Page 25 of Scent of Death

“Thanks.” She’d anticipated they’d make sure of that. They’d all learned early on to make sure their K9s were well cared for. The safety of their dogs was foremost in their minds. “Don’t forget to keep your phones close.”

“Ah, Joel? Anna just called.” Justin showed him the phone. “There’s a lost hiker near Antelope Butte. Apparently, she’s been missing since yesterday. Anna wants us to head over right away.”

Joel glanced at her. She gave him a shove. “Go. We’ll be fine.”

Griff came up to stand beside her as the twins and their dogs got settled inside the SUV. Within seconds, they were driving away.

“Does that happen often?” Griff asked, watching them leave.

“Calls for missing hikers? Oh yeah, especially in the summer.” She shook her head. “Compass training should be a requirement for anyone who intends to hike in the mountains. It’s easy to get turned around.”

“I had no idea the calls were that frequent.” Griff gestured to the SUV. “Let’s head to the campground. It’s almost eight. I’ll call the lab supervisor from there.”

Using the key fob, she opened the back hatch for Denali. She double-checked the supplies, then stepped back so Denali could jump in. She almost wished now that she hadn’t fed Denali early, but Anna’s homemade cookie bone would work as a snack later.

She drove through Greybull, heading east toward the campground. She gestured to the right when they passed a hardware store. “That’s where we’ll find trail cameras.”

“Good.”

They were asked to pay a fee for a day pass inside the campground. Griff passed the cash over, and they were waved through.

“I like that we had to pay,” Griff said. “Makes it less likely my suspect will show up.”

“I agree.” She pulled over into one of the first empty campsites she found. There was a fire pit and a picnic table. They climbed out and headed to the picnic table. “This is nice.”

Griff nodded and reached for his phone. She listened to his side of the call.

“Sue? I’m calling about some evidence that should be arriving at any moment.” He paused, smiled, and said, “Great. Yes, Logan is amazing. Listen, I really need those shell casings dusted for prints first thing. This is our only lead to a man who has brutally murdered two young women and likely has kidnapped a third victim.” After another pause, he said, “Thank you. I owe you a favor. Call me as soon as you have something.”

“That’s great that Logan got the evidence there so fast.” She bent to stroke Denali who had stretched out at the ground at her feet.

“Yeah, Sue was impressed.” He flashed a grin. “Claimed she’d have liked to marry Logan herself if your sister hadn’t snatched him first.”

“Oh yeah?” She arched a brow. “I’m sure Jess didn’t like hearing that.”

“Sue Schuman is fifty-three, so I’m sure Jess didn’t mind.” Griff sat beside her. “So now we sit here and wait for the hardware store to open.”

“Yep.” She felt bad, but she didn’t have a magic wand to make that happen sooner. She dug out her phone. “Let’s see if we can find Brent Wilson on social media.”

He nodded. “While you do that, I’ll get his address from his DMV records.”

She listened as he called the office to request the information. She had to go through several Brent Wilsons to find the one who appeared to be roughly the same age as the guy she’d gone to high school with. Unfortunately, his profile picture was him fishing, and there were no recent posts. Nothing for almost two years, she realized with a frown.

Had Brent stopped posting because he’d wanted to stay off-grid so he could hunt, kidnap, and strangle young women?

“Thanks.” Griff ended his call. “The last known address for Brent is Cody, but he’s due to have his license renewed next year.” He shrugged. “He could have moved without bothering to update his driver’s license. A lot of people don’t make that a priority.”

“Especially not if you’re breaking the law.” Suddenly she was leaning toward Brent Wilson being their guy. “I guess we’ll find out once you get news on the fingerprints.”

“Yeah.” Griff glanced at his phone. “Here’s a picture of his DL. Does he look the way you remember?”

She peered at Brent’s face. Truthfully, the photo did not do him justice. It looked like a mug shot, yet she recognized him as the same kid she remembered. “Yes.” She handed the phone back. “That’s him.”

Five minutes later, his phone rang. He quickly answered. “Sue? I hope you have good news for me.” As he listened, his face fell. “You’re absolutely sure? Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

“No prints?”

“Oh, they got a couple of prints, but there’s nothing in the system.” He sighed. “And they’re not a match to Brent Wilson. His fingerprints are on file.”

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