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I grabbed the flashlight fro had taken a bite-sized chunk out of the skin between her thumb and her wrist

"What did you hit, ma'am?"

"Karen" Her eyes ide, pupils dilated; she was shocky "Karen Larson"

Right ansrong question The distant wail of a siren sliced through the cool night air, and I perh of relief Help was on the way

Since the nearest hospital was a forty-eneral practice clinic for everything but life-threatening crises Even so, the clinic was on the other end of town, a good twenty minutes over dark, deserted roads Brad could transport Miss Larson while I finished up here

But first things first I needed to move her vehicle out of the road before sohway 199 at 3:00 alass and blood on the pavement

"Ma'am? Miss Larson, we need to move Slide over"

She did as I ordered, like a child, and I quickly parked her car nearto retrieveand repairs -perhaps bandage her up just enough to keep the blood off the seats - I paused, half in and half out of the car, when she answered my third question as late as the second

"Wolf I hit a wolf"

A litany of Zee's favorites ran througha proble in alarenerosity of the Depart licenses, the wolves hadwith their prey

The wolves were not typically aggressive; however, if they ounded or rabid, typical did not apply

"Did it bite you, ma'am?"

I knew the answer, but I had to ask For the record

She nodded "I-I thought it was a dog"

"Da," I muttered

"Yes Daht in front of ht

Chasing, chasing -" She frowned, then ht was too much for her poor head

"How did you get bitten?"

"I thought it was dead"

A good rule to re ild animals and soap opera villains? They usually aren't dead -even when everyone thinks that they are

"Ma'aistration, okay?"

She nodded in the sa I didn't ss at the clinic

I quickly rifled her wallet Yep, Karen Larson The registration in the glove compartment proved she owned the car All my ducks were in a row, just the way I liked them

Brad arrived at last Young, eager, he was one of the summer cops, which meant he wasn't from here

Who knohat he did during the other nine hts and worked on his tan beneath an artificial sun Having dealt with Brad before, I was of the opinion he'd fried his brain along with his skin But he was coh to take Miss Larson to the clinic

I ot a wolf bite" I had no time for chitchat Not that I would have bothered even if I did "Get her to the clinic I' to see if I can find the wolf"

He laughed "Right, Jessie You're gonna catch a wolf, in the ht, in these woods And it'll be the particular wolf you're searching for"

That's why Brad was a suh-the-year cop I had a brain and I wasn't afraid to use it

"Call lass on the paveonna leave a mark If I find a ith a fender-sized dent, I'll just arrest hiht be able to avoid rabies shots for our victim"

Brad blinked "Oh"

"Yeah ' Oh'Can you call Zee, tell her what happened, have her inform the DNR?"

"Why?"

I resisted the urge to thump him upside the head Maybe I'd shake some sense loose, but I doubted it

"Standard procedure when dealing olves is to call the hunting and fishing police"

"Do we have to?"

Though I shared his sentiments -no one around here had much use for the Department of Natural Resources - rules were rules

The wolf had been an endangered species in Wisconsin until 1999, when the classification was changed to threatened Recently they had increased in number to the point where they were delisted Which meant problems - like rabies -could be handled under certain conditions by certain people If I had to shoot a wolf tonight I wanted to do so with my butt already covered

"Yes," I snapped "We have to Have Zee get someone else out here to secure, then measure this scene"

I patted the walkie-talkie on my belt "I'll be in touch"

"But - Uh, I was thinking Maybe, uaze flicked toward the trees, then back to me

"I know And you shouldn't"

Think Ever My s in my twenty-six years, and one of them was to keep my smart-ass mind's comments to myself Mostly

"I've lived here all my life, Brad I'm the best hunter on the force"

A fact that did not endear uys I worked with I couldn't recall the last ti Buck contests run by the taverns every fall Still Brad appeared uneasy at letting me wander off alone into the darkness

"Relax," I soothed "I know these woods You don't"

Without waiting for further argument, I went in after the wolf