Mattie felt a strange sense of relief. She’d found it hard to believe that Riley might be involved with murder and kidnapping. “So that narrows it down to Tucker York.”
Cole spoke up. “Mattie, I took Robo into your backyard to make sure he locked in the scent of your attacker. I think he would recognize him.”
“Tell the sheriff I want to bring Robo down to check out the Tahoe.”
After Brody relayed the message, he held the phone out to Mattie. “Sheriff wants to talk to you.”
She took the phone. “This is Mattie.”
“Mattie!” The sheriff’s voice boomed from the receiver. “It’s great to hear your voice. Do you feel well enough to report for duty?”
“Reporting right now, sir. I can have Robo do a scent check on that Tahoe and see how he reacts.”
“All right. One of us will meet you at the Balderhouse trailhead and take you over to Lowell Pass. It’s good to have you back with us, Deputy.”
“It’s great to be here. See you soon.”
While she and Brody spoke to the sheriff, Cole and Garrett had been busy breaking camp and tightening cinches on saddles. Cole led Mountaineer over to her. “You take him, and I’ll ride the black horse.”
She clenched her teeth at the thought of riding a horse again while Robo watched her expectantly. “I’ll take the ground,” she said.
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t think I can stay on a horse if it’s moving fast. This way, I can set the pace.”
She didn’t wait for protest. With Robo leading the way, she headed down the trail, figuring the riders would be hard pressed to keep up with her and her dog.
THIRTY-FOUR
While she ran, Mattie thought hard about her captor. There’d been something familiar about his cologne, and she sorted through her memories, trying to put her finger on it. Had she first smelled it on Tucker York?
Finally, it came to her, along with the realization that the scent hadn’t been cologne at all. The sweet blend of vanilla and cinnamon—she remembered where she’d smelled it. The ice cream shop. The odor had saturated the place and probably the clothing of its owners.
She stopped on the side of the trail, whistling for Robo to come back. “John Carter,” she said as the others pulled up beside her.
“Who’s that?” Brody asked.
“The new owner of the Happy Shack ice cream shop on Main Street.” Her mind skipped to his wife. “The partner would probably be his wife, Violet Carter.”
“That’s the place that Riley hangs out all the time,” Cole said.
“Why do you think it’s him?” Brody asked.
“The cologne. It was actually the scent of ice cream and cinnamon. I remember smelling it in the shop when I went there to pick up Riley.” She looked at Brody. “Call the sheriff. Have them locate Violet Carter and take her in for questioning.”
“Do you have an address?”
“The ice cream shop is on Main Street. I don’t know where they live.” She looked at Cole to see if he knew, but he shook his head.
Mattie turned and began pounding down the trail again. She couldn’t rest until she gained justice for her brother. Was she on the right track with the Carters? They owned horses. John had said he’d ridden horseback to go fishing. But how were they connected to Willie?
Her brother had referred to an old friend of the family, someone he didn’t know existed but should have. Could he have meant a previous partner of their dad’s? Willie had been two years older than she; perhaps he’d been more aware of their father’s involvement in shady business.
When Mattie hit the parking lot at the base of the Balderhouse Trail, Stella was there with the K-9 unit. Cole and Brody trotted their horses over to a truck and horse trailer where one of the volunteers waited.
Stella exited the car and gave Mattie a thorough examination as she approached, her eyes dark with concern. When she reached her, she pulled Mattie into a hug, something completely unexpected. Mattie hugged her back.
Stella leaned away, still holding onto Mattie as she studied her face. “Are you sure you’re all right to work? Do we need to take you to a doctor?”
“Cole gave me the antidote I needed.”
“She should be seen by a doctor,” Cole said as he joined them. “I’ll take her to Doc McGinnis as soon as she’ll let me.”
Mattie held up her hand, signaling them to stop. “That’s not necessary. Let’s get loaded and go to the Lowell Pass trailhead.”
When Mattie opened Robo’s compartment, he jumped in and circled once on his dog cushion before plopping down. She noticed the torn up carpet. When she glanced at Cole for an explanation, he simply shrugged.
Robo looked at her and yawned. She stroked his fur and gave him water, which he lapped up eagerly. “You’ve made a mess, hmm? You must have been very upset.”
Cole offered his canteen. “You need to drink water, too.”
“Thanks,” she said, taking it from him. She started to climb up into the back with Robo.
Cole clasped her arm lightly, guiding her a step backward. “Ride in front.”
Mattie found she was too exhausted to argue.
Brody wound up in the back with Robo, and Stella took the driver’s seat while Mattie and Cole shared the passenger seat. With his arm around her, his closeness felt natural, and she settled in beside him, her body weary and sore.
Stella opened the console and pulled out a handgun. She gave it to Mattie along with a half smile. “Your service weapon.”
Her Glock. She took it out of the holster, popped the magazine to make sure it was fully loaded, and snapped it back into place. She racked the slide. Everything functioned as it should, and its weight felt good in her hands.
“The Carters are nowhere to be found,” Stella said as she steered the Explorer from the lot, turned on the overheads, and accelerated to well over the speed limit. “We were able to get a warrant to search their place. No furniture in the home besides a mattress on the floor and a few folding chairs. They didn’t plan to stick around. There’s an old barn on the property where we found a silver Chevy Impala and a dark blue Ford F-150 with a horse trailer.”
Stella paused and looked pointedly at Cole.
“The two vehicles you saw on the surveillance video,” he said. Then to Mattie, “We suspected the truck in your abduction but not the car. They drove through town a few minutes apart, both headed west.”
Stella resumed her briefing. “The truck had been reported stolen out of California and the Chevy up in Denver. Both have stolen Colorado plates. Tracks from a third vehicle with heavy tire tread are in the barn, too, most likely from this Tahoe we have our eye on.”
Brody spoke up from the back. “So far all we have on the Carters is car theft and a whole lot of circumstantial.”
“True,” Stella said, glancing at him in the rearview mirror. “We can’t even prove that those were their vehicles in the surveillance video. Too grainy.”
“Chances are they know we’ve spotted the Tahoe,” Brody said. “They’ve probably ditched it and won’t come back.”
Mattie agreed, but in the meantime she hoped she and Robo could come up with something. Anything.
They passed Deputy Johnson parked on the highway shoulder in his cruiser about a hundred yards from the Lowell Pass parking lot. Anyone could spot him. Brody was right. They’d be fortunate to find either of the Carters in this area.