Chapter 16

Dylan was glad Michael, his brother, brother-in-law, and Deputy Sheriff CJ Silver were with him. They made a great group for teamwork and camaraderie. That night, they had set up camp, and the next morning, they made breakfast over a campfire like they had been working together for years. Then they packed up and headed out toward the cabin in search of Fennel and Jim. They hadn’t run into any sign of tracks or scents since early yesterday.

They were still trying to reach Jim’s granddad’s cabin. It was only a couple of hours away now, and Dylan figured even if neither of the men were there, they might be able to learn if the men had visited. Maybe Dylan and his team members would get a clue at the cabin as to where the hunters had gone. The law enforcement agencies in Denver had been watching to see if either of the men had gone back to the city. But the hunters hadn’t returned as far as the police had witnessed. The hunters hadn’t checked in with their families. Or not that any family member was admitting to.

“What’s happening with Xander?” Dylan asked CJ, figuring if anyone was in the know, he would be.

“Doc cut off the tips of four of his fingers and removed two of his toes. The guy got off lucky. Doc says he figured the reason it was so bad was that he had fallen into the river, then swam across and trekked a long time in snowdrifts without getting into dry clothes and warming up. He wouldn’t have made it if he hadn’t found the cave to hole up in and then you and Roxie located him,” CJ said.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think thanking me is on his agenda.”

“I know. Once he recovers, he’ll be jailed unless he can get bonded out. Right now, all they have on him is that he witnessed the murder and tried to hide the body so he’s an accessory to murder. Luke said he and Fennel helped Jim to hide the body, and then they all took off.”

“They ought to get some time in jail for that,” Dylan said.

“Exactly.”

Then they packed up their camp and headed off to the cabin. A mile from there, they ran into Eric Silver. He hugged CJ, his youngest quadruplet brother, and shook everyone else’s hands. “I ended up reaching the cabin first to do some scouting. Someone is at the cabin. I don’t know the men’s scents, but smoke is coming out of the chimney. Someone else could be staying there. I wanted to warn you and figure if you’re going to catch Fennel or Jim, we need to approach it in stealth mode.”

“Let’s do this,” CJ said.

“Hell, let’s go then.” Dylan was so hopeful they would catch at least one of the men. As soon as he got close enough to the woods surrounding the cabin, he said, “I smell Fennel’s scent.”

They parked their snowmobiles a thousand feet from the cabin. Humans wouldn’t be able to hear a snowmobile beyond 750 feet.

Dylan might not have been in the military like some of the men with him, but he was ready for the hunt and just as capable of taking down criminals after years of martial arts and weapons training. Plus, with a wolf’s enhanced senses, he had the advantage over his human prey.

CJ divided the men up to approach the cabin from different directions, each of them taking a window or the front door to ensure Fennel didn’t slip away if he was in there.

Michael was at one end of the cabin while Dylan was at the other end watching the windows from the woods. Eric and Daniel were watching the front door and windows out front. CJ and Bryan were out back watching the two windows that way. They were ready to move in closer as soon as CJ gave them the signal. All of them had their guns out.

But then Dylan heard movement to his right. It sounded like someone was trudging through the snow nearby. Fennel? Maybe he wasn’t even in the cabin right now.

Dylan slowly moved in that direction and saw Fennel gathering more wood for the fire from a stack of firewood piled high. Fennel’s back was to Dylan, and he wasn’t carrying a rifle. He could have a gun on him though. As soon as Fennel had an armload of wood, Dylan said, “Fennel, this is Special Agent Dylan Powers. Turn around slowly. Drop the firewood and get on your knees. Put your hands behind your head.”

Dylan didn’t shout the words, afraid Jim could be inside the cabin and start shooting at everyone. Fennel seemed frozen with indecision and didn’t move a muscle to comply, still carrying the load of firewood, still with his back to Dylan.

“Xander has been picked up and is in jail.” Dylan hoped talking to Fennel about what had happened to another of his friends would defuse the situation. “We know about Eddie’s murder. This isn’t just about the four of you killing an elk.” Even though technically only one man had actually shot the elk. He paused to let that sink in. “We have a witness who saw exactly what happened.”

Fennel’s shoulders dropped. He’d been standing so stiffly until Dylan told him the news about the witness. He appeared resigned. He had to know it would come to this.

“You’re not going to get yourself out of this one as easily as you have done with your previous charges,” Dylan said.

Still holding the firewood, Fennel slowly turned around, and Dylan saw he was carrying a holstered gun.

