Page 20 of Sear
Elle, the friendly older bear shifter woman manning the restaurant’s host station, told him about a riverside park located only three blocks away, and mentioned that there were picnic tables with a view over the Salmon River.
The sun was setting behind the western hills, but it was still pleasantly warm outside, so Lucas decided to take her suggestion instead of driving all the way back to his cabin to eat. Once his order was ready, he carried his large bag of food over to the park.
There, he enjoyed an excellent meal of tender spareribs and a generous selection of sides while watching the sunset and enjoying the soothing murmur and occasional splash from the clear, fast-flowing river located just a few yards away.
Lucas was disposing of his empty takeout containers and soiled napkins in the picnic area’s trash bins when he caught sight of a familiar white Ford truck passing the park.
Sure enough, he glimpsed Bickham and Silvers inside the cab. And their rifles were visible in the window rack.
Intrigued, he watched to see whether they turned left to cross the bridge over the river and head towards the row of motels built along the west bank.
Instead, the truck turned right.
Maybe they were going to stop somewhere along Main Street, but it was also possible that they were headed towards the highway.
Considering that they were coming from the parking lot of a crowded pizza place, Lucas doubted they were after a second dinner. Especially since they’d brought along their hunting rifles.
Lucas decided to tail them, just in case they were headed out for a spot of illegal nighttime hunting.
He strode to his truck, then followed Bickham’s pickup at a safe distance as the other man drove down the length of Main Street before turning left onto the highway.
Okay, now they were heading towards Lucas’s lodgings, rather than their own.
They passed the entrance to the Jacobsen Ranch, and kept driving north. Lucas followed them until they turned onto Lynx Creek Road.
Rob Jacobsen-Swanson had been shot near a stand of huckleberry bushes just off this road.
These guys can’t really be making it this easy for me, thought Lucas in disbelief.
He often spent weeks or even months building a case against suspects. Dare he hope that this investigation might actually wrap up in a matter of days?
Not wanting to alert his prey that they were being tailed, he passed the Lynx Creek Road turn-off, then pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway.
There, he waited for the lights of the other truck to vanish down the road before he turned onto the narrow gravel lane himself.
While he was waiting, he verified the location of the shooting on his phone. Tringstad had sent him the GPS coordinates earlier.
Yeah, it looks like Bickham and Silvers are headed straight for the scene of the crime. But why?
Lucas pulled off the road a half-mile away from the place, parking behind a dense mass of chokecherry bushes to conceal his truck.
A sudden thought occurred to him, overriding his cat’s hunting instincts.
This is stupid and dangerous. No one knows I’m here.He sat in his vehicle, his fingers clenched around his steering wheel.And if I’m right about Bickham and Silvers, they’ll shoot me without blinking if they spot me. Maybe I should just wait until we go hunting tomorrow, and hope to get some evidence against them then.
The beer-stink men won’t see me, Lucas’s cougar assured him.I rule the night hunt. I am the best at laying ambushes. My prey never notices me unless I permit them to do so.
His cat had a point. Lucas remembered how much beer those two had put away while he was talking with them. And they’d already been drinking for some time before he joined them.
Hell, they probably shouldn’t even be driving right now, much less going for a stroll in the woods at night!
He had to be willing to bet his life that they wouldn’t be alert enough to spot much of anything, much less his beast half.
If I play my cards right, I’ll get what I need from them now. I could write up my report tomorrow and head back home to my girls. Easiest case ever.
His decision made, Lucas got out of his truck. He quickly stripped down to his bare skin, neatly folding his clothes and underwear on the driver’s seat before he let his cougar rise and take control.
The shift moved swiftly over him with the familiar prickling of skin sprouting fur and the deep ache of bones, muscles, and tendons reforming themselves.
