Elsie shook her head. “No.” She hadn’t been told much about the person they were searching for, which wasn’t her preference. While the dog was the strongest member of any K-9 search and rescue team, Elsie was also a valuable member. Her human brain could synthesize information that Willow’s couldn’t, and Elsie took pride in the number of trainings she’d attended. She always wanted to learn and work better.
Without more information on the victim, she couldn’t make a very good profile to help her search more intelligently. She’d have to talk to the troopers later and get more information. For now, she just knew the missing person was a female in her midtwenties. She and a friend had come to the island to hike and became separated. Only the friend had made it back to town and had reported the other woman missing. There would be a record of her name and presence on the island, at least, even if the friend hadn’t made it back. Because of its remote location and the fact that it was owned by the forest service, they kept a log of all visitors.
It was an isolated place to hike, but Elsie knew that Midnight Ridge, the mountain that made up the high point of the island, was a destination for some hikers who wanted an incredible view.
They and the missing woman should be the only ones here. At least legally. They continued through the woods, Elsie watching the ground under her feet, the thick trees around her, for any sign that someone else had been here recently.
“So what made you want to work with search dogs?” Wyatt asked, apparently trying to start a conversation.
“I’m a little busy right now. No time for that.” Elsie blew out a breath of frustration. Didn’t he realize she was working?
“So what do you do right now? I thought you just followed Willow.”
He got points for remembering her dog’s name, she would give him that.
“I’m observing, trying to see evidence someone may have left behind. Watching Willow’s behavior... She has an alert bark when she’s found what she’s looking for, and I like to pay attention to her overall attitude and see what I can read from that.”
“Like what?”
It was harder for her to explain than she would have thought, and for a moment Elsie almost wished she were alone. Then she remembered that she had been alone on an island like this once, and that someone might be after her now.
Willow was following some kind of scent trail, made by either a hiker or game, rather than just blazing through the woods. That implied to Elsie that their missing hiker may have come this way.
She needed to ask the troopers for more information about the missing woman if the search lasted longer than today, which her gut was telling her would be the case.
Willow’s ears perked suddenly, and Elsie’s vision tunneled in on the dog. Willow looked to the left, ran off at a sprint.
“She’s got something!” Elsie tossed the explanation behind her and took off at a run behind her dog, not looking back to see if Wyatt followed. The job took first priority, and she couldn’t afford to ask Willow to slow down. Any number of things, even a shift in the wind, could make the dog lose the trail.
They hadn’t been hiking for long. The chances of the missing person being this close to the edge of the woods didn’t seem likely to Elsie, but she could be wrong. Willow had probably caught a heavy patch of scent, and it would still take some determination and patience to reach where the missing person actually was.
Willow stopped. Elsie stopped, too, then crept slowly toward the dog.
A low growl echoed from Willow’s throat.
Elsie’s heartbeat caught in her chest. This shouldn’t be happening. Willow was trained to find people, and search dogs typically displayed enthusiasm and joy when they’d succeeded. Chills chased down Elsie’s spine.
She looked back.
No Wyatt. She slowed her breathing to try to fight back the panic. Surely he couldn’t be far behind her.
Willow was one of the only constants in her life. A source of reassurance. But as much as Willow usually made Elsie feel better, the dog’s reaction was scaring her now.
She and Willow were not alone here. Someone was close.
And not, Elsie thought, the person they’d been searching for.
“Willow, no,” Elsie whispered to the dog, who paused her growling but continued to stare into the woods, looking like she was ready to defend them both.
Elsie ran through the list of things that could make her act this way. Animal? Possibly a moose or bear. But Willow had insisted they come this way, which implied that she’d caught the scent of...
Anyone. She’d asked her to search for people.
The searchers and the missing woman were not the only people on this island, Elsie was confident of it.
“I told you to stop hiding. You can’t run from the past forever.”
The voice from the other night. Her past... A gunshot split the air.
Elsie’s head jerked to the right. “Willow, come!”
The dog sprang toward her, and together they took off at a sprint, back the way they’d come.
She should have told Wyatt about the voice.
It was a strange thing to think about as she sprinted through the woods, mindful of the roots that tangled in the soil underfoot, trying to make sure she stayed upright. But she should have trusted him more.
She shouldn’t have gotten herself into this situation. How many times had she been frustrated by the willful ignorance of some people? People skied in avalanche conditions, likely telling themselves they were safe, and had to be rescued or, worse, recovered by search teams.
And now she’d done the same thing. Whoever had been in her cabin a few nights ago was after her. She’d been foolish to ignore the obvious threat.
Wyatt had been right.
Imagine, Wyatt being more responsible than Elsie was. How the world had changed.
She owed him an apology, if she made it back safely.
That and the whole truth.
