Page 11 of Scent of Evil
They rode for another eight minutes before he saw what appeared to be a rocky outcropping. Eyeing the location, he turned to glance behind him. It was difficult to know for sure, but that might have been the spot Decker had used as a hiding spot to shoot at them.
The guy was smart enough to know that if he kept shooting, they’d have little choice but to slow down and hang back. It wasn’t difficult to imagine Decker firing at them, then waiting a moment before jumping back on the four-wheeler to gain some ground.
Worse, the escaped convict knew they wouldn’t return fire while he had Ginny beside him. Justin wouldn’t put it past the guy to use the eleven-year-old girl as a human shield. The way a terrorist would.
Decker was scum, but he was also managing to stay a few steps ahead of them. What was his end goal? To hurt Ginny? That couldn’t be his only motive considering he’d escaped from jail.
Maybe Decker planned to use Ginny to lure them into a trap where he could kill them all. But then what? Where would he go from there? The large state of Montana stood between their current location and the Canadian border.
The four-wheeler wouldn’t get him that far.
As he continued following Stone, he eyed the rocky overhang. It took him a few minutes to realize the rain had stopped. Water still dripped off the leaves of the trees, but out in the open, there was nothing.
The storm had passed, which was a good thing. The ground would be soft now, so any tire tracks left behind by the four-wheeler would be easy to see.
He was about to stop to give his K9 a well-deserved break when he noticed Stone had abruptly turned to head up the incline.
To the rocky ledge above? His pulse kicked into high gear.
Using the reins, he turned Blaze and nudged him with his heels. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Raine and Timber were behind him.
This part of the slope was steep for a horse. Blaze reared his head in protest, but he held the reins firm. “Come on, boy. You can do this.”
Blaze nimbly cantered up the rest of the way to the rocky overhang. Justin cast his gaze over the area, noticing the deep tire marks in the earth off to the side of a shallow cave.
Stone sniffed the ground intently, then sat and let out a sharp bark.
“He was here, huh, boy?” Reaching into his pack, he found and tossed the penguin. Then he called, “Ginny? Are you here?”
No response.
“Whoa, Blaze.” He pulled back on the reins, stopping his horse, then dismounting. Letting the reins dangle for a moment, he carefully approached the opening. Stone had taken off with his toy, enjoying his reward for a job well done.
“Justin?” Raine’s voice held a note of fear. “Is she in there?”
“I don’t think so.” He turned to see Raine sliding down from Timber. This time, her legs didn’t collapse beneath her. But as she rushed forward to join him, her foot caught a rock, and she stumbled a bit. “Easy there.” He grasped her hand to steady her.
“I’m fine.” She impatiently shook free of his grip, her gaze focused on the dark opening. “Ginny? It’s Aunt Raine.”
Still no response.
Justin wished Raine would let him go in first, but she darted forward, entering the cave opening. He quickly followed, ducking to avoid striking his head on the low overhang.
Was Decker shorter than him? He didn’t remember the guy’s height and weight listed on his mug shot. Granted, he’d focused mostly on the guy’s facial features, specifically his creepy narrow and soulless brown eyes.
“She’s not here.” Raine’s shoulders slumped with disappointment. “I thought maybe he’d left her behind so he could move faster.”
Somehow, he didn’t see Decker letting Ginny go anytime soon, but he decided against voicing his dark thoughts. He scanned the interior of the shallow cave, noting there were small puddles on the ground.
Even if Stone hadn’t alerted, he’d know Decker and Ginny had been there. Water didn’t just pool in the middle of a cave with no reason. They’d all suffered the impact of the downpour; Decker and Ginny were not immune to getting soaked.
Lowering to a crouch, he searched for signs of a struggle. The pools of water appeared undisturbed. No sign of a struggle, which he considered good news.
Remembering the gunfire, he rose and kept his head down as he went back to stand just outside the cave opening. From this vantage point, the path below was easy to see. So much so that he was surprised Decker had missed. Not complaining, but still unusual for those who grew up in Wyoming. He turned to his K9. “Stone, come.”
His K9 loped toward him, the stuffed penguin still in his mouth.
“Drop.” He held out his hand. Stone dropped the toy so it landed in his palm, then he gazed up at Justin expectantly. “Good boy. Now search for gold, Stone. Search gold, okay?”
