Wolves by Cary J. Griffith

Author:Cary J. Griffith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sam Rivers, biologist, special agent, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, predators, Defiance, Minnesota, Mesabi Iron Range, investigate, investigation, wolf, wolves, depredation, livestock, mysterious, death, estranged, father, dad, winter, cold, wilderness, mystery, suspense, thriller, murder, biology, wildlife
Publisher: Adventure Publications
Published: 2013-07-29T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

January 31st, early afternoon—on the road near Defiance

After their meeting with Jeff Dunlap, Sam Rivers was driving Diane back to her place when his cell phone rang. Kay Magdalen, he suspected. As he reached for his phone he wondered about it. It was Friday and until recently Kay didn’t work Friday afternoons. She claimed they were a dead zone, work-wise, and a waste of her time. For her to be calling now must mean fresh news about the position. But he hadn’t thought about the position since learning Carmine Salazar had applied for it. Truth is, in the last 24 hours he hadn’t thought much about Salazar, Maggie, Yellow Rock or the new job.

With one hand on the wheel of his jeep, he finally managed to reach into an inside pocket and pull out his phone, still ringing. He glanced at the display. A 218 area code. It was a local call.

He flipped it open. “Rivers.”

“Sam Rivers?”

The only person who had his cell number was Jeff Dunlap, whose office they had recently left. But it didn’t sound like Dunlap. “Yeah?”

“This is Sheriff Dean Goddard.”

“Sheriff,” Sam answered. He glanced over at Diane with a question in his eyes, but she shook her head.

In the last 24 hours Sam was guilty of breaking and entering, burglary, and had come as close to assault and battery as that altercation in the Florida Keys. And technically he was driving away from fraud: he and Diane Talbott had lied about how they’d come across his mother’s will. Dunlap must have given his number to the Sheriff, which meant Dunlap called the Sheriff moments after they’d left his office. Interesting. Sam Rivers wanted to know why.

“Jeff Dunlap gave me your number,” the Sheriff confirmed. “He says you were old classmates.”

“That’s right. Truth is, Jeff was behind me in school. A couple years. But I knew him.”

“I believe Jeff also mentioned you were a special agent with the USFW?”

“That’s right. Currently stationed out of the Denver office.”

“Nice city.”

“Yes it is.”

“I’ll come right to the point. Seems there was a wolf kill out at Williston Winthrop’s farm. Jeff mentioned you know something about wolves and wolf kills?”

“I’ve seen a few,” Sam said. Judy Rutgers came to mind. “What kind of kill?”

“Your dad had three feeder calves. Sounds like wolves got into the barn and killed them. Last night. Were you in town?”

“Came in yesterday morning,” Sam said, surprised by the question, which had nothing to do with wolves. “I was down in Brainerd when it finally blew itself out, but I’ve seen enough to know you got hit pretty hard.”

“We did. Especially out at your dad’s place.”

Sam Rivers had never called the old man ‘dad.’ Son of a bitch, when he was trying to be accurate. But something else the Sheriff said was much more interesting. “Wolves got into the barn?”

“That’s what I heard. Got in, killed and fed.”

“That would be,” Sam said, surprised as hell but trying to be measured, “unusual.” What he was thinking was extraordinary.

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