal out in a heartbeat.”

“We’ll do it,” Joel quickly interjected. “I’m with you, Griff. We need to know where he was and if he’s still in the area.”

“Joel,” she protested in exasperation.

Her brother ignored her, turning to his black lab. “Are you ready to search? Huh? Are you?” He offered Royal water. “Search! Search bad guy!”

Despite not having a scent source to work from, Royal turned and lowered his nose to the ground. Alexis shot Griff an annoyed glance, then caught up to her brother. “If you’re going, so am I.”

She half expected Griff to argue, but he didn’t. Maybe he knew it was better for the three of them to stick together.

Joel and Royal led the way. Remembering how Denali had growled seconds before the shock rang out made her wonder if Denali had recognized the scent of the bad guy too. They remained silent, and she knew Griff was keeping a wary eye out for their shooter as Joel focused on his K9.

Royal wound through the trees for a solid fifteen minutes until they came upon what appeared to be a path. It wasn’t one that had been used often, but the flattened grass and broken branches from low bushes indicated it had been used recently.

Sure enough, Royal picked up the pace, his tail moving from side to side as he sniffed along the ground. Alexis hoped Denali would alert them if this guy was hiding nearby. As much as she wanted Griff to arrest him, she was half hoping he’d left the area.

Royal veered off the path toward a tree with a low-hanging branch. Then the lab sat and let out a sharp bark.

“This is it.” Joel stared up at the tree branch. “He must have climbed up there. There are scuff marks on the bark.”

Griff crossed over to see for himself. Joel rewarded his K9, as Alexis glanced around curiously. “I don’t see any place where he could have hidden a car.”

“Yeah.” Griff rubbed the back of his neck. “What about the spent shell casing?”

“Hang on.” Joel called Royal over, took the stuffed beaver, and made Royal sit. “Are you ready to search? Search for gold.”

Royal jumped to his feet, spun in a circle, and pushed through the brush, his nose close to the ground. She and Denali stayed back, giving Joel room to work.

Within minutes, Royal let out a bark. He didn’t sit because the brush was so thick. Joel shoved the branches aside, peering at the ground.

“Found it.” Her brother glanced at Griff. “Have another evidence bag?”

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