Page 12 of Scent of Fear

“I’m fine.” She pasted a smile on her face. “I’ll keep up no problem.”

“I know you will. Come, Bryce.” His K9 rose, stretched, then trotted forward.

They made good time on the last leg of the journey. When they reached Marvin’s cabin, the place looked exactly as he remembered. But he turned toward Libby and gestured to the structure. “Take a look around, let me know if you see anything unusual.”

“Unusual how?” She set the walking stick up against the cabin.

He swallowed a sigh. “I don’t know. I doubt anyone has been here, but considering everything that’s happened, you should double-check.”

“Yeah, okay.” She frowned, then opened the sliding glass door. “You and Bryce should come inside too.”

Sensing she didn’t want to be alone, he nodded in agreement. The interior of the cabin was clean and neat. He and Bryce waited in the main living room as she checked the bedrooms. Then she disappeared into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she returned.

“Ah, please go ahead and use the bathroom if needed.” Her cheeks went pink as she crossed to the fridge. “Grandpa is well stocked on water too.”

“Thanks.” He shrugged out of his backpack and eyed his dog. “Sit, Bryce. Good boy, now stay.”

The dog didn’t move from his position near the backpack as Shane headed to the bathroom. As he used the facilities, then washed up at the sink, he eyed his watch. Hopefully, Alexis and Joel would make good time getting there with the four-wheelers. He wondered if the sheriff’s deputies would want to use one, too, and realized he should have asked his siblings to bring all four ATVs.

Too late now. Besides, it wouldn’t matter that much. He’d already planned to have Libby ride with him with Bryce taking the lead on finding Marvin’s scent. Alexis and Joel could double up. Or the deputy could ride with one of them. They’d make it work.

His bigger concern was to get Alexis alone to explain how he needed her K9, Denali, to search for Marvin without telling Libby that Denali was a cadaver dog specially trained to recover dead bodies.

Bryce might still be able to track Marvin even if he’d been killed and tossed down a cliff. But Denali was the K9 with that expertise, and he didn’t want to miss the possibility of finding Libby’s grandfather.

Dead or alive.

When he entered the kitchen, Libby handed him a water bottle. He glanced over to see Bryce sitting just where he’d asked him to wait.

“Here, boy.” He called the dog over. Bryce immediately came over to stretch out at his feet. He stroked the dog’s tan and gold fur.

“I just went grocery shopping for Grandpa, so I can make sandwiches if you’d like.”

“I’m okay for now. I asked Joel and Alexis to bring food, that way you don’t have to feed all of us.” He shrugged. “If you can wait a while, they’ll bring plenty.”

She hesitated, then nodded. “I can wait.” She dropped into a kitchen chair. “I still can’t believe the poacher took Grandpa away on his four-wheeler.”

“I know. Try not to worry too much.” He could do that for both of them. Shane pulled out the chair to sit beside her. “You’re sure nothing looks out of place?”

She shook her head. “I don’t see anything unusual. Other than the overturned patio chair and the broken coffee mug that I pointed out to you earlier.” She waved a hand at the interior of the cabin. “Grandpa isn’t messy by nature. If there was something odd, I’d notice.”

He had to admit that she was right about that. “Do you mind if I get a bowl for Bryce?”

“Help yourself.” She set her injured ankle up on the seat of the chair next to her. “Whatever you need. I owe Bryce a lot for how he tracked Grandpa the way he did.”

“Trust me, Bryce likes the search game.” He opened two cupboards before he found the bowls. He filled one with water from the sink and set it down for Bryce.

His K9 eagerly lapped at the water, then sat panting. Dogs panted to get rid of the excess heat, they didn’t sweat through their skin like people did, and he felt a little guilty for working his K9 so hard.

“We’ll let you ride up on the four-wheeler so you can rest,” he told the dog. “Okay, boy?” Bryce thumped his tail on the floor in agreement.

“Excuse me.” Libby abruptly stood, wiping at her face before heading down the hall. One of the bedroom doors closed with a soft snick.

He frowned, staying where he was, hoping she wasn’t crying her heart out in what he assumed was the bedroom she stayed in while visiting. He wasn’t good at offering comfort in these types of situations. Restless, he stood and paced the length of the house, then decided to head outside. He snagged his backpack, then gave Bryce the hand gesture forcome.

The dog didn’t hesitate to join him outside. Despite their long trek, the dog seemed ready and raring to go.

“Go on, Bryce, get busy.” The Sullivans used the termget busyto encourage their K9s to go relieve themselves. When Maya had first introduced the phrase, he thought it was strange, but now he couldn’t imagine using anything else. “Get busy.”

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