to her, legs spread, hands in the pockets of his shorts. A quick scan of the area told her that he was alone. She assumed his family was inside one of the tents. A ranger’s pickup was parked by the roadway, the ranger sitting behind the wheel and talking on his phone.
She gave Darwin the hand signal to “down-stay” next to her Explorer, poured some water in his bowl and walked quietly toward the father.
“Mr. Evans?”
His head snapped around, and she nearly cringed at the desperate hope she saw in his features and his bloodshot eyes. As the hope transformed into desolation, she understood that he already knew the outcome, because she’d returned without Dylan. His whole body sagged as if the air had been sucked out of him, and he looked so bereft, she wanted to wrap her arms around him. Instead, she shoved her hands in her own pockets, her stance mirroring his.
“I’m sorry. We didn’t find Dylan.”
Another emotion flitted across his face. Uncertainty? Relief that at least they hadn’t found him dead?
She realized he might have feared the worst, but... She couldn’t even finish the thought. “We followed his trail to a service road,” she explained. “Without shoes, I don’t think he’d have walked along a gravel road...”
“Then where did he go?”
Shannon shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know.”
“The rangers haven’t found him either.” He gestured toward the pickup. “They said you and your dog would find Dylan. You said it, too.”
He took a step toward her. It was the look in his eyes that told her his temper was brewing. That was okay with her. Anger was better than misery, if it helped pull him out of the depths of despair.
“What now? You’re not giving up, are you?”
“No...of course not.”
She heard a vehicle approach and glanced back. With mixed relief and trepidation, she watched Logan bring his Explorer to a stop next to hers. “Ah, excuse me a minute,” she said. “That’s the captain of our unit.”
Logan climbed out, took one look at Shannon as she strode over to him and guided her to the other side of his vehicle, where they had some privacy. “Is there a new development?” he asked in a hushed whisper.
“No, um, I told you on the phone...” She choked back a sob, and angled away so she wouldn’t embarrass herself further by crying.
She felt his hand on her shoulder. “Shannon, talk to me.”
“I...I...”
He turned her to face him.
When tears filled her eyes and threatened to overflow, she struggled to suppress them. She was not a crier as a rule, and she would not cry in front of her boss—or worse, the father of the missing boy.
“I know this isn’t easy. Shannon... I never want you not to care, but now’s not the time to fall apart. We don’t know that the boy’s come to any harm.”
“It’s not just the boy.”
At Logan’s raised eyebrows, she took a deep breath. “When I was fourteen, my brother died. Charlie... He’d wandered into a forest. When the police found him, it was too late.”
Logan took a step back. “Why didn’t you consider that relevant information to share with me?” he demanded.
Shannon could see he was annoyed, and with good reason, she thought.
“If not when we were discussing your specialization, then you should’ve told me when we spoke on your way here.”
Shannon didn’t know what to say. Logan was right. Of course, he was right. She’d failed him. She’d failed Sawyer Evans. She’d failed Dylan. And if it came down to it...she’d failed herself, too.
She wouldn’t be surprised if her captain decided to fire her over this. He expected truth and integrity from all his officers. She raised her hands. Dropped them again.
Logan let out an aggravated breath and ran a hand over the top of his head. “I’m sorry about your brother. I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I lost Becca,” he said, referring to his younger sister. “But you should’ve confided in me.”
Shannon’s mouth fell open, but before she could formulate any words, he continued. “We’ll talk about it later,” he said firmly. “Right now, our focus is on finding Dylan Evans.”
When Shannon’s eyes misted again, he looked at her sternly. “Shannon, if you can’t do this, say so, and I’ll have someone else work with Darwin. I don’t mean to be insensitive, but the missing boy is our priority.”
Shannon forced thoughts of Charlie to the back of her mind and nodded. “I can do it.”
Logan watched her for a moment, then nodded, too. “Okay. I brought Scout with me,” he said as he walked to the back of his SUV and let Cal Palmer’s search-and-rescue dog out of the back. “I don’t doubt Darwin...or you, but two dogs are better than one in this case. The park has a lot of ground to cover. Not that I think a four-year-old could’ve gotten far from the camp.”
She’d had the same thought earlier when she and Darwin had reached the service road. But if Dylan had been snatched by a mountain lion or a coyote... No. She’d stay positive. If she couldn’t, how was Dylan’s father supposed to?
She called Darwin over as Logan clipped a leash to Scout’s collar. “Let’s move and you can fill me in on the details as we go.”
She glanced over to where the father had taken a seat at a picnic table, his head in his hands again. His sister and parents had emerged from their tents and were clustered nearby, but she got the sense that he wasn’t aware of their presence, isolated in his own world of grief and anxiety.
“Sure. Just give me a minute, please.”
Shannon handed Darwin’s leash to Logan. She jogged to the picnic table and sat down next to Sawyer. “Mr. Evans...” She waited until he looked up at her with tortured eyes. The tightness in her chest was immediate and acute, but she didn’t flinch or avert her gaze. “We’re not giving up on finding Dylan. You have my word.”
“You said before...that you’d bring him back.”
His anguished comment intensified Shannon’s sense of failure.
Before she could respond, he held out a shaky hand and took hers. “I’m sorry. That was unwarranted. I know you’re doing your best. Please find him.”
“The captain of our unit brought another search-and-rescue dog with him. We’ll go now.”
“Okay. Good.”
She released his hand and rose.
Rejoining Logan, they gave both dogs Dylan’s scent and let them lead the way into the forest.
“This is the same trail Darwin and I took earlier,” Shannon confirmed a few minutes later.
Logan nodded but kept his eyes on Scout. If the dog lost the scent or picked up any conflicting smells, she knew Logan didn’t want to miss it.
Because of that, Logan signaled to her when Scout paused at a clump of elderberry. They both crouched down to investigate. There was a small damp patch of soil at the base of a bush. Logan bent lower. “Urine,” he said. “I’m betting Dylan relieved himself here.”
She looked around. “Yeah. Darwin and I stopped here, too. I missed the urine,” she said apologetically.
“The important thing is that we’re on the right trail,” he assured her as he placed a marker by the spot. “Let’s keep going.”
The next time they stopped was at the end of the service road where Shannon had abandoned the search. The dogs were about to bolt down the drive when Logan ordered them back.