Pursue

by Vella Munn

  “Listen to him,” Doc said. “Right now the fewer civilians I have around, the easier it is for me to focus. Call in a couple of hours. Hopefully, I’ll have some information for you.”

  “I’m not sure I want to hear what he says,” she told Darick as Doc put the stereoscope back in his ears. “That poor baby’s so weak.”

  “He’s in the best place he can be, thanks to you.”

  “Not me—the grays.”

  * * * *

  She shouldn’t have been so conscious of Darick’s presence now that she wasn’t jammed next to him, but even with Chinook on the seat between them, Niko’s thoughts kept returning to the man. It was perfectly understandable. After all, Darick was a core part of what she’d experienced today, an awful reality she knew she’d never forget. He understood how frayed she was. She didn’t want to think about how things would have played out if he and Jeff hadn’t shown up. She would have been alone with two dying animals.

  “I’ve worked with Hank a few times,” Darick said, after they were on the road. “Good man.”

  “Do you think he’ll be able to identify the mare’s owner?”

  “I can’t answer that. I don’t remember seeing a brand on her. Do you?”

  “No, but I wasn’t thinking about that. How long had she been searching for food and water and a place to give birth before she got hung up?” Darick couldn’t answer those questions any more than she could, so why was she asking? “I don’t want to try to get inside her mind, but I can’t help it. She was hungry for so long. How anyone can let a helpless creature starve—?”

  “Don’t.” Darick placed his hand on her knee. She nearly jumped. “That kind of thinking’s going to make you crazy.”

  “I can’t help it,” she snapped, even though Darick hadn’t said anything she wouldn’t herself if conditions were reversed. “That’s not an owner. That’s an—an animal.”

  “No.” He squeezed her knee then again took hold of the steering wheel. “The grays are animals.”

  She wasn’t sure what point he was trying to make but had no interest in semantics.

  “It’s a sickness,” he continued. “Or… I’ve dealt with a number of poachers so I know—”

  “Like Kendall was?”

  They looked at each other for so long she started to worry Darick might drive off the road, but they’d been tiptoeing around Kendall Taft for hours. Maybe it was time to get things in the open. The twenty year old and his cousin had been hunting for elk out of season on Dark Mountain. Kendall had shot and wounded a nursing cow elk. He might have finished her if they hadn’t heard Mia’s dog Banshee bark. The young men had fled, leaving Mia with no choice but to slit the cow’s neck to put her out of her misery. Mia had been trying to muster the courage to kill the newly orphaned calf when one of the grays had broken its neck. Mia hadn’t seen the cousins so had had no way of identifying the poacher.

  Kendall would probably have gotten away with his despicable act if the grays hadn’t seen him shoot the cow. A few days later, the grays had attacked him and gnawed off his feet. Kendall had survived, but he’d spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

  Revenge was a bitch, as witnessed by what had happened to two other animal abusers a few days after the initial attack.

  “Do the grays know who let that mare starve?” she asked. Looking out of the window was easier than risking another connection with Darick. “I’m guessing if they do, they’ll go after him, if they haven’t already.”

  “Or her.”

  “Yeah, or her.” She stroked Chinook’s side.

  “If the deed’s been done, we’ll soon know who the guilty party is, or rather was.”

  She nodded and stared at the passing trees until what she needed to say backed up inside her. “But what if they don’t know? What if Hank isn’t able to do any better?”

  “Shit happens. The good guys don’t always win.”

  * * * *

  From what he could tell, Niko’s place had once been a barn. The gravel drive from the highway to where she lived was nearly a mile long, much of it surrounded by evergreens. In contrast, the former barn and several other buildings were in a large open area. In addition to her place, there was a large older house, a large barn, two corrals with horses in them, and a variety of vehicles, not all of them appearing as if they would ever again be operable. The setup put him in mind of a commune, but more likely the area belonged to and was being used by members of an extended family.

  “Interesting.” He indicated the barnlike structure. Because he’d seen the Jeep near the building before, he knew it was hers.

  “That it is.” She opened the passenger door and got out, followed by Chinook. The dog immediately squatted and started peeing. “I’m going to put Misty in his stall and get him settled in.”

  Despite her comment, after letting the horse out of the trailer, she led the gelding to a weedy area. Like Chinook had done, Misty watered the ground. Instead of following Niko into the barn, Darick took advantage of the brief time alone to stretch his back. Whenever possible, he tended to his repaired spine in private.

  “I want to get Chinook something to eat,” she said when she emerged a few minutes later. “It won’t take long.”

  “Do you mind showing me your place? I’m fascinated.”

  She paused just long enough for him to conclude she wasn’t comfortable letting him, or maybe anyone, into her space, but talking about the barn-house was better than returning to their earlier conversation. That time would come soon enough.

  “It’s pretty basic.” She started toward the porch with Chinook beside her. Darick followed a couple of steps behind. “Two bedrooms, kitchen, living room.”

  “But it used to be a barn, right?”

  “Yes.” She didn’t elaborate, just opened the front door and walked in.

