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  “Her hair could be any color,” Ashley said as she flipped through the yearbook. Denise picked out several girls who looked something like the jogger, and Ashley kept a list.

  Sam’s truck pulled up, and he ambled toward the house wearing sunglasses. His smile made deep lines in his face, and he hadn’t shaved. “What’s going on, Bryce?” he growled.

  I followed him inside, telling him everything we knew about the case. He felt sure the police would find the alpacas. “The whole herd’s been tagged electronically. You sure about this Eddie guy?”

  “As sure as I can be,” I said. “But he’s not working alone. No way he could have taken those animals by himself.”

  “And this girl—”

  “Bryce!” Ashley yelled.

  I ran outside. Ashley had two yearbooks open. She pointed at a senior picture in one. “Denise thinks this might be her.” She held up the other yearbook. It showed two girls in a hallway mugging for the camera, their sleeves rolled up and striking a muscle-man pose.

  Denise said, “She has a tattoo on her arm.”

  The girl’s hair was lighter than in the other picture, but the tattoo was there, and her face looked similar.

  I read the name underneath the senior picture aloud. “Janice Snodgrass.”

  Chapter 87

  Things were coming together, and none too soon. Denise had to go home, and Bryce and I tore through the phone book looking for Snodgrass. There was only one listing.

  An older woman answered. “Janice is my daughter,” she said carefully. “Who is this?”

  I told her my name. “She was attacked by our friend’s dog, and my brother and I wanted to see how she was doing.”

  “You must have the wrong person,” she said. “Janice hasn’t been attacked by any dog.”

  “Can we talk with her?”

  “I’ll tell her you called.”

  We had to find Janice or Eddie if we wanted to save Buck.

  “Let’s pay a visit to Mrs. Snodgrass,” Bryce said.

  Chapter 88

  It was late in the afternoon when we parked our ATVs at Mrs. Watson’s house and made our way through town. Mrs. Snodgrass’s house sat across the street from an old elementary school near a dead oak tree. Her concrete porch was cracked and had pulled away from the house. The place looked big enough for one person, maybe two.

  I knocked on the screen door, and it rattled against the frame. A white-haired woman with thin arms hobbled toward me. “Whatever it is, I don’t want any.”

  “Not selling anything, ma’am. Just need to talk with Janice.”

  “She’s not here.”

  “Know where I can find her?”

  “She went camping with her boyfriend in the mountains.”

  “Sounds like fun,” I said. “Do you know where?”

  She shook her head. “They left yesterday afternoon pulling a big trailer—don’t know what that was for. What do you need with her?”

  “It’s actually a matter of life and death,” I said. I handed her a card with my cell phone number on it.

  She looked at it skeptically and stuffed it into her apron.

  We headed back to our ATVs. While Ashley stopped to see Mrs. Watson, I went to the court at the middle school where Toby was shooting hoops. I told him what had been going on and said, “Keep an eye out for a long trailer with alpacas in it.”

  Chapter 89

  I couldn’t help imagining trying to explain what had happened to Buck and the Morrises trying to tell their boys why they didn’t have a dog anymore. The whole thing felt hopeless. Buck was going to die. No question about it.

  I was worried about Whitney too. I dug out the emergency number for the vet and was surprised when a woman answered. She knew Whitney well.

  “You’re right to be worried about her,” she said. “Any kind of trauma could send her into labor, especially since she’s this far along. They usually have their young before noon, and by evening the little things are up and running around. As soon as you find her, call me. I’ll want to check her out.”

  Chapter 90

  It’s hard trying to sleep when you know someone’s going to die. Buck was just a dog, but he felt like a friend. I tossed and turned the whole night, looking at the clock.

  At five Monday morning I went downstairs for breakfast. Ashley came down a few minutes after I did. Then Sam joined us. That was nice. He could have slept the whole day because of his late flight, and we wouldn’t have blamed him.

  “Mind if I come along to the farm and see you guys in action?” he said.

