Page 55 of Scent of Death

It was better by far than using Alexis as bait.

He didn’t see a pizza place along the way back, but vaguely remembered the pub across the street had them on the menu. “We’ll stop at the pub first.”

“Okay.” She tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “As I was saying before the gunfire, I like my pizza with the works.”

“Duly noted.” He tried to smile. “We’re getting close. I can feel it.”

“Not close enough.” She winced, then added, “Sorry, I’m just feeling depressed. It seems like every time we get one step closer, we’re thrown three steps back.”

“I hear you.” He understood and shared her frustration. The killer may have seen them coming to the neighborhood, managing to get away in time. The way he kept taking shots at them, though, seemed reckless. Sooner or later, someone would see and identify him.

Maybe the canvass would turn up something useful. “Stay here. I’ll head inside to order.”

She nodded, and he thought it was a testament to her exhaustion that she didn’t press to follow him inside. The place was packed, and he immediately realized they should have called in their order.

When he found a server, she confirmed his suspicion. “There’s a twenty-to-thirty-minute wait. You want to come back to pick it up?”

“Do you deliver across the street?”

“Yes. Give me your room number.” She took down the information, and he paid for the meal.

“I figured.” Alexis sighed when he returned to the SUV to give her the news. “Summertime is busy around here.”

He should have thought of that for himself. “They’ll deliver it when it’s ready.” Griff drove across the street and went around to the back to park. He opened the back for Denali.

Alexis hauled the large pack out of the back seat. It had been on the floor, or the bullet would have hit that too. “Come, Denali.”

He rested his hand on his weapon as he followed them inside. He paused at the doorway of their room. “I’m going to the business center to use the computer. Stay in the room with the door locked, okay?”

“Yes.” She nodded at the dog. “I’ll feed Denali and then wait for you before taking her outside to get busy.”

“Good. If the restaurant calls, let me know.” He had to resist the urge to kiss her. “I’ll be back soon.”

She nodded, used her key to unlock the door, and pushed it open. Denali went through first. Griff considered clearing the room, but Denali would have alerted if someone was inside. Especially the killer.

Leaving Alexis and Denali in the room wasn’t easy. He’d become accustomed to having her nearby. He wondered how he’d handle not seeing her once this was over.

The thought bothered him, but he shoved it aside. There was no time to think about his future. Not when Maureen’s life was on the line.

He settled down at the computer and began searching for relatives of Elise Sanford. If his theory of the cabin was correct, it could be in her mother’s name. Out here, property was often handed down from one generation to the next.

Ten minutes passed before he found an obituary for Elizabeth Holms. There, he saw the daughter’s name of Elise Sanford. He wasn’t sure why they didn’t have the same last name, until he realized that Elizabeth Holms was also divorced.

But best of all, there were two grandsons mentioned in the obituary. James and Tyler Jenkins.

More searching revealed James Jenkins had died three months ago in what had been deemed a suicide. Tyler didn’t have an online presence at all, which was odd. Most kids did.

He made a note of Tyler Jenkins’s name and continued searching for additional properties that may have been owned by either Elise Sanford or Elizabeth Holms.

Another ten minutes passed before he found it. Elizabeth Holms had a mountain home. And when he put the address into his map app, he was surprised to see it was located about halfway between Greybull and Shell.

That had to be it! He jumped to his feet and headed through the lobby. A harried-looking teenager came in holding a pizza.

“That’s mine, thanks.” He pulled cash from his pocket to give him a tip. Then he hurried down the hall to the suite.

He ignored the rumbling of his stomach at the mouthwatering scent of the pizza. There wouldn’t be time to eat. He needed to get to that cabin ASAP.

Silently praying that Maureen Kaufman would still be alive when he reached it.

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