“No,” Cooper said. “Well, Ryan Basque was shot and killed last night. It turns out he was our murderer. Like you said, no living legend, no unearthly powers. The slippage was just the wolves reacting to a toxin that acts primarily as a paralytic when introduced to wolf cells. The Trust has a team trying to determine the exact formula as we speak. They have a much better shot now that we have samples.”

Freeman smiled thinly. “What good news,” she said.

“Yes,” Cooper agreed. “Really, he had quite a neat little plan going. It’s truly incredible how many pieces just...fell into his lap. This toxin, for example, which seems a bit beyond his capabilities to develop on his own. But also Neil Gerhart, with his convenient trove of information on me. James Finnigan and Arthur Crane, the ideal victims needed to sell his myth. Me going to the zoo at all. Everyone just pulled into this perfect storm.”

“The wolf world is very small and tends to flock together,” she said, shrugging. “You’re a part of that world now.”

It was a simple statement. Clearly not intended to mean much. But still it sent a wave of yes and this and home coursing through his body.

“Agent Dayton?” Freeman said, watching him curiously. “Is something wrong?”

Cooper traced the scab on his hand then adjusted his ring, considering what came next very carefully. “Sorry, I was thinking. You know, Ryan said something interesting last night, and I think it’s quite relevant to our conversation now. ‘The greatest discoveries come from the greatest mistakes.’ It struck me as familiar, but I couldn’t remember why I recognized it until later. You said that to me once.”

“It’s hardly the most unique phrase in the world,” she said dismissively.

“Very true,” Cooper said. “There’s no proof of connection in a shared phrase or a bad feeling. But it did remind me of you. And then Ms. Hirano said something interesting this morning about not knowing who James Finnigan was when she recommended he be hired. See, I would have just thought that was part of the blackmail, but apparently an old colleague of Hirano’s had put his name forward when the wolf keeper position opened up after an unexpected tragedy.” He paused. “You know Niko Hirano, right?”

Freeman shrugged, though an undercurrent of tension made the movement jerky and forced. “We were in undergrad together a long time ago. Shared a lot of the same interests.”