They worked their way from building to building, allowing the dog to sniff every crack and crevice for any indication of scent. Nick began to wonder if he was doing something wrong; maybe the dog needed some further instruction—maybe she thought they were just out for a walk. But then he remembered the scene in Braden’s office, where Trygg simply picked up the scent, walked over to Riddick, and lay down with no instruction from Nick at all. She knows what she’s doing, Nick told himself. This is what she was trained to do. All I need to do is stay out of her way and watch.

Or so he hoped.

Next they came to the long stables and Nick hesitated at the open door. He could hear the sounds of the horses breathing and stamping in their stalls. He knew the horses would quickly pick up Trygg’s scent, and he knew they would find the scent unfamiliar—but he didn’t know how they would respond. The last thing he wanted was an entire stable of horses panicking and bolting from their stalls; that would bring everyone in the house running, and he would have a difficult time explaining his presence there—especially to Riddick. He took Trygg around the outside of the building instead and let her sniff at the walls and foundation; he hoped that the generous cracks in the board-and-batten siding would allow any scent to pass through. Trygg took her time, searching the entire building carefully, but once again found nothing.

Not far from the house was an old hay barn, clad in siding weathered gray from age and the bleaching effects of the sun. The barn had twin doors that were framed in flat wooden trim and crisscrossed with a decorative X; each door was supported by a pair of metal wheels at the top that allowed it to be rolled aside. Nick shoved hard against one of the doors and it slowly began to give way—but the rusted wheels made a loud groaning squeak and he stopped. He looked back at the house and held his breath—Riddick could easily have heard the sound from this distance— but he saw no porch light switch on or door swing open, so he tried the barn door again, pushing it a little at a time, easing it open until there was a space just wide enough for the two of them to slip through.