Page 34 of Scent of Fear

“Good boy!” Shane carefully scanned the area but didn’t see anyone hiding nearby. He glanced back to make sure Libby was coming, then approached the location where Bryce alerted.

There was nothing obvious on the ground. With a frown, he wondered what had caught Bryce’s attention enough for an alert.

A dark crimson stain on a leaf caught his gaze. He knelt to get a better look. Then he saw another drop of reddish brown a foot away.

Blood? He frowned, glancing at Bryce. His K9 sat straight and tall, his dark eyes boring into Shane as he waited for his reward.

“Good boy!” He pulled the ducky out and tossed it. “Good boy, Bryce.”

“What did he find?” Libby asked.

He hesitated, then remembered his promise to keep her informed. He gestured to the leaf. “Looks like a small amount of blood.”

“Grandpa’s blood?” Her face paled.

“No, I believe it belongs to our bad guy.” Shane pulled the scent bag containing the scrap of denim from the pack and lifted it for a closer look. “There’s a little bit of blood on this piece of denim fabric, too, see?” He handed it to her. “I think Bryce got a piece of him when he tried to take him down.”

“Then he really is a good boy.” Libby nodded in satisfaction.

“For sure. Interestingly, I don’t remember seeing any blood in the cave.” Shane turned to scan the area. “Could be our perp didn’t stop to examine his wound until he reached this location.”

“Maybe his leg wound will get infected!” Libby winced, then added, “I shouldn’t have sounded so excited about that. What I mean is, if the dog bite is bad enough to need antibiotics, the police might be able to grab him at the hospital.”

“Good point.” He pulled his phone out again. Still no service. But he used the device to take pictures of the leaves with blood on them. Maybe the deputies would be interested in seeing them. “We can’t call anyone yet. Let’s keep pushing forward. The sooner we put the sheriff’s department on notice about that possibility of this guy needing medical attention for a dog bite, the better.”

“Great.” Libby looked relieved to have another plan other than searching the cabin. He wasn’t sure why she was so resistant to that idea. “Bryce really is amazing that he was able to find the scent here.”

“For sure, he’s amazing.” Shane would praise his dog any day. “Come, Bryce.”

The shepherd trotted over and regurgitated the yellow ducky into Shane’s hand.

“Good boy.” He gave the dog a good rub. He decided against telling Bryce to search for the bad guy. The guy may have taken a different route down the mountain. Yet chances were good that Bryce would simply lead them to the road, the way he had yesterday. Knowing their bad guy had been injured, Shane figured it was more important to get in touch with the police. “Let’s go.”

Bryce sniffed the air with interest but didn’t resist as Shane turned back in the direction of the clearing.

Ten minutes later, the path widened into the clearing. Bryce sniffed the ground, then sat and let out a sharp bark.

“You’ve already alerted here.” Shane frowned, eyeing his dog. “And I didn’t tell you to search.”

Bryce simply sat staring at him expectantly. The best dog stare came from Maya’s dog, Zion, but Bryce was a close second. Shane debated for a moment, then decided it was best to keep the dog engaged. He dug the ducky from the front pocket of his pack and tossed it into the air. Bryce jumped up as if he hadn’t seen the ducky in hours rather having been rewarded a few minutes ago. “Fine, but hurry up and celebrate. We need to keep going.”

Libby grinned. “You’re such a softy when it comes to Bryce.”

Didn’t he know it. With a grimace, he nodded. “Yeah, well, it’s all about the search game. I need him to be excited to win.” He shook his head at how Bryce ran around with the ducky in his mouth. “Let’s go. Bryce will catch up.”

Shane double-checked his compass again before taking the lead. Thankfully, he had a good sense of direction, even back when Chase was teaching them how to avoid getting lost during night searches.

And it was easy to see the path they’d taken twice the day before.

When they reached the halfway point, his phone vibrated. He stopped and turned to pull the device from his pocket. There were several text messages from Joel and Alexis. “We have cell service.”

“Do you want me to call the deputy?” Libby reached for her phone too.

“Yes, please do.” He scrolled to his recent calls and found Alexis’s number. Taking a few steps away from Libby who was already speaking to the sheriff’s department, he called his sister.

“Hi, Shane,” Alexis greeted him. “We’ve been waiting to hear from you. Do you have another search expedition in mind?”

“Not yet.” He glanced at Libby, then gave his sister the abbreviated version of recent events, hitting the high points of Bryce taking off after the guy and coming back with a strip from his jeans. And the blood they’d found on the trail. “We’re heading back to the cabin now. We’re hoping this guy seeks treatment for his dog bite.”

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