Page 55 of Scent of Evil
“Colin Stinger.” Raine repeated the name for Justin’s sake. “Do you know what sort of car he drives?”
“Oh yes, he drives an older model black Ford Explorer.” Dawn sounded confident. “It’s a little rusty, but Colin keeps the engine purring like a dream. He’s worked on my car for me over the years. He’s so smart about that sort of thing.”
Raine wondered if the fact that Colin had missed his usual afternoon stop was significant. Then she decided they couldn’t afford not to check it out. “Do you have Colin’s phone number? Can you call him?”
“I did call, but he didn’t answer.” Dawn sounded nervous again. “I wasn’t sure if I should keep bothering him.”
Not answering his call ratcheted her concern up a notch. Although a lot of older guys weren’t as tied to their cell phones as the younger generation was. “How old is Colin? And where does he live? I need his address.”
At that, Justin slowed his speed, glancing at her with an arched brow. She made a circle in the air to indicate they’d need to turn around.
“Colin is forty-five, divorced with no kids. He lives alone after inheriting the house he lives in from his father who passed away three years ago. Rather than selling the place, he moved from Buffalo to live there.” Dawn carefully recited the address. “His house is set several yards off the road with a lot of woods stretching along the back of the property. I’ve been there with my car when he agreed to look at it for me,” Dawn repeated. “That’s why I have his cell number. Colin is a nice guy, and I guess I’m just worried something may have happened to him.”
A familiar buzz of adrenaline coursed through her. There was enough there that Raine shared Dawn’s concern. Yet it still didn’t make sense that Decker had attacked Colin, taken his car, and made it all the way to Sheridan in time to snatch Amanda. Regardless, she didn’t want to leave the town of Saddlestring without following up. “I understand, Dawn. Thanks for calling. We’ll check Colin’s place to make sure he’s okay.”
“Thank you.” Dawn sounded relieved. “Will you let me know if you find him?”
“Yes.” It was a rash promise, but she didn’t care. “Thanks again.”
“We’re turning back?” Justin said as he pulled over to the side of the road. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
“Yeah, I think so.” It wasn’t an easy decision to make. Yet she had a feeling Dawn was right about Colin being a creature of habit. If he was home sick with his ringer off his phone, then she’d have wasted time for nothing. But the alternative was far worse. “Will you ask Trevor to keep heading toward Sheridan? Maybe he can use Archie to track Amanda’s scent.”
Justin nodded and made the call. “We’re heading back to check on a possible lead but would like you to keep going to Sheridan. Archie is a good tracker and will find her scent without a problem. Raine will text you Amanda’s home address.”
“Fine with me,” Trevor agreed.
“I’m texting it now.” Raine thumbed the phone screen and sent the message. “Trevor, what happens if Amanda was taken away by car?”
“That could be a problem,” Trevor said with regret. “It’s rare for K9s to be able to follow the scent trail from someone in a moving vehicle. I was already thinking that while we needed to try, the result may not be as helpful as we’d like.”
“I was afraid of that.” Raine had taken that angle into consideration when deciding to turn back to look in on Colin Stinger. “We’ll be in touch after we follow up on this Colin guy who may or may not be another of Decker’s victims.”
“Sounds good. Be careful.” With that, Trevor ended the call.
“Hang on, it will take me a minute to turn around with the trailer attached.” Justin waited for Trevor to pass, then went to work. She noticed he’d pulled over near an overgrown two-track road that gave him extra room to with the maneuver.
Three minutes later, they were heading back toward Saddlestring. Raine hoped this wasn’t a fool’s errand. Especially when they knew for certain there was a young girl critically missing.
Her stomach knotted as she consulted her phone. According to the map app, the Stringer family home wasn’t too far. As they approached the next intersection, she glanced up at Justin. “After we go past here, we’ll take the next left-hand turn into the driveway.”
“Got it.” He slowed as a car moved across the intersection ahead of their arrival. It wasn’t a black Ford Explorer.
The driveway wasn’t paved, but it was covered in a layer of gravel that wasn’t too badly rutted. The driveway curved around a large tree, and soon the brown house came into view.
The place looked deserted. There was no car in the driveway, but the attached garage door was closed. When Justin braked to a stop, she pushed open her passenger-side door.
“Wait for me.” His sharp tone surprised her. She was the cop here. Not him. “The last time we approached a place we suspected Decker was hiding out, it exploded and nearly killed us.”
Hard to argue with his logic. She was convinced that God had been watching over her at the cabin, sparing her life when she wasn’t entirely sure she deserved it. With a reluctant nod, she slid out of the seat, withdrawing her weapon from its holster. Justin opened the back hatch for Stone, who gracefully jumped down. She abruptly realized his K9 would be able to tell them if Decker had been there.
“Search Decker.” Justin’s voice was soft but firm as he gave the command. “Search!”
Stone lifted his nose to the air, sniffing with interest. She divided her attention between watching the dog and scanning the house and outlying property for any sign of Colin or Decker.
Stone trotted toward the side of the house that was opposite the attached garage. She shot Justin a curious look as they both followed the dog, weapons in hand.
When Stone picked up his pace, she knew he’d caught the scent. The way his nose swept along the ground was exactly the way he’d searched for Ginny. Within seconds, Stone buried his nose in the grass along the side of the house, then sat and let out a sharp bark.