  He didn’t comment on the fact that she hadn’t locked it. Leaving him standing in the middle of the open living room, she entered the adjacent kitchen and opened a pantry door. Judging by Chinook’s interest, that was where she kept the dog food. Accompanied by the sound of dry pellets hitting a bowl, he looked around. Whoever had turned the space into something a person could live in hadn’t used high-end finishes. The fake wood floor was partly covered by throw rugs. The windows were good-sized, letting in much of what little daylight was left.

  Pictures and posters covered some the white walls. A fireplace with an insert dominated the wall to his left. She’d placed a maybe twenty-by-thirty-inch framed photograph of an eagle flying over the Grand Canyon over it. Photographs of other eagles, one about to take flight from the top of an evergreen, the second of a mature eagle floating in the sky while holding onto a snake, dominated another wall.

  The other wall decorations carried out the same theme, in that all of them were of wildlife. He was particularly drawn to one of a snow-white bull elk. The picture was a little grainy and only about eight by ten, but he had no doubt what he was seeing.

  “That’s one of the shots Mia took of Ice.” He didn’t make it a question.

  “Yes.”

  ‘Yes’ said not enough and yet expressed a great deal. Ice was the name Mia and Jeff had given to the magnificent elk they were sure had fathered the white calf one of the grays had felt compelled to kill to save it from slow starvation. Only a handful of people would understand the story behind the picture. He was one of them.

  Chewing sounds made it clear that Chinook was filling her belly. He didn’t expect Niko to show him her bedroom or how she was using the second bedroom. Maybe he should leave. She probably wanted him to. However, thinking about her spending the night alone made him uncomfortable. She brought out a protective side to him that had once nearly cost him his life, and he should know better than to let instinct get between him and caution.

  However—

  Stalling, he stepped close to a cluster of small photographs to the right of her TV. A couple were of Native Americans during a ceremony that called for deer hide capes,
leather moccasins and dancing in a rough circle. Another had probably been taken during a family reunion, a conclusion he came to because every one of the twenty-some people were Native American. He recognized Niko sitting next to a white-haired gentleman. Most of the participants were eating at the long picnic-style table, but Niko and the older man were smiling. Love flowed between them.

  “Who’s that? He looks familiar.”

  “My grandpa Raymond. He’s a tribal elder.”

  She’d come closer. He wasn’t sure how he felt about his awareness of her, a little out of control, a little intrigued.

  Distracted, when he should be thinking about what might happen in the part of the country he called home now that the grays had reappeared.

  “I remember. He spoke to members of my department about tribal rights.”

  “His public speaking days are limited. They have been ever since he lost his wife.”

  Did Niko want to talk about her grandmother’s death? Maybe she needed to.

  “I’m sorry. That wasn’t very long ago?”

  “Not quite two years.” She pointed in the direction of the larger house he’d noted as they were arriving. “He used to have his own place on the other side of the highway, but after Grandma died, he moved in with my aunt and her husband. He has a bad hip that made taking care of Grandma difficult.”

  She touched the image of her grandfather’s face. “My mother died when I was five, and my father, well, he wasn’t much of one. My grandparents raised me.”

  How had the parentless child reacted to being raised by people much older than her? Judging by her love for her grandfather, the relationship had worked.

  “I come from what I guess is a typical background,” he said. “Two parents. One brother, one sister.”

  “I have a half-brother, compliments of my old man, plus a dozen cousins living nearby.”

  “Are you in contact with your brother?”

  She studied him as if just now realizing how close they were, followed by taking a backward step. “Hardly any. I wish it was better, but at least I have all those cousins.”

  “It sounds as if having a large family was what your grandparents needed.”

  She sighed. “Except they all have their own lives. When Grandma got hurt—she broke her hip and pelvis when she was thrown from a horse—doctors weren’t able to do much because her bones were too brittle. I’d been living in an apartment in town. After her doctor said she’d have to go to a nursing home, I moved in with them and cared for her.”

  “Lifting her? Bathing?”

  “All that and more, things Grandpa couldn’t do.” She walked over to the window and stared out. “I didn’t resent a minute of the two years. It was—a way of paying them back.”

  “And a big sacrifice on your part.”

  “That’s not how I saw it. I thought I made that clear.”

  “You did. I’m sorry.” Despite the chance for conflict between them, he wanted both of them to think about more than the violence the grays were capable of. “Then your grandmother died?”

  “Yes.” She drew out the word and her shoulders seemed to slump. “Pneumonia. All the time I was living with them, Grandpa kept saying he wanted to find a way to pay me back. What I didn’t know was that he’d convinced several of my cousins to convert the barn into a place for me to live.”

  He couldn’t imagine this horse-riding, Jeep-owning, jeans-clad young woman living in an apartment. Her grandfather was indeed a wise man.

  “So you moved here after your grandmother’s death? And your grandfather is next door?”

  “Yes and yes.”

  He should let it go at that, should tell her and Chinook good-night, should go to his own place for a frozen TV dinner, but Niko had been through a great deal today, things she might not want to share with her relatives. Also, he wanted to learn even more about her.

  “Are you okay with the proximity? You have relatives watching you all the time.”

  She chuckled and faced him. Turning had caused her braid to hang up on her shoulder. The image might follow him to bed.

