Chapter 22

Nash crouched down and crept to the end of the porch. Duke, on high alert, let out a low warning growl, his attention laser focused on Carrie's van.

He caught a fleeting movement, what seemed like little more than a rustling of the trees, out of the corner of his eye.

Nash gripped his gun, stealthily moving forward. Closer. Closer to the rear bumper of Carrie's van.

Duke stayed right by his side, moving at the same pace.

The hair on the back of Nash's neck prickled. He sensed he was being watched. The pursuer being pursued.

He motioned for Duke to stop. Nash knelt on the ground, lowering his head. He peered beneath the van. Feet. He could see someone's feet pointed in his direction.

They crept backward. Once. Twice. In a flash, the person pivoted and took off at a dead run.

Nash sprang to his feet and bolted around the side of the van. The shadowy figure moved fast. Although Nash prided himself on being fit, the trespasser was faster.

They ran between the storage bins. Pursuer and pursued.

Bam. Nash watched as the culprit collided with the corner of a bin. They bounced back, quickly recovered and kept moving.

He and Duke remained in hot pursuit, picking up speed when they cleared the metal storage bins.

The trespasser reached the silos, passing under the mercury light long enough for Nash to catch a glimpse of the person, clad in black from head to toe. The flee-er made it to the edge of the field, picking up even more speed, if that was possible.

The dark figure slowed, almost appearing as if they were going to stop, changed their mind and made a frantic dash to the left.

The person reached the tree line and disappeared from sight. Seconds later, Nash and Duke made it to the same spot and stopped. "Where did they go?"

Whoever it was, was long gone. Man and hound circled back to their starting point. "We were close Duke. Unfortunately, whoever it was got away."

*****

Jo dashed to the rear slider door, watching as Nash, with Duke by his side, raced toward the silo. They crested the hill and disappeared from sight. Jo paced and prayed. Three minutes passed, four and then five.

Still, there was no sign of them. She slipped out onto the deck. The minutes dragged by. It was quiet. Almost too quiet.

What if Nash was injured?

Stop! Jo scolded herself. He could protect himself. Duke would help him track the trespasser.

Woo-hoo. WHOOP. Jo recognized the whistle. It was Nash calling Duke. Seconds later, a silhouette of the pair crested the hill.

Jo jumped up and down, waving her arms.

They changed direction and quickly made their way to the back of the house.

"Well?"

"It was only one person. Whoever it was got away. Duke was hot on their trail. Next thing I know, he lost the scent, and began going in circles."

"Were you able to see who it was?"

"It was a small person, petite and athletic." Nash tapped his chest with his fist. "Whoever it was must have had some sort of jet-packed power shoes. Duke and I weren't able to gain any ground. We tracked him or her as far as the tree line."

Nash started to pace. "Whoever it was ran between the storage bins. They must've tripped or couldn't see because they hit the corner. For a second, I thought they were going to hit the ground, but kept going."

"We should take a look around."

"Agreed. The person knows we'll be watching. I doubt we'll see him or her again tonight."

Jo ran inside and grabbed another flashlight.

With Duke by their side, the couple retraced Nash's steps, scouring the ground as they followed the path the trio had taken, not stopping until they reached the tree line.

"It's too dark," Jo finally said. "We'll have to search again tomorrow morning."

Back at the house, they checked to make sure the doors and windows were locked before finally crawling into their sleeping bags.

Jo tossed and turned, listening to every creak and bump. Finally, she fell asleep. She woke sometime early the next morning, her back aching. She flipped and flopped, trying to find a comfortable position.

"Are you okay?" Nash whispered.

"Yes. No. I'm getting old," Jo sighed. "At least too old to sleep on the floor."

"Do you want me to give you a back rub?" he offered.

"No thanks." Jo curled up in a ball and tucked the top of the sleeping bag under her chin. "This feels pretty good. On the bright side, it makes me appreciate my nice soft bed."

"Me too. I can't remember the last time I slept on a hard floor."

"We should've taken Carrie up on sleeping in the guest bedroom."

"And might not have discovered someone was creeping around outside," Nash pointed out.

"True." Jo changed the subject. "I think I'll have Raylene come by here tomorrow morning to have a look around. She has excellent tracking skills."

"Good idea." Nash yawned loudly. "Get some rest."

"You too." Jo finally drifted off to sleep. The next time she opened her eyes, bright morning sunlight beamed in through the living room windows.

"Ugh." Jo flinched as she struggled to a sitting position.

Nash's eyes popped open. He leaned on one elbow, enjoying her attempt to extricate herself from the sleeping bag. "Good morning sunshine." He grinned.

"What is it?" Jo patted her hair. "Let me guess. My hair is standing up all over my head."

"Actually, only on the right side. It's kinda cute."

