girl!”
My nose was still filled with the scent from the toy, which was why I alerted when a stray breeze brought me her smell, still entwined with the man’s. “Good girl!” Jakob said. He stopped the car, watching me intently. Behind us, cars honked. “Got it, girl?”
I couldn’t smell her anymore. “That’s okay; that’s okay, Ellie. Good girl,” he said.
I understood, now—we were working from inside the truck. He drove and I kept my nose out the window, straining, rejecting everything except the smell from the toy.
I felt the tilt of the truck as we headed uphill, and with it a rising sense of disappointment from Jakob.
“I think we’ve lost her,” he muttered. “Nothing, Ellie?”
At my name, I turned, then went back to my work.
“Unit Eight-Kilo-Six, what’s your twenty?” the radio squawked.
“Eight-Kilo-Six, we are proceeding up Amalfi.”
“Any luck?”
“We had something on Sunset. Nothing since.”
“Roger that.”
I barked.
I normally didn’t bark when I caught a scent, but when this hit it was strong and steady, carried on a current of air that filled the cab of the truck. “Eight-Kilo-Six, we’ve got something, corner of Amalfi and Umeo.” The truck slowed, and I stayed on point. I could still smell her, and the man’s scent was strong as ever. Jakob eased to a stop. “Okay, which way here, Ellie?” Jakob asked.
I climbed across the seat, shoving my face out his window. “Left on Capri!” Jakob shouted excitedly. A few minutes later the truck started to bump. “We’re on the fire road!”
“10-4, we’re on our way,” the radio said.
I was on alert, focused dead ahead, while Jakob wrestled with the truck to keep it on the narrow road. Suddenly we banged to a stop, facing a yellow gate. “Be advised, we need the fire department up here; there’s a gate.”
“10-4.”
We jumped out of the car. A red car was parked off to the side, and I ran right to it, on alert. Jakob was holding his gun out. “We’ve got a red Toyota Camry, empty; Ellie says it belongs to our man.” Jakob led me around to the back of the vehicle, watching me intently. “No indication anyone is in the trunk of the car,” Jakob stated.
“Roger that.”
The scent from the car wasn’t as strong as what was coming from the air currents rising up from the canyon below. A steep road held the man’s scent as it descended, while the girl’s was more delicate. He’d carried her.
“Be advised, suspect took the road down to the camp. He’s on foot.”
“Eight-Kilo-Six, hold and wait for backup.”
“Ellie,” Jakob said to me, putting his gun back on his belt. “Let’s go find the girl.”
{ TWENTY }
I felt strong fear from Jakob as we descended down into the canyon, so strong I kept returning to him for reassurance. Then the girl’s scent pulled me forward and I galloped ahead, racing toward a collection of small buildings.
I spotted the little girl sitting quietly on some steps that led up to a big porch while a man pulled at the front door to the building with some sort of tool. She seemed sad and scared, but she perked up when she saw me approach, holding out a tiny little hand.
The man suddenly whirled, staring at me. My hackles rose when our eyes met—I felt the same dark sickness from him that I’d felt in Todd, only stronger, more vicious. He jerked his head up, looking over toward the road I’d come from.
I ran back to Jakob, the little girl calling, “Doggy!” as I peeled away.
“You got her,” Jakob said. “Good girl, Ellie. Show me!”
I took him back to the building. The little girl was still sitting on the porch, but the man was nowhere to be seen.
“Eight-Kilo-Six, victim is secured and unharmed. Suspect fled on foot,” Jakob said.
“Stick with the victim, Eight-Kilo-Six.”
“Roger that.”
I could hear in the distance the
“How are you, Emily? Are you hurt?” one of them asked.
“No,” said the little girl. She picked at a flower on her dress.
“My God, is she all right? Are you okay, little girl?” a third policeman asked breathlessly as he ran up, putting his hands on his knees. He was larger than the other men, both taller and built more heavily. I smelled ice cream on his breath.
