Page 57 of Scent of Evil
“Soon, boy. We’ll play again soon.” He closed the hatch and quickly slid in behind the wheel. It took him a few minutes to back up the trailer so they could leave. As soon as they hit the highway, a pair of police cars raced past them.
Raine’s phone rang, and she answered, “Yeah, Griff. The cops have just arrived on scene. We didn’t stick around, have them call me with questions. We need to get to Sheridan as soon as possible.”
Justin glanced over as she listened intently to whatever Griff was saying.
“Okay, I’m glad Logan will be flying over Sheridan soon. Thanks.” She lowered the phone and sighed. “What are the chances that Amanda is still in Sheridan?”
He grimaced. “You tell me.”
“Probably not good.” She bit her lip and turned to gaze out at the passing scenery. “I can’t stand the thought of Decker getting away with this. It’s not right that he’s been able to stay one step ahead of us this way.”
“I understand, but we’re getting close.” He offered her a reassuring smile. “We know the vehicle he’s likely driving. We’ll find him. Especially if we have additional support from the air.”
“That reminds me. I need to call my boss to get choppers up.” She pulled out her phone. “They can generally fly at lower altitudes than fixed wing planes.”
He nodded, having learned a lot about flying over the past few months since Logan had become a part of their family when he and Jessica had gotten married. Knowing his brother-in-law, Logan would try his best to fly as low as possible, risking his life to save that of an innocent girl.
“Mike, it’s Raine. We have a lead on Decker, he’s in a black Ford Explorer, the plate number has been included in the Amber Alert, but we could really use choppers to cover the area. Call me as soon as possible, thanks.”
He glanced at her in surprise. “He didn’t answer?”
“No.” She blew out a breath. “Probably on another phone call with the governor or someone equally important.”
“Your boss isn’t anything like Griff. He’s always in the center of things.”
“Tell me about it. Griff is on his way to Sheridan, he left a few minutes ago.” She frowned at her phone. “We really need those choppers.”
He silently agreed, pushing their speed as much as he dared. The wind was still brisk, buffeting against the four-wheeler trailer. Glancing up at the cloudy sky, he hoped Logan would get there soon.
Ten minutes later, he caught a glimpse of a plane overhead. He grinned. “That’s Logan.”
“Good.” She watched the plane as it banked into a turn overhead. “We need eyes on that Explorer.”
“The windy mountainous roads lined on both sides with towering trees will make spotting it difficult.” He glanced at her. “It’s not as easy as following a car driving on a four-lane highway, but he’ll do his best.”
“That’s all any of us can do.” Raine shifted in her seat, looking at the cars up ahead of them. “Although I really wish there weren’t so many black cars and trucks.”
He’d noticed that too.
They were going faster than the traffic up ahead, and as they gained on the vehicles, he searched for the county code of 13 followed by the letters JKD.
None were a match.
He had to slow down when the truck in front of him turned off onto a side street. He caught up to the next vehicle, but it was white and not a match either.
“How much longer to get to Sheridan?” When he arched a brow, she flushed. “Sorry, I sound like Ginny.”
“It’s okay, we have twenty minutes to go, maybe a little less.” They’d made good time so far, but their progress had slowed as they came upon more cars.
“Trevor should be there by now, though, right?” She gripped her phone so tightly her knuckles were white. “I hope he’ll call us with news.”
Before he could assure her, his cell phone rang. Using the hands-free function, he quickly answered it. “What’s up, Trev?”
“I’m here, and Archie was able to pick up Amanda’s scent along the road between her home and the friend’s house. It’s only a three-quarters of a mile, but a little curvy, which Decker may have used to his advantage.”
Justin didn’t take the time now to fill his brother in on the dead body of Colin Stringer. “Do you know where the scent trail ends?”
“Oh yeah. Unfortunately, the scent trail stops in the middle of the road.” Trevor sounded frustrated. “I’m still scouting the area to make sure he didn’t pick her up and haul her into the woods, but I think he picked her up in a car.”
