Page 1 of Scent of Fear

1

Libby Tolliver shifted the bag of groceries in her arms so she could open the door to her grandfather’s cabin. “Grandpa? It’s Libby.”

Her sixty-nine-year-old grandfather wasn’t in the kitchen or living room from what she could see. She frowned as she strode to the kitchen to drop the bag of groceries on the counter. “Grandpa?” Her grandfather was usually up and about by now, despite his arthritic hips. She turned and headed down the hallway to the two bedrooms. Her grandfather, Marvin Tolliver, wasn’t in the main bedroom, the guest room she used when she came to visit, or the bathroom.

An icy finger of fear snaked down her spine. Her grandpa wasn’t prone to wandering around, but maybe something outside had caught his attention? As it was early June in Wyoming, the weather was mild. She swung open the patio door, then abruptly stopped.

One of two patio chairs was overturned, and there was a broken ceramic mug lying on the ground with a dark stain of what appeared to be spilled coffee. Her heart jumped in her throat as she frantically scanned the backyard.

“Grandpa!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “Grandpa, it’s Libby! Are you okay?”

She didn’t see or hear anything. Libby pulled her phone from her pocket and called the Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue Ranch. She’d known Shane Sullivan in high school; he was a year ahead of her. Libby and Shane had never dated. Shane had been seeing a girl named Rebecca Yost, and there had been rumors of a possible engagement. Then Rebecca had died in a terrible car crash, and Shane had taken the loss hard. Especially since it was only a few years later that he’d lost his parents too.

Still, she knew Shane and the rest of his siblings had turned their parents’ former glamorous dude ranch into a large K9 search and rescue operation. Libby held herself together with an effort as she waited for the call to go through.

“This is Anna. You’ve reached the Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue Ranch,” a pleasant voice said.

“My name is Libby Tolliver. I’m looking for Shane. We went to high school together. My grandfather Marvin Tolliver is missing. He...” Her voice faltered for a moment. “It looks like he may have left under duress. Or ran into the woods because he was scared.” That didn’t sound like her tough-as-nails grandfather, but she couldn’t imagine another scenario. “All I know for sure is that he’s missing, and I need someone to come search for him.”

“I’ll send Shane and his K9, Bryce, right away,” Anna assured her. “What’s the address?”

“My grandfather lives a few miles east of Greybull,” Libby said, and provided the exact address. “How long will it take for Shane to get here?”

“I’m not sure, but he’ll get to your location as soon as possible.”

“Okay, thank you.” She ended the call, then headed back into the kitchen to put the perishable items she’d purchased in the fridge and freezer before heading back outside to the patio. It occurred to her that she should notify the police.

As she pulled out her phone to make the call, it rang. She quickly answered. “Hello?”

“Libby? It’s Shane. I’m halfway between Cody and Greybull and should be there soon. What happened?” Shane’s gruff voice helped soothe her nerves.

“I don’t know exactly.” She stared off at the woods that stretched toward the mountains. “I grocery shop for my grandfather on Saturdays, but he wasn’t here when I arrived. One of the patio chairs is lying on its side, and his coffee mug is broken on the concrete.” She tried to maintain a positive attitude. “Maybe he saw something amazing and rushed out to get a closer look at it.”

“Really?” Shane’s voice was thick with doubt.

She tried not to sigh. “I don’t know, but I’ll head out to start searching. My grandfather has an arthritic hip, so I’m worried he may have fallen. Just get here soon, okay?”

“I will, but don’t head out yet. Wait for me. Oh, and gather some of your grandfather’s recently worn clothing together. Bryce will use them as a scent source.”

“I can do that.” Libby normally did her grandfather’s laundry on Saturdays, too, so she knew there would be a full hamper to choose from. She didn’t like the idea of waiting, but it helped to know he was closer than she’d expected. “Thanks, Shane.”

“I’ll be there ASAP.” He ended the call without saying anything more.

Libby hurried down the hall to her grandpa’s room and hauled the hamper of dirty clothes into the living room. Then she headed back outside, giving the patio a wide berth to head toward the woods.

“Grandpa? Grandpa, it’s Libby! Can you hear me?” Hearing nothing, she fought to remain calm. If her grandfather had fallen, he might have hit his head and lost consciousness. “Grandpa! We’re coming to find you! Don’t worry, we’ll find you!”

Still no response. Sweeping her gaze over the area, she tried to figure out which path her grandfather had taken. It was a foolish attempt on her part because she had no experience with hunting or tracking. The smart thing to do would be to wait for Shane and his dog.

Yet she didn’t immediately turn back toward the cabin. Realizing she still hadn’t called the police, she pulled her phone out again.

But after staring at the screen for a long moment, she tucked the device back into her pocket. Maybe it was better to wait. A tipped-over chair and broken mug didn’t really indicate a crime had taken place. Especially way out here in the middle of nowhere. The more she considered that, the less likely she believed he’d been taken away by force. Maybe her grandfather had been startled by something, maybe a bear or some other wild animal, jumped to his feet, and then... went to see the animal up close?

She winced. Maybe not. Her grandfather could have simply wandered off. He could have fallen off his chair, broken his cup, and gotten angry with himself, so he’d gone into the woods. Or he’d been confused. She’d noticed his memory wasn’t what it used to be.

“Grandpa? Can you hear me?”

The silence was deafening. Libby ran her fingers through her reddish hair and reluctantly turned to head back to the cabin.

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