Page 53 of Scent of Death

“We’ll check it out,” Cameron said. “But if you think this guy has access to a cabin in the woods, I think the owner of the brown house is the more likely option.”

Griff consulted his phone. “The truck at that address is registered to a Calvin Jenkins. Does that ring a bell?”

Both Paul and Cameron shook their heads. “Nope,” Paul said. “And we know most of the troublemakers in the area.”

The name was vaguely familiar, but Alexis couldn’t place it. Had there been a Jenkins in the high school in Cody? She couldn’t imagine why Calvin Jenkins’s son would go all that way. This home was on the east side of Greybull. Cody was west of here. A few families on the west side of town had made the trip, but that was mostly for kids interested in playing football or basketball.

Greybull was small enough that they didn’t have a lot of options for sports.

“Can Denali find shell casings?” Paul asked.

She grimaced. “We can try, but that’s not her area of expertise. Many of the tracking K9s have been cross-trained to find gold, and I’ve tried with Denali. She’s hit or miss.”

“But she may find the bad guy’s scent,” Griff reminded her.

“True.” She knelt to a crouch beside her dog. “I’ll work that angle instead.” She scratched Denali behind the ears. “Are you ready? Huh? Ready to search? Search bad guy!”

Denali’s tail wagged, and the K9 quickly turned to sniff the ground. Alexis followed as did Griff. She scanned the area with apprehension. As much as she wanted to believe the killer was long gone, she didn’t put anything past him.

Especially now.

Denali didn’t follow a straight path, but veered one way, then the other. Her K9 headed north, which made sense as they’d been driving south when the SUV had been hit. She followed her K9 between two houses to the next road.

Denali picked up the pace, her nose to the ground now as if she’d caught the scent. Alexis felt her pulse spike with fear. Was the killer nearby watching their progress? Being out in the open like this made her feel vulnerable and exposed.

Griff came up beside her. “Are you okay?”

She managed a nod, even though she was far from okay. She kept her gaze on Denali as the dog turned and sniffed a specific section of the side of the road. Then she sat and let out a bark.

Alexis lunged forward to examine the area where Denali alerted. She didn’t see anything at first, but then she caught a glimpse of brass that was mostly hidden in the tall grass. “Griff?” She looked over her shoulder. “She found the shell casing.”

Griff quickly dropped down to see for himself. “Looks to be the same make and model as the other shell casing.”

“Let me see.” Paul must have been trailing them. He knelt beside Griff, then rose to his feet. “Looks like our perp was standing here with a rifle when he took the shot.”

Alexis shivered as she realized there was a direct line of sight from here to the street they’d been on. If she hadn’t turned at the right moment, the outcome could have been very different.

“I’m sure he was standing on the ground,” Griff said. “If he’d been positioned in the truck bed for example, the bullet would have struck the SUV higher.” He lifted his arms as if simulating a rifle shot. “And the bullet would have had a downward trajectory rather than hitting straight on.”

“Maybe this guy isn’t a hunter,” Paul said with a shrug.

“Oh, he’s a hunter.” Griff scowled darkly. “He just chooses to hunt young women rather than elk.”

Alexis shivered again. Only a very evil man would hunt and kill young women. Was Maureen already dead? She didn’t know.

Thinking of that poor girl had her steeling her resolve. She squared her shoulders. They needed to set a trap for this guy.

And if that meant putting herself in harm’s way, then so be it. Better that than to let him prey on more young girls.

Griff watchedas Paul bagged the shell casing. Every bit of evidence helped, but he was anxious to get back to the hotel to use the computer. If Calvin Jenkins owned a cabin nearby, he wanted to find it.

Even if that meant approaching the place at night.

“We need to get back to the hotel.” Griff began walking back to where they’d left the SUV. “There’s more work to do.”

“Understood.” Paul didn’t argue. “We know how to reach you.”

“I may need your help, though.” Griff eyed the deputy. “If I find this guy owns a cabin, I’ll want you and Cam and others to go with me.”

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