Page 71 of Keeping Penny

“Fine.”

In any other situation, Casper might’ve been amused at the bickering of one of his best friends and the dog handler. But nothing could make him smile right now.

The six of them headed out, led by Fred, whose nose was working overtime. He didn’t walk in a straight line, which Jen explained was normal. Pyro’s scent was in the air as well as on the ground, and even though it didn’t feel windy out, scent was constantly moving.

“Where was he going?” Chaos mumbled as they headed down the sidewalk, away from the apartment complex.

“Could someone have forced him to walk this way?” Jen asked.

“Not likely. No one really forces us to do anything,” Obi-Wan said with no arrogance.

“He could’ve been running after someone. If someone snatched Bowie, he would’ve given chase,” Buck said.

Casper looked around and saw no security cameras in the immediate area, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. Tex was already on his list of people to call, and now he mentally added another thing to talk to him about.

No one was better at finding footage from security cameras than Tex Keegan. And ever since the man had been taken from his own family not too long ago, he’d gotten even more involved in finding missing people. Not just military men and women and their families, but runaways, single mothers, abused spouses, prostitutes, anyone and everyone who seemed to disappear without a trace. He was partnering with police departments around the country to do what he did best…analyze technology.

Rumor had it the man was also thinking about accepting a teaching position at Harvard. Instructing others on what he did. It was a much-needed specialty, something Casper, his friends, and countless other military men in their circles knew firsthand.

“Wait, you know what? There’s an ice cream shop not too far from here,” Edge said. “I overheard him talking to Laryn one day at the hangar, before a flight test. Telling her that Bowie’s favorite flavor was bubblegum, and how gross he thought it was, and how he wished the local ice cream place he took her to would rotate it out.”

“That’s right,” Jen said. “It’s about three more blocks from here and over one street.”

If they were correct, they could hopefully look at video from the ice cream place and see if Pyro and Bowie had been there, what time, and if anything had happened there that might shed light on where the two were now.

But instead of continuing down the sidewalk, Fred took a left turn into a parking lot of an out-of-business taco restaurant. There was grass growing through the cracks in the asphalt and the windows were boarded up.

Everyone stopped as Fred and Jen began walking in circles. Fred’s nose was in the air, and he whined as he walked.

“Shit,” Edge said under his breath. The same time Jen confirmed, “The scent ends here.”

This was bad. Penny said Pyro’s car was still at the apartment complex, and if his trail ended here, it was likely he’d gotten into someone else’s vehicle. But whose? And why?

“What’s that?” Buck asked, pointing toward something in the weeds at the edge of the lot. There was a strip of extremely overgrown bushes and grass on one side of the lot, and Casper immediately saw what his friend had pointed out.

Everyone jogged over to that side of the lot to see what it was.

“Fuck.”

“Shit!”

“This isn’t good.”

No, it wasn’t. Lying in the dirt and grass was a Pokémon backpack. One they’d all seen before. It was Bowie’s. It was proof she’d been here…or at least her bag had.

“Spread out, look around. See what else you can find,” Casper ordered. He prayed that they wouldn’t find the little girl’s body in the underbrush, and to his relief, after a quick search of the area, they confirmed Bowie wasn’t there.

He felt guilty for being relieved, but the alternative would’ve been worse. Pyro and Bowie had gotten into a car, voluntarily or involuntarily, and the little girl’s backpack had been discarded here probably in the hopes no one would find it.

Fred let out a small woof, startling everyone. Turning, Casper saw the dog sitting on the other side of the lot, with Jen and Edge by his side. As he walked over, Edge bent and picked up something off the ground.

Casper recognized what it was immediately.

Pyro’s phone. He’d seen his friend and copilot using it hundreds of times. And Fred had obviously found it, since he’d been locked onto Pyro’s scent.

“Screen’s cracked but it seems to be working,” Edge said grimly.

Looking around the area, Casper tried to imagine what happened here. How in the hell Pyro had let someone get the jump on him. Then again, he didn’t have to wonder too hard. Someone had probably threatened Bowie, and he’d done whatever was necessary in order to keep her safe and unharmed.