Mate Marked(28)
“Big of him. What did your investigation turn up?” Somebody had come into her office and started fresh coffee, Chelsea saw. Probably Susan and Lorena. It was that kind of town.
As the chief spoke, she went over and poured herself them each a cup.
“Well, like last time, we had an investigator fly in from the shifter council. A guy with bloodhound genes. He scented pure wolves, not shifters. He also scented the Dudley boys, but they already said they were there. He didn’t scent them on the dead sheep, just in the general area. He scented Mitch Rodgers and a couple of the ranch hands from Rodgers ranch, but since they’re his sheep, any of them could have handled the sheep recently.”
He frowned, pausing to take a sip of coffee, and looked as if he were considering what to say next. “There were a few things that were off at the scene. Some blotchy areas in the mud that looked as if someone had deliberately dragged tree branches over footprints. And Rodgers asked me several times how well we’d searched the scene. And he asked me if my men were there watching the shifter investigator the entire time he was there. ”
Chelsea Raised an eyebrow. “Did he say why?”
“No, he just said that he’s sure shifters always cover for each other. But my men were there the entire time, and the investigator didn’t alter or hide any evidence.”
“It’s odd that wolves would keep attacking Rodgers’ sheep,” Chelsea mused. “Game is plentiful in the area. I don’t know what to think at this point. I’ve asked around, and I’m not aware of any potential suspects in town.”
“We’re setting out traps for the wolves, and increasing patrols, and Mitch is hiring a few more guys. He’s also starting to talk about how he may have to close up his ranch operations if this keeps up, which is stirring up some ugly sentiment in town, just letting you know. He’s one of the major employers, and if he closes down the ranch it will really hurt the town. He’s going around getting people to sign a petition that will allow him to annex that shifter land he’s been after.”
“He might need to close up because he lost a few sheep?” Chelsea raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“He claims he’s also worried about the safety of his ranch hands, but yeah, it seems a little over the top to me too.” He frowned. “Another odd thing. Someone has been building new sections of fence along the boundary between his property and the Dudleys’. He denies having built it. Joyce Dudley thought it was him doing it, and she was surprised when I told her it wasn’t. Apparently there have been some other repairs made on their property, and all along she thought it was Rodgers, because he’s kind of sweet on her, but he’s saying it’s not.”
“That is odd. Okay, here’s something else strange, not that it necessarily means anything. Do you know who might have been visiting him from California, driving a Porsche?” Chelsea asked him. “There was a little red Porsche there the day I dropped by, and he accused me of spying on him and got really defensive.” She recited the license plate number to him.
“I’ll run the plates,” he said. “Couldn’t hurt. Makes sense to check out anything that’s out of the ordinary. I understand that there’s a newer pack camping out on Silver Peak property, kind of near the Dudley ranch?”
She hesitated. She wasn’t surprised that he was just now finding out about Roman’s pack. She personally didn’t like revealing information about shifters to a human law enforcement officer, but she had to give at least a little bit. He was here trying to cooperate, and he seemed like he was actually a good guy. He wasn’t letting Mitch railroad the local shifters or swing the investigation.
“There is. They’re working for Mr. Purcell right now. They’ve already been here a few months without causing any trouble.” Well, that was mostly true. At least, they hadn’t been causing any trouble for the humans, that she knew of. “They make good money, and I don’t have any reason to think they might be involved.”
Chief Tomlinson nodded. “I’ll go talk to them. If they’ve been here a few months…that is around the time that sheep started disappearing.”
She nodded unhappily. “I understand.”
* * * * *
Shawn and Ryan crept through the underbrush. “We shouldn’t be here,” Ryan said nervously.
Shawn scowled at him. Yes, they did so have to be there. They had to be on the lookout.
“You didn’t have to come,” he said to his brother. “Go back now if you’re scared.”
“I’m not scared. Joyce told us not to come,” Ryan said indignantly, keeping his voice low and looking around. They were right near the fence line that ran between their property and Mr. Rodgers’. “Joyce is not the boss of me,” Shawn said, puffing out his narrow chest and trying to pretend that he’d say that if Joyce was standing right there.