Page 15 of Scent of Fear

“You?” Shane spoke for the first time. “Libby and I have already hiked several miles this morning. What have you done?”

“I waited for you to call me back. That was stressful.” Joel helped himself to some fruit, then handed that bowl around the table. The chicken salad went around after the rolls, and soon everyone had plenty of food piled on their plates.

“Not as stressful as being shot at,” Shane muttered as he lifted his sandwich.

“I think you need to fill us in on what you know so far,” Alexis suggested.

Libby thought the chicken salad sandwiches were amazing, especially the homemade rolls. She nodded, chewed, and swallowed, then began. “I grocery shop for Grandpa every Saturday. When I got here, he was gone. One of the patio chairs was overturned, and his coffee mug was broken on the concrete.”

“We left everything in place for the sheriff’s deputies,” Shane added. “They should be here soon too.”

“That’s fine; we have plenty of food,” Alexis said. “Go on, Libby.”

“I called the ranch, your Anna sent Shane and Bryce.” Libby quickly explained how they’d headed off into the woods. “Bryce was amazing in following Grandpa’s scent.”

Shane picked up the thread of the story, giving her time to eat. “We were about ninety minutes in when some idiot took shots at us. We considered the possibility that Marvin had caught a poacher in action and took off to follow him. We wondered if the same poacher was trying to warn us away. We continued the search and shortly after that heard the rumble of a gas engine. Eventually, Bryce found the spot where the earth was trampled down, and there were tire tracks from a four-wheeler. No sign of the machine, the poacher, or Marvin.”

“And we found these.” Libby tugged the broken eyeglasses from her pocket. “They belong to my grandfather.”

“I gotta say, it makes no sense that a poacher would take your grandfather,” Joel said between bites.

“Oh, there’s more.” Shane’s expression was grim. “We came back here and didn’t see anything unusual. Then I heard Libby scream. Some guy was down searching in the cellar. I sent Bryce to get him but called the dog back when the intruder fired his weapon.”

There was a long silence as the Sullivan siblings looked at each other. “Any idea why the guy was in the cellar?” Alexis asked.

“No, but he was searching for something,” Libby said. “Cans and jars had been moved around.”

“No idea what he was looking for?” Joel asked.

“I wish.” Libby sighed. “I’m telling you, my grandfather leads a dull and boring life. He doesn’t drink, other than the occasional beer, and doesn’t gamble. There’s absolutely no reason for anyone to target him like this.”

“Maybe they mistook your grandfather for someone else?” Alexis suggested.

“After he’s lived here for the past forty years?” Libby shook her head. “I can’t imagine that. Unless, of course, this is the work of some newcomer to the area. Someone who doesn’t know the locals.”

“Anything is possible,” Shane said.

“What I can’t figure out is how the same guy who took shots at us up on the trail managed to get back here to the cabin without us hearing his four-wheeler.” Shane scowled and popped a grape into his mouth. “The time frame doesn’t seem to work. It didn’t take us that long to get back to the cabin.”

“Yeah, and sound carries for a long way out here,” Joel added.

“Unless there were two men,” Libby said.

All three Sullivans turned to look at her. Shane asked, “What makes you think there’s more than one man involved in taking your grandfather?”

“Because like you said, that guy couldn’t have ridden that four-wheeler past us, we’d have seen or heard him.” She sighed, then added, “I really want to believe the one guy has taken my grandfather to the hospital, leaving the other guy to search the cellar. But I haven’t heard from the hospital, so I don’t know what’s going on. It was just a thought.”

“She has a point about two men,” Alexis said. “Maybe they split up earlier. One took off with Marvin while the other lagged behind long enough to search the place.”

“Great,” Shane said in a sour tone. “Now we have to worry about two armed men skulking around in the woods.”

Libby fought the sudden urge to cry again. She glared at Shane. “You either keep a positive attitude or stay here while we go out looking for my grandfather.” She jumped to her feet. “Excuse me.”

She hurried into the bathroom, resisting the urge to slam the door behind her. She closed her eyes, leaned on the sink, and took several deep breaths to get her emotions under control. She refused to let Shane bring her down. She needed to believe her grandfather was going to be all right. That they’d find him very soon, alive and well.

Alive and well, she silently repeated. That was all she could ask for.

* * *

---