Page 16 of Scent of Fear

“What is wrong with you?”Alexis demanded in a low voice. “Can’t you see she needs your support right now?”

Shane grimaced and nodded. “I know that. It’s just—you both know the odds are not in our favor. If there really are two men involved in this mess, then it’s not looking good that we’re going to find Marvin alive.”

“You gotta have faith, bro,” Joel drawled. “Alexis is right. Doesn’t do us any good to have Libby falling apart.”

“I’ll talk to her.” Shane stood, but Alexis beat him to it.

“I’ll go.” At Shane’s narrow look, she added, “Don’t worry, I won’t mention Denali is a cadaver dog. You’re right that Libby doesn’t need to know that yet. It’s more important that she holds on to her faith that we’ll find her grandfather.”

“Okay, thanks.” Shane was glad she agreed with him on that much. When he’d first explained his intent to keep Libby in the dark, Alexis had argued that Libby should know the truth. But then after he’d explained about the glasses and how Libby had already been through a lot, his sister had relented. He felt bad about adding to Libby’s distress by his thoughtless comments.

He was an idiot. Why couldn’t he keep his grim thoughts to himself?

Shane had lost his appetite but forced himself to finish the meal. He suspected they had a long afternoon and evening ahead of them. Even with the four-wheelers, he doubted they’d be back much before dark.

Hopefully with Marvin riding alongside them.

“A sheriff’s deputy squad just pulled in.” Joel waved a potato chip toward the window.

Shane glanced at the hallway where Libby and Alexis had disappeared, then stood. At his movement, Bryce jumped to his feet too. “Come, Bryce.” He headed outside to greet the sheriff’s deputy. There was only one who’d responded to the call, which he thought was odd. Usually, they sent deputies out in pairs. Then again, summer was the busiest time of the year with tourists flocking to the area.

Recognizing Deputy Paul Holland, he nodded a greeting. “Hey, Paul. Thanks for coming.”

“Shane.” Paul was a few years older than Shane, and they’d worked together on a case related to a missing hiker last fall. The outcome of that search had been good. They’d found the hiker with a broken ankle but otherwise unharmed. Paul frowned. “I expected to see Libby Tolliver here. She’s the one who called the dispatcher.”

As if hearing her name, Libby came out of the cabin to join them. Shane was secretly glad she didn’t appear to have been crying. Shane quickly made introductions. “This is Libby Tolliver, she’s Marvin Tolliver’s granddaughter, and yes, she made the call to the dispatcher about how her grandfather went missing. Libby, this is Deputy Paul Holland.”

“Deputy, thanks for coming.” Libby shook the deputy’s hand. “Has Shane explained what happened?”

“Not yet,” Paul drawled.

“Come inside,” Libby suggested. “Have you had lunch?”

“I could eat,” Paul said with a grin.

Shane and Bryce trailed behind Libby and Paul. He’d wanted to apologize to Libby but couldn’t find the words. He wished he could feel more optimistic about her grandfather’s chances of survival, but he couldn’t help expecting the worst.

But Alexis was right in that he needed to keep his trap shut.

By the time Paul had eaten, and they’d filled the deputy in on what had transpired, the hour was going on two in the afternoon. Shane was itching to hit the trail, and he could tell Libby wanted that too.

Paul wasn’t enthusiastic about taking the four-wheelers to search for Marvin Tolliver with two armed and dangerous poachers on the loose, but he finally relented.

Shane jumped up as Libby began to clear the table. “Joel, let’s get our gear strapped down on the ATVs.”

“What can I bring?” Paul asked as he hurried to keep up.

“Your badge and gun,” Shane said bluntly. “If we catch one or both of these guys, we’ll need you to take them into custody.”

“Yeah, okay.” Paul grimaced. “Works for me.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were finally ready to roll. Shane helped Libby step up onto the two-seater four-wheeler beside him. Alexis drove her own machine, leaving Joel to bring Paul.

“I’ll have Bryce to lead the way,” Shane suggested. “Denali and Royal can follow along.” He gave Alexis a look that indicated her dog would be up next.

“Fine with me.” Alexis gave him a tiny nod back. “Let’s do this.”

Shane revved his dog up, offered the scent bag and water, then gave Bryce the search command. “Search, boy. Search for Marvin!”

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