Page 9 of Scent of Death

“Gee, thanks,” Alexis muttered. “I’m glad he didn’t, but I’m sure he was just trying to scare me off.”

“There’s that.” Griff nodded in agreement. “If this is our suspect, he likes to kill his victims up close and personal.”

That observation did not make her feel any better. She’d seen the ligature marks around the victims’ throats. She hated to imagine the last image those girls had seen was an evil man’s face looming over them. Swallowing hard, she turned to Joel and Jess. “Let’s keep following his trail. Maybe he owns a place nearby.”

Her siblings glanced at each other, then nodded. “After we take a quick break,” Jessica said. “The dogs are hot.”

“I understand.” She knew Denali was getting tired too.

Griff stared down at the shell casing in the evidence bag. “Hopefully, the lab can do something with this.”

“Prints?” Alexis asked. “I doubt this guy was wearing gloves in the middle of summer.”

“That’s my hope,” Griff said. “Although I’m not sure this guy is in the system.”

She sighed. The trees offered plenty of shade. They sat beneath them on the ground with the dogs to rest.

“You have no idea who this guy is?” Jessica asked Griff.

“Not yet.” Griff frowned. “But we need to find him soon. I’m hoping he lives here in the area.”

“Tell us about Wendy Evers,” Alexis suggested. “Do you have a picture of her?”

“Yes.” Griff pulled out his phone and swiped at the screen. Then he passed it to her. “She’s blond and has a nose piercing. The three girls don’t look anything alike, other than being in their late teens or early twenties, so he’s not picking them based on a type.”

She gazed at Wendy Evers’s smiling face, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. Then she passed the phone to Joel. He winced, then passed the device to Jessica who also looked somber before she handed it to her husband, Logan.

“Her grandmother claims Wendy wouldn’t have left without telling her. I guess Wendy lives on her own, but she and her grandmother are close.” Griff tucked the phone back into his pocket. “The other two women were also single and lived alone. I think that may be something he looks for in a victim. But it’s gnawing at me that we don’t know what made him decide to pick these specific girls in three different cities across the state.”

There was a long silence as they digested that bit of information.

“We’ll find him,” Joel said with confidence. Then he jumped to his feet. “Let’s go. The dogs should be able to follow the scent trail since he was here recently.”

Alexis agreed. The three of them went through the routine of offering water to the dogs, then revving them up for the search.

Joel’s Royal took the lead with Jess and Teddy close at his side. She and Griff and Denali were last. Yet as they walked, it was obvious that both dogs were hot on the same scent.

“I can’t get over how well they track people.” Griff shook his head, his green gaze full of admiration. “They’re amazing.”

“Yes.” She bent to smooth her hand over Denali’s soft fur. “We’re very blessed.”

He nodded without saying anything. She didn’t know if Griff was a believer. They’d worked together before, and he always participated in before-meal prayers, but he also didn’t say much about his faith.

She wanted to ask but was distracted by the sound of rushing water. “Is that a river?”

“Up ahead,” Joel said. “More of a creek, but it’s deep enough that we’re going to let the dogs cool off in the water.”

“Good idea.” She knew Denali would love to splash in the water.

They quickened their pace, still following the scent trail. Ironically, Royal reached the stream first. He let out a sharp bark, then sat, staring back at Joel.

“Good boy.” Joel pulled the stuffed beaver from his pocket. He tossed it for Royal, who leaped up to catch it. Royal ran in a circle with the brown beaver in his mouth, then he dropped it to jump into the stream. Without hesitation, Teddy and Denali jumped in behind him. The current wasn’t brisk enough to worry about. That was more of an issue in the spring when the thick layer of snow began to melt. Usually by July, the water level was lower.

“Wait, let me look for footprints,” Griff said, holding up a hand to keep Joel from going any closer.

Her brother nodded and crouched to peer at the ground. Griff did too.

“I don’t see anything,” Joel said.

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