  He drove us there and we checked the alpacas. Sam went to look at the house—cut phone cord and all—while we got the animals’ water and food.

  “What time is it?” Ashley said, as if she didn’t really want to know.

  “Almost seven.”

  “Two more hours,” she said. “You suppose they give a dog a last meal like they do real criminals?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe they let them chase a cat or something.” I was trying to be funny, but neither of us laughed.

  Sam helped us clear the alpaca poop, which was the most disgusting part of the job, and we got back in his truck.

  My cell phone rang.

  “Bryce, it’s Toby. My dad thinks he knows where those alpacas are.”

  Chapter 91

  Sam drove while Bryce gave directions. Mr. Krenshaw had noticed something funny in a remote section off Dead Man’s Pass, a winding road up the side of Memorial Mountain. An old hunting cabin that belonged to a friend of his sat on the road where he delivered papers. Normally a chain hooked to two timbers blocked anyone from coming onto the property, but the chain had been cut and deep tire marks marred the road.

  Mr. Krenshaw had seen a long trailer parked in front of the cabin and called Toby on his CB radio before continuing his route.

  As Bryce explained what had happened, Sam sped up. We made it to Dead Man’s Pass, turned left, and went straight up the mountain. It felt like we were entering another world.

  “Why do they call this Dead Man’s Pass?” I said.

  “Wagon trains used to come through here,” Sam said. “A few got snowed in and never made it out. Some of the old wagon parts are in a museum.”

  The road went from blacktop to gravel to dirt. I imagined Whitney riding over this and wondered if she had given birth.

  When Bryce hung up with Toby, he dialed the sheriff’s office and brought them up to speed.

  “Should be around one more curve,” Sam said.

  I held my breath as the sun cast shadows through the pine trees, giving the whole area an eerie look.

  “There!” Bryce said.

  Sam pulled over and we got out. The chain had definitely been cut, and I saw the tracks in the dirt road.

  We heard voices. Someone yelling. Glass crashing.

  And the hum of alpacas.

  Chapter 92

  Sam put a finger to his lips as we walked up the hill. I saw movement in the trailer, which had been unhitched from the truck. The alpacas fidgeted and hummed inside—they probably hadn’t eaten for a whole day. When we moved around back we saw the truck parked among some bushes.

  “You jerk, Eddie!” a female screamed inside the cabin. “You said you had this all worked out!”

  “I did,” Eddie said, “but things happen. I coulda let the guy take ’em yesterday, but not without the money. I’m not trustin’ anybody to owe me that much.”

  “I can’t stay here!” the girl shouted.

  We hunkered low as we passed a window. I sneaked a peek inside and saw black hair on the girl’s shoulder.

  “Come on, honey. Calm down. If we can’t sell them, you know the owners will offer a reward. Either way we’re out of here.”

  “And how are we going to convince them we didn’t steal them?”

  “Trust me, Jan. They’ll be so glad to get ’em back, there’ll be no questions asked.”

  “I have trusted you, and look where it got me. I just w
ant to go home.”

  Sam motioned us close and whispered, “Stay here. I’ll head to the road and flag down the sheriff.” He pulled a multi-tool gadget from his pocket. “If you get a chance and know you can do this without being seen or heard, pop the hood on that truck and unhook one of the battery cables.”

  Sam slipped into the brush like an animal stalking prey and was gone.

  Ashley gasped. “Bryce, there’s something wrong with Whitney.”

  Whitney was at the back of the trailer, away from the others, and they seemed to be nervously staying as far from her as possible too. When Whitney turned I saw blood on her hind legs.

  “Give me your phone,” Ashley whispered.

  Just as I handed it to her, it rang. I hit the Off button as fast as I could, but Eddie and Janice stopped talking. “Did you hear that?” he said.

  Chapter 93

  I said a bad word I’d have to get forgiveness for later, and I could only hope the two inside didn’t hear that too.

