Page 41 of Scent of Death

Then he noticed the vehicle didn’t have a trailer hitch. Still, he decided to call in the plate number. “I need to know who this truck is registered to. Name, age, and residence.” He rattled off the plate number. After a few seconds, he had his answer.

“That truck is registered to Gerald Harp, age sixty-three from Cody. Does that help?”

“Only that we can rule him out. Thanks.” He lowered the phone. “False alarm on my part. This isn’t our guy. Keep going.”

Alexis nodded and made a turn in the parking lot of the restaurant. They passed a couple of other Ram trucks, but they weren’t the right color.

Hopefully, Tim Johnson hadn’t been wrong about that, he thought grimly.

The clerk at the hotel agreed to give them the same room back, mostly because the housekeeping staff hadn’t gotten around to cleaning it. “We’ve had several rooms turn over today. Suites aren’t in high demand.”

“We’ll take it without being cleaned, thanks.” He paid for another night, then led the way down the hall. Alexis and Denali followed.

Denali sniffed the room for a few minutes, then settled down as if recognizing they’d been there before.Smart dog, he thought. Alexis’s K9 was their best chance of finding the killer.

He only hoped Alexis and Denali wouldn’t get hurt in the process.

“There’s one way we can draw this guy out of hiding.” Alexis dropped onto the sofa. Denali curled up at her feet. “He wants me, right?”

“No.” Griff was shocked she’d suggested it. “I’m not placing you in harm’s way.”

“Take a moment and think it through.” Her voice was calm. “I trust you to keep me safe, and we can use local law enforcement as backup. My biggest concern is Denali.” She frowned as she bent to stroke her dog. “I don’t want to send her back to the ranch, but I don’t want her to get hurt either.”

“No,” he repeated. She was worried about the dog? He didn’t want this killer anywhere near Alexis. “We’ll find him using good old-fashioned police work.” He stared at his phone, willing the list of vehicles to pop up on the screen. “There’s no reason to use you or anyone else as bait.”

“Why not? You’d rather some other girl be taken against her will?” She shot him an exasperated look. “You want to find another dead body in his burial site?”

“No, but I don’t think he’s looking for anyone else.” Griff held her gaze. “We both know he’s focused on you. Maybe he is someone you know from Cody or from somewhere else. Maybe he delivered supplies to your ranch at some point.”

She sighed. “I hadn’t thought of the delivery angle. We’ve had plenty of supplies delivered over the past few months. Maybe he has been at the ranch. Unfortunately, I don’t see how that helps us find him.”

“Can you get records of those deliveries?” Griff wasn’t entirely convinced this guy had been on the ranch, but it was another angle to pursue.

He didn’t dare ignore a potential lead.

His phone rang, jarring him from his thoughts. “Flannery.”

“Griff? It’s Sue in the lab. I have the results on the dog food that was brought in an hour ago.”

He wondered how the Sullivan twins had gotten the evidence to Cheyene so quickly. Likely Logan had made the trip via plane. He really needed to reimburse the guy for fast-tracking his investigation. “What did you find?”

“The dog food was laced with arsenic. I believe a highly toxic brand of rat poison was used. Not a lot, but it would have been enough to kill the dog.” Sue hesitated, then asked, “Was one of the Sullivan dogs targeted?”

“Yes. Thanks for the information, I’ll pass it along.”

“I hope you get him, Griff.” Sue sounded upset. “Bad enough he’s killing women, but dogs too? The Sullivans helped my sister find her son when he got lost in the woods. I can’t believe anyone living in the area would target them.”

“I know, it’s not a good situation, but I’ll find him.” Griff strove to sound confident. “Thanks again, Sue.” He lowered the phone. “You were right. The dog food was laced with arsenic, likely from rat poison.”

Alexis nodded. “I knew it would be something like that. Although I don’t know who would have that type of rat poison around. Maybe the hardware store?” She jumped to her feet. “We should check. See if the clerk remembers anyone buying any today. I can’t imagine it’s an item that’s purchased often.”

“That’s a good idea.” He grinned. “You’re starting to think like a cop.”

“That’s what happens when you work with siblings who are in law enforcement. Come, Denali.”

The trip to the hardware store didn’t take long. It was fairly busy, and they had to wait in line before they could talk to a clerk. Griff flashed his badge. “I need to know if anyone bought highly toxic rat poison today.”

“Not while I was here but let me call the manager.” The clerk turned, and yelled, “Tony? The FBI wants to talk to you.”

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