Page 34 of Scent of Death

That made her wonder if the killer was a wildlife hunter. Maybe he knew all about keeping the wind in his face to avoid being scented by game animals.

She turned to face the wind. Then she decided she should use Denali to make sure this guy hadn’t stayed nearby. She knelt beside her K9. “Search, Denali. Search bad guy!”

Denali’s tail wagged, and she turned to lower her nose to the ground. Her K9 trotted toward the newly dug grave. Alexis decided to let her alert there again, before asking her to search again.

Rewards kept the K9 excited about the search game.

“Good girl!” She tossed the pink piggy up into the air. “Good girl, Denali.”

“Didn’t she already alert here?” Griff asked.

“Yes, but now she’s tracking the killer’s scent verses searching for napoo.” After a few minutes of playtime, Alexis extended her arm. “Hand.” When Denali regurgitated the piggy into her palm, she paused to pull a water bottle and the collapsible bowl from the pack. Denali lapped the water, then gazed up at her expectantly. “Search! Search bad guy.”

If the killer was nearby, Denali would find him. Griff made several phone calls as she followed Denali. The terrain was rough in some places, but she gamely kept up with her K9. Denali leaped over a fallen log, then stopped and sniffed along the base. She sat and barked.

“He was here, huh, girl?” She praised her dog but didn’t offer the piggy yet. The fallen log overlooked the most recent gravesite, but there wasn’t a direct line of sight to the other two.

Had the killer sat here to rest after burying Wendy Evers?

She took a moment to examine the ground. The earth was hard packed due to lack of rain and revealed nothing that would help identify him.

“Search! Search bad guy!”

Denali eagerly went back to work. Rays of sunlight beat down on them. Rivulets of sweat rolled down her face and her back.

After several minutes, Denali stopped near an open area, sniffed, then alerted.

Alexis frowned, as this was a different location from before. She crossed over to see what Denali had found.

At first, she didn’t notice anything, but then she saw them. A partial tire print in the dirt. Lowering to a crouch, she examined the marks more closely. She realized they were similar to tracks left by an ATV.

The Sullivans had several four-wheeler ATVs, along with snow machines and horses. Depending on the time of the year and the location of the search, they’d used various methods of travel.

She slowly rose and rewarded Denali for the find. It made sense that the killer had transported the bodies via an all-terrain vehicle. It was something they should have considered sooner. Carrying a dead body all the way into the woods wasn’t practical.

“Here, Denali. Hand.” She waited for Denali to lope back to give her the piggy. Then she quickly headed back to where Griff remained at the gravesite with Denali at her heels.

She didn’t really think the tire track would help find their killer, but it was a piece of the puzzle.

They needed all the help they could get.

Griff finished his calls,feeling more frustrated than ever. The crime scene techs and local law enforcement officials were on their way. That was fine. Then his boss informed him that the FBI profiler’s flight had been delayed. She wouldn’t be in Wyoming until late evening.

Meanwhile, this brutal killer was searching for another victim. Or worse, coming up with a new plan to grab Alexis.

“Griff!” Alexis ran toward him. “I found a tire track in the woods.”

“Tire track?” Realization dawned. “A four-wheeler?”

“Yes. Come with me. It’s not much of one, but it looks similar to the ATVs we use for search and rescue missions.”

He took a moment to shove the sat phone into the backpack, then stood. Settling the pack on his shoulders, he crossed to her. “Show me.”

She nodded. Denali led the way, as if knowing their destination. He hadn’t paid much attention to Alexis and Denali combing the area. Ignoring the twinge in his knee, he quickened his pace to catch up.

“Here.” Alexis knelt beside the track.

He used his phone to take pictures. “This makes me think he has a place in Greybull or somewhere close by.”

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