  “What?” Janice said.

  “I heard a phone.”

  “You’re imagining—”

  “Shut up! I heard a phone!”

  “Then somebody’s found us!” she said.

  “Whoever it is,” Eddie said, “they have no idea who we are. Stay here.”

  “Eddie!” Janice whined.

  “I’m just gonna look around. I’ll be right back.”

  The back door opened and slammed. Then the truck engine revved. Tires spun and Eddie tore off down the hill. We heard the front door and slipped to the other side of the trailer, spooking the alpacas even more.

  “Eddie!” Janice yelled, running out and down the driveway. She fell to her knees and cried, gushing swearwords as she balled her hands into fists and screamed.

  “I know her!” Bryce whispered. “That’s Jan from Instant Oil!”

  I heard another engine and wondered if Sam was chasing Eddie. Why hadn’t Bryce sabotaged that battery when he had the chance?

  I jumped up and tore open the back door of the trailer. The other four alpacas gingerly stepped past Whitney and bounded out, probably starving.

  “Give me the phone, Bryce!”

  I didn’t have the vet’s number, so I called information and was connected in seconds. My hands shook as I crept closer to Whitney. “It’s okay, girl. We’re going to get you help.”

  When the vet answered I whispered desperately, “This is Ashley Timberline, and we found the alpacas.”

  “Okay, good.” She sounded groggy. “Late night last night with a foal in Castle Rock.”

  “Sorry, but this is an emergency. Whitney’s really agitated, and there’s blood on her hind legs.”

  “Okay, look closely at her rear end and tell me what else you see.”

  While Bryce kept an eye on Janice, I tried to get behind Whitney, but she kept bumping against the trailer. “It’s all right, girl,” I said. “Just trying to help you.” But suddenly she spat at me, thick, gooey liquid splashing my hair. I yelped, fearing that would have to get Janice’s attention.

  “What do you see, Ashley?”

  Whitney turned for a second. “Oh no!” I said. “There’s something black sticking out of her!”

  “Ashley, listen. Do you see any hair on what’s coming out of her?”

  I ducked as Janice stomped back into the cabin and slammed the door. I don’t think she saw us.

  I looked as close as I could, wary of another spit. “No! Just black!”

  “Those are the cria’s feet, Ashley. And that’s a problem. You’re going to have to help her. Is there anyone with you?”

  “My brother.”

  “Give him the phone. You’re going to need both hands.”

  Chapter 94

  “You have to help your sister,” the vet said. “Tell her exactly what I tell you, understand?”

  I was glad I just had phone duty. I wouldn’t have wanted Ashley’s job.

  “Grab the two legs sticking out and pull,” I said, repeating everything the vet said.

  “I don’t think I can do this!”

  “You have to, or the baby will die,” I said. “Its head usually comes first. When you pull the legs out, it’ll release the head and the baby will follow.”

  “There’s not enough to grab onto yet!”

  “When Whitney starts to push again, grab and pull.”

  “How will I know she’s pushing?”

  “The baby will slide forward a little and give you something more to grab—”

  “She’s pushing!”

  “Good! Grab and pull.”

  I heard the front door and turned in time to see Janice, a cell phone to her ear, easing outside and staring at the four alpacas grazing nearby. When she noticed the trailer door was open, she squinted at me and her jaw dropped. “It’s just a couple of kids,” she said. “You’d better get your tail back here and get me, or—”

  Ashley grunted and I turned back to see the legs of the baby alpaca straighten.

  “What’s happening, Bryce?” the vet said.

  “The legs are out now—”

  But before I could say anything more, Whitney pushed again and first the head, then the whole body slid out and plopped on the trailer floor.

  “I did it!” Ashley said, laughing through tears.

  Janice stepped off the porch and peeked in. “Eddie, one of these things just gave birth. Gross! Now we’re probably in bigger trouble! Get back here or—”

  “Tell Ashley good job,” the vet said. “Whitney will ignore the baby for a while, so just make sure it’s warm. Put some straw near it. And tell me how to get there.”

