Free The Search by Iris Johansen Page B

wrong. She didn't like it.
    "I don't like it either." He was reading her expression. "But it's our best shot." He got to his feet. "Monty's had his fifteen minutes. Let's go."
    She slowly stood up and looked at the sun. Seven, maybe eight hours until nightfall.
    "Ready?"
    "Yes." She didn't look at Logan as she picked up the utility belt and fastened it around her middle.
    Monty froze, his gaze on the belt. Then he jumped to his feet.
    "Time to go to work." She took Bassett's hat and let him sniff it. "Find."
    He whirled and took off running.
    "Won't we lose him?" Logan asked.
    "No, he'll keep coming back. When he catches the scent, I'll put on his leash and run with him."
    "You're afraid he'll get excited and not come back?"
    "No." She started in the direction Monty had taken. "I'm afraid some son of a bitch will shoot him, and I want to be there to protect him."
    Two hours later Monty had still not caught the scent.
    "I think we're going around in circles," Logan said with a frown.
    "We might be." Sarah pushed through a screen of palms. "But Monty knows what he's doing."
    "Does he? He's not even sniffing the ground."
    She gave him an impatient glance over her shoulder. "He's scenting the air. He doesn't always have to keep his nose to the ground. Air scenting is much more accurate in cases like this. He lifts his nose high and waves it back and forth until he catches the large end of the cone."
    "Cone?"
    "Bassett's scent will be dispersed downwind in a cone-shaped pattern. The smaller end will be centered around his body, and as the distance from him grows, the cone widens over a large area. Monty will find the large end of the cone and then work back and forth as it narrows until it leads him to Bassett. Are you sure they're encamped and not moving?"
    "So my source told Galen. Would that make a difference?"
    "Of course it would," she snapped. "Even if Monty finds the scent, he could lose it again and have to start all over again."
    "Sorry. Just asking. This is all new to me."
    It would have been new to most people, and she wouldn't have snapped at him if she hadn't been so frustrated. It wasn't unusual for a search to take this long, but she had found herself looking behind every tree, afraid to let Monty out of her sight. God, she wished this were over.
    "Will you jump on my ass again if I ask you how long this could take?"
    "Monty can't go by your time schedule. It will take as long as it takes. He's doing his best, dammit."
    "I know," he said quietly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
    She drew a deep breath. "No, there's nothing either of us can do. It's all up to Monty. We're lucky it's so hot. Bassett's body will be producing a stronger scent."
    He grimaced. "At the moment I don't feel lucky."
    Neither did Sarah. She felt acutely on edge and so hot, she couldn't breathe.
    Find him, Monty. Find him and let's go home.
    It was over an hour later that she heard Monty bark.
    Relief surged through her. "Thank God."
    "He's found something?" Logan asked.
    "I think so. I taught him not to bark until he caught the scent. If he comes back to get me, we'll know that he's--"
    Monty bounded toward her, barking up a storm, tail wagging with excitement.
    "He's got it." She took the leash out of her backpack and fastened it to his collar. "Come on."
    "Can you stop him from barking? We don't want to alert--"
    "He barks only to signal me when he's on a search. If I'm with him, there's no need for him to bark." She broke into a fast trot to keep pace with Monty. "Keep up, Logan. We can't wait for you."
    Christ, she was tough, Logan thought.
    Sarah was moving at almost a run ahead of him, weaving, pushing through the brush, pausing occasionally to let Monty sniff the air before taking off again. She must be as tired as he was, but she had kept going at this speed for over an hour. During the last ten minutes the pace had picked up and Monty's eagerness had intensified.
    Logan's own breath was coming in gasps, and he could see Sarah's