Page 44 of Scent of Fear

He sent Libby a text message as he opened the back hatch of the SUV.Running a quick errand. Will be back soon. S.

She responded with an okay sign.

Convinced Libby would be safe enough in the public library, he closed the hatch and quickly ran around to get into the driver’s seat. He backed up and pulled out onto the highway. He’d noticed the driver of the truck had taken a right-hand turn at the intersection, so he mirrored his movements.

Driving slowly, he scanned the area for the truck. He should have asked Paul for Ward Engle’s address. Did he even live in Greybull?

Or was this where the bad guys were keeping Marvin Tolliver?

Not the latter, he quickly decided. Small towns were notorious for gossips. Keeping an old man hidden away would likely draw unwanted attention.

Still, that didn’t mean Engler wasn’t involved. He hit the phone button on his dashboard. “Call Paul Holland.”

A moment later, the call was connected. Unfortunately, Paul didn’t pick up, forcing Shane to leave a message. “Paul, it’s Shane. I’d like to know where Ward Engler lives; you mentioned he’s a local resident. I just saw him in Greybull and was curious if this is where your deputies talked to him. Call me.” He ended the call, trying not to feel guilty over the white lie. He didn’t know for sure the guy driving the black truck was Engler.

He drove all the way through Greybull without running across the black truck. Was he making a big deal out of nothing?

Probably. At the far west side of town, he turned around and headed back toward the library. He was halfway back when the back end of a black truck caught his eye. He hit the brake, wincing as the car behind him came to a quick stop, too, then turned into the parking lot.

The lot was packed with cars, including a large black truck. He drove past it, checking the rear plate to see if it matched the one he’d taken a picture of.

It was!

The only empty parking spot was way off in the back. Shane quickly pulled in and released the back. He’d take Bryce inside and see if the dog alerted on Bad Guy’s scent.

A long shot? Maybe. But it was better than doing nothing.

Grabbing his pack, he poured some water into a bowl for Bryce. The dog lapped at it, then stared up at him expectantly. He loved knowing Bryce was eager to get to work.

“This is Bad Guy.” He offered Bryce the scent bag. “Search! Search for Bad Guy!”

Bryce sniffed the scrap of denim, then wheeled and lowered his head to sniff the parking lot. Shane stayed back, giving Bryce room to roam. K9s loved to please their handlers, so it was important to make sure he didn’t lead Bryce to a forgone conclusion in any way.

He wanted Bryce to alert only if the bad guy had left his scent anywhere near the black truck. If not, that was fine too.

Although he’d already decided to take Bryce inside the restaurant to have him sniff around Ward Engler. That may prove more useful than hoping the guy had been in or around the truck.

Bryce moved all around the parking lot but never alerted. When his K9 went past the black truck, he sighed.

Of course, it couldn’t be that easy.

“Search,” he called encouragingly. “Search Bad Guy.”

Bryce made a complete loop of the parking lot, coming back to stand near Shane. He bent and ran his fingers over the dog’s fur. “You’re a good boy. We’re going to try one more thing, okay? Come.”

He stood and walked to the main entrance. Before he opened the door, he repeated the command in a low voice. “Search Bad Guy.”

The restaurant was packed. Shane stood for a moment, trying to spot the man he’d run into the previous evening. Those who were facing him didn’t look familiar, but several people sat with their backs facing the door. Bryce was sniffed with interest at the people sitting closest to the door.

Shane didn’t see a single empty table, and from the harried expressions of the two servers, it appeared they were so busy it wouldn’t pay to stick around if there was one available. His stomach rumbled with hunger at the scent of bacon, burgers, and fries.

A movement toward the back of the restaurant caught his eye. Bryce hadn’t alerted, but Shane quickly moved through the restaurant. He saw an empty seat at the old-fashioned counter along with a half-empty plate of food and cash left behind.

Had Ward Engler taken off?

Shane headed toward what he now realized was a rear entrance. He pushed open the door but didn’t see anything at first.

Then the black truck backed out of the parking spot and drove away.

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