by Joyce Lavene
She started sobbing again. Bonnie knew it was time to leave. She didn’t have any printed cards yet but wrote her cell phone number on a piece of paper and left it for Harvey’s family in case they thought of anything else.
“What about my father’s body?” Gerald asked as he walked her to the door.
“The coroner will have it for a while. Someone will be in touch with you when you can make arrangements. Do you know if your father had an extra set of keys for the office and the Hummer?”
“Sure. Let me get those for you.” He studied her face. “My mother might need some time to get out of here, Agent Tuttle. I know this house belongs to the Wildlife Agency.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m living with my mother anyway. Tell her she can take all the time she needs.”
Bonnie was glad to walk out of the small cottage with the Hummer’s spare keys. She wondered where his office was located. She could probably look that up without asking anyone.
“How’d it go?” Eric asked when she got in his truck.
“About like you’d expect.” She closed the door on the frigid air and let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “Let’s get back. There’s nothing more I can do today. Tomorrow was supposed to be my first day working. I think that’s what I’m shooting for now.”
But it wasn’t easy to get Harvey’s death off her mind. Bonnie spent the evening playing scrabble with her mother and brother. She went to bed early and found the wolf pup wide awake. He growled at her as she put on her gloves and started smoothing the salve Matthew had given her on him. He calmed down right away, as though he knew she was trying to help him.
She looked into his intelligent, brown eyes as his gaze followed her every move. “You’re awfully tame for a wild pup, aren’t you?”
He opened his mouth and let out a weak howling sound.
“Well, that was something.” She stroked his head. “Just don’t get too attached. I have to let you go in the wild as soon as I can. I can’t believe Matthew thought you needed a name. That’s kind of crazy, isn’t it?”
The wolf howled again but settled down in her jacket.
“I’m not kidding,” she told him. “When you’re better, you’re out of here. You’ll see.”
Chapter Nine
The next morning dawned bright and clear. The sun glistened on the snow as it began to melt it in earnest. The roads were full of puddles, and snow dripped into icicles that hung from the roof. It was a picturesque scene throughout the valley.
Eric’s flight was leaving early. His truck was staying—good thing, since Bonnie’s truck was mostly dead and she didn’t want to drive the Hummer when she wasn’t working. The gas alone would kill her. She was only allowed a certain amount every month.
She and her brother continued talking about the tree farm and upcoming events that she’d have to take over. Groups of people came randomly to cut their own trees and take them home, but the real money was in special parties that included food and games. She would have to be home for those, working them into her schedule. That was barring emergencies, of course. Bonnie hoped everything would fit together.
“I love you, sis.” Eric gave her a big hug and kiss before he left. “If anything at all gets messed up, give me a call.”
“I will.” Bonnie hugged him tightly. This might be the closest she and her brother had ever been. With such a wide age gap between them, they weren’t close when she was a child. It was too bad that his leaving had brought them together.
Driving his pickup back from Sevierville, Bonnie thought again about Harvey. She also had to decide how she was going to get Eric’s truck and hers home, as well as bringing the Hummer down the mountain.
She stopped on the side of the road as she saw a group of older children with sticks poking at an animal. At first she thought it was a dog but soon realized it was a red fox. Not only could they be hurt by the fox, the fox could be hurt too.
The sign near the abandoned convenient store said she was in Frog Pond, another community mostly served by Sweet Pepper fire and police. Her own jurisdiction was much broader, including several counties in the area. Not that jurisdiction would have stopped her from dealing with the fox problem.
“Hey.” She approached the group. “What’s going on? You know that fox isn’t tame. He could take on all of you and come up the winner. He wouldn’t hesitate to bite you, and he could have rabies.”
The two smaller children dropped their sticks and ran away. But the older boys gazed at her arrogantly.
“What’s it to you?” one of them asked.
She pulled back the lapel on her brown jacket so they could see her badge on her uniform. “I’m the new Federal Wildlife Agent. You know what that means?”
The second boy threw down his stick but didn’t leave. “It means you protect animals.”
“It also means I protect people from animals. You should both go on home and let me deal with the fox.”
“Yeah, well, my dad says the only good fox is a dead fox.”
A pickup in worse shape than Bonnie’s pulled to the side of the road with them. An older man got out, hitched up his pants, and came toward them. He was short with a heavy pelt of yellowing white hair on his head.
“Morning, ma’am.” He nodded to her. “Is there a problem here? These boys giving you a hard time?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.” She put out her hand to him, hoping he wasn’t related to one of the boys. This could take a lot longer if she had to argue with him too. “I’m Agent Bonnie Tuttle, Wildlife. And you are?”
“I’m Walt Fenway. I used to be police chief in Sweet Pepper. I’m retired now, but I keep my eyes open. I didn’t know there was a new Wildlife Agent. Did Harvey retire?”
“No, sir.” She glanced at the two boys who were watching them closely. “We should talk about this later. Right now, I need them to leave this fox alone before one of them gets hurt.”
Walt peered around her at the exhausted fox, who was lying still on the gravel at the edge of the road. “He’s a beauty. You mean to take him in for protection?”