Dylan had the safety on his gun, but he was holding it in case Fennel thought to shoot it out with him. “If you’re even thinking about going for your gun, don’t. I have several Silver Town deputy sheriffs with me. Drop the firewood, then very slowly pull your gun from its holster and throw it into the snow,” Dylan said, not liking the way Fennel appeared to be still weighing his options and not complying. Dylan suspected Fennel figured he was alone because Dylan always was when he had arrested these men in the past. But a lot more was at stake this time.

The cabin door opened, creaking slightly, but Dylan didn’t believe Fennel could hear it. Hopefully, one of the other men with Dylan was checking it out, or if it was Jim, the other guys would grab him, which was the best-case scenario.

“Is Jim here with you?” Dylan asked.

“No. He said if we got separated and didn’t find each other again, we’d meet up here. In the woods, Xander and I parted company because he thought he knew how to get here, and I thought I knew which way to go. I knew he was wrong, but once Xander got something in his head, he’s damned stubborn.”

“Fennel, I know you didn’t kill Eddie. You need to cooperate with us and drop the firewood, hand over your gun, and allow yourself to be taken in. You have a choice. Do the right thing. Remember your family.” Dylan continued to keep his gun at the ready.

Suddenly, Eric and CJ approached Fennel from behind. Dylan was glad they were coming to back him up in case this got out of hand.

“This is Fennel Keaton. He has a gun, but he won’t drop the firewood or his gun,” Dylan told them.

“I’m Deputy Sheriff Silver. Drop the firewood and your gun,” CJ said, his gun aimed at Fennel.

“The cabin is clear,” Eric said. “The only person who has been here recently is this man.”

Dylan knew Eric meant that he couldn’t smell anyone else’s recent scent. Dylan was glad that Fennel hadn’t lied to him about being alone.

Finally, Fennel released the load of wood in the snow and carefully removed his gun from its holster and dropped it into the snow. He raised his hands above his head. Thank God.

CJ and Eric rushed forward to get his gun and grab Fennel. Once CJ secured the weapon, Eric put zip ties on Fennel’s wrists.

“Fennel said Jim and Xander were to rendezvous with him here,” Dylan said.

“Your friend Xander nearly died,” CJ said, hauling Fennel into the warm cabin. “You have Dylan to thank for saving his life.”

Everyone went inside the cabin to get warmed up. Michael, Bryan, and Daniel watched out the windows in case Jim unexpectedly showed up.

“Xander was being a stubborn idiot. I knew the fastest way here. He thought he knew best but he didn’t,” Fennel said, eyeing Dylan. “He should have stuck with me like I told him to. I’m not surprised that he nearly died.”

They made Fennel sit down at the kitchen table.

CJ read him his rights. “I’m going to record this interview. Are you okay with that?”

Fennel nodded.

Dylan wasn’t surprised that CJ would get whatever he could out of the hunter before they took him to Silver Town. Maybe they’d learn something more about where Jim was. And, of course, what had really happened.

“We have a witness who states you were there when Jim killed Eddie and you did nothing to stop it. Not only that, but you helped cover up the body,” CJ said.

For a long time, Fennel studied Dylan. Dylan wondered what was up with that.

“It’s his word against ours.” Fennel tried to appear unshaken, but they could smell his fear. Sweat bubbled up on his forehead. He wiped it away with the sleeve of his sweatshirt, but the sweat beaded right up again.

“We have forensic evidence that proves you were there and helped conceal Eddie’s body. Xander told us everything so he’d get a lesser jail sentence,” CJ said.

“Hell.” Fennel glowered at Dylan as if it was all his fault.

Dylan thought it was smart of CJ to make it sound like Xander was spilling his guts. At least Fennel wasn’t asking for a lawyer yet. “You know I don’t think Jim planned to return to the cabin to pick the two of you up. I believe he thought you’d never make it. He took off for the ski lodge, packed your stuff and everyone else’s in Eddie’s SUV, and tore off. Well, after he attempted to murder me.”

Fennel took a deep breath and let it out, his eyes widening. It took him several minutes before he began to tell them what had happened as if weighing his options first. “Hey, I didn’t bargain on any of this.”

“So when Jim fought with Eddie and shot him, you didn’t try to talk Jim out of it?” Dylan asked.

“Jim was furious that Eddie had been seeing a girl that he had dated a few times. Jim had never said he was dating her exclusively. But Jim was enraged when…” Fennel stopped talking.

“When what, Fennel?” CJ prompted.

Fennel let out his breath. “Okay, look. We’d had a few beers and I hate to admit it, but Jim was telling us all about his conquests, as if he’s this big lady’s man. He does it all the time, acting like he has the market on women. Frankly, I was sick of it. The girl in question liked being with Eddie a whole lot better than she did Jim. I figured Eddie and Jana might even have what it took to tie the knot. Eddie was keeping the whole thing hush-hush, but I’d seen them together a few times, so I knew they really cared about each other. Hell, I don’t know what came over me to say anything about it, but I said something offhand like, ‘Yeah, but can you keep one happy like Eddie can?’ Hell, as soon as I said the words, Eddie gave me a wide-eyed look like I was treading on dangerous ground. It was too late. I couldn’t take back the words.”

