Crash & Burn Read Online Free PDF

tricky, given the grade. But once you’re in the ravine . . . Decent hiking, actually. God knows the Fish and Game officers have probably already made it to Maine and back.”
    â€œFish and Game? Who’s working?”
    â€œBarbara and Peter.”
    â€œOh, I like them. Good people. And they came up with nothing?”
    â€œWe’ve all come up with nothing.” Wyatt wasn’t surprised the dog handler knew the Fish and Game officers. New Hampshire was big on woods and short on people. Sooner or later, felt like you knew everyone you met and had met everyone you knew.
    â€œNeed any more information on the child?” Kevin was asking. “We believe she’s female, approximately nine to thirteen years of age.”
    Frechette gave Kevin a funny look, then peered down at Annie, who was nearly dancing with anticipation. “Hey, girl, you need a description? Plan on calling the kid’s name? Or maybe use your color-blind eyes to find a pink coat?”
    Kevin flushed.
    â€œWe don’t need vitals, Detective. All we need is Annie’s nose. Trust me, if there’s a child out there, Annie’ll bring her home.”
    After a bit of discussion, they settled on a search strategy. Having worked with several different dogs in different situations, Wyatt already knew most handlers had their own opinions on the best way to get the job done. Given that their search area was relatively small, and now scent contaminated by dozens of officers who’d already been swarming the scene, Frechette wanted to approach it like a tracking case. Start Annie in the back of the car, last suspected location of the child, and see if she could pick up a trail from there. A strategy better suited for a bloodhound than a Lab, Frechette confessed, but he remained sold on his girl’s skills. His dog had the training, had the drive; she’d find their missing child.
    A little yellow Lab puppy, Wyatt thought. Red bow around its neck.
Here, Sophie. Got this for you.
    Most likely Sophie would accept the puppy, while continuing to regard him with her thousand-yard stare.
    Wyatt was in trouble. He’d figured it out six months ago. He hadn’t just fallen in love with an amazing woman, Tessa Leoni; he’d fallen in love with her kid. And while dating in your twenties was all about hoping the parents liked you; dating in your forties was all about hoping her kids accepted you. In that regard, nine-year-old Sophie was proving a tough nut to crack.
    Not that she hated him. Maybe.
    They headed back down the ravine.
    The other officers were dropping back, per the handler’s request. Wyatt had issued the command by radio. It was a tough call to make, pulling back the human searchers in order to bring in a canine. But the rule of thumb was that one dog was worth 150 volunteers. Meaning Annie was the best hope they had, and for her todo her job, she needed all the searchers and their various scent profiles out of her way.
    Some of the state and local officers were already passing them, heading up as they headed down. Now Barbara and Peter from Fish and Game paused on their return to scratch Annie’s nose. Not having been issued her work command yet, Annie responded by preening happily.
    The searchers all looked tired, Wyatt thought, but not dispirited. The search hadn’t been going on long enough to be considered a failure but, at the four-hour mark, was becoming more concerning. How much ground could a young child have really covered in the early hours of the morning? And why wouldn’t she backtrack at the sound of their voices?
    They had passed from an easy search into the land of more troubling. These officers, especially Barbara and Peter, were experienced enough to know it.
    They arrived at the crashed Audi. Frechette whistled low under his breath as he took it in.
    â€œDamn. Talk about a nose dive. It’s like the thing sailed over a cliff or something.”
    Wyatt