  Chapter 95

  I had seen our cat, Patches, have kittens, but I’d never seen anything like this. And of course I hadn’t had to help Patches.

  Janice moved away from the trailer and slapped her phone shut. “Hang up on me, you—”

  Bryce found some straw in the trailer and tucked it around the baby, watching out for Whitney.

  I wiped my hands on the grass and followed Janice to the steps of the cabin where she sat, her face red.

  “Eddie left, huh?”

  She shook her head and swore. “The bum. And to think I was going to marry him.”

  Bryce joined us. “Where’d you get that?” he said, pointing to her necklace.

  Janice rolled her eyes. “He said it was just the start.” She dug in her pocket and pulled out a handful of jewelry, including a gold wedding band.

  “We know who some of that belongs to,” I said. “That ring is Mrs. Watson’s, the old lady—”

  “I know. Here. Take it. I don’t want it anymore.”

  “Didn’t you feel bad taking all that stuff?” Bryce said.

  “I didn’t steal anything. I just helped with the keys.”

  “How?” I said.

  She stared at me, as if wondering what the difference was now. “It’s easy. I made imprints of house keys on a piece of putty. Then I’d make a new one on my dad’s old key machine. He was a locksmith, and when he died we sold everything but that machine. I wish we’d sold that thing too.”

  A car roared up the road and Janice stood, as if looking for the best place to run.

  “Wait,” Bryce said. “You’ve got nowhere to go. Rat out Eddie and see if they’ll go easy on you.”

  She sat back down, crying. “You’re kinda smart for a little brat. Guess I don’t owe him a thing.”

  “That dog never attacked you, did he?” I said.

  She shook her head. “That was Eddie’s idea. He would’ve done it except he’s really scared of dogs. He had me take a hamburger out there and get the dog to come close so I could spray fake blood on its mouth. I sprayed the rest on my leg.”

  “They’re going to put that dog to sleep because of you,” I said. “What time is it, Bryce?”

  “Eight thirty.”

  The shelter was at least a half hour away. “Will you tell them the truth, Janice? We might still be able to save Buck.”
r />   “They won’t believe me.”

  I grabbed her arm, tears coming. “Do the right thing. Bryce and I will tell them you gave us this stuff back.”

  “There’s more inside,” she said.

  “So will you do it? Please?”

  Chapter 96

  The sheriff walked up the driveway with Sam close behind. Janice held her hands out as if offering to be cuffed. “That won’t be necessary, ma’am,” the sheriff said. “I can’t transport a female without a matron here anyway.”

  “We have to stop Buck’s execution!” Ashley said. “Janice will tell you he didn’t really attack her. It was all a fake.”

  “It’s true,” Janice said. “Eddie put me up to it. That dog shouldn’t die.”

  “Maybe your boyfriend got what was coming to him then,” the cop said.

  “He’s not my boyfriend anymore,” she said. “You catch him?”

  “I followed him all the way down Dead Man’s Pass,” Sam said. “When he saw me he lost control. Turned over in a field.”

  “Is he okay?” Janice said.

  “He’s shook up,” the sheriff said. “A few scratches. Nothing compared to what’s waiting for him in prison.”

  “What about Buck?” Ashley said. “We have to do something now!”

  “I’ll handle that,” the sheriff said. He turned toward the radio strapped to his shoulder and called in, asking for a matron and also that a cruiser be dispatched to animal control to stop the procedure on Buck.

  “Can’t we just call them, sir?” the voice came back.

  “If they were answering the phone, son, I wouldn’t be requesting a cruiser, would I?”

  “Thing is, sir, we don’t have a car within an hour of there.”

  “We’ve got just enough time if you go now!” Ashley said. “Please!”

  “I can’t leave this prisoner,” the sheriff said, “and I can’t stay here with her alone either.”