“What’s Jana’s last name?”

“I never knew it. Anyway, Xander appeared puzzled because no matter what was going on, he always seemed to be out of the loop when it came to who was seeing whom. Jim noticed the anxious expression on Eddie’s face and figured out just what was going on. Maybe he had suspected it all along, except I had to go and shoot my mouth off and confirm it.” Fennel shrugged. “As soon as Jim raised his rifle and threatened to shoot Eddie, I knew this wasn’t good. Eddie was begging him not to shoot him. Jim was shouting at him, asking him how long he’d been dating Jana.

“Xander and I just froze. I mean, I realized at once I would be considered the messenger, and I didn’t want Jim to shoot me, so I kept out of it. I’d already said way too much. I knew Jim would be furious that I knew all about it and hadn’t told him sooner. Xander was trying to ‘hide’ in the background so Jim wouldn’t even remember he existed. Eddie said, ‘All Jana was to you was a one-night conquest.’ But I knew Eddie wasn’t right. Jim had dated her a few times, not just one night. Still, as far as I know, Jana wasn’t seeing Jim any longer when she started dating Eddie. Then Jim shot Eddie.”

“Jim sent you and Xander in search of the hiker who had witnessed the murder, right?” Dylan asked.

“We were all looking for the hiker to see what he knew,” Fennel said. “But yeah, it was Jim’s idea. He said we were all implicated in the whole sordid affair because we did nothing to stop him. We buried Eddie. We would all go down if anyone had seen what had happened.”

“So if you’d caught up with the hiker, then what? You were supposed to rough him up and make sure he didn’t talk?” Dylan asked.

Fennel didn’t say anything.

“Jim would already be wanted for murder. Do you think if he had caught up to the witness, he would have just warned him not to talk?” Dylan asked.

Fennel squirmed in his seat. “We didn’t plan to kill the kid. We heard someone moving through the woods within hearing and seeing distance of where we were. We didn’t see him, but we found his tracks and they led us straight to his tent. There was no sign of him. No sign of his tracks anymore. Just an animal’s tracks. A wolf’s, it appeared to me. We found his ID, saw he was a teen from Denver. We figured if we didn’t find him in the woods, we could stop in on him in Denver when we all returned.”

“And?” CJ asked.

“It was Jim’s call. Jim split up from us so we could cover more area. I told him I thought it was a grave mistake. It was beginning to snow hard, and I thought we should all stay together. He didn’t agree. He never told us he was going to return to the lodge and grab Eddie’s car and all our stuff. He was supposed to be looking for the kid like the rest of us.”

“So you knew the kid had overheard the whole thing, including the murder of your friend Eddie,” Dylan said. Something had to have happened that made them more than suspect Luke had heard everything that had gone on, and that was why they had gone and searched for him.

“When Jim told us to split up to search a broader area for the kid, we didn’t do it.” Fennel didn’t explain why they were so sure Luke had heard or seen anything. “Jim took off in another direction, but not toward the lodge. Xander and I stayed together because it would be safer. But then Xander and I got in an argument about which way to go,” Fennel said.

“I’d been tracking the four of you.”

Fennel’s eyes grew big again. “You were?”

Dylan swore his reaction was not only exaggerated but that he and the others had suspected he was following them. Then again, maybe not. Maybe only Jim had realized Dylan was tracking him and that was why he attempted to kill him. “I pursued Jim back to the lodge. I suspect he thought I’d seen what he had done to Eddie and was going to arrest him for that. And that’s why he tried to kill me.”

Fennel sighed. “Yeah, it seems like that’s the case.”

“What about the rest of you?” Dylan asked.

“Nope. We had no idea you were following us. I’m sure Eddie would have been alive if we’d known that.”

“Yeah, but in the heat of the moment? Do you think Jim would have gotten control of his emotions?” Dylan asked.

Fennel shrugged. “Maybe. I can’t believe Jim left us to fend for ourselves.”

“Some friend, right?” Dylan said. “We know he was the driving force behind all this.”

“Yeah. Like always.” Fennel frowned. “So you really think he didn’t plan to come here to meet up with us at all?”

“He’s your friend. What do you think? If it were me, I’d suspect he thought the two of you would never survive in the snowstorm. That someday someone would find both Xander’s and your bodies when the snow melted. Well, and Eddie’s. If the teen had succumbed to the cold too, there wouldn’t have been any witnesses to tell the true story,” Dylan said.

