by Vella Munn
“Yeah. All the gray did was break its neck.”
“Because the calf was doomed. It was a mercy killing.” When he opened his mouth, she held up her hand. “I’m not going to argue with you. Believe what you want. I know what happened.” All of it, not just what I’ve told you.
I saw the white bull.
Understood.
Chapter Four
There was no way Mia could know everything that had taken place since she’d been here yesterday, but, because he still felt disconnected from reality, Jeff decided not to waste energy arguing with her. Neither would he tell her about clutching his dead fiancée to his chest and not believing that was happening, either.
“It’s possible,” he said, “that the pack was content with feeding on the cow.”
“A pack. They weren’t interested in the calf. Darn it, how many animals were there?”
He wasn’t sure that mattered. His job called for doing everything he could to identify and find the poacher. At the same time, knowing there were wild dogs in this part of the country was disconcerting. Wild dogs could be as dangerous as wolves, if not more so because dogs on their own would be hungry. They’d attack anything they perceived as food, even humans.
“Here it is,” she said. “Proof of what I took pictures of.”
Putting off asking for an explanation, he backed away from the calf and stood near her. She saw two sets of now-familiar prints. One belonged to the largest canine while the other had been left by the animal she’d decided was the hybrid. There weren’t many of them, maybe a short confrontation before the hybrid had given way.
The forest was keeping secrets, the wind laughing because it knew more than he did. Ridiculous for him to believe he could get his life back on track—or find a reason for having one—by changing from one career to another.
“The two didn’t stay,” she said. “They probably returned to the other body.”
“Why would the pack expend all that energy tearing the cow apart when the calf represented an easier meal?” He wasn’t sure why or if he was arguing with her
“Because the big gray kept them away.”
A shiver had him taking in his surroundings. Even with a rifle and pistol, he wished it was time to leave. Unfortunately, he couldn’t.
“Why would it do that?”
“I don’t know. Darn it, I saw what I saw. So did you—in the pictures I shared with you.”
“All right. Look, I need to try to dig the bullet or bullets out of the cow.”
“Then you don’t need to stay around the calf?”
Was that relief in her voice?
“I’m not sure, but this isn’t the crime scene.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Mia was still near the calf a few minutes later when he rubbed a bloody bullet on his jeans. The slug had struck bone and been twisted into a nearly unrecognizable shape as it tore and ripped. As it destroyed.
Don’t go there!
After pushing his emotions back into the dark place he needed to keep them, he took pictures of the small entrance hole and where he’d found the bullet. Either he’d missed the wound from the second bullet or the shooter had missed. He snapped a number of pictures of what was left of the elk and would soon do the same of the calf to make sure he’d covered everything. He also needed to take close-ups of the paw prints as well as the entire scene.
All in a day’s work.
No, nothing ordinary about this.
Especially not for him.
The chance of making the shooter pay for what he’d done wasn’t good, damn it. Not only didn’t he have a suspect, he didn’t know where to begin. He could and would put pressure on the area’s bad apples. Someone knew what had happened, more than one someone most likely, because people couldn’t keep their mouths shut.
Thinking to let Mia know what else he needed to do, he studied her. She was standing near the calf’s head rubbing her boot over the ground. Surely she wasn’t trying to cover up something.
But she’d already lied to him back when he’d asked if she’d taken more pictures than the ones she’d shown him.
“What are you doing?” he asked, loud enough for his voice to carry.
Her head jerked up. “Ants. Sorry, but I didn’t want them getting to the baby.”
Despite his suspicions, he wasn’t going to push her because if he did, their fragile connection would break. Her expression giving away nothing, she rejoined him.
“I’m thinking there were five canines,” she said. “There’s the big gray that took down the calf and the hybrid. Then there’s a slightly smaller dog and enough little ones that I’m guessing there’s two pups.” She studied him. “Are you buying what I’m telling you?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
She indicated the bullet in his palm. “I’m waiting for you to ask what caliber of bullet I use.”
“I haven’t asked whether you own a rifle.”
“You haven’t because you assume, being on my own the way I am, that I do. You’re right.”
Their conversation had gotten off track, but maybe this was more important than counting wild dogs. Besides, she was right. He wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t consider whether she might be a suspect.
“I didn’t have it with me yesterday,” she continued. “I was on foot. It would have slowed me down. Besides”—she shook her head—“yesterday I wasn’t aware of any danger until it was too late.”
Yeah, danger. Too many unknowns and a massive gray dog strong enough to break an elk’s neck.
And one or more human beings who hadn’t thought twice about ending a life.
“I believe you about not having your rifle with you,” he said. “And at present, I have no reason to suspect that you know who fired this.” He showed her the slug.
“At present.” She shook her head. “Don’t try to elaborate.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
When her nostrils flared, he wished he could take back his words, wished he wasn’t so suspicious. “I wish Darick was here.”
“Darick?”
