Page 24 of Scent of Death

Griff, Joel, and Justin exchanged pained glances.

“You know I’m right,” she added after a long moment. “About being a distraction and keeping the danger away from the ranch.”

“You can be the one to tell Chase,” Justin said. “He’s likely to bite our heads off.”

She rolled her eyes. “You make him sound like an ogre. He’ll be fine. You can point out that he didn’t bring the rest of the family into his predicament back in February for the same reason.”

Joel and Justin looked at each other and shrugged. They didn’t say anything more as they finished their meals. Louise cleared their plates and left the check on the end of the table. Griff snatched it up before anyone else could move. When he reached into his pocket for his wallet, Justin put a hand on his arm. “We’ve got this.”

“No, I do.” Griff frowned. “Your family is doing more than enough to help me. Buying breakfast is the least I can do.”

Justin glanced questioningly at her. She shrugged. “I’m sure Griff can put it on his expense account.”

Griff nodded, but the way he avoided her gaze indicated he had no intention of doing that. The thought of his expense account reminded her of the FBI profiler that was due to fly into town.

“When does your colleague arrive?” she asked.

“Not sure. I told her to call me when she lands.” Griff placed cash on the table. “I need to call the lab, but we’ll need someplace safe to hang out before we can buy the trail camera.”

“Maybe with the tourists around, we can hide in plain sight.” She gestured to the window where the city was beginning to wake up. Even in a town as small as Greybull, there were pedestrians milling about outside, enjoying the warm summer weather. “We can always take Denali to the park.”

Griff frowned. “This guy knows what Denali looks like.”

That was true, but she couldn’t come up with an alternative. “I’m open to other suggestions.”

“Try the Greybull campground,” Joel suggested. “Plenty of people and your guy probably won’t look for you there.”

“Okay. That works.” Griff looked relieved to have a plan. “Let’s get out of here.”

Her brother’s stood, and their respective K9s quickly scrambled out from beneath the table. Denali emerged last, her tail wagging with excitement at the prospect of playing outside.

She followed her siblings out. Within seconds, the dogs were jumping and running around the open area to the left of the café. She shook her head wryly, then held out her hand. “I need the keys to the SUV.”

Joel handed them over. “Are you sure, sis?” He kept his tone low so Griff couldn’t hear. “We can find a place in Cody to keep you safe.”

“I’m sure.” She was touched by his concern. “Thanks, though.”

He held her gaze for a long moment. “You care about him, don’t you?”

“What?” Her cheeks heated. “No, I mean, yes. Of course, I care about Griff like any other friend. But that’s not the reason. I really want him to find this guy. Denali knows his scent and might be able to help us if we get close.”

“Royal knows his scent too,” Joel said. “I can stick around to work with Griff.”

She hated to admit that was true. “I’m the distraction, remember? Just keep your phone close in case we need more K9 support.”

“Okay.” Joel’s expression was resigned. “Justin and I are here if you need us.”

“Thanks.” She gave him a quick hug. “Be safe driving home.”

He nodded and glanced to the trio of dogs. “They act like little kids sometimes.”

“Most of the time,” she agreed with a laugh. “Until they’re asked to work, which for them is just another form of play.”

“Here, Stone!” At the sound of Justin’s voice, his yellow lab spun and trotted toward him.

“Royal, come!” Joel said. At his command, Royal also returned. Without having anyone to play with, Denali loped to her side.

“By the way, we restocked the SUV.” Joel gestured toward the closer of the two SUVs. “There’s more dog food, baggies, bowls, and other supplies inside.”

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