Page 50 of Scent of Death

Then again, if the guy was a trucker, he had a work vehicle that could have been used for his abductions and murders. He knew the perp used the Ram truck to tow the four-wheeler to the campground parking lot, but the actual killings may have taken place in a different vehicle.

The inconsistencies were driving him crazy. What if they were wrong about him being a trucker? Or about the Ram truck?

His thoughts whirled, and he abruptly stopped and opened his heart to prayer.

Please, Lord Jesus, grant me the wisdom to find Maureen before it’s too late!

The prayer helped calm his fears. When he realized Alexis had turned onto Rimrock Road, he looked at his phone to verify the house number.

“It’s the large dark-brown house set back from the road. I don’t see a truck in the driveway, though.” His pulse kicked up a beat. “But there is a big outbuilding. See how the driveway is formed in a Y? One branch leads to the house and garage, the other to the outbuilding. Maybe that’s where he keeps the four-wheeler and trailer!”

“Or a boat.” Alexis gestured to the water. “See how the back of the house is situated up against the river? The owner of this house may have a fishing boat and trailer back there.”

“Spoilsport,” he groused, although she had a point. It was hard to imagine a serial killer living in a nice house like this one. He just wanted something tangible to help find this guy. “We’ll check it out the same way as before. You take Denali around the driveway. Since there’s an outbuilding here, I’m going up to the door to see if anyone is home.” What he really wanted was to look inside the outbuilding, but he knew it was likely locked. Most people didn’t lock the doors to their homes out here, but something that held boats, ATVs, and other large recreational vehicles was an exception to the rule.

“Works for me.” Alexis opened the back and paused, glancing at him. “I need to feed Denali dinner shortly. I gave her one of Anna’s cookie bones earlier, but it’s still been a long time since breakfast.” She grimaced as she slid out of the car. “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m getting hungry too.”

“Me too. We’ll take a break soon.” He winced as he eyed his watch. It had taken them an hour to check the first three properties. Granted, that included the call with Cheri Artez, but still. “This shouldn’t take long.”

“Okay. Hey, girl, are you ready? Huh?”

Griff let Alexis and Denali do their thing. Resting his hand on the butt of his weapon, he approached the house. Up close, he noted the property had been well maintained. He knocked on the door sharply.

Nobody answered.

His pulse kicked up with anticipation. Was the killer hiding inside? He turned to watch Denali for a moment, then knocked again.

Still nothing.

He moved to the side to peer into the window. Unable to discern any movement, he turned and headed back to the driveway.

Denali sniffed intently along the edge of the garage door but hadn’t alerted. He hurried to the outbuilding and tried the door.

As he feared, it was locked.

Denali trotted toward him. Still no alert. His shoulders slumped as he realized this was another dead end.

“The garage and outbuilding don’t have windows,” Alexis observed. “That’s rather odd, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but maybe the owners don’t want kids peering in to see their stuff.” He managed a smile, despite feeling depressed that the Ram truck lead hadn’t produced a perp. “Only one more house to check.”

“I think you should keep this one on the list,” Alexis said, as they got settled back in the SUV. “We haven’t seen the truck, and maybe the killer had removed the SUV and trailer a while ago. He may be staying somewhere else, instead of coming back here.”

“I will. Although I’m starting to worry that our guy isn’t living in Greybull after all.” He consulted his phone. “The next house is up off Horseshoe Lane. That’s not far from here.”

“I passed the road on the way here,” Alexis said. “It circles around the subdivision.”

When they reached Horseshoe Lane, he found the property in question. This one was the complete opposite of the previous home. The house was a double-wide trailer without a garage. The gravel driveway was rutted. It was exactly the place he’d imagined a serial killer would live, except for the fact that their perp had access to an ATV and trailer.

Not to mention a Ram truck. Even used, they weren’t cheap.

“I’m staying close to you while Denali sweeps the area,” he said.

“No argument here.” She grimaced. “I can just imagine somebody inside with a rifle aimed at anyone who dares trespass.”

He didn’t like putting Alexis in danger, but skipping it wasn’t an option. The owner of this double-wide had a Ram truck registered to this address. He forced himself to get out of the car. “I’ll stay between you and the house.”

He kept a wary eye on the front door and main window as Alexis revved up Denali to search. Then he made sure he was ahead of the pair as they went to work.

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