Tainted Trail by Wen Spencer Page A

doing?” Max asked now that the silence was broken.
    â€œThat last part was fairly steep, you nearly had to rock climb, and I found red-flannel fiber on some of the stones. They have her sweat on them.”
    â€œGood. Can I help you?”
    Ukiah paused on the edge of the stream meandering through the valley, wondering at Max’s last sentence. A third, deep male voice came over the radio, and he realized that the police officer must be standing at Max’s window, speaking into the vehicle so the voice-activated radio could pick it up. Max had spoken to the police officer.
    â€œWhich one of you is Alicia Kraynak’s uncle?” the police officer asked.
    â€œI am.” Kraynak’s answer sounded slightly distant, as Max’s mike was on his left. “Homicide Detective Raymond Kraynak, City of Pittsburgh Police Department. You found her?”
    â€œSorry, no,” the stranger’s voice rumbled, and yet seemed familiar. Over the radio, it was difficult to tell.
    Ukiah jumped over the creek and started up the next hillside. It was even steeper than the last.
    The remote conversation continued, with the policeman asking, “Then you’re the private investigator from Pittsburgh?”
    â€œI’m Max Bennett, Bennett Detective Agency.” Max’s introduction seemed loud after Kraynak’s. “My partner is tracking Alicia in the next valley over. We’re using a global-positioning tracking device with a geological software interface.”
    There was a grunt from the policeman. “Fancy setup. What’s your range?”
    â€œAbout fifty miles, here in the mountains,” Max said.
    â€œHe’s on foot?” the policeman asked.
    Max confirmed this and added, “And moving fast.”
    Another grunt. “Tracking done right is slow work.”
    Ukiah shook his head and scrambled up the last few feet of the steep hillside. A whiff of plastic caught his attention. He sniffed, trying to locate the source. It seemed to come from a deep crack in the stone. He reached down into the rough-edged darkness. His fingertips brushed plastic tainted with Alicia’s presence. The shape and the material suggested a wireless phone. Try as he may, he couldn’t get a grip on the object to pick the item up. “Max?”
    â€œYeah, kid?”
    â€œHave Kraynak ring Alicia’s phone.”
    â€œUkiah wants you to ring Alicia’s phone,” Max relayed to Kraynak. “What’s up, kid?”
    â€œI think I found her phone. It’s down in a crack where I can’t reach it.”
    The overture from William Tell chirped out from down between the boulders.
    â€œThat’s it. It’s her phone.” He considered the stone surrounding the crevasse. There was no indication that Alicia ever searched for the dropped phone. “I think she never noticed that she lost it.”
    Max relayed the information to Kraynak.
    â€œIs she hurt?” Kraynak asked.
    â€œDid you hear that?” Max asked, meaning Kraynak’s question.
    â€œThere’s no blood sign here.” He continued his climb up the rocks. “And she seemed to make the summit without any problem. In fact, she just scrambled up onto another higher set of rocks, maybe to take a look around.”
    â€œUkiah says no,” Max told Kraynak.
    â€œShe’s crossing over the ridge into this next valley. Are you going to be able to follow?”
    There was the rustling of paper. “Yeah, this road swings in that direction. We have to keep on moving to keep in radio range with my partner. Is there a number we can reach you with updates?”
    Ukiah winced at the skewed conversation, needing to think a moment before realizing Max started off talking to him but had switched over to the police officer.
    â€œI’ll follow along behind,” the policeman stated.
    This time it was Max that muttered, “Oh, joy,” but hopefully after the officer