it’s all going out of state?”
“Of course it is. First off, a resident permit isn’t that expensive, even if it’s hard to get one for big game through the drawing. Nonresident permits run in the thousands. Then you’ve got the problem of where you’re going to display that trophy. Desi, you know people around here. How many of them wouldn’t mention the sudden appearance of a trophy head to you?”
She smiled faintly. “A few. There are a few everywhere. But someone, eventually, would run it by me. I have pretty good contacts around here, and despite what some people may think, most of the ranchers have a great respect for the land and the wildlife.”
“Unless it’s wolves,” he said.
She laughed. “Unless it’s wolves,” she agreed. “Unfortunately.”
“I hear you got some here?”
“A pack of maybe seven up on Thunder Mountain. So far there’s been a détente going on, but today...” She shook her head. “Fresh kill on Jake’s ranch. He’ll mend his fence as soon as he finds out where it was damaged, probably by the bighorn on the run...but then he’s got to keep an eye out. Right now his place may be looking like a wolf smorgasbord.”
“I could go out and give him a hand.”
She arched her brows at him. “What was that about undercover?”
“I’ll go out as an outfitter trying to get the lay of the land. I’ll just say I thought I could lend a hand while I learn the area.”
She shook her head, and he realized he wasn’t going to run this show singlehandedly. Oh, well. She knew the area and he had only one purpose: to gather intelligence on a ring of poachers. She spoke. “Jake’s the chief of police. I told you. He’s not stupid. That’ll smell and he won’t like it. One word of advice to you, Kel. Tell Jake what you’re really doing. He might be helpful and he sure knows how to keep a secret.” She paused. “He also knows Thunder Mountain as well as I do.”
“I’ll think about it.”
But then she questioned him again. “Isn’t it a little late to start your masquerade? The season’s already underway for a week now.”
“I’m not doing this solo.” He saw her stiffen, and guessed she was wondering if she was going to be totally shoved to the side in this operation. He hastened to reassure her. “I’m solo out here,” he offered quickly. “But the unit has been making postings for me on the web and social media since late last spring. In the meantime, once the snow was gone, I’ve been hiking all over the terrain to familiarize myself. Anyway, word about me has been out there, just not where I was going to set myself up. A few shills have already indicated their interest in a hunt publicly, so once I surface, I’ll appear to have business already.”
She nodded, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the desk. “What about others who call?”
He half smiled. “Well, now that’s interesting. We sound them out, mentioning they have to have their own license because they can’t hunt under mine, and they usually bail pretty quickly. Then we try like hell to find out where they go next. We’re coordinating with other states, but so far none of these calls have been productive. Apparently, the mere question about licensing makes them too cautious to continue. Two birds, one stone.”
She clearly appreciated that. “But some won’t care if it’s illegal.”
He nodded. “Of course not. But if they’re calling me, they obviously don’t know about this ring yet. If we find that they’ve contacted someone else, we can probably persuade the hunter to deal with us rather than face charges. But the ring is getting hard to find unless you have some kind of contact. Plus, we need evidence for court. Hearsay ain’t gonna do it.”
He stood. “Now, don’t you have a carcass to get out of your truck?” From the photos she’d showed him, he’d guess there were well over a hundred pounds left of a nearly three-hundred-pound sheep.
“Yeah. Help appreciated. I’ll roll around back to the freezer building.”
* * *
Behind the front offices in a steel building about fifty yards away were a series of chest freezers, all of them with serious padlocks. In them they kept evidence until a case was completed, whether dressed meat or an entire carcass. Desi tagged the bighorn in its plastic wrapping, then Kel helped her lift it into the building and put it in an empty freezer. Desi slapped a note on top of it, making it clear this meat was unsafe to eat. From time to time during the year, the wardens donated any good meat they no longer needed as evidence to a soup kitchen, or a church or even to individuals living on the edge who could use it well.
Not everything was wasted, Desi thought with satisfaction as she locked up the freezer shed. Not nearly.
“I guess we shouldn’t hang much,” Desi remarked as they walked back to the station. For some reason that disappointed her. She wanted to be part of his operation, was thirsty for it, but she was also kind of thirsty for the man himself. No good. “You being undercover and all.”
“Hey, wouldn’t I cozy up to the local wardens? Try to seem innocuous?”
“Brown nose?” She looked at him and laughed. “I’m not very susceptible, Kel.”
“Didn’t think you were,” he answered in good humor, “but that’s what people can think and I’ll hurry that notion along when I can.”
She stepped inside and faced him. “Why?”
He grew instantly serious. “Because I’m going to need your help, Warden. I can’t possibly do this alone. So I cozy up to you, make it look like I’m trying to get on your good side, maybe romance you a bit, and no one will even guess what I’m really here to do.”
She felt an unexpected sense of displeasure that he could so casually offer to romance her as part of his cover. Shaking her head at herself, she quashed the feeling. “Just don’t take it too far,” she said. “I’m not known for dating around here.”
He nodded, accepting the warning. Sometimes, things happened at exactly the wrong time. Well, this was wrong for more reasons than timing. She couldn’t let herself want this guy. That kind of stuff could only get in the way.
But she felt a little slammed by her reaction. Not in years had she reacted so strongly to a guy just because of how he looked. Right now she didn’t know anything about Kel, so who needed this reaction? He might turn out to be a jackass.
She could have laughed at herself if this situation weren’t in danger of affecting her peace of mind. But there was one good thing she could say about it: instant sexual attraction had taken her mind off that bighorn.
But now she needed to come back to earth and set about reporting the kill. While Kel got himself some coffee, she pulled her notebook out of the pocket in her vest and flipped it open. Her sample case was still in the truck, and she’d have to package that up in a cooler to send to forensics.
In the meanwhile...paperwork. On the computer.
As she called up the forms, Kel spoke again.
“Desi? You take this all very personally, don’t you?”
She
