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Lance was the third human on their team—Poirot’s left-hand man, as they say.
While Chloe moved to greet Lance, Josh shook Kristinn’s hand. “Glad to get the opportunity to work with you.”
She nodded and turned away.
Josh joined Chloe and Lance. He had joined their SAR team a year ago when Derek moved across the country. They all double-checked their gear and got ready to set out. Once they were all packed up, someone brought the scent item over to Chloe.
She opened the bag, holding it in front of Poirot’s nose. He dug his nose in and wagged his tail. He was excited and ready to go. Where the missing persons’ car was parked indicated which trailhead the couple was believed to have taken yesterday afternoon.
The team walked to the trailhead, Poirot still on leash. But about ten feet from the opening to the trail, Poirot caught the scent, Chloe took him off leash, and he led the way.
He stayed on the trail, and he followed the couple’s scent. The three humans marched along quietly behind Poirot with occasional comments or discussions about random things.
After about an hour, as the sun finally began to peek through the trees, Poirot lifted his head a little higher and moved it back and forth.
Chloe asked him, “Did you lose the scent, buddy?”
He kept sniffing the air, completely ignoring her question. After the longest five seconds ever, Poirot barked and bounded off the trail to the left.
Josh radioed their GPS position back to the command center.
That was when the already-serious job amped up.
Chloe hustled behind Poirot. They’d left the trail about an hour ago but had yet to find the couple. Lance had spotted some footprints in the mud, and Poirot was clearly still on the trail. As an air-scent dog, he kept his nose up in the air. He was still moving forward and not pausing to sniff around like he would if he were starting to lose the scent. This dog had an amazing nose.
Poirot circled through an area a second time. “What did you find, boy?” Chloe asked.
He barked and sat, eyes focused on the ground. He’d definitely found something.
Josh and Lance reached Poirot at the same time Chloe did.
“Good job, buddy.” Josh rubbed the top of Poirot’s head.
On the ground in front of the dog was a protein bar wrapper.
Lance took a picture. “Guess they stopped here for a snack.”
The team recorded the location, and Chloe gave Poirot a treat. “Good boy. Now, search.”
He barked and took off.
As they continued on, she glanced over at Josh. Something deep inside her—something that she couldn’t identify—ached when he was close. Her brother’s words from yesterday rang like a thundering gong in her head. Was she trusting God with every aspect of her life? Probably not.
But right now, she needed to focus. She snapped her head from side to side. A young couple was lost and probably terrified out in these woods. She needed to focus on getting them home safe today, not dwelling on any other nonsense. The team needed to find the young people before something terrible happened.
Something terrible like what had happened to Peter.
The heavy weight of grief dropped into her backpack, making her load so much heavier. She couldn’t believe they’d run into Peter’s sister and brother today. They’d only had a few failed recoveries. But that one was the worst. They’d found dead bodies. They’d been unable to find the missing person. But that was the only time she and her team had found the person they were looking for dead.
As they drew closer to the side of the mountain, the forest floor gave way to more boulders, making the terrain more difficult to navigate. She juggled her focus between maintaining her footing and keeping an eye on Poirot.
But images of Peter’s body slumped against the tree flashed in her mind.
The trees opened just beyond where Poirot was searching. More boulders.
Was she the reason Peter had died? She’d seen Josh in action, saving lives. Even the life of another SAR volunteer who’d had a heart attack during a search. If they’d been there earlier, could Peter still be alive?
She couldn’t see any ground beyond where Poirot was. Did it drop off?
