She got up from her desk and led him through the office to a meeting room at the back. As they got close, Garrett could hear the men all talking at once and felt his stomach tighten.

“Are you ready?” Grammalou asked, her hand on the doorknob.

“No,” Garrett said.

“All right, then.” She opened the door.

Suddenly, all the talking stopped. Everyone looked over at the open door.

Garrett stood there, sizing up the room. Ernie Ilson was there, of course, as were Terry Houghton from Redstone Lodge, Yvonne Nagleson from the riding stable, and Michael Bines, who represented local logging interests. Then there was Fatias Boyage, the hairdresser, who seemed a bit out of place in his knee-length overcoat and stylish fedora. No matter how diverse the crowd, everyone had a right to be there to voice their concerns.

Sergeant Martin was first to break the silence. “Ranger Brock, welcome,” he said. “Hopefully you’ll be able to answer questions better than I could.”

“What’s going on with that wolf I shot the other day?” Ernie Ilson asked, the anger in his voice unmistakable. “I heard that it ended up at your place and you called Doctor Katz to fix it up. That’s not true, is it?”

“Afternoon, everyone,” Garrett said, taking off his hat. “Why don’t we all have a seat.” He sat down and gestured for everyone else to do the same.

Ernie seemed in no mood for sitting. He put a knee on a chair and rested his hands on the table in the center of the room. “There, I’m sitting. Now tell me what the devil is going on.”

Garrett took a deep breath. Finally he said, “It’s true, the injured wolf did end up at my house and Doctor Katz was able to save it.”

“Save it!” Ernie exclaimed. “What are you doing saving it when half the town is trying to kill it?”

The others in the room chimed in.

Garrett vowed to remain calm and professional. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m a forest ranger, a conservation officer for the Ministry of the Environment. It’s my job to preserve wildlife and conserve our forests. I don’t aid in the killing of wild animals…I’m mandated to save and protect what I can.”

“That wolf was one of the ones that took two of my rabbits and killed my dog. And other animals have gone missing too—dogs, cats, even chickens. You’re helping the ones that did it. Please tell me you’re doing something more than fixing up this wolf so it can kill again.”

Garrett shook his head. “We’re not caring for the wolf so it can kill again, but so we can move it far away from Redstone.”

A collective groan filled the room.

“You’re going to move it?” Terry Houghton said. “What’s that going to do?”