“I’ll have to take a look at him. If he’s not seriously injured, I’ll just get him out of here.”
“You boys head home,” he told the pair. “And next time you see a wild animal, you leave it alone.”
“Yes, sir,” the second boy said. “We were just having some fun.”
But the first boy wasn’t finished yet. “I can do what I want. My dad says foxes kill chickens. What difference does it make if I kill him?”
Before Walt could speak, Bonnie had removed the handcuffs from her belt and put his wrists in them.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” The boy was starting to panic. “You’re not the sheriff.”
“You’re right,” she told him. “I’m a federal official. I could arrest the sheriff if I wanted to. I have jurisdiction over this whole area. I could call the FBI to get you and take you to a federal prison. You wouldn’t be back here mouthing off and asking for a wild animal to bite you for twenty years.”
He glanced at Walt. “Is that true?”
“You know it, son. Better take her seriously.”
The boy stared at Bonnie, scared now. “I won’t bother him again. We were only having some fun. Give me another chance.” His voice cracked. “I’m just a kid.”
She glared at him for a moment, conscious of the other kids watching too. “I’ll give you one more chance, but you have to attend some wildlife classes.” She took off his handcuffs. “Your friends too. I want each of your names, addresses, and phone numbers. I’ll let you know when classes start.”
The kids gave out their information easily after that. They disappeared into the snowy woods.
“That’s a good way to take care of it.” Walt eyed her warily. “Now what happened to my friend Harvey Shelton?”
Bonnie gave him the whole story except for Harvey’s body going missing. She knew how the area was. The snow had slowed the g
ossip, but it wouldn’t be long before everyone knew that he was dead. She hoped they’d find Harvey’s body before everyone knew about that too.
“That’s a crying shame.” Walt bowed his head. “Harvey was a good man. I can’t imagine who would’ve wanted him dead.”
She thought this was a good opportunity to ask someone outside the family about her predecessor. “Have you noticed anything unusual about him in the past few weeks?”
“No, not really—though I thought it was strange for him to decide to retire out of the blue. I still didn’t really believe he’d do it until I met you.”
“Did he say anything about it? His wife told me he wasn’t in bad health and didn’t think he was having any trouble with the job.”
“Nothing I heard.” He pondered the question. “I just thought it was strange, and he didn’t want to talk about it. I guess that was strange in itself and one reason I thought he was just yanking my chain. Harvey liked to talk.”
“Any other ideas?” she asked.
“Would you consider telling me what kind of gun killed him?”
“A .38 caliber. I have the slug that was taken out of a wolf pup who was shot at the same time.”
He nodded. “So it was personal, huh? I mean, he wasn’t shot at the same time as Ray Hoy. And to go through him into the pup means it was close range. I’d take a guess that it was someone he riled over enforcing wildlife regulations. That’s the best I can do.”
“Anyone in particular come to mind?” she pressed.
“As a matter of fact, I believe the last man I remember him mentioning was Vince Stookey. They got into a dust up about a month ago when Harvey caught him poaching a doe out of season. Maybe you should give him a call.”
Vince Stookey’s name had come up with Matthew too as Ray Hoy’s associate. It seemed she would have to talk to the man once she could find him. Bonnie thanked him and had to write her phone number on another piece of paper to give him. She really needed to get her business cards.
The small red fox was sitting up when she looked back at him. He didn’t seem injured—maybe only playing dead so the boys would leave him alone. He seemed healthy, a good size, and no foaming at the mouth. His eyes were calm on her as he watched her move.
“He seems okay to me,” Walt observed.
“That’s what I thought.” She stared back at the fox. “I think you better get home now. The road is no place for a fox to be. It’s going to get cold again later. Go find your den.”
With a small yip, the fox turned and trotted off into the woods.
Walt hooted and slapped his thigh. “I believe you talked him into it! You’ve got a way with wild animals, don’t you?”
Bonnie smiled. “They just want some respect. Thanks for your help, Walt. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
They parted on the road in Frog Pond, each going their own way. Bonnie still had the problem with getting the vehicles back to her place. She decided to stop in at town hall and ask for help. She was sure they didn’t want the Hummer out at the lake any more than she did.
On the way back to Sweet Pepper, she pulled in at the fire brigade station at the end of Firehouse Road. The station had been rebuilt since she’d lived here before. Funny how many things she didn’t notice during her summer visits. She glanced up at the road that eventually led to the old cabin where Eric Gamlyn had once lived.
Many times on a dare, she’d gone up that road as a teenager. The old cabin was a favorite drinking and making out spot for everyone she knew. Not inside the cabin—no one would do that. She’d heard a few unusual noises when she’d knocked on the door as part of the dare, but she’d always gotten away from there quickly, not wanting to find out if there really was a ghost.
She went inside the station, thinking she’d like to invite Stella out for a drink to thank her for her help. The crew was cleaning up the building and washing the two large firetrucks. A few men called out to her. She recognized them from the island fire.
Ricky Hutchins jumped down from one of the trucks. “Hey, Bonnie. Great to see you. I’m glad you got out okay. Everyone—this is the new Wildlife Agent, Bonnie Tuttle. She’s from Christmas Tree Valley. Say hi and be nice. You never know when she might be the only thing standing between you and an angry mama bear.”
