“I have what I need.”
“Good.” He plucked the bag from my fingers. “I’ll need to take a statement from you, but we can do that at a later time, after you’ve gotten the other hunters.”
I nodded and walked back up to the parking area. Aiden glanced at me as I climbed into the truck and held up a finger to indicate silence.
“Duke and Mac are on their way to Kingstone,” Tala was saying. “Do you want me to pull Byron in?”
“Yes,” Aiden replied. “We won’t be able to block all exits out of Kingstone, but if we get the main four, our chances of catching this bastard is pretty good.”
“It’s going to piss the locals off, boss.”
“Better that than one of them becoming the next victim.” His voice was grim. “It’ll take us just under thirty minutes to get there.”
“We should have everything in place by then.”
“Thanks, Tala.” He signed off then started up the truck and reversed out. Once we were back on the main road, he said, “Did you manage to rejig another bracelet?”
I pulled the silk bag from my pocket and held it up. Energy crawled across my fingertips, but it was nowhere near as sharp or as fiery as my first tracking spell. “I also kept the one you gave me, but handed the rest to Jack.”
He nodded. “It’s his jurisdiction, so the evidence at the park is his to collect.”
“How long have you two known each other?”
He shrugged. “Ten years? Maybe more? We meet at least once a month to discuss cases and problems over a beer or two.”
I frowned. “I wouldn’t have thought there’d be many problems shared by both forces.”
“Criminals—be they wolf or human—tend not to restrict themselves to one particular area, and that means a good working relationship between us all is vital. In fact, ever since we instigated the meetings, the crime rate has gone down in both the reservation and the surrounding towns.” He motioned to the rear seat. “My backpack and a bottle of water are sitting behind us. Take whatever you need.”
I immediately twisted around and grabbed both—and was pleased to discover several chocolate bars.
“You’ve restocked,” I said, with a delighted grin.
“I figured that since I appear to be stuck with you being our unofficial eighth ranger, I might as well fully cater to your needs.”
“Stuck. Such a lovely term for all the assistance I give you.”
His grin flashed, belying the seriousness in his eyes. “You know I appreciate your help, but I really wish we didn’t need it.”
“That’s a wish I share.” I sorted through the various snack bars to see what there was, and finally settled on a couple of Picnics, reasoning that the inclusion of nuts made them a healthier choice than plain chocolate. “So is t
he crime problem more wolves going out of the reservation, or humans coming in?”
“It tends to be weighted toward humans. While wolves do cause problems out of the res, if they’re caught, they’re held and tried in that region’s court system, not in the reservation.”
“But major crimes committed inside the reservation are tried in Melbourne anyway, aren’t they?” I said. “And would regular police cells even be able to hold a werewolf?”
“Not all major crimes are dealt with in Melbourne—it really depends on who the victim or indeed the perpetrator is,” he said. “And most stations close to the reservation’s boundaries now cater for werewolf prisoners.”
Which was totally sensible—though I rather suspected getting a pissed-off werewolf into said cell in the first place could be rather difficult. But I daresay the authorities had means and methods to do that—and calming spells were certainly easy enough to get and apply.
Aiden switched on the siren as we swung onto the freeway, the lights sending flashes of color through the gathering darkness. The noise didn’t do a whole lot for my headache, but at least the painkillers I’d taken were keeping it at bay.
It didn’t take us long to get across to Kingstone. Up ahead, a ranger SUV was parked in the middle of the road, and two figures were visible in the glow of its flashing light.
Aiden flicked off the lights and siren, and then stopped and wound down the window. “Any luck, Mac?”
The other wolf leaned in and gave me a polite nod. “Nothing more than locals here so far.”