Page 60 of Scent of Evil
Glancing up at the sky, she prayed for God to give her the strength she’d need to get Decker back behind bars where he belonged.
* * *
Waves of tensionradiated off Raine, making Justin feel nervous about the upcoming plan. He wasn’t a cop, so giving her the lead was the right thing to do. But he didn’t like it.
And no way was he letting Raine get near this guy without backup.
When her phone rang, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Being this much on edge wasn’t good. He was usually calm in a crisis.
And he had been, until that cabin blew up outside of Buffalo. He hated knowing the woman he’d come to care for was in danger.
Not to mention an innocent young girl.
“Hey, Griff, what’s up?” Raine asked. “Hold on, I’ll put you on speaker.”
“Logan lost sight of the black truck, and I told him to stay away from the area until we can check the cabin.”
“Why?” Justin asked. “I thought he was offering to help?”
“He did, but I don’t want Decker to know we’re onto him,” Griff said. “With Logan gone, I figure Decker will relax a bit, thinking he’s in the clear.”
“That works for me,” Raine said. “I agree that we need Decker to believe he’s eluded us again.” She frowned, then asked, “Griff, where has he been all this time? I figured he’d be far away from Sheridan by now.”
“I got a lead on that,” Griff said. “The local cops heard from a gas station attendant from store located well outside of Sheridan on Highway 14. The attendant saw a truck that matches the description of the Explorer but didn’t think much about it until another person came in and mentioned the Amber Alert. But then the Explorer was gone, so he went back to review the camera video. The license plate matches the vehicle owned by Stringer. That confirms that Decker may have been heading out of town before realizing he had to stop for gas. Maybe he stopped for food at another location too.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t explain the entire time frame he’s been with Amanda,” Raine pointed out.
“I know. Yet it does coincide with Logan’s mentioning the black vehicle he and Jessica identified coming down Ramo Road from the north.” Griff sighed. “Maybe the accomplice angle isn’t far off. If he snatched Amanda on impulse because he came across her on the road, maybe he needed to connect with someone about where to go next. And that’s why he backtracked to go around Sheridan.”
Justin frowned. “I thought you believed Sawyer Collins was another alias.”
“I do,” Griff agreed. “But that doesn’t mean he has help. The dark web is full of guys like Decker.”
That thought was hardly reassuring, but Justin kept that to himself. “Okay, we’re turning onto Ramo Road now.”
“Good, I’m still fifteen minutes away,” Griff said. “I had to pull over to dig into Collins’s background, so I lost some time. Wait for me before you head to the cabin.”
“I can’t do that, Griff,” Raine said. “I’m sorry, but Amanda’s safety must come first. We’ll use the K9s to try to alert on Decker’s scent, but that may require us to get close to the cabin. Once we confirm Amanda is there, I’m moving in without delay.”
Griff was silent for a long moment. “Yeah, I understand. I’d do the same thing. But be careful, okay? I’m going to be in big trouble if anything happens to the Sullivan siblings.”
“We’ll be fine.” Justin gave an encouraging nod. “This isn’t on you, Griff. Trevor and I are committed to apprehending this guy.”
“Yeah, I know that too.” Griff sounded resigned. “Just don’t get yourself killed.”
“I’ll be taking the lead,” Raine said. “Justin and Trevor will be assigned to get Amanda out of there.”
That was news to him, but Justin didn’t argue the point. Trevor could do that part. He planned to stick to Raine like superglue.
“There’s always the possibility we’re wrong about this cabin,” Griff warned.
“I know. The sooner we rule this out, the sooner we can move on to the next location,” Raine agreed. “But I have a feeling about this one, Griff. I’m not sure why, but the name Sawyer Collins seems familiar. It may be one of the names I saw when reviewing Decker’s dark web conversations.”
“I hope you’re right about that. If you’re on Ramo Road, you’ll be at the cabin within minutes. I’ll see you soon.” Griff ended the call.
“You really think the name Sawyer Collins is familiar?” Justin asked.
Raine dragged her fingers through her hair. “I didn’t recognize it at first, but I think so. The more we talked about the name, the more it niggled at the back of my mind.” She grimaced. “I hope it’s not just wishful thinking.”
