Page 51 of Scent of Evil
She pocketed her phone and turned back to the others. Her boss was no Tommy Lee Jones inThe Fugitive, that’s for sure.
“Anything new?” Justin arched a brow.
“He’ll send me the file.” She tried to smile. “I’ll read through his notes as we drive.”
“I’m ready.” Trevor jumped to his feet. Archie took that as a sign to crawl out from under the table.
Stone lifted his head but didn’t move from his spot next to her niece, until Justin said, “Come, Stone.”
The dog slid off the sofa, stretched, and then trotted toward Justin. She was glad the dog would have time to rest as they drove to Saddlestring.
“Raine, if you don’t mind, forward those notes from your boss to me too,” Griff suggested. “I know you’ll look them over, but a fresh pair of eyes can’t hurt.”
“I will, thanks.” She smiled grimly as she crossed over to join the Sullivan siblings. “Trust me, I’ll take all the help I can get.”
“Stay in touch if you uncover anything new.” Griff walked with them to the door. “I’ll head out to join you if needed.”
“Why don’t you take my SUV with the four-wheeler trailer attached.” Trevor tossed the key fob at Justin. “I’ll head over to get the horses and meet you in Saddlestring.”
“Okay.” Justin patted his pockets, then sighed. “I forgot, you already have my keys.”
“Yep. You take my car with the four-wheelers. Come, Archie.” Trevor grinned and darted outside to the SUV and empty horse trailer. He opened the back for his K9, who quickly jumped in. She and Justin waited for Trevor to pull away, before making a similar dash to the second SUV.
Stone settled in the crate area, closing his eyes to sleep. Raine slid into the passenger seat and buckled in. It was nice to ride in a car for a while rather than on horseback, especially as a light rain continued to fall.
As Justin hit the road, turning to head northeast to Saddlestring, she hoped and prayed they’d get there in time to prevent Decker from killing more innocent people in his desperate attempt to avoid being caught and arrested.
* * *
Justin eyedStone in the rearview mirror, grateful the dog had fallen asleep. He’d worked his K9 partner hard and knew that if they stumbled across Decker’s path, they’d need Stone’s nose again.
He winced as he remembered the stuffed penguin was in his saddlebag. At least Trevor would catch up to them soon enough.
“Rowe sent the file.” Raine peered at her phone screen. “It’s not as robust as I’d hoped.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “He abducted Ginny who got away and identified him, correct?” When she nodded, he shrugged. “Could be that’s all that mattered at the time.”
She looked up from the screen. “But we interviewed him often, trying to ascertain how many other victims were out there that we didn’t know about. Decker had claimed there weren’t any, that Ginny was his first, but I didn’t believe him. After his arrest, we plastered his face all over the news. Two young girls came forward naming him as their assailant, and we added those charges. We found three other girls on a dark website but couldn’t link them to Decker. He eventually pled no contest, and we put him away for ten years.”
Ten years seemed light, but he kept that thought to himself.
“I know what you’re thinking, ten years is pathetic.” She sighed. “I always thought more victims would come forward. The two girls were older, and he’d abducted them when they were six and eight years old respectively.”
He nodded slowly, feeling sick at the thought of what those girls had suffered. “I’m sure there were others.”
“I know there were other girls who suffered at his hands. Guys like Decker don’t just stop.” Raine turned her attention back to her phone. “I always wondered if he didn’t start killing his victims when he was finished with them. That way they couldn’t come forward to testify against him.”
Another grisly thought. If Ginny hadn’t escaped... but she had. Justin kept his eyes on the road, more determined than ever to find Decker.
They drove in silence for several minutes as Raine reviewed Decker’s file. The distance between Saddlestring and Buffalo was only about thirty miles. He hadn’t noticed Trevor coming up behind him but figured it wouldn’t take too long for his brother to get the horses trailered.
When they were five miles outside of Saddlestring, he saw a sign for a gas station/convenience store. “How about we start there?”
Raine looked up and nodded. “Sounds good. I’m disappointed there’s nothing helpful in the file that I can see.”
He shrugged. “Maybe Griff will find something.”
“If there’s something there, he’ll be the one to find it. He’s an excellent investigator. I’m impressed with what he’s done already.” Raine set her phone in the center console. She’d plugged it into the charger while she’d worked. Every SUV had a phone charger even though half the time phones didn’t work in their search areas.
