She read the note. “Yes, sir. How about Brody? Is he coming with me?”
“He and Deputy Johnson are already on their way.”
A pet peeve niggled at her. She hoped they wouldn’t disturb any scent trails. She’d call him on the way and tell him to stay inside his own vehicle until she could get there. “How far ahead of me are they?”
“Hard to say. They were already near that area when Benson called.”
It might be too late; they were probably out of cell phone range. “I’ll be on my way, then.”
“And Mattie . . .”
Mattie turned back toward him, surprised that he’d used her given name. He was always so formal.
“Don’t take any chances out there,” he said. “We’ve got severe storm warnings forecasted for the high country, and temperatures will fall tonight. Make sure you get down off that mountain in time. Take your winter gear.”
“It’s already in the car,” she said, thinking of Adrienne. “We may need riders on horseback for a rescue mission.”
“Cole Walker has volunteered to help organize that. I’ll give him a heads-up, let him know there’s that possibility.”
“With this storm coming, I think we’d better send a couple riders up to the area now to wait at the scene. Then if we find her and need help with evacuation, we won’t waste any time.”
McCoy paused, thinking it over. “I hate to activate volunteers unnecessarily, but I agree with you on this one. I’ll make the call.”
“Thank you.” Mattie left his office, Robo at her side.
Holding out a paper bag, Rainbow intercepted Mattie as she started past the dispatcher’s desk. “Here’s a sandwich and some fruit for you to eat for lunch on your way up, and there’s a bottle of water in there, too.” Mattie could see the distress in her face. “Take care of yourself out there. I don’t want you to get lost, too.”
She took the bag. “Thanks. I keep supplies in the car, so don’t worry. We’ll do our best to bring her back, Rainbow.”
Mattie hurried to the Explorer, reloaded Robo, and settled into her own seat. She plugged the GPS coordinates into her system and then pulled out of the parking lot. She tried to call Brody’s cell phone but was disappointed when it went to voice mail.
Gravel spattered against the bottom of her SUV as she drove fast on the county road. A cloud bank loomed over the jagged northwestern horizon, gray and ominous. For the most part, she headed into the wind. Although she didn’t feel hungry, she reached into the paper bag on the seat beside her to grab the sandwich. If Robo found a scent trail that led into the wilderness, her body would need fuel to keep up with him.
The first thirty minutes of the journey weren’t too hard. But the road grew narrow and pitted as she climbed toward the gulch, leaving behind pinion and juniper to go up into a forest of towering ponderosa and lodgepole pine. It reminded her of the day Robo found Grace Hartman, and she hoped today wouldn’t end in the same kind of tragedy.
She’d thought Robo’s discovery of a body was nothing short of miraculous; he’d never been trained in cadaver work. But a phone call to his trainer Jim Madsen had cleared up the mystery. He’d said, “Hell, Deputy, that must be the smartest dog on the planet you’ve got there. We tested him once on cadaver work before we decided to train him for narcotics detection. The way I figure it, the damn dog must’ve remembered what to do.”
It didn’t surprise Mattie; she already knew her dog was a genius.
The GPS guided her onto a little-used road deformed by signs of washout. Steep walls of timber defined the sides of Dead Man Gulch as the road followed a narrow stream upward. Groves of aspen provided color ranging from yellow to gold to orange, their leaves quivering in the wind that plucked them from limbs and sent them skittering along the roadbed. Her outdoor temperature gauge said forty-four degrees, then forty-two. The nighttime plummet had begun.
Robo stood behind her in his compartment, watching out the windshield.
“We’re going to work,” she told him. He pricked his ears, licking his lips in anticipation.
She found the next turn and swung onto a small logging road. It wouldn’t be far now, and she felt anxiety mingle with the sandwich she’d consumed. The narrow road grew steep and even more rugged. Remembering that Adrienne drove a compact sedan, Mattie wondered why she would drive all the way in here. It could be done—Brody’s cruiser was also up ahead—but why would she want to expose her car to the possibility of damage? She could’ve parked down below and hiked up this way if she was interested in exercise and scenery.
Mattie glanced at the clock. Twelve thirty. They were still on Daylight Savings Time, so the sun would set around six thirty. Twilight might last for another hour if they were lucky. Brody’s silver and blue cruiser appeared between the trees. She’d reached the right spot.
As she pulled up behind Brody’s cruiser, she could see Adrienne’s charcoal-colored Escape. And it looked like Brody and Johnson had already been all over it. The front doors and hatch back were open. Johnson stepped back from where he’d been searching inside the back compartment and straightened his long, lean form to full height to wave at her. In his bulky winter jacket and cap with earflaps, the rookie looked like a kid. A kid who happened to be six foot two.
Mattie gave him a frown instead of a wave. She might not be able to reprimand Chief Deputy Brody for sullying her scent trails, but she could let the rook know he’d done wrong. Since the pullout could hold only the two vehicles that were in it, she parked on the road, set her emergency brake, and exited the SUV, taking her heavy coat with her. Arctic air hit her broadside, chilling her body immediately. She pulled on her coat while she walked to join her fellow deputies.
“I hope you haven’t disturbed a scent trail,” she said to Johnson by way of greeting.
Brody exited the back seat of the car. His head was uncovered, his coat unzipped, and his face haunted and hollow. “We’ve got to get a move on this, Cobb. We’re running out of time.”
“Not a time to skip protocol, Chief,” she said. “Did you find anything useful in there?”
“Nothing. It’s clean. No blood stains in front or back.”
His reply spoke volumes about what he feared most. “How about her cell phone?”
“No. There’s nothing in here except the car’s documents and manuals in the glove box and her music and a few personal items in the console. Her jacket’s in the back seat.”
“Great. Leave that right where it is and don’t touch it. I’ll use it for a scent article.” She turned to go back to her Explorer.
Robo was watching for her out the side window of his compartment, and he bounced on his front feet when she approached. Mattie grinned at him, his excitement contagious. She opened up the door and he bailed out, prancing beside her, eyes locked onto hers.
“Do you want to go to work?” She began the patter she used to rev him up, and he almost levitated in his happiness. After giving him some water to moisten his mucus membranes and increase his scenting ability, she put on his blue nylon tracking harness and matching work collar. He stood at attention, allowing her to adjust his equipment. When Robo finished getting dressed for work, he settled into his responsibilities immediately. It happened that way every time. He watched her while she put on her own equipment, a utility belt filled with her supplies.
Robo walked beside her as they approached, while Brody and Johnson stood at the rear of the car, giving her space to work on the driver’s side. She put Adrienne’s lightweight jacket into a plastic bag and lowered it so Robo could sniff. He thrust his nose into the bag, getting full value for his effort.