“A co-worker. Actually he’s the only other wildlife officer stationed in the area. He’s been doing wildlife work longer than I have, so has done more investigations.”
“Has he?”
“Darick used to work in Yellowstone. A lot more animals there than here, including wolves. He’s even done grizzly research.”
“We aren’t talking about grizzlies.”
“No, we aren’t. So tell me again. What did you see when the gray killed the calf? Still pictures don’t give the whole story.”
“What does that matter? You’re looking for a poacher.”
“Mia, right now I’m dealing with a jigsaw puzzle. I need as many pieces as you can give me.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. I’m not sure—I wasn’t that close. The calf was standing over its mother when the gray showed up. The calf started running, but it didn’t get far.” She took a strangled breath. “I heard the neck break.”
Fighting the impulse to hug her, he settled for a slow nod. He still had the feeling she hadn’t told him everything, but if he pressed, he ran the risk of losing his only ally. More to the point, even though he sensed she could handle it, he didn’t want to leave her alone with her memories.
“Did you feel you were in danger?”
She frowned. “Yes and no. That isn’t much of an explanation, is it? I was in shock. Everything seemed unreal, as if it was happening to someone else. I was acutely aware of how alone I was, that there was nothing I could do if the gray or some other animal came after me.”
“Fatalist?”
“Not really. I love life. Growing up the way I did, there isn’t much about the wilderness that intimidates me.”
“Except humans who don’t respect it.”
“There’s that. What are you going to do? I don’t see what good it would do to haul the carcasses out of here. Do you need them for the investigation?”
�
��Not in the condition the cow’s in. I need to take my own pictures and samples from both victims.”
“Victims.” She briefly closed her eyes. “That’s how I think of them.”
Jeff pried open the cow’s mouth and used his knife to extract a tooth, telling Mia as he did that he’d use it to approximate the cow’s age. As she watched him, her suspicion that he was dealing with something beneath the surface grew. He was a wildlife officer, a man devoted to making sure laws were obeyed and insuring lawbreakers were punished. But it was more than that for him, something personal.
Something he had no intention of sharing with her.
Well, he wasn’t the only one with secrets.
Because the female elk represented the murder scene, Mia convinced herself he wouldn’t want or need to spend much time around the calf. Hopefully, he’d bought her explanation that she was trying to scatter ants when the truth was, she’d been eradicating elk prints she had no doubt the big bull had left. She tensed as he returned to the smaller body. She’d told him her conclusions from the canine prints. She just hadn’t said anything about what else she’d seen. She relaxed a little while he walked around the calf taking pictures. Then, almost as if he’d sensed she didn’t want him going anywhere else, he headed up the hill toward where she’d first seen the bull.
“What are you doing?” Could he hear the tension in her voice?
“I want to get some shots of the scene from a distance. That’s the best vantage point.”
Trapped, she trudged after him. She couldn’t get a handle on how she felt about him. One moment she thought she understood him, the next he’d pulled back. Right now he was staring at what she’d hoped he wouldn’t notice.
He whistled. “Massive. My god, massive. Where—” He whistled again and crouched. “The cow didn’t make these. They’re too big for her to—a mature bull. Has to be.”
What could she say? The proof was right in front of him, most of it, anyway. The prints represented greatness.
“You already knew about this, didn’t you?” he challenged and straightened.
There was no point in lying. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t buy that. Damn it, Mia, I saw you messing with the ground near the calf. This is what you were hoping I wouldn’t see. A damn big bull was here. Was he what the poachers were after? Had to be.”
Why hadn’t she considered that? The possibility that bloodthirsty hunters were after her bull chilled her.
“I saw him,” she whispered.
“You—what?”
“I spotted him. A bull. Standing here. Shortly after the calf—shortly after the gray killed it.” She ran her hands into her hair and held on, hurting herself.
“And that didn’t make enough of an impact for you to think maybe you should tell me about him? I don’t buy that, either.”
“You don’t understand.” After mentally kicking herself, she forced herself to continue, “I took several pictures of it. Maybe once you see them, you’ll understand why I…”
“Pictures you deliberately kept from me. This isn’t making any sense.”
“I know it isn’t.”
His eyes narrowed. “Unless you were planning on returning later and bagging your own trophy.”
“Don’t you dare say that!”
She would have slapped him if he hadn’t seen the blow coming and grabbed her wrist before she could. Gripping so tightly that the circulation was being cut off, he leaned toward her.
“Make me believe you.”
She could do that, had to try, anyway.
“Let me go. My cell’s in my pocket. Once you see the pictures, you’ll…” What could she say, that once he believed in the bull’s reality he’d understand why she’d wanted to keep it to herself?
She sounded crazy.
He didn’t immediately comply with her demand, request, whatever it was, but she had no doubt he was determined to be in charge. Now that she’d committed to telling and showing him everything, she couldn’t say why it had taken so long to get to this point.
