to get there. Can we drive up to the area?” he asked.
“Yes. To a point, and then the trees will be too dense. It will all be on foot from there.”
Jack came in the back door, greasy and muttering beneath his breath as Duke walked into the kitchen from the hall.
“What’s wrong?” Duke asked.
“Oh, that damned old engine. I need a part but it might not be so easy to find. The older stuff gets, the harder it is to find ways to repair it.” Then he saw the trail cams. “So, find anything interesting on them?” he asked.
“Check this out,” Duke said, and played the footage for his brother. When the coyote suddenly appeared on the screen, Jack jumped.
“Oh shit! Are you kidding me? Is that thing rabid?”
“Looks like it to me,” Duke said.
“What are we going to do?” Jack asked, thinking of all the livestock.
“I’ve already called Wildlife Animal Control. Remember Will Polson? My old college buddy?”
Jack nodded.
“He’s still a ranger there, and he’s going to get a crew together and head this way.”
“What if you can’t find it?” Jack asked.
Duke shrugged. “We’ll figure that out as we go. Right now I’ve got to start calling neighbors.”
He took a bottle of Coke from the refrigerator, then went into the living room to start making calls, but he wanted to check on Cathy before they got too involved in this hunt.
He called her number, then counted the rings. He was guessing he was going to have to leave a voicemail when she answered, and she sounded breathless.
“Hello?”
“Hey, honey, did I disturb you?”
She laughed. “No. I just couldn’t find my phone.”
“Are you back from Savannah?”
“Yes.”
“How did it go?” he asked, and then heard her sigh.
“Oh, the shopping went great. I just had the misfortune to run into a woman who used to be one of the ‘friends’ I hung out with in Vegas. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her, so I guess my general location is no longer a secret.”
Duke frowned. “Are you worried?”
“No. Maybe…at least a little, and mad that it happened,” she said. “But enough about me. What’s going on at the farm?”
“Well, that’s why I called. I had trail cams up because of the rustling, but now that the men were arrested, I went to take them down and saw a rabid coyote on one of the cameras.”
Cathy gasped. “Oh no! What are you going to do?”
“I called the county wildlife department, and they’re on the way to see if we can track it and put it down. I’m just hoping we get to it before rabies spreads throughout the area. I have to start calling neighbors, but I wanted to check in with you first. There’s no telling how long we’ll be involved with this.”
“Is there anything I can do to help? I am a good shot and a better tracker.”
Duke was stunned. She’d just offered to join a hunt for a dangerous animal without a hint of anxiety.
“That is probably one of the more amazing offers I’ve ever had in my life, but no way do I want you out there and in danger in any way.”
“I tracked a rabid wolf with Daddy when I was ten. It came into our camp and killed one of Mother’s milk goats. I wasn’t scared. I was mad because our goat was dead.”
“Just the same, I’m not taking you to the woods to chase a rabid coyote. I’ll see you tomorrow at lunch.”
The thought of seeing him again made her happy. “What time?”
Duke laughed. “How about I come by your house and pick you up about eleven thirty?”
“That would be awesome. I’ll see you then,” she said, and disconnected.
Meanwhile, Duke began making calls and then asking neighbors to call their neighbors to tell them what was happening. The men who were home immediately volunteered to join in the hunt, and within the next fifteen to thirty minutes, they began arriving at the farm.
By the time the crew from Wildlife Animal Control arrived, there were ten men, including Duke and Jack, waiting to join the hunt, all of them armed with hunting rifles of one kind or another.
The rangers and trackers got out, and Duke made the introductions.
“So, do you still want to start where I caught it on the trail cam?” Duke asked.
“Yes,” Will said.
“We have to open and close two gates to get there, so load up and follow Jack and me. We’ll open the gates. Whoever is in the back vehicle has to be