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During that time, he had frequently encountered Evan in the wilderness doing his fieldwork. They’d shared a lot of meals and stories around Evan’s campfire.
“Not great,” Evan replied. “Someone tried to shoot my cousin’s son last night, while he was out for a walk on a family friend’s property in his bear shape. He’s injured pretty badly.”
“Damn. Sorry to hear about it. You and Gage give the perp a smack-down?” asked Lucas.
“No. And that’s why we’re calling,” Evan said.
“The Bearpaw Ridge area has been targeted by poachers over the past few years,” Tringstad added. “They’ve been taking everything from Christmas trees to big game. They’ve even killed local ranchers’ cattle and butchered them for meat. These aren’t your usual yahoos going after trophies or conveniently ‘forgetting’ to buy a hunting permit and tags. These guys are smart, and they’re organized like a criminal gang.”
“And this summer, they’ve started targeting bears,” Evan said, his tone tight with anger. “They chased Rob after dark using a pickup truck. You know that’s as illegal as hell, even for hunters with a bear permit. Some of the ranchers in the area have found dead bears on their land stripped of their pelts, paws, and gallbladders.”
“I see,” Lucas said with a spurt of anger. He loathed the criminals who indiscriminately slaughtered wildlife. “Any idea who’s responsible?”
Poached bear parts fetched high prices on the black market, both as trophies and as ingredients in some traditional medicines.
“Not really. I have my suspicions,” Tringstad said, his tone grim. “What I don’t have is actualproof. So, I can’t get a warrant and arrest the SOBs.”
“And that’s where I come in,” Lucas guessed.
Two years ago, he’d been promoted from a Conservation Officer to Regional Investigator, the equivalent of a plainclothes detective for Fish and Game. His boss Tony Latham, the Chief of IDFG’s Enforcement branch, had recruited Lucas with the promise that his job would be to “just go out and investigate stuff.”
“Yeah,” Evan said. “This time, those bastards have gone too far. Rob isn’t only a family member. He’s also one of our town’s firefighters. We need your help, Lucas. Find out who shot Rob and get enough evidence on them to put together a prosecutable case.” Evan paused. “How fast can you get here?”
Lucas’s inner cat perked up at the news that there was game afoot, and a hunt to pursue.Yes! Yes, go now! Before the prey escapes!
Lucas hesitated before answering, though the request excited him, too.
On the one hand, he hated to leave his girls for an assignment of unknown duration on the other side of the state.
On the other hand, Regional Investigators were spread thin at IDFG. And he was currently the only undercover shifter investigator. He couldn’t say no.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he promised. “Either tomorrow or Monday. I’d appreciate it, Gage, if you put together whatever you’ve uncovered so far. Email me the files.”
“Thanks a million, Lucas,” Tringstad said. “I’ve got a huge district to cover and I don’t have the bandwidth to put together a case against these guys. I feel better already knowing that you’re on the case.”
“Yeah, thank you,” Evan added. “On behalf of my clan. We’re all anxious to find out who did this to Rob. Especially my mom. She’s the clan matriarch.”
That reminded Lucas of something important he needed to mention. Evan might be a longtime employee of Fish and Game, but he worked in the Wildlife division, not Enforcement.
“Evan,” Lucas said. “Gage already knows this, but you can’t tellanyone—not even local law enforcement—about me. Or even hint that there might be an undercover game warden working in your area.”
“But the Swansons and Jacobsens can help you—” Evan began.
“No.Absolutelynot,” Lucas said, his voice hard. “Hell, Evan, you know how small towns are. Everyone’s always in everyone else’s business. Undercover gigs are dangerous, even for shifters like us.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “If word gets out that there’s an undercover game warden somewhere in the vicinity, then all it’ll take is the wrong people putting two and two together. Then, BOOM! Cover blown.”
Tringstad spoke up. “Evan, you gotta understand. Game wardens have been killed on assignments like this. So, not a word. Toanyone. Not to Steffi, not Elle, not even Rob’s parents—no oneexcept for us knows about this investigation until it’s over and Lucas is safely back home.”
“Understood. But it’s going to be hard to keep a secret from my mate and my mom,” Evan said. He sounded subdued, and Lucas fervently hoped that he’d gotten the message. Then he asked, “Gage, will you be helping Lucas out, or is his undercover identity a secret to you, too?”
Tringstad chuckled. “Nope. I’ll be serving as Lucas’s liaison to the local Fish and Game office. I’ll do stuff like run law enforcement database searches on his behalf if he needs any information. We won’t ever be meeting in person, though, unless I find a good excuse to pull him over for a routine game warden stop to check for valid hunting permits and tags.”
“Gotcha,” Evan said, solemnly. “I won’t breathe a word about this to anyone, I swear.”
“Great,” Lucas said, the familiar thrill of an impending hunt coursing through him. “Now, what can you tell me about the incident?”
Over the next few minutes, Tringstad and Evan gave him the details about what had happened to Robert Tyler Jacobsen-Swanson last night.
Gage also promised to email the information he’d collected on previous poaching incidents in the area, in case there was a connection to Rob’s shooting.
