The Wolf Code

 Not sure why that would cause her to run, but it seems to me that her actions prove that the missing, confidential files at Robin’s office aren’t just misplaced or somewhere else; Senora Edwards has them, and I want to know why.”

The officer nodded his understanding, still looking out across the short, grassy field and into the dense forest beyond.  Dale wanted to move him out of the room and out of the way, but the officer was thinking, and Dale knew that meant the man wasn’t about to move.  He was a thinker and a do-gooder, and just the kind of overachiever that Dale wished he hadn’t hired.  But he was there, and Dale knew that he wouldn’t walk away until he’d looked at the situation from all angles.

“Do you think that she went that way from the hall?  There’s a rear exit, right?  I bet she went into the woods with Ty.  Isn’t that the way to the preserve?”

Dale shrugged.

“She might have gone that way, but I don’t know why she would.  Going into those woods with a man she just met isn’t any safer than talking to us.”

The officer nodded.

“Look, I’ll send some guys out on the four-wheelers to look for her, but I doubt that she went that way.  She’s from D.C., big city girl.  She’s not going to just run into the woods because some guy tells her to.  She’s around here somewhere; we just have to find her.”

“And if she has the missing files?” the officer asked.

“We’ll ask for them back and make her copies.  She’s FBI; there’s no reason for her to steal files.  I’m sure this is just a simple misunderstanding, but I also can’t have confidential patient files running off.”

Dale smiled wide, his natural charisma disarming the suspicious officer.  Dale knew the moment that the officer decided that Dale was right.  He was the Sheriff, after all.  And a well-respected member of the community and a decorated peace officer.  The officer took one more look out the window, then moved toward the door. 

“We’ve got it covered here,” Dale said to the officer.  “I’ll get on the radio if we need any more help.”

The officer nodded, and just like that, he was gone.

Dale let out a huge sigh and looked out the window.

“I don’t know how she did it, but that girl is in those woods with Ty.  We need to stop them before they get to the preserve and out of our grasp.”

“Sheriff?” Keith asked, his confused expression irritating Dale.

“We can’t very well let her get away with those files,” Dale said curtly.  “We can’t let some FBI peon ruin everything.”

“Did Addie tell Robin what happened to her?”

“I don’t know, Keith,” Dale ground out through clenched teeth.  “I don’t know what that girl even remembered, but we can’t take the chance, no matter how slim the possibility is that she told Robin.  We need to get a handle on this thing.”

“Understood,” Keith said.  “I’ll get the four-wheelers, and we’ll head out.”

“Take Jed and Bubba.”

“Are you coming?”

“No.  I have to deal with the Medical Examiner.  Those wolves did a sh*t job of destroying the evidence.”

Keith stood for a moment, shifting from one foot to another and looking at Dale for the longest time before he finally spoke.

“Maybe we should get out of town,” he said quietly.  “I don’t want to be here when it hits the fan.”

“Everything is going to be fine if you just remain calm and do as I say.  Find Senora and get those files from her.  Smooth talk her, offer to make her certified copies, do whatever you have to do to get those files back.”

“And if she won’t give them to me?”

Dale narrowed his eyes, looking over Keith’s shoulder to the forest behind the hotel.

“If she won’t give them up, then we’ll have to kill her.”