Page 39 of Scent of Fear

Shane glanced at Bryce who now had the scent of at least one of the bad guys imprinted on his brain. If they ran across the truck now, he wondered if his K9 would alert. Especially if Ward Engler was friends with the younger bad guy.

Still, there wasn’t anything more they could do on that front. Driving aimlessly around again searching for a truck and trailer was not a good use of their time.

“What’s this about someone showing up here?” Paul asked, changing the subject.

Shane nodded. “I was asleep on the sofa when Bryce growled a warning. I noticed movement outside the patio doors.” He gestured to them. “I rushed over and gave Bryce the command to get him. The guy had a head start.” He bent over his backpack to pull the plastic bag out containing the strip of denim. “Bryce got a piece of him, though. He brought this back to me.”

“How did the guy get away?” Paul frowned as he examined the fragment of cloth. “Wouldn’t be easy to shake a hundred-pound dog loose.”

“I heard an engine. I’m sure he was on the four-wheeler and gunned it.” Shane could imagine Bryce planting his front paws to hold the guy back only to fall back when the strip ripped free. “Look at it closely. I think there’s blood on there.”

“Blood?” Paul smoothed the plastic to see better. “There is a dark stain there, but it could be dirt or grime too.”

“I had Bryce follow the bad guy’s scent,” Shane explained. “He led us to a shallow cave near an outcropping of rock. That’s where we found this.” He pulled the plastic piece of a zip tie that had been in the cave. “To be fair, Bryce could have been alerting on either Marvin’s scent or the bad guy’s. Not sure. But as Bryce continued tracking this guy, he alerted in a clearing where we found blood stains.”

“Blood stains?” Paul glanced at his dog. “He can smell blood?”

“He can smell anything that leaves a specific scent behind. Sweat typically works better.” Shane pulled out his phone and brought up the pictures. “I didn’t bring the evidence back with me, but you can see that those stains appear to be blood.”

“This is why you’re thinking the guy may be heading to a hospital?” Paul looked skeptical as he handed the phone back to him. “It’s not like he lost a pint of blood or anything.”

“No, but the wound could get infected,” Libby said.

“Dog bites are notorious for that,” Shane said in agreement. “I’d actually be more surprised if his wound didn’t get infected.”

Paul sighed. “I don’t know. It’s not much to go on.”

“Why not?” Libby looked upset. “What can it hurt to question someone who comes in for treatment of what appears to be a dog bite? I can’t imagine patients walk into the hospital with that type of injury every day.”

“Not a dog bite, but other wild animals maybe.” Paul spread his hands. “If this guy is operating on the wrong side of the law, he’s more likely to claim he was bitten by a fox or a coyote than admit a well-trained K9 tried to take him down.”

Shane hated to admit that Paul had a point. “I still think any male presenting with an animal bite to his lower leg should be considered a suspect.”

“It’s not exactly probable cause,” Paul drawled. “We can ask questions, but that’s about it.”

“That should be enough. Questions about where the injury happened and having a name would be helpful too.” Libby appeared annoyed with Paul’s logical approach to this issue. “If the guy has a criminal record, that may give you probable cause for an arrest.”

Paul didn’t say anything for a long moment. “We have put the alert out to all hospitals and clinics in the area. So far, nobody has reported anything matching our request for information.”

“There’s still time,” Libby insisted. “It takes a while for an infection to set in.”

“You’re a medical expert now?” Paul sounded testy.

“My work at the hospital is in billing, so no.” She bit her lower lip in a way that reminded Shane of their brief but sizzling kiss. “But I don’t think it happens in an instant.”

“She’s right. It takes a few hours for an infection to set in.” Shane gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ve learned enough first aid through the many search and rescue missions we’ve carried out. The ones who suffer the most are those who have been lying in the woods with an exposed injury for more than twenty-four hours.”

Libby flashed a grateful smile. “I appreciate your insight, Shane. It makes sense to me that infections take time.”

Paul picked up the plastic zip tie. “You think these guys tied your grandfather up with these?”

“Yes, I do.” Libby leaned forward. “Please, Deputy, you really need to help find him. He’s going to be seventy in a few months, and I’m so worried about his health. He doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.”

“I promise we’re looking for him,” Paul said. Although Shane did not sense a strong level of confidence from the deputy. “I’ll let the others know about the blood and reinforce the plan of checking hospitals and clinics.”

Bryce nudged his leg. “Maybe include veterinary clinics,” he advised. “This guy could try a roundabout way to get antibiotics.”

“I can do that.” Paul stood and moved across the room to speak softly into his radio. Shane couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying, but he hoped the right message was getting across to the rest of the local police.

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