Page 16 of Scent of Death

Denali thumped her tail at the sound of her voice, then closed her eyes.

Alexis stepped back and closed the hatch. Then she shrugged out of the pack and her utility belt, setting both items along with the extra supplies on the floor of the back seat.

When they were finally on the road, she glanced at Griff. “Do you have any leads on this guy? A place to start looking for him?”

“Not exactly.” Griff sighed, then asked, “Is it possible you know him?”

She reared back in horror. “No! How could you ask me that?”

“Hear me out,” Griff said. “You grew up in this area. Is there anyone you can think of who is capable of this? A guy from your school maybe? Or working in the area? Maybe someone who gave off a bad vibe?”

She sat back in her seat. “Nobody comes to mind, but if we’re talking about high school, I need to think about it.” She had done tutoring for several younger classmates in English and history. A boy named Kyle had mentioned his dog had died recently, and when she’d expressed condolences, he just shrugged and changed the subject. She hadn’t thought much about it. And his blasé attitude certainly didn’t make him a serial killer.

She couldn’t imagine anyone she knew on a first-name basis was capable of brutally murdering young women, then coming after her. It seemed as if that would take someone evil. Kyle had been appreciative of her help. So had her other students. Not one of them had come across as capable of doing something like this.

Yet there have been some serial killers like Ted Bundy, who had displayed an outwardly charming and charismatic personality.

She shivered. It was horrible to think that someone she knew on a personal level had done this. But deep down, she knew anything was possible.

Griff navigatedthe highway back to Greybull. There was more traffic on the roads than usual, but that could be a lingering effect of the Fourth of July holiday. He was glad that was behind them, or it would have been that much more difficult to find a hotel room.

The tourist season in Wyoming was short. In the fall, hunters came out in droves too. Some of them, though, brought their own campers to stay closer to the areas where they planned to hunt.

Knowing there were many strange faces around town would make it difficult to pinpoint his unknown subject. Was he wrong to believe the guy might be a local? He wasn’t a profiler like Agent Cheri Artez, but it made more sense to him that the killer had chosen the dump site somewhere closer to his home base.

He kept a wary eye on the rearview mirror but needn’t have worried. Joel stayed close behind them. He couldn’t see Denali and imagined she was stretched out and sleeping. He didn’t blame the dog for being tired. He was exhausted too. And hungry. The hour was going on five in the evening, and he hadn’t eaten anything substantial since breakfast.

He didn’t have Joel’s number, so when they approached the city limits of Greybull, he turned to Alexis. “Call your brother, have him meet us at Della’s Diner.”

“Okay.” She lifted her phone. “Joel? Griff wants to meet at Della’s Diner.” She listened for a minute, then sighed loudly. “Why on earth would Jess and Logan tell Chase? You know overprotective he can be.” Another pause, then, “Yeah. Okay. See you soon.”

“Problems?” Griff asked.

“No.” Alexis looked frustrated. “Chase wants me to call. Apparently, he’s upset I didn’t fill him in personally on everything that went down today. As if I’m not sitting next to the FBI.”

Griff shrugged. “He’s family. And somewhat of a father figure to the rest of you, right?”

“He’s family, and yeah, he and Maya stepped forward to keep us together after our parents died, but sometimes he takes it to an extreme.” She tucked the phone away. “I’ll call him after we eat and are settled in the hotel.”

He would have encouraged her to call now, but the sign for Della’s Diner was up ahead. Despite the early hour, the parking lot was packed. He swallowed a groan, hoping there would be at least one empty table available.

“Please open the hatch for Denali.” Alexis pushed out of the passenger seat.

He did so, then shut down the engine. Joel had to settle for a spot farther down because of the limited options.

“Don’t worry, girl,” Alexis said to her dog. “You can sleep under the table while we eat.”

Joel and Royal strode toward them. “Too many tourists,” Joel grumbled. “I hope we don’t have to wait.”

“Me too.” Griff headed to the door, holding it open for Alexis.

Thankfully, a table of four stood to leave when they walked in. Alexis slipped past them to snag the booth, stacking the few empty dishes to the center of the table. Griff was a little surprised that Royal and Denali crawled beneath the table to sleep. He’d figured they’d want to play, but the events of the day had worn them out.

It didn’t take long for a young, harried server to clear the dishes and wipe the table down. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll have the chicken sandwich with fries, thanks,” Alexis said.

“Cheeseburger and fries for me,” Griff said.

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