Page 4 of Scent of Evil
Justin had just finished saddling and bridling them when Raine returned holding two bags of clothing. Seeing the faded orange fabric in one bag, he realized that one held Decker’s scent. The other bag was smaller and contained a green T-shirt and pair of dirty socks inside.
“We need to hurry,” Raine said, her expression anxious. “I don’t know how much of a head start he has.”
Considering Decker was on a four-wheeler, Justin understood her concern. Especially since he knew what that creep was capable of. “Here, hold the reins for Timber. You’ll use him; I’ll ride Blaze. Before we saddle up, though, I need to gather some items for Stone.”
A look of impatience flashed in her eyes. Ignoring it, he turned to his SUV. His backpack was ready to go, but he took a moment to check the contents, then rummaged for extra items, specifically water bottles. He tucked extra water bottles into Blaze’s saddle bag. Lastly, he removed his side arm from the pack and quickly slipped his belt through the holster and snaking the belt back through his jeans. Then he stuffed the backpack into the saddle bag.
Taking the two plastic bags from Raine’s hand, he used Decker’s first, offering it to Stone. “Decker,” he said. “This is Decker.”
Stone sniffed for a long moment, then looked up at him, tail wagging. The grim situation wasn’t completely lost on Stone, as the dog’s ears were perked forward. His K9 was all about playing the search game.
He poured some water into a collapsible bowl. Stone lowered his head, took a few laps, then looked up expectantly. Justin opened the second bag. “This is Ginny.”
Again, Stone sniffed the contents of the bag. Justin used the time to pack the collapsible bowl away, then rose to his feet. He threw out his hand. “Search! Search Decker and Ginny!”
Stone lowered his nose to the ground and trotted toward the black Ford truck. Justin decided to let the dog alert there, knowing it would help ramp up Stone’s excitement for the search to come.
Justin had subtly pulled the stuffed penguin from his pack, anticipating Stone’s alert. The dog sniffed along the bottom of the driver’s side door, sat, and let out a sharp bark.
“Good boy!” He tossed the penguin for Stone who leaped up to catch it. “Good boy, Stone. You found Decker.”
Stone frolicked with the toy for a moment, then trotted back to him. After regurgitating the toy into his hand, the dog waited. “Search! Search Decker and Ginny!”
This time, Stone turned and sniffed along the path to the house. Justin hurried over to where Raine stood next to Timber, trying to get her foot into the stirrup. “Do you need a leg up?”
“Please.” She reached up to grasp the saddle horn. He laced his palms together so she could step into them, then hoisted her up onto Timber’s back. He quickly adjusted the stirrups, then swung up onto Blaze.
“Stay close,” he advised.
“Don’t worry, I will.” Raine looked determined to keep up, no matter what.
Stone was all the way up to the house now, sniffing along the front porch. Stone sat and let out another sharp bark.
“Good boy, Stone.” Justin didn’t reward the dog this time. The job was far from done. “Search! Search Decker and Ginny!”
His K9 lifted his nose to the air. Justin took note of the breeze coming from the east and hoped Decker wasn’t smart enough to stay downwind. Stone trotted around the side of the house. Giving Blaze a gentle nudge with his heels, Justin urged the gelding to follow.
“Wait, what are we supposed to do?” Deputy Bolton asked.
“First call FBI Agent Griff Flannery, let him know where we are and that we’re following Decker. Then get more cops into the woods,” Justin suggested. “We’re going to need backup.”
“Also, please call my sister, Camille Clark,” Raine added. “She works at the Wild Buffalo Hotel. She needs to know Ginny is missing.”
Justin kept his gaze on Stone. His K9 trotted at a quick pace, one he could easily keep up with on Blaze. He made a note of the time, knowing he’d have to give Stone frequent rest breaks.
Maybe even carrying the dog on his saddle for a while if needed.
He and Raine didn’t talk much as he followed Stone into the wooded terrain. He caught the occasional glimpse of tire tracks in the earth. Stone was hot on the trail, which was good. But the hour was already going on two in the afternoon, and he didn’t want to imagine what would happen if they didn’t find Ginny before dark. Especially since there were dark clouds to the west.
Glancing back over his shoulder, he was glad to see Raine was keeping up. Timber was a calm and steady equine.
He ducked beneath a low-hanging branch as Blaze got too close. Then his mount gathered himself to climb a steep incline. Stone was still leading the way, and he kept his eye on his K9’s yellow coat.
When they reached the top of the ridge, he pulled up on the reins, searching the ground for tire tracks. They veered off to the right, and that’s where Stone was headed too. He turned Blaze in that direction when the sharp echo of a gunshot rang out. He instinctively ducked as a bullet whizzed past.
Decker was shooting at them!
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