Santa Rosa County, Florida
“So, this is as far as the scent goes?” Norwich asked when she took Creed aside. She left Deputy Greer to bag Caleb’s jacket. The other two men watched and waited. Gunner had fallen asleep in the grass, and Bolo seemed fascinated by her snoring.
“Yes,” Creed finally answered.
“That’s a bit odd, isn’t it?”
Creed and his handler, Jason Seaver, had worked scent dogs for enough cases with Sheriff Norwich that she knew how things worked.
“It is. I don’t have an answer.”
She glanced back at Bolo. Now he was dozing in a patch of sunlight alongside Gunner.
“Could the boy have gone back up the way he came into the woods?”
“That’s a possibility. When did your eyewitness say this happened?”
“The boy’s been gone two nights. An anonymous caller claimed to see him late last night.”
“Doesn’t make sense he’d leave his jacket.”
“There is something else.” She hesitated. “I haven’t mentioned this, because I know you prefer to know less about the victim.”
“It makes it easier. If I make assumptions, I might mislead my dog.”
“Sure, sure. I understand. And I respect that. But I could use a fresh perspective on where we go from here.”
Creed nodded. “Okay.”
“This boy’s home life is not great. Over the past year, my deputies have been called to the family’s house twice. Once was a domestic dispute with his mother and father. Another was between Caleb and his father. There are two younger children. I’ve been told that Caleb has run away before. Not officially, but I can’t help wondering if there have been other times.”
“Who told you he’s run away before?”
“The father. The mother didn’t deny it.”
“What do they say this time?”
“They disagree. Quite a bit, actually. Mrs. Monroe claims Caleb didn’t come home and hasn’t answered her phone calls or texts. She said that’s very unusual, and she’s worried he might be hurt and unable to answer. Mr. Monroe says the boy’s been hanging around some bad influencers. Got a tattoo. Won’t listen anymore. Gets angry about not getting his way. Claims he stomped off to cool off.”
“Did he give you any names of the bad influencers?”
“Couldn’t come up with a single one.”
“Can a fifteen-year-old get a tattoo without a parent’s consent?”
“No, but that doesn’t stop them.”
“What was the tattoo?”
She pursed her lips to think. Realized she didn’t know and said, “That’s a good question. I’ll make sure it gets added to the description. One thing I will say, they both were a little odd when I asked for a piece of Caleb’s clothing. I swear the mother went white as a ghost. Almost like she believed that somehow meant we were looking for a dead body. Shortly after that, we got the tip about someone seeing Caleb. I’m sure she was relieved to hear that.”
“You think he ran away?”
“I think it’s a strong possibility.”
“We could do a fresh search and start from the family’s house.”
She reached out and patted his arm. “I was hoping you’d say something like that.”
“As long as you understand, his scent is going to be all over that neighborhood. Chances are, the dog will only lead us to the places Caleb’s been to over the last week. We still might not find him.”
She nodded, and her expression told him she hadn’t thought of that.
“You and your dogs make it seem like magic sometimes. I need to remind myself how many times—like today—that we don’t find what we’re looking for. Well, not exactly anyway. Your dog did find Caleb’s scent. But no Caleb.”
She twisted her wrist to check her watch. “I need Mr. Sully to take me to where his dog found that bone. I’m afraid if I don’t do it now, he’ll disappear into the landscape. And if that bone is human, I’ll be asking you and one of your dogs to do that search as well.”
“Jason and I can split up searches.” Creed was already thinking that Jason’s dog, Scout, might be a better choice if they needed to start in a residential area. Scout had better manners than Bolo.
He missed Grace. Creed and the Jack Russell had worked together so well she knew what to look for before Creed even asked. She’d gotten injured two months ago, taking a brutal kick to the side. Dr. Avelyn, their veterinarian, said Grace was ready to return to duty, but Creed was stalling. She’d told him that almost a week ago. Grace was getting impatient. Even Hannah looked impatient with him.
He didn’t want to think about putting Grace at risk again. Obviously, it was his hang-up, not Grace’s.
To keep his mind off the subject, he said to the sheriff, “I didn’t know homeless people were living out here.”
“Not many. But there are a few. When they booted them out from under the I-110 bridge, they scattered. Out here they’re mostly peaceful. We haven’t had too many incidents or complaints...yet. But if a property owner asks that we remove them, we do so.”
“Sully seems like a nice man. But Hogan is definitely on drugs, right?”
“His pupils are so constricted you can barely see them. Pinpoint pupils can be a sign of opioids.”
“You’re not going to arrest either of them, are you?”
“No. Not today anyway. I used to think I was doing them a favor. Giving them a warm place to sleep and three square meals. But if they wanted that, they’d be staying in one of the shelters.”
“Do you know if Caleb’s been using drugs?”
“Good question.” She glanced over her shoulder at Hogan. “I’m gonna be pissed if this is some new meeting place that I haven’t heard about. Clearly, drugs are accessible.” Then she looked back at Creed. “You sure you’re not interested in becoming a law enforcement officer? We could sure use someone with your eye for detail. Lord knows, I could use some help.” She jerked her chin in the direction of Deputy Greer.
“Sorry, Sheriff. I don’t think I’d have the patience.”
“Yeah, I don’t blame you. You’re smart working with dogs. They get along better than people.” She smiled and pointed to Bolo and Gunner. Side by side, both dogs were sleeping in the grass.