Page 44 of Scent of Death

The bad guy must have gone over the log too. Had he carried Maureen over it? How had he kept the girl quiet?

“Alexis?” Griff’s voice floated to her. “Everything okay?”

“Yes. Denali is on it.” She flashed a reassuring smile over her shoulder, then continued after her dog.

Griff caught up with her a minute later. “The parents are wrecked.”

“I don’t blame them.” She didn’t envy his job of letting them know their daughter had likely been abducted by a serial killer.

“I called my boss, told him to have the profiler call me the minute she lands.” He shook his head. “I just can’t believe he struck so close to his previous victim. I’m worried he’s losing control.”

“He’s emotionally disturbed.” She frowned when Denali disappeared through the trees. Breaking into a run, the backpack jostling with every step, she closed the gap.

“Denali?” She was suddenly afraid something had happened. But as soon as she broke through the trees, she slowed. Denali was there, sniffing along a dirt road.

Then her K9 sat and barked.

Alexis crossed over to her dog. “Good girl, Denali! Good girl!” She tossed the pink piggy behind her to keep the dog from messing up any potential evidence.

“Is this the end of the trail?” Griff joined her near the road.

“Yes.” Dropping to a crouch, she examined the ground. There hadn’t been any rain recently, but she could still make out the barest image of a tire track. She glanced at Griff, who’d knelt beside her. “Is it possible this belongs to a Ram truck?”

“I’m not a tire expert, but we can hope it’s a match.” Griff took pictures with his phone, then fiddled around with it for a few minutes.

She straightened, watching Denali play. She felt sad, angry, and full of despair over Maureen’s abduction. And other than the light-colored Ram truck, they had nothing to go on to find this guy.

They were running out of time to rescue Maureen. The only idea she could come up with was to use herself as a lure to draw him out. And now that there was another missing girl’s life on the line, she would not accept no as an answer.

Griff had foundthe tires that were typically used on Ram trucks, and to his inexpert eye, they matched the track Denali had found. He’d need the lab to tell him for sure.

Even that wasn’t something he could use in court. Not unless they found the actual truck used in the abductions. There was always the possibility the owner of the truck had changed the tires to a brand that wasn’t standard. Out here, tires needed to be replaced more frequently than those driving in the city.

He turned as Alexis and Denali joined him. Alexis had the pink piggy in hand. Under different circumstances, he’d have smiled at the way she carried Denali’s reward.

There was nothing to smile about now. Maureen Kaufman was the serial killer’s next victim, and if they didn’t figure out who this guy was soon, they’d likely find her dead body.

He drew in a deep breath, fighting to remain calm. He couldn’t let this case get to him on an emotional level. He needed to think like this guy. To figure out who he was. Based on the two most recent abductions being here in Greybull, he leaned toward believing the killer lived here or at least used the town as his home base. He’d taken the other victims from Casper and Jackson.

Simon was also from Jackson, but Griff didn’t see him as the killer.

Hopefully, the list of Ram trucks would point them to a suspect. “We need to head back. I need to let the Kaufmans know that we lost the scent trail and that we know there’s a serial killer in the area.” A pit of dread formed in his stomach. He hated this part of the job. The news would terrify them.

Especially since he didn’t have much of a lead. He’d gotten the list of light-colored Ram trucks, so he and Alexis could work on that.

It seemed too little, too late.

He walked in silence for a minute, dreading the conversation looming before him. Then he sighed. “Maureen’s abduction is likely to hit the news very soon.” He had hoped for more time before the media frenzy descended on the town.

“Will that work against us in finding him?” Alexis asked.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “To be honest, it doesn’t matter at this point. Maureen is his fourth victim, unless there are others we don’t know about. I’m surprised we’ve been able to contain the news this long. Some serial killers enjoy the attention. It makes them think they’re smarter than the cops and federal agents.”

Alexis grimaced as they hopped over the fallen log. “I don’t like giving him anything he wants.”

“I don’t either. But it’s time to put the entire state on high alert.” He worried the killer was spiraling out of control. The only good news was that being rushed might cause the killer to make mistakes. “Teenage girls need to be careful and stay close to home or make sure they’re with friends until we catch him.”

“It’s not like Maureen wandered away from the campsite.” Alexis frowned. “The smashed cinnamon roll tells me he caught her there and somehow managed to get her away without waking up her family.”

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