"It's not cute." She hurried to the bathroom, noting her hair was not only sticking straight out on one side but standing straight up on top, like a rooster.

She wet her fingers and smoothed her hair. Taking care of business, she returned to the living room. Nash had already rolled up their bedding and set it near the door.

"Hey." Carrie appeared at the bottom of the stairs. "Good morning."

Jo greeted her first. "Morning."

"I guess we had a quiet night."

"No. We had a trespasser."

Taking turns, Nash and Jo filled Carrie in on what had transpired.

"Nash and I are going to head home. We'll be back with Raylene," Jo said. "I want her to take a look around."

"Do you have time for breakfast?" Carrie asked. "I feel like I should at least feed you."

"We're good. Maybe some other time." Jo promised they would return and then she and Nash, with Duke leading the way, trekked through the field to the truck.

It was a quick trip back to the farm, where breakfast was in full swing.

Nash and Jo took their spots at the table, feasting on Delta's lumberjack breakfast. While they ate, the couple told the others what had happened.

"Raylene has expertise in tracking," Jo said. "Nash and I are going to take her over to Carrie's as soon as we're done eating."

The meal ended, and Delta herded the trio out of the house. "Don't worry about the breakfast dishes."

Carrie must've been watching for them, because as soon as they pulled into the driveway, she ran out. "Nothing's been touched. I haven't left the house. I checked the surveillance cameras."

"Did you see anything?"

Carrie made a thumbs down. "Nope."

Jo tapped Nash's shoulder. "You're the one who tracked the person. Show us where to go."

"I first spotted someone over by Carrie's van. I could tell they were nearby, so I knelt down and looked under the van. At the closest point, he or she was maybe only twenty-five feet away from me."

He continued. "Whoever it was got spooked because as soon as I saw their feet, they ran toward the back and took a shortcut in between the storage bins."

The group walked single file between the storage containers. "I'm almost positive the person collided with the corner of the bin. It slowed them down momentarily and then he or she took off like a sprinter in a 100-meter dash."

While Nash retraced the steps he and the trespasser had taken, Raylene studied the ground and their surroundings, stopping every few feet.

"I glimpsed whoever it was over by the silo. They ran under the mercury light," Nash said. "It was right about there that the person looked like they were going to stop, but kept going."

"Let's spread out and search," Jo said.

"Good idea." Carrie veered left. Nash went right while Jo and Raylene covered the area in between.

Moving at a slow pace, they scoured the ground, searching for clues. The group reached the silo and spent more time checking the area.

"I see fresh tracks." Raylene bent down and ran a light hand over a shoe print. "Sneakers. Whoever it was had a small foot. My guess is this is about a size five and a half or six shoe. The print is uneven."

"Uneven," Jo echoed.

"Meaning their steps are off." Raylene outlined the shoe print. "You can see how the print sinks in deeper on the right side. The person favors this side of their foot."

"They have a limp or some sort of visible pace?" Carrie asked.

"Maybe," Raylene said. "Maybe not."

"I can tell you one thing. He or she had no trouble running," Nash said. "Duke and I weren't able to catch up."

Jo snapped a picture of the shoe print with her cell phone. She turned to Carrie. "Do you think it's possible one of the workers made this print?"

"No. They all wear steel-toed work boots." Carrie placed her foot next to it. "It's not mine. I have big clodhoppers."

Jo lifted her foot. "My feet are too big. What about you, Raylene? You were out here walking around the other day."

Raylene lifted her left foot and wiggled her shoe. "Nope. Not mine either."

"So, we've ruled out everyone who could have possibly left this print," Jo said. "I'll send a copy to Sheriff Franklin. Maybe we should file another police report."

"And tell them what? Someone was sneaking around last night. We have no idea who it was, and they didn't do anything other than trespass. He's already looking into the explosion."

"True. At least he can add it to his list," Jo said.

Nash circled the silo. "Let's keep moving."

The searchers walked to the tree line.

"This is where Duke and I lost the person," Nash said.

"I guess this is a bust," Jo sighed. "At least we have a print."

"Thank you for trying," Carrie said. "Charlie offered to stay with me tonight."

"Tell him to bring his gun."

"I have plenty," she said.

Nash, Jo and Carrie fell into step while Raylene brought up the rear, moving at a slower pace. She lagged behind and began circling a small area.

Jo ran back. "What is it?"

"See the sets of tracks? It looks as if the person was looking for something." Raylene hunched over, following the prints around and around. She abruptly stopped. "I think I found something. I need a tissue or clean rag to pick it up."

"Hang on." Carrie ran back to the house, returning moments later. She handed Raylene a paper towel. "What did you find?"

"This." Raylene snatched something off the ground and held it up. "This, my friends, could be our first big break."