Page 52 of Scent of Death

She didn’t want to go anywhere near the killer, but she knew he was right. Maybe the deputies could help with uncovering evidence they could use to nail this guy.

“Fine.” She stepped back and closed the hatch. “You can drive. I’m not well versed in evasive driving techniques.”

“You did great back there.” Griff crossed over to pull her into a hug. “I’m sorry this happened. Maybe I should drop you and Denali at the hotel. I can update the local cops on what took place.”

“No.” She didn’t want that either. “They’ll need my statement. Besides, I think it’s better if we stick together.”

“If you’re sure.” He released her and rounded the SUV to slide in behind the wheel. “They won’t be happy we didn’t notify them about the previous shootings.”

She shrugged, still feeling the effects of the jolt of adrenaline. “I was surprised you called them this time.”

He glanced at her before pulling back onto the road. When the road was clear, he made a quick U-turn to drive back toward Greybull. She was beginning to despise that small town. “I wasn’t sure if the vehicle was hit and, if so, how badly. If the gas tank had been hit, we may not have been able to get away.”

That possibility hadn’t entered her mind. She’d only cared about Denali. And Griff, too, but her K9 had been vulnerable in the back. “I should call my siblings to arrange for another vehicle.”

He nodded. “Hold off until we talk to the deputies. Maybe they’ll find something useful.”

She took several deep breaths to calm her racing heart. The more she thought about the shooter being in the neighborhood on the other side of the river from the main part of Greybull, the more she wondered about the two addresses they’d investigated.

Could the killer have left his truck somewhere else and walked to the properties? She felt certain Denali would have alerted if this guy had gotten close to the house.

Were they missing something? Some connection that would point them to the killer?

Possibilities whirled in her mind until her head began to throb. She massaged her temples as Griff returned to the scene of the shooting. He turned off the highway back to the small neighborhood they’d left just minutes ago.

Seeing the deputy’s vehicles up ahead in the road, red and blue lights flashing, made her feel a little better. Surely this guy wouldn’t make another attempt against her with the cops around.

Then again, it wasn’t as if Griff’s presence had put him off. Quite the opposite. She had the feeling the killer would gladly take them both out of the picture.

But her most of all.

She recognized Deputy Paul Holland and Deputy Cameron Newton. “What happened?” Paul asked.

Griff stepped forward. “We have a lead on the serial killer. A witness saw him getting into a light-colored Ram truck pulling a trailer with a four-wheeler on the back. We’ve been scouting the addresses in Greybull that have Ram trucks registered to the owners. Two of those properties are located here in this part of town.”

“No license plate number?” Cameron asked.

“Nope. The only reason we know it’s a Ram is because our fifteen-year-old male witness knows his trucks.” Griff gestured to the road beyond. “The first house we checked is that large brown one with the outbuilding. We thought that might be where the four-wheeler and trailer are stored. But Denali didn’t alert.”

Paul’s gaze shifted to her. “I thought Denali was a cadaver dog?”

“She is. But somehow she’s latched onto the killer’s scent. Probably because she knows he’s a threat to me.” She glanced at Griff. “You already know he took a shot at me near the burial site of the two missing girls. He also fired at us at the hotel, was that last night?” She’d lost track of time with everything that was going on. When Griff nodded, she went on. “And now this. If you look at my SUV, you’ll see where the bullet went in one rear passenger door and went all the way through and out the other side.”

Cameron frowned. “Show me.”

She turned and gestured to the smaller bullet hole on the passenger side. “The bullet went in here.” She walked around the rear to show the deputy the other side. “You can see it obviously exited here.”

“Yeah.” Cameron took several pictures with his cell phone.

Paul came over to see for himself. Then he turned toward Griff. “You didn’t see anyone shooting?”

“No. But I don’t think our checking these addresses and being fired upon in the same location is a coincidence.” Griff frowned. “I just don’t understand how this guy could be using one of these properties as a home base if Denali didn’t alert on either one.”

“Maybe there’s a hunting cabin in the vicinity,” Paul suggested. He gestured toward the large brown house. “The owner there could have another property.”

Alexis nodded. “We did consider the killer may be using a truck that belongs to a parent or sibling.”

“I’ll investigate that possibility,” Griff agreed. “The other house we checked is a little farther down. It’s a double-wide trailer home in rough shape. There’s no garage or outbuildings, and we didn’t see a truck either.”

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