“Perhaps I was. In any case, Fossen’s research is his business.”
Rook shook his head and headed into the barn, saying, “There are too many things you guys here won’t talk about. I wonder if either of you really care that much about stopping the yeti.”
Peder grabbed his arm; normally such a move might have caused Rook to react with at least a hint of violence, but he had come to like the old Norwegian and knew the gesture contained no threat. The old man said, “If you believe nothing else, Stanislav, believe that I want it stopped.”
The intensity in the man’s eyes shone through even in the dull light. Rook threw up his hands. “I give up. I should have stayed in Russia.”
“Yes, Stanislav, I have told you that more than once. So what are you and Fossen up to?”
“Your sources didn’t tell you?”
“Word about you and Eirek talking for ten minutes in the street passes easily. The substance of your conversation behind closed doors does not.”
“We’re gonna use the wolves to get to the creature. Fossen’s got some kind of tracking device on them, and he’s convinced they encounter the creature just about every night.”
“What did he think of your plan to capture a wolf?”
“At this point, I’d be perfectly happy to just shoot the creature and be done with it. Capturing a wolf is just a backup plan.”
The sound of an engine made its way to Rook’s ears. He looked at Peder and saw that the old man had heard it too. Peder said, “That is Thorsen’s car. Driving fast, too, by the sound of it. I wonder what is going on?”
They walked out in time to see headlights flash into the short driveway. A man got out, long white hair flowing like something out of a Biblical scene from an old movie. His face was flushed in the high beams.
Peder reached for his extended hand. “Thorsen, what has happened?”
“It’s Greta, she—” His eyes squeezed shut and he couldn’t continue.
Rook could feel a tentacle of ice start to make its way from the base of his spine upwards. He knew what was coming next. Peder put his other hand on Thorsen’s shoulder. “What is wrong with Greta?”
The old man’s eyes opened, tired orbs with reddened vessels. “She’s dead.”
“My friend, how did this happen?”
Thorsen looked up, but this time his eyes met Rook’s, not Peder’s. “It happened last night. It was the creature.”
Another townsperson dead. Rook had watched Peder lead Thorsen Ellefsen into the house, and he could tell the two men shared a bond of long friendship. He had given them some time before following them in. Peder explained that Thorsen’s wife, Greta, had been discovered in the bushes behind her house with her throat torn out, just like the two earlier villagers.
Now, Rook sat in the dark in the barn, waiting for Fossen’s arrival. He smeared grease on his face and planned his strategy for the rest of the night.
Whatever protection the wolves had offered the town was now out the window. That had never made sense to him anyway, but he’d figured the presence of the wolves meant something. Maybe he’d find out, but for now he would follow the basic plan that Fossen had laid out, with a few minor twists of his own.
At exactly ten o’clock, the headlights of Fossen’s S Class Mercedes sent narrow rays of light around the edges of the barn door. Rook jumped to his feet and went outside. Peder had done the same, and the three of them sat at the table in Peder’s kitchen. Rook picked up the AR-15 that Fossen had brought.
“Yeah, this should do just fine. If this doesn’t take him out, I don’t know what will.”
Fossen smiled. “Agreed. And Stanislav, here is the walkie-talkie. As soon as I get back to the house and check the tracking device, I will let you know where to start.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out an object about the size of a U.S. quarter.
“This is one of the tracking implants. You will need to carry it so I can tell where you are relative to the wolves.”
Rook was accustomed to taking long distance orders and being monitored, but that was with Deep Blue, someone he trusted implicitly. Blindly following Fossen’s commands went against his instincts.
“Are you sure you don’t just have a portable monitor I can carry? It’ll make things a lot easier.”
“My equipment is large because it is old and designed for multiple purposes. But I assure you it will work just fine. I even have an ear-piece you can plug into the walkie-talkie to keep your hands free.”
Rook took the tracking implant from Fossen. “Okay, it’ll have to do. When you give me instructions, make sure you don’t just tell me where to go. Tell me how close I am to the wolves, what kind of behavior you’re seeing, any natural features you know about where I am. The more I can picture the scene, the better off we’ll be.”
“Agreed.” Fossen turned to Peder. “I assume you heard about Greta.”