“Go on.” He didn’t just let go. He practically flung her arm away from him. “And this time, don’t leave anything out.”
“I can’t tell— Oh shit. Never mind.”
She wasn’t sure who she was angry at, maybe herself. Because she was determined to return his suspicious glare, it took her longer than it should to pull her cell phone out of her front pocket. She shoved the telling evidence under his nose.
Suspicion and confusion warring in his expression, he positioned the phone so shadows covered the screen. His hard frown gave way to shock.
“My god,” he whispered. “Oh, my god.”
“Do you understand?” she snapped.
“Understand?”
With the question, she lost her grip on her anger. “I didn’t believe it, either. Jeff, I’ve had bulls in my trees and went to see the herd that’s along the coast, but none were this color. Not even close.”
He continued to study the images. “His size and coloration—I don’t have a decent perspective, but you did.”
“He’s even bigger and whiter than you can imagine.”
“And you didn’t want to share him with me.”
She had no doubt he was, again, debating whether her goal had been to display that rack over her fireplace. Hell, why stop with just the rack? Everything about the creature screamed trophy.
“No, I didn’t,” she replied. “But not for the reasons you’re thinking.”
“Really?”
Was he trying to goad her into trying to slap him again? More likely he wanted to use her temper against her.
“Jeff, I grew up in a cabin without electricity and running water. I wouldn’t have had the money to buy the farm if my uncle hadn’t done some gold mining.” Keep going. “My only living relative is an aunt by marriage who remarried after my uncle’s death. I haven’t heard from her in over a year.”
“Why haven’t you?”
Because she blames me for her husband’s death. “It doesn’t matter.” She filled her lungs. “The point I’m trying to make is that I’ve never had anything to call mine. Yes there’s the trees, but I don’t know if I’ll make it.” Why did you say that? “When I saw that elk, I don’t know, maybe I hoped he could be my secret.” She took another deep breath. “Maybe even with the pictures and watching him do what he did, I didn’t believe he was real.”
He was shaking his head like a weary fighter at the end of a long fight. “What do you mean, watching it do what it did?”
Get the telling over with. “The dogs stopped feeding and stared at the bull, but he didn’t care. His focus was on the calf.”
When he didn’t speak, she took back the cell and jammed it into her pocket.
“Jeff.” Something about saying his name forced her to pause. “The bull licked the calf’s muzzle. It was as if he loved it. The calf’s and bull’s coloration is so close. Sire and offspring?”
His attention went to the calf. “Father and son.”
With his three words, she went from wanting nothing to do with this suspicious man to needing to hug him, not that she would. “He was grieving the loss of his child,” she managed.
“What was left of his child.” Jeff rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t— I need you to forward those pictures to me.”
“What are you going to do with them?”
“Show them to Darick.” He continued to rub. “After that, I’m not sure.”
“You aren’t going to the press, are you?” she demanded. “What about your supervisors. Can you trust—?”
“Like you, I don’t know who I can trust.”
He was debating saying more. Even though she suspected she knew what it was, she wouldn’t say the words for him. He was the wildlife officer, not her. All she’d done was acknowledge the great bull’s existence to another human being. To this one.
As Jeff too
k pictures of the oversized hoof prints, she wondered if he was deliberately dismissing her presence. She didn’t blame him. After all, it had taken her hours, maybe all night, to fully accept an anomaly of nature. It couldn’t be any easier for him.
“We’re pushing it,” he finally said. “If we don’t leave soon, it’ll be dark before we get back.”
Agreeing, she followed him past the calf, past what was left of the cow, to the quad. As soon as they were out of here, she’d stop wanting to glance over her shoulder.
Maybe.
“We need to agree about something,” he said. “Right now, Darick is the only person I intend to tell about the bull. I don’t just want—I need you to promise to keep this to yourself.”
“It’s too late.”
“What?”
“Just one other person,” she hurried to tell him. “My best friend. Niko Fox is Native American. I thought—I’m not sure what I was thinking, maybe that there’s a legend or something that—”
“A legend? I’ve met her. She’s passionate about honoring her people’s roots. As soon as she sees the pictures, she’ll share them with members of her tribe.”
“Not if I ask her not to.”
“You trust her that much?”
“Yes,” she said even though she wasn’t sure. “You’re right. She’s passionate about her heritage. She isn’t going to want outsiders searching for a white elk.”
“That’s the problem. The whole damn problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“Think.” He fixed her with an inescapable stare. “Are you positive you didn’t see anyone yesterday?”
“Positive. But I heard the shots. I can’t be certain they didn’t hear Banshee and me.”
He nodded. “Mia, what if the poachers saw the bull? They’ll come back for him.”
“My god.”
Chapter Five
Smoke waited until the grating sound faded before leaving the tree she’d been crouched behind and approaching the last place where the humans had stood. Her brother watched from his own tree shelter while her cubs remained where she’d ordered them to stay. She didn’t know where her mate was.