Holes — about the same size as the bruises on the man’s back.
Something that ran on all fours had chased the man.
Lee studied the oval-shaped prints. He couldn’t immediately identify them. He wasn’t an expert on animal tracks but he could point out the difference between the obvious ones. The first thing that came to mind was a boar. Boar hooves made holes. However each track was typically split into two distinct ovals, making up the hoof shape. This was a single oval. Like the shape a staff or post would make in the earth.
Something else didn’t add up. The stride was far too long and the pattern of holes didn’t match a boar’s step.
Cause of death was becoming clear, though. This man was chased, attacked and killed by a predator of some sort.
Lee knew he needed to call it in. He snatched his phone from his pocket and dialed Chief Sullivan’s number. He heard the receiver pick up on the other end.
“What have we got?” Sullivan’s voice came through the line.
“You were right. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a murder.”
“Oh yeah? How so?” Sullivan asked.
“Still working that out, but this guy was chased by something.”
“Some—thing? You mean it wasn’t done by a human?” Sullivan’s tone seemed intrigued, almost excited.
“It doesn’t appear that way. I don’t want to make too many assumptions yet, and I know it sounds crazy, but I believe we are on the hunt for an animal,” Lee said.
Sullivan was quiet on the other line.
“A mauling? How about the wound? Can you make out what kind of animal from the wounds? Bites, rips or tears — that kind of thing?
“That’s the thing, Terry. There are no bite marks. The guy was crushed. Something really heavy or extremely powerful pancaked him.”
There was a brief pause on the line.
“What kind of animal on this island could kill a grown man, especially like that?” Sullivan thought as he asked the question. “A boar?”
“Not a boar. Whatever this thing is, it’s fast — faster than a boar, and longer. You should see the prints.”
Lee continued. “Terry, this thing, whatever it is — it runs like a cheetah. Of course…the prints don’t match any kind of cat, though.”
There was a quick pause on the line. They were both thinking.
“What in the world kind of animal would be on this island that fits that description?” asked Sullivan, clearly perplexed.
“Maybe what we’re looking for isn’t from here — maybe it was brought here.”
“Domesticated pets? You think someone brought in an animal from the port?
“Well, It’s clearly not domesticated yet,” answered Lee sarcastically.
“Far from it, but it could be a possibility. Even as a pet, what would do this though?
“I don’t know. You hear of celebrities owning tigers and exotic pets. We’ve got a handful of celebs living here on the island,” Lee said.
“Well at this point, we should explore any option we have. Not likely, but check it out.”
“Whatever it is, I’ll figure it out. I’m on it.” Lee replied in a confident voice.
Lee finished up the conversation with Chief Sullivan and continued to survey the scene. He was on to something big here. Lee had the feeling that he was scratching the surface of something much deeper. It was certainly unlike anything he had come across before.
Distant sounds of tires crackling on a dirt road signaled the approach of the oncoming legion of press vans. This was going to be big news for the island, and the crime scene was about to get overrun very quickly.
Lee had a lot of work to do. He couldn’t waste time.
CHAPTER 3
Tom Bennett hiked beneath a dense canopy of green foliage spreading out for miles, protecting the endangered wildlife living below. The place was an untouched Eden. It was like stepping back in time and roaming among the animals — living among them.
They were everywhere.
The name of the protected Eden was the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge and Bennett was up to his ankles in mud at the moment. He walked north along a stream. Large, wet ferns along the bank forced him to walk in the water. He was thankful for his field boots at the moment, doing their job and keeping his feet dry. Bennett ducked under a downed tree, cleared it and found his footing on some mossy rocks on the other side. He continued moving steadily up the stream.
The sunlight filtered in through the dense tree canopy. White beams of light shone down through the thick, damp atmosphere. It was a climate exuding living things — amazingly scenic all around him. The colors of the plants, mixed with the wild coloring of the birds were a sight to behold. Rich greenery spread as far as the eye could see. Red, yellow, blue and orange birds danced in the branches above. It was nothing less than enchanting.
Bennett jumped to a bed of small pebbles lining the stream and stopped immediately. He froze. Staring straight ahead, he steadied himself and listened intently on the sounds all around him.
There it was again. He heard it — at least he thought he had.
Bennett wasn’t necessarily accustomed to tracking his subjects like this. It was a hunt, and he was the hunter. He caught himself reverting to tactics in his mind ingrained there from military training years ago. Instinctively, he moved close to the bed of palms to his right, covering him from line of sight. The palm leaves provided adequate camouflage for him and he could still comfortably see through the opening between some bamboo shoots. This was as good a place as any.
He ducked down and waited.
There. His eyes caught a flash of movement between the trees.
Bennett quietly reached into his case trying intently to avoid any noise from the components inside. He gripped the dark metal and began fitting the pieces together, snapping them carefully into place. He steadied his arms. His left elbow was braced against a mossy, fallen tree and the other arm was steadied with his finger gently caressing the trigger.
He focused the object in his cross hairs, making sure his shot was perfectly lined up. He took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly.
Click.
Three more.
Click…click, click.
He looked down at the LCD screen to make sure the shots were in focus. They were. Bennett adjusted the aperture down one f-stop. He fired off five more shots. The camera lens purred softly as he adjusted his position and fired off a few more frames. “Perfect.” Bennett thought to himself. The shots were exactly what he needed.
The crimson red feathers were coming through amazingly vibrant. The long, curved pink bill and distinctive black plumage on the feathers confirmed this was the right bird too.
It was an ‘I’iwi.
This bird, now endangered, was once a plentiful species that lived freely on all islands in Hawaii. Today, however, it was a rare occurrence to come across one of these brightly colored creatures anywhere. Bennett had successfully captured that rare occurrence.
Proof for the day, he thought.
For the past five days, Bennett had been photographing various locations all over the island. He had been sent to Hawaii for work — if you could call hiking around a tropical playground “work”. Certainly, Hawaii was an ideal location. Bennett was enjoying his time there. It also helped that his expenses were fully funded.
Bennett was currently working as the Director of Photography for an upcoming nature film. A film backed by the largest commercial media company in the world and Bennett had landed the gig due to his extensive background in photography. He had been sent there to scout locations. Today’s findings had proven fruitful, and Bennett felt very confident about the location.