by C. G. Mosley
“Those kids from your town do this, Sheriff?” Chad snarled at him.
“No,” Aurelio answered and, despite himself, swallowed hard. In all his years as a law enforcement officer, he had never seen anything like the mess in front of him now.
“How many…?” he started.
“Twelve,” Chad answered coldly. “Looks like someone or something massacred their whole pack and left them here.”
Aurelio moved closer to the bodies of the wolves. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Neither have I, Sheriff,” Chad said, “but to find it so close to our camp…”
“What? You think someone killed these wolves and left them here as some kind of warning to y’all?”
“Do you have a better explanation?” Chad asked.
Aurelio shook his head. “I have to admit that I don’t. That doesn’t mean what you’re suggesting is true though. If these poor wolves were really left as a warning to you, why weren’t they piled up in your camp instead of out here?”
“The camp was lit up all night last night,” Chad told him. “We had men in the mine trying to get a better idea of what we’ll be dealing once we get up and running. As you know, we’re on a very tight timetable. There was a lot of activity here. Whoever did this clearly didn’t want to be seen as they delivered this gory little message to us. Our workers often take breaks in the trees or step out here to relieve themselves. One of them found these wolves this morning shortly after the normal shift for the day started.”
“Well, we both know that no kids from town did this,” Aurelio said. “Who do you think is behind it?”
“Isn’t your job to answer that question, Sheriff?” Chad asked with a grunt. “All the native folks, as you call them here, are upset with our project. It’s as if no one wants to see this mine in business again.”
“There aren’t any organized tribes in this area anymore.” Aurelio frowned as he began to really inspect the bodies of the wolves and knelt over the pile below the tree. “And even if there were, they’re peaceful people. They would never do anything like this just to get you to leave. They respect the animals too much, unlike some folks.”
“Nothing we’re doing out here is going to cause any harm to the local ecosystem, Sheriff, and you know it,” Chad assured him.
“Maybe,” Aurelio said. “Will you look at the cuts on these guys? I’d stake my life that these cuts in their bodies are claw marks.”
“Nothing has claws that large, Sheriff,” Chad said, shaking his head.
“A bear might,” Aurelio argued.
“I’ve never heard of a bear capable of tying its kill to a tree before, Sheriff. Stop wasting my time. We both know it was no animal that did this,” Chad said, scowling at him.
Aurelio took off his hat and scratched at the side of his head. “Look, I’ll haul one of these wolves back in town and have Dr. Ferguson take a gander at it. He can tell us for sure what killed these guys, and that’ll tell us a heck of lot more about who or what is behind this than we’re going to figure out by standing here arguing over it.”
“That’s not enough, Sheriff,” Chad growled. “We’ve got over a dozen workers on our payroll, not counting the engineers. All of them are terrified to be out here now because of this. I’m going to need you to give them some assurance that it is safe.”
Standing up, Aurelio met Chad’s stare with one of his own. “I’ve only got five deputies in my entire department, Chad,” he said, saying the security man’s name as if it were an insult, “and frankly, looking after my town is the priority, not your mine. I don’t have the manpower to loan my deputies out to you as nursemaids.”
“There has to be something you can do,” Chad raged.
“Like I said, I’ll take one of these wolves back to the doc and we’ll go from there,” Aurelio told him firmly. “If you really want more, tell you what, I’ll say you a prayer too as I drive back into town.”
“That’s not enough,” Chad told him again.
“It’s going to have to be. Now shut up and help me carry one of these wolves if you’re really wanting something to get done today,” Aurelio ordered him.
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