Will loaded his crew back up in their van and followed Duke, past their outbuildings, then past the barn and corrals to the gate into the first pasture.
Jack jumped out to open it, then got back in the truck with his brother.
“We’ve got something of a convoy,” he said.
His brother glanced up in the rearview mirror and nodded, and kept driving. Jack got the next gate, and then they were headed through to the trees where the trail cams had been mounted.
Duke drove as close as he could get before he stopped, then he and Jack got out.
He got his hunting rifle from behind the seat, checked to make sure it was loaded, and then pocketed more ammo while waiting for all of the trackers to arrive.
As soon as they were all out of their vehicles, Will brought the three trackers and their hounds to where Duke was waiting.
“If you’ll show us where that trail cam was, we’ll see if we can pick up a trail from there.”
“Will your dogs be okay doing this?” Duke asked.
One of the trackers nodded. “Yes, sir. They’ve all had their rabies shots.”
“Okay, then, follow me,” Duke said, and led the way through the trees. It took about ten minutes to reach the last location, and then he stopped a ways back so as not to disturb the site and pointed. “It was on that skinny pine. See where the ground has been disturbed in that little clearing?”
“Yes, yes, I see,” Will said. “Okay, everybody. Just stop here a bit and let us see if the dogs can pick up any kind of scent. If they do, then fan out in a line and move forward. I want to make sure we don’t have anyone with a loaded gun walking behind someone else.”
“Got it,” Jack said. “We’re just here until you tell us to do different.”
Will nodded, and then waved to his men. “Put them to work, boys.”
The trackers led the dogs to the site, keying them onto the scents around the visible coyote tracks, and then set them to hunt.
The dogs whined and then took off through the trees, moving at a fast clip in silence. It wasn’t until the first one let out a yip that they knew it had picked up a trail.
“That’s it,” Will said. “Let’s do this.”
Duke was at the far end of the line and moving forward with the men spaced out about twenty yards apart. Jack was on his right and within Duke’s sight. They could hear the dogs’ occasional yips, which meant they were still following a trail.
The first hour came and went before the men began to realize they were less than three miles away from Blessings, and the dogs were moving parallel to the creek that ran through the city park and behind the trailer park in town.
Duke’s first thought was of all the people who could be in danger and didn’t even know it. But Will was on the opposite end of their line of searchers, so Duke called him.
Will had his phone on vibrate, and when he saw caller ID, he quickly answered.
“What’s up, Duke? Did you see something?” he asked.
“No. It’s not that,” Duke said. “But my best guess is that we’re less than three miles from town, and this creek we’re following goes straight through the trailer park on the outskirts of town, and through the city park as well. I’d like to think that coyote crawled off somewhere and died, but your dogs keep tracking, which tells me wherever it is, it’s somewhere up ahead. I think the PD needs to be notified, Will. My brother-in-law is the chief of police. I’m going to text you the number to the PD.”
“Oh hell. I didn’t realize we were that close,” Will said. “Yes, send the number. I’ll give him a call.”
* * *
Chief Pittman was on patrol when his radio squawked, and then he heard Avery requesting his presence at the PD. He radioed in and headed that way, wondering what was going on, and then parked behind the building and came in through the back and up the hall to the front desk. The fact that the place was empty except for Avery was puzzling.
“What’s going on? From the tone of your voice, I thought I’d be walking into trouble.”
“We just got a call from a ranger with the wildlife department. His name