“Wait a minute,” Chloe said. “I have an idea. It’s been forming since we found out Rachel was missing, but I wasn’t sure it would be possible. I mean, it’s a long shot, but . . .”
“What?” The sparkle in her eyes sent hope surging.
“Do you have anything that belongs to Rachel?”
Blake’s eyes narrowed. “No, not with me. Why?”
“Because Hank might be able to follow her trail.”
“But they took her in a vehicle.”
“Yes, but she arrived at the store on foot. It’s possible Hank can trace her steps back to the place she started walking from. Like I said, it’s a definite long shot, but I think it’s worth a try.”
This time hope ruptured. He grabbed her and planted a kiss on her lips, then pulled back. “You’re a genius.”
With bright red cheeks, she blinked at him. “Um . . . thanks?”
Blake didn’t even care that Linc was looking at him with equal parts amusement and exasperation. “I need a glove and an evidence bag.”
Linc cleared his throat. “Why?”
“Because I’d be willing to bet my next paycheck that Rachel used that cordless handset sitting over there near the wall. I’m also willing to bet that she was the last one to use it and dropped it when she was attacked. If I’m right and she did, it’s got her scent all over it.”
Chloe nodded. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s touched anything since the incident. I think that handset would make a great scent-article.” She walked to the back door, opened it, and stepped outside. Hank followed her. “Not much wind. That’s helpful. We’ve got cooler temps and it’s damp, which hold the scent closer to the ground. As long as the wind stays dormant, I think we might actually have a chance.”
“All right,” Linc said. “Let’s get Blake here fitted with an earpiece in case Hank needs to travel a bit.”
They followed Linc back to his vehicle and he pulled out the equipment needed for Blake. Chloe made sure she had her own earpiece on the right channel with the others. Once Blake had the earpiece in and verified it was working, he gave her a short nod.
She turned to Hank, who’d settled on the ground next to her, his eyes never leaving her. “Hank, you ready to get to work?”
His ears perked and he leaped to his feet. She looked at Blake. “We’re ready.”
With the phone in her gloved hand, Chloe held it out to Hank. “Hank, zoek!” The well-trained dog knew what to do and took a whiff. His nose immediately went to the floor and then the air. He trotted to the back door and waited for Chloe to open it for him. “Good boy, Hank.” Chloe wrapped her fingers around the toy rope and Hank pranced ahead, anxious to find the person attached to the scent so he could play. He went straight to the side of the building and sat next to an item lying on the ground.
“That’s a horse blanket,” Blake said. “She said there was a barn. She must have used it for warmth while she was walking and left it here when she went into the store.”
Chloe threw the rope and let Hank chase it. When he brought it back, she praised him, took him from the area away from the scent of the blanket, and let him have another whiff of the phone. He went back into work mode and took off.
She trotted along behind him and Blake stayed right with them. A police cruiser rolled at a slow pace in the lane closest to them. Hank pulled on the leash, wanting to run full out. Once again she congratulated herself on investing in the top-notch equipment for the animal.
As much as he may pull on the lead, he couldn’t hurt or choke himself. The large draft-horse-style leather harness allowed the force of resistance to spread over the dog’s chest. Using this style of harness rather than a simple collar cut down on fatigue and kept him from experiencing irritation around his neck. Especially if they were going to be going for a long stretch of time.
And this looked like it might be one of those times.
Blake carried the phone in the bag in case she needed to let Hank take another sniff, but so far, the dog didn’t look close to slowing down.
When they’d gone at least two miles, Chloe glanced at Blake. “This is a thirty-foot lead, but he’s raring to go. The conditions are just right for him to track long distance. Can you run faster?”
“Of course. I can do about four miles alternating between flat-out running and jogging, but after that I’ll have to slow.”
“I can do five.” She tossed him a grim smile. “On a day when I’ve had a good protein shake anyway.”
He nodded. “Let’s pick up the pace.”
After about a mile, Hank sped up and swerved right into a driveway, bolted around the back of the house and to an old storage shed.
“Rachel!” Blake swerved around them and yanked the door open.
“What’s going on out here?”
A woman in her forties stood on the back porch, eyeing them. The officer who’d been trailing them in the vehicle came around the corner. “Just hold tight, ma’am, we’re looking for a girl who was kidnapped. Do you mind if they continue?”
“Oh my stars. Of course. Is she in there?”
“No,” Blake said. “She’s not. But there are crackers, a peanut butter jar, and some banana peels in here.”
Chloe nodded. “She was here.”
Hank wagged his tail, and once again Chloe went through the game, which delighted the animal. “Let’s keep going,” she said. “Rachel said she walked all the way to the store. She must have stopped here to eat and rest.”
“Where’d she get the food?”
“No idea.”
“I might can help you with that,” the woman said. “My neighbor up the street called and asked me if I’d heard anything weird last night.”
“Weird?”
“He said he thought he heard someone in his house. At first he thought it was his wife, but she wasn’t home yet. By the time he got the lights on, no one was there, but he said he was missing some food. Said three bananas were gone as well as his jar of peanut butter. Might not have noticed the crackers.”
“That had to be Rachel,” Blake said.
“Let’s keep going up this road and see where it leads.”
“Thank you very much,” Blake called to the woman.
“I hope you find her!”
Hank found the house, but they already knew Rachel wasn’t there and Chloe helped the dog get back on the scent farther up the road. “He’s got it,” she said.
For the next two miles they ran with Hank veering to the left, sometimes into the road, then back, weaving through the trees. But for the most part, he continued down the grassy area near the road. Chloe figured they looked a little crazy to the casual observer. Definitely not a couple out for a run with their dog.
Instead, Blake wore his khakis and comfortable black loafers and Chloe, her uniform. When she started to lag, Blake slowed and she pulled Hank to a reluctant stop. “Okay,” she gasped. “When I said I could do five miles, I meant with jogging shorts and a T-shirt. Definitely not in this gear.” She wiped a trickle of sweat from her temple. Although, she thought she’d done pretty well for as long as she had.
The cruiser pulled to a stop beside them and directed a green pickup truck to go around. “You big-city cops spend most of your time in cafés and doughnut shops, or what?”
Blake shot him a dark look and Chloe had a few choice words she could have spat at him. What was his name? Officer Rickie Monroe. Chloe decided she’d offer grace instead of releasing her anger.
They were all tense and he was probably just letting off some stress by trying to be funny. And truly, if she wasn’t so worried about Rachel and the other girls, she would have just laughed. Right now, she didn’t feel like laughing. From Blake’s expression, he didn’t either.
Officer Monroe waved a hand with a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Didn’t mean anything by that. I sure couldn’t have kept up if I wasn’t behind the wheel.”
Blake’s expression softened. “Forget it.”