“I’m not sure.” Kendra grimaced and glanced at the track that disappeared in the distance. “We could, but I have the sense they’re going to end at a road.”
“Of course, we have to keep going,” Levy argued. “We need to find this guy before he escapes again.”
Justin and Griff exchanged a long look. Justin sighed. “If I were the gunman, I’d make sure the snowmobile trailer and truck were left far enough away to make it more difficult for anyone to track me on foot.”
“We could call Joel, see if he wants to bring our snow machines out,” Kendra suggested.
“Not sure that will help,” Griff argued. “By then, this guy will for sure be long gone. If we’re going, we should do that now.”
“I say we keep going,” Levy said. “We’ve come this far.” For being the guy who was most out of shape compared to the others, the US Marshal was determined to push forward with the search. For once, Dom tended to agree.
“Okay, let’s go.” Kendra turned and broke into a jog. “Come, Smoky.”
Dom quickly followed, keeping to the center of the snow machine track. The others fell into line behind him. He was impressed Justin and Griff had allowed Kendra to take the lead. He’d anticipated an argument.
Then again, this was likely a fruitless endeavor. Everyone seemed to believe the gunman was long gone.
Except for Levy.
Nobody spoke for the next ten minutes. Kendra kept a brisk pace, with Smoky leaping through the snow beside her. Dom’s energy was lagging, but he refused to slow down. If Kendra could do this, so would he.
Glancing over his shoulder, he couldn’t help but notice Levy was trailing behind. Every few minutes, Raine glanced back at him. To the guy’s credit, he didn’t complain.
The snow machine tracks curved to the right. Another ten minutes passed before Kendra and Smoky slowed down. Dom frowned when he saw a lump of metal sitting at the side of the road.
“Kendra, wait!” He rushed forward, not wanting her anywhere near the abandoned snow machine.
“There’s nobody here.” The words were barely out of Kendra’s mouth when Smoky reached the snowmobile, sniffed the ground around it, then let out a shrill bark.
“Was that an alert?” Justin asked, quickly joining them.
“Stay back,” Griff warned. “We need to check for footprints.”
Dom could see the snowmobile had been left near the edge of a rural highway. Because it had broken down? He frowned, trying to imagine the scenario.
“The footprints are crossed over, making it impossible to get a good look at them,” Kendra said. “We need to see if the machine works.”
Griff frowned, making a wide circle around the machine. In the time they were gathered there, looking for evidence, Levy finally caught up.
“Now what?” Levy glanced at each of them while he gasped for breath. “Why did the gunman leave it behind?”
“Let’s see if it works.” Before anyone could stop her, Kendra straddled the snow machine and cranked the key.
Nothing happened.
Kendra tried again. The engine still didn’t turn over. She peered at the dashboard, then turned toward Justin. “It’s low on fuel.”
“That’s odd.” Justin scowled. “Anyone who rides snowmobiles on a regular basis knows enough to bring extra fuel. Especially if you’re riding out in the wilderness.”
“A newbie mistake?” Raine asked. “I guess it’s possible.”
“I don’t know about that.” Griff dropped to one knee to examine the ground more closely. “I almost think there are two sets of prints. Yet they’re so messed up, I can’t say for sure.”
“You think the riders obliterated their prints on purpose?” Kendra asked.
“Has anyone . . . seen more than one . . . gunman?” Levy demanded between breaths. Dom hoped the older guy wasn’t about to have the big heart attack right then and there. “Are we wrong about this? Maybe we just stumbled across a couple of people out for a joyride?”
“I have not seen two people,” Kendra said firmly.