  “They do. It isn’t as if I have wild parties here or—overnight visitors—but I’m surprised Grandpa or my aunt and uncle haven’t already called to ask why a Fish and Wildlife vehicle brought me home.”

  “Maybe they’re waiting for me to leave.”

  “Could be.” Lips slightly parted and frown lines appearing between her eyes, she studied him. “Your job takes you all over the county, right?”

  “Right.”

  “I’m familiar with a lot of the area, but not private property. How do I go about learning if there are any houses near where I found the horses?”

  So she wasn’t ready to turn the question of responsibility for animal neglect over to the authorities. He wasn’t surprised.

  “Google Maps might be a good starting place.”

  She leaned against the window behind her. Slight as she was, she wasn’t in danger of breaking it. He contemplated what she’d do once she was alone—probably put looking for answers ahead of getting something to eat. She might also curse him for not offering to help.

  “I’ve studied some of those maps,” she said. “They’re great for identifying streets and houses, not so much for telling what’s where in the forest. That’s your territory.”

  Don’t get involved. She needs to let it go. “Last year the Forest Service took extensive aerial photographs and videos of southern Oregon.”

  “How do I get my hands on them?”

  Her expression had gone from weary to determined. If it hadn’t been for her thick hair spilling over her shoulder, he might’ve thought of her as a pit bull. She wasn’t. She was a woman who’d put her life on hold to care for her grandmother and would probably cry for a mare and her foal tonight.

  “Fish and Wildlife has copies.” He pressed his fist to his forehead. “Give me your email address. I’ll send you what I legally can. It’ll take you a while to go through them and orient yourself.”

  “I don’t care. You’ll do that for me? Will you get in trouble?”

  She understood what was beneath his offer, got that he was bending the rules. Considering how he’d sentenced himself to a life with a surgically repaired back, he should hold to his vow to follow the rules to the letter, but Niko Fox had gotten to him. If he didn’t help her, she’d go it alone. Maybe wind up in danger.

  “Yes. But I want you to promise me something.”

  “What?”

  It might’ve been the most unwise move he’d made in a long time, but that didn’t stop him from walking over to her and sliding his fingers through hers. He held up their joined hands.

  “That you’ll let me know what you intend to do with what you learn. I don’t want you playing vigilante.”

  “I want justice.”

  “So do I, but not by breaking the law.”

  She split her attention between their hands and his face. “I hear you.”

  “But are you listening?”

  “Ask me in the morning, after I’ve talked to Doc Beck.”

  * * * *

  “One day at a time,” Niko told Chinook after ending her conversation with Doc Beck. “One hour at a time.”

  Chinook rested her head on Niko’s knee, as she often did when the two of them were having a conversation. Niko had slept for maybe two hours and because her dog had been in bed with her, she knew the Doberman hadn’t done much better. That’s what came from spending so much time together—they fed off each other, often sharing the same emotions.

  “They’re both still alive,” she elaborated for Chinook’s sake. “Doc said that because the colt is premature, his sucking reflexes are incomplete. Doc had to put in a feeding tube.” The thought of a tube running from the colt’s nose into his belly made her shudder. “He’s still too weak to support his weight and his hooves are softer than they’d be if he was full-term.”

  Chinook whined and looked up at her.

  “All right. I
understand. You want to know about the mare. She’s eating some, but not as much as Doc expected, considering her condition. She’s on painkillers, which can affect appetites. Her temperature’s still high.”

  Niko had wanted the news to be more positive, but her middle of the night prayers to her people’s spirits for a miracle weren’t being answered. Because it was Sunday, she didn’t have to head for the high school where she worked with gifted students. The staff was after her to get her teaching certificate, but if she did, she risked being locked into doing one thing for the rest of her working life.

  She needed—something. She just wasn’t sure what it was.

  “I printed out what I think I’m going to need.” She pointed at the desk in a corner of the spare bedroom she’d made into her office. “I don’t know about taking you with me. It might not be safe.”

  Chinook sighed, gathered her hind legs under her and headed for the front door. At times like this, Niko was nearly convinced her dog’s IQ matched hers.

  “I’m sorry. I just don’t dare take the chance,” she explained as she let Chinook out.

  She closed the door behind her, intending to pull something together for breakfast before heading for Tamel Road, which she’d determined was the closest to Dogwood Campground. Thanks to the maps Darick had given her access to last night, she knew there were just four residences on the last mile. Because evergreens surrounded the properties, the pictures taken from the air weren’t particularly clear. Each house was on several acres and all had outbuildings. It was possible that none of the residents were the mare’s owners or would admit they were. What did she hope to accomplish?

  Maybe nothing, but she wouldn’t know if she didn’t try. Couldn’t relax until she’d learned whether the grays had identified the mare’s abuser and what they intended to do.

  Not only hadn’t she explained her thinking to Grandpa when he’d called as she was trying to figure out what to have for dinner, she had no intention of calling Darick.

  Darick?

  Just because he’d tried to get her to agree to tell him of her plans didn’t mean she owed him anything. Granted, he seemed nearly as upset as she was, but he’d never condone her taking the law into her own hands. After all, he represented rules and regulations.