Page 96 of Ultimate Justice

Evan pulled Marlie’s phone from his pocket and held it out for Blue to sniff. He was counting on there being enough scent particles left for his dog to track. Blue sniffed the screen, then Evan turned the phone over, allowing him to sniff the other side. Given there was virtually no wind down here, scent particles would fall to the ground more readily, making them easier for Blue to find.

“Find her.” He pointed to the tire tracks heading farther down the road and away from the houses.

Blue sniffed the dirt, trotting along the tire tracks for ten more feet before turning in circles. All around them came muffled shouts of “clear” as the SWAT team and other uniforms cleared the houses.

He followed Blue to the second-to-last house at the end, but his dog didn’t go to the door. Instead, he swung back to the road, his nose to the dirt.

He’d found a scent trail.

Blue picked up speed, and Evan had to run to keep up. Just when it seemed like he was on a hot track, his dog veered sharply and led Evan behind the very last house to a small barn. Blue trotted to the barn doors and sat.

He signaled for Blue to move to the side. Holding the rifle with one hand, he swung open the door and aimed in. Two tarp-covered vehicles were parked side by side. He pressed his hand on the hood of the closest vehicle and held it there. The hood was slightly warm. He whipped off the tarp. A blue Honda Prius with Colorado tags.

“Blue,” he called out.

Blue trotted in, sniffing the ground as he went directly to the driver’s side door and sat. Evan didn’t need to run the tag to know Marlie had been inside the car. The icing on the cake was the North Metro Hospital parking sticker on the Prius’s windshield. She must have borrowed it from someone who worked at the hospital. Her friend, Latisha Torres, he guessed.

He pressed his hand on the hood of the other tarp-covered vehicle. Cold. He yanked off the tarp. Recognizing the other car, he slammed his fist down on the hood, leaving a dent. Motherfucker. When he caught up to his prey, there wouldn’t be a rock big enough for them to hide under.

More shouts of “clear” came from the closest house, then the radio clipped to his belt crackled.

“Evan, it’s Brett.”

He grabbed the radio and clicked the mic. “Go ahead.”

“The houses are all empty. It’s like the place is deserted.”

“It’s not. They’re here somewhere, and so is Marlie.”

“You found her?”

“Negative.” But he would. He never should have let her walk out his door. He’d lost Gracie, but he wouldn’t lose Marlie and Noah, too. “Blue tracked her to a car she borrowed from someone at the hospital.” He followed Blue, who’d trotted out of the barn, heading in the direction of the church-like structure he’d seen from the air. “Blue’s picked up her scent again. Head for the large building around the bend that looks like a church. I’ll meet you there.”

He reclipped the radio to his belt and jogged after Blue. Snow began falling, and he looked up at the gray sky. The snow would impact his dog’s ability to pick up scent particles.

The church loomed ahead, but the closer he got to it, the more it reminded him of a mausoleum. Cream-colored tile covered the exterior walls. Only one door was visible. No windows.

Blue shot past the building, sticking to the dirt road and picking up his pace. Evan ran faster, not wanting to lose sight of his dog. As he passed the mausoleum, he glanced at the small fenced-in area—a cemetery. No headstones, just wood crosses.

There wasn’t time to check now, but he couldn’t keep his mind from asking the question: was Gracie’s body lying in that cemetery? If so, there was nothing he could do for her now. Focusing on the present was what mattered. Marlie and Noah.

Brett was right. I am an idiot. Marlie was not only the first woman he’d had real feelings for ever…

Those feelings were bone-deep. Heart-deep.

There was still a chance she and Noah could be his future. If he could find them.

Alive.

…

“We have to get out of here.” Marlie ran her hands over the walls, searching in the near-darkness for something—anything—that would give them a way out.

A few minutes ago, Manello had received a phone call, then slammed the door shut, locking them inside what was, essentially, their prison. Or their coffin. With the only light coming from a small vent in the roof, she could barely see her hands in front of her.

By the time she’d skirted all four walls of their tiny prison, her heart sank. There wasn’t a single weakness in any of the boards. This shed must have been brand-spanking-new. It even smelled new, like fresh wood from a lumber yard.

“No, dammit. No!” She kicked at the nearest wall. Not a single board budged or cracked. She kicked again, harder. The impact sent a stab of pain to the ball of her foot. Adding insult to injury, she landed on her ass on the floor.