“But I think that’s what someone has done,” Glenna said. “We have a tiger on the loose, in unfamiliar habitat. Maybe it’s never lived in the wild before; maybe it doesn’t know how to hunt. It’s hungry. It follows a blood trail, finds dead prey, and it feeds on it.”
Stella looked incredulous. “So you’re saying this tiger isn’t to be blamed for eating a man?”
“I’m saying that any large cat is dangerous and will attack if it’s hungry or has its back to the wall.” Glenna focused on Cole, her face passionate. “But what I’m also saying is that this tiger is a victim, too. Someone has brought it here, released it, and left it to survive on its own. It deserves a chance to live. I hope we can give it that chance. Sedate it and capture it.”
“I can provide horses, and I’ve got a BAM kit in my office,” Cole said, referring to a sedative used on wildlife. “But I don’t have a dart projector.”
“I have one that we can use,” Glenna said.
“I don’t know how we’re going to find this tiger,” Cole said. “I doubt it stays in one place.”
“I have a dog trained to hunt cougar,” Glenna said. “I’m sure he can track it. All he’ll smell is cat.”
Mattie’s heart made a slow downward slide within her chest. Hearing the tiger’s growl had reminded her of what Wilson Nichol looked like after the tiger had been at him, and she didn’t want Cole anywhere near it. “This is too dangerous. I’m not a fan of tracking down this tiger and killing it, but that’s what has to be done.”
“Hold on a minute,” McCoy said, his mellow voice dampening the emotion in the room. “We need to look at the big picture here. Why would someone bring a tiger into our county?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Glenna said. “I’m not sure I have the exact answer, but tigers have become the target of wildlife trafficking over the last few years. At first, poachers were killing them to sell their parts on the black market. But lately we’ve had reports of live tigers being involved. Just a few months ago, traffickers with three tiger cubs in duffel bags were busted in Arizona while transporting them from Mexico to Texas.”
Mattie thought of the large dog crate in the back of Nate’s van. Even in its burnt and torqued condition, she’d noted its strong, steel mesh, much heavier than that needed to hold an Old English sheepdog, the pet Kasey mentioned they’d lost recently. And Nate’s route seemed to be California to Nebraska. “Is wildlife trafficking often done through Mexico?” she asked Glenna.
“A large part of it. Easier to get into the U.S. from there.”
Narcotics still hadn’t been mentioned, and Mattie needed to know about that piece. “Is drug running associated with wildlife trafficking?”
“As a matter of fact, it is,” Glenna said. “These guys often make the most of their trips. Drugs, wildlife, guns. Makes a trip across country all the more profitable.”
The picture was becoming clearer now. Nate could have been running illegal goods from California to Nebraska on the interstate highway and then passing them on to someone who ran them farther east. It was a trafficking route well known to law enforcement. Nate might not have been an end user or a supplier, but he certainly could have been a link in the trafficking chain.
“Were drugs found in the van?” Glenna asked Mattie.
“My dog found a trace in the door panel.”
“Good boy,” Glenna said with a quick smile for Robo before sobering. “I’m still not certain why a tiger would be released into the wilderness area of Colorado. Unless someone intends to hunt it.”
Tyler Redman and the fishermen up in the mountains north of Timber Creek. Mattie would bet anything the party hadn’t taken fishing poles on their trip this morning but were instead armed with hunting rifles. Her energy surged as she made eye contact with Stella and determined that the detective had come to the same conclusion.
They both looked to Sheriff McCoy. The decision to share case details would be up to him. He’d leaned back in his chair and was staring at the backside of the whiteboards. Brody cleared his throat and shifted in his chair.
McCoy tapped one finger lightly on the table. “Let’s talk theoretically for a moment. Let’s say we have circumstantial evidence that such a hunting party exists.”
“I’d say that falls under my jurisdiction,” Glenna replied, looking the sheriff in the eye. “Any animal being hunted illegally in the state of Colorado is within my purview.”
“Right,” McCoy said.
Mattie thought of the men who were bound to have traveled well up into the high country by now: Tyler Redman, Flint Thornton, Ben Underwood, and Zach Irving. One or more of these men could be responsible for planning and carrying out a double homicide. Any one of them could be a murderer.
McCoy propped his elbows on the table as he leaned toward the game warden. “But let’s say members of that hunting party might include suspects in a murder investigation.”
Glenna’s eyebrows rose. “Then I’d say we’d better pool our resources and get together a hunting party of our own.”
TWENTY-ONE
Sheriff McCoy called Kasey Redman to tell her to come speak with them at the station, and she arrived around six in the evening with her friend Jasmine. Stella had suggested that both McCoy and Mattie participate with her in the interrogation as a subliminal way to ramp up the pressure on Kasey. But oddly enough, it put a strain on Mattie, too. She felt like she’d not had time to work through her feelings about the sheriff, and joining him in such close quarters seemed to crank up her sensitivity.
She worried her claustrophobia would interfere with her ability to concentrate. Bringing Robo in with her would help, but since the space was so small, she’d left him on his cushion in her office.
Kasey evidently wanted some support, too, and asked if Jasmine could come in to the interview with her, but McCoy stood firm and wouldn’t allow it. McCoy and Stella went to one side of the table while Mattie took the seat next to Kasey, angling her chair so that she could observe Kasey’s reactions and body language. They had decided beforehand that their main objectives would be to use this interrogation as an information-gathering session as well as to see if they could catch Kasey in a blatant lie or cover-up.
“Thank you for coming in, Kasey,” McCoy said, settling into a chair beside Stella. “As I said, we’ve found some additional information that we need to discuss with you.”
Kasey was nodding, her eyes red-rimmed and sorrowful as she watched the sheriff’s face. Mattie’s front-row seat afforded her a full view of Kasey’s facial expressions. She forced herself to focus on Kasey’s every word and movement and forget her own feelings. After all, she’d grown used to compartmentalizing, and now was the time to practice that strategy.
McCoy continued. “We’ll be recording this interview today, because we’re trying to clarify details in Nate’s investigation.”
Kasey looked startled. “Am I a suspect?”
Not an unusual response. Most people said that when told they were being recorded.
Stella replied with the usual assurances that this was merely routine. “First we want to discuss the information I received from your father-in-law when I spoke with him. Remember you told me to call him about the insurance?”
Mattie had to hand it to her, Stella had come up with a good opener—no lies, no misleading, but not specifically the truth either.
Kasey nodded. “I talked with Tom and Helen this afternoon, too. They’re in town now.”