Bonnie laughed at that. “If that happens, you better have a candy bar to throw at her. I don’t want to pick up anyone’s pieces.”
The men, and two women, laughed and went back to work after welcoming her. Tagger came out of the small room with a door that was labeled Communications. The big man—Rufus—who was on the radio yesterday was there too, though he was busy with something in the communications room. The only person who wasn’t there was Stella.
“Yeah,” Tagger said scratching his head. “She had some big confab with Chief Rogers this morning. Probably something to do with the fire. But I’ll tell her you stopped by. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Thanks,” Bonnie said, turning to go. She glanced on the wall in the dining area and saw several old pictures of the first fire brigade. The names of the men were clearly labeled. There was also a newspaper clipping that was framed. The article was about finding the person who had killed Chief Gamlyn, with a picture of him when he was alive—it looked like his official portrait as fire chief.
She gasped as she got up close to it. He looked just like her brother. It was a resemblance that was unmistakable. At least one big question came into her mind.
“That’s the old chief.” Tagger saw her interest and rushed to help. “He was a great man, saved my life more than once. Sorry the chief has him with her. I’m sure he’d like to meet you.”
“Are you trying to scare her off?” Ricky asked. “Don’t listen to him, Bonnie. Everyone says there’s a ghost, but I’ve never seen him.”
“Actually, I met him yesterday when Chief Griffin gave me a ride up to the old ice house.”
“Really?” Allen Wise asked. “What were you doing up there?”
“Don’t be stupid.” Tagger glanced at him. “Where else were they going to keep the two dead men since they couldn’t get them to the coroner?”
“That makes sense,” Ricky agreed. “So you saw Chief Gamlyn?”
“No,” Bonnie replied. “But Chief Griffin introduced us.”
She promised business cards to all of them in case they needed to call her about any kind of wildlife issue. They all invited her out for drinks at Beau’s Tavern. Bonnie left, glad that she stopped, even though Stella hadn’t been there.
Snow was falling in wet blotches from the trees and powerlines as she drove into downtown Sweet Pepper. There were very few vehicles on the road despite the clear skies and warm temperatures. Everyone knew that would change later and were trying to dig out before it happened. The only place open was the cafe and town hall. Two yellow tickets were on her truck, requests to move the vehicle for the bigger snow plows to come through.
Bonnie parked Eric’s truck beside her own and took the tickets inside with her. She wasn’t sure what to do with her truck. Maybe she’d have it towed somewhere that it could be repaired. She had plenty of vehicles to get her where she needed to go. She could bring her truck home when it was in better shape.
Sandie offered her coffee as she went inside. “We’ve got fresh cinnamon rolls from the cafe too. How’s that little wolf doing? He was as cute as button.”
“He’s doing fine. I think he’ll make a full recovery.”
Bonnie got a cup of coffee and started to grab a cinnamon roll—the whole place smelled wonderful because of them. The door to Chief Rogers’ office opened, and he and Stella came out.
“Just the person I wanted to see,” he said. “Stella, if you have another few minutes, could you come into the conference room with us?”
Chapter Ten
“I appreciate you doing that notification, Bonnie,” he said when they were seated at the big table. “I hate to ask, but did you talk to them about anything they might have
noticed different about Harvey in the last few weeks?”
“I did. And I also asked if he’d had any trouble at work or anyone he’d had trouble with recently.”
He grinned. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Go on. What did they say?”
Bonnie explained that his wife and children didn’t have much to say. “She didn’t understand exactly why Harvey was giving up his job. I’ve heard that from more than one person and wondered myself.”
Chief Rogers wrote down what she said. “It’s a good question. He wasn’t old enough to retire, and if his wife didn’t even know, I’m not sure how we’ll find out.”
“I’m going to the office later,” Bonnie volunteered. “I’ll look through his papers and see what I can find.”
“Sounds good,” he said. “Stella, anything your firefighters saw at the island could be helpful. I’d appreciate it if you’d ask them some questions.”
She nodded. “You got it.”
“Thanks.” He shuffled through his papers. “Judd Streeter will be here soon. He can get what he can from Ray Hoy, but there’s still nothing on Harvey’s body. I hate to tell him that, but that’s where we are.”
“What about the tire print?” Stella asked. “Anything from that yet?”
Chief Rogers squinted at his notes. “We’ve got the tire info—seventeen-inch Michelin. Has to be a good-sized vehicle. John is running with that, but there are a lot of big vehicles in this area that could have been out during the storm.”
“Isn’t there a tire registry or something?” Stella asked.
“There is,” Bonnie replied. “But there’s nothing stopping someone from putting that tire on any vehicle.”
“That’s right,” Chief Rogers agreed. “Once we get to the identification of the vehicle, that will come in handy. Right now it doesn’t do us a damned bit of good. So whatever you two can come up with, I’d appreciate the help. It’s bad enough to have Harvey’s death hanging over us. It’s a lot worse that we lost his body.”
“I didn’t mention that to Mrs. Shelton,” Bonnie added.