“Hell.” Fennel didn’t look happy about the prospect, but he didn’t look entirely surprised.

“He took your bags and Eddie’s SUV from the lodge so it would appear the four of you had just checked out of both your rooms. He could even come up with his own version of the story if the two of you had died. He could have said one of you shot Eddie instead,” Dylan said. “He might still claim that.”

“Have you found Eddie’s SUV yet?” Fennel asked.

Dylan shook his head.

Fennel sat up taller, looking a little smug. “All right. Well, I’ll testify against Jim, but I need to know what kind of a deal I can get.”

“We’ll have to talk to the DA about that,” CJ said. “Let’s get going. We can make it back to Silver Town by nightfall if we go now.”

They put out the fire in the fireplace and packed up Fennel’s things, then loaded his gun and rifle on Dylan’s snowmobile. CJ called in the situation to Peter. Fennel was riding with Michael, and Eric told them he was returning to the national forest where he worked.

They said goodbye to Eric, CJ thanking his brother for coming to help them with this. Then Eric headed back to the national forest reserve and the rest of them drove back to Silver Town.

Dylan was looking forward to being home with Roxie. He realized how much he needed her in his life. He knew Michael and CJ would also be glad to be home with their mates. Fennel would be sitting in jail next to Xander once they got his written testimony and until he could get bail.

Halfway home, they took a break to have lunch. Dylan called Roxie but she sounded frazzled. “Yeah?” she said.

“We got Fennel. He’s alive and well.”

“Wonderful.”

“We’re headed home with him now. I’ll be in tonight. I’m not sure how late it will be, but we’ll be in.”

“That’s great. I’ve got to go.” Then Roxie hung up on him.

CJ had been laughing with his mate. Michael was smiling as he talked to his wife. The other guys smiled at Dylan. Yeah, his call to Roxie hadn’t gone well. He wished he could rescue her from whatever ordeal she was dealing with. He hoped it had nothing to do with him.

“She’s thrilled we’ll be home tonight,” Dylan said, hoping everything was okay between them and that she was only dealing with issues at the lodge today that had taken her full attention.

“Yeah.” Daniel was still a bachelor like Bryan, and he was nodding too, but neither looked like they believed him. Maybe because Dylan hadn’t even said goodbye to her before she hung up on him.

Dylan figured the guys thought he was in trouble with Roxie, which might give them a chance to date her. Then he wondered if either of them had dated her already! They were still eating, and he couldn’t stop thinking about Roxie. He made a quick call to Kayla. “Hey, is everything all right with Roxie? I called her and she seemed completely overwhelmed. I was worried about her.”

Kayla said, “Oh, Dylan. Yeah, we’re dealing with a major disaster. I’ve got to go.” She hung up on him.

Hell. What had happened? Dylan pocketed his phone, but he was frowning.

“What’s wrong?” CJ asked. He’d finished his call with his wife and had overheard Dylan’s call to Kayla.

“I’m not sure. They’re dealing with a major disaster, Kayla said.”

“Okay, well, let’s get going so we can get there sooner.”

Dylan appreciated that CJ felt his concern and wanted to get this show on the road. If Dylan could, he’d help with resolving whatever disaster they needed assistance with at the lodge.

Roxie couldn’t believe they had pipes freeze and break not only in the lobby bathroom but also in the fire sprinkler on the roof. The one on the roof could have been even more of a major disaster if she hadn’t caught it in time, though shutting down the water for the whole lodge had been a necessity and had caused a lot of problems for the guests. Thank God for the wolf pack. They were over in force to fix things—to repair the pipes, clean up the water, get the electricity back on, get their lodge activities going—but it still took several hours to get it all done, and poor Dylan had to call her right when she was trying to get everything coordinated to fix things. By the time she had a moment to call him back, he must have been riding on the snowmobile or in the middle of trouble and he couldn’t answer the phone.

She hoped he was all right. She texted him several more times whenever she had a moment, but she still couldn’t get ahold of him.

“Hey, we almost have everything under control,” Blake said. “It’s so good that you caught the one on the roof before it was a total disaster.”

“Oh, I agree. I was just on the second floor and thought I heard something like water shooting out on top of the roof, so I went up to check it out,” Roxie said.

“Well, it’s a damn good thing you did,” Landon said, joining them.

They were sopping wet and looked a mess. They had to get cleaned up and change after dealing with all that cleanup. They smiled at each other and took a break to go to their homes, Landon going with Blake so they could shower and dress in clean clothes.

Then they were back to work, ready for the next adventure. Though Roxie was sure hoping that was the worst one they’d have to deal with today.