Out of Range

"But we don't know who rigged this up," Pope said. "You're speculating here."

"I am," Joe said. "But who besides Don E

"You've got a point," Trey said.

"Another thing," Joe said. "Susan Jensen told me that Will's cremation was paid for by some anonymous person. She thought it was someone who liked Will, or the family. I'll bet if we check the crematorium we'll find out the check came from E

"Why would he do that?" Pope asked.

"In case someone wanted to dig up the body and do an autopsy later," Joe said. "To prevent the discovery of drugs in Will's system."

Tassell rubbed his face with his hands and moaned.

"Let me show you something else," Joe said, leading them around the house to the driveway.

Joe explained that he had located the transmitter in Will's pickup the previous afternoon, before he went to the party at the E

"They knew where he went, what he said, what he told people over his radio," Joe said. "Since game wardens spend more time in their vehicles than they do anywhere else, it was like tapping his office."

Trey nodded, leaning into the cab to look under the dashboard. "If we check the frequency on that transmitter and match it to a receiver, we've found who was listening in."

"I'd guess the receiver is in a room at Beargrass," Joe said. "That's how they knew what decision he was going to make on Beargrass Village. They listened to him talk to biologists and others about the migration problems a fence would cause."

"So that's why they torched your truck," Tassell said, still with a pained expression on his face. It was as if Joe's discoveries were causing him escalating physical pain. "It was easier to do that than run the risk of getting caught putting another transmitter in yourvehicle. They knew you'd just take Will's truck instead, and you did."

Joe stood back and let the men hash out theories and make co

"Let's go back to the station," Joe said, interrupting. "I've got an idea how we might be able to get E

Pope and Tassell looked at Joe with incredulity.

They were in the Cherokee before the neighbor made it down the block, for which Joe was grateful. That man, he had learned the day before, was a talker.

THIRTY-SIX

Pi Stevenson was in the process of flipping the OPEN sign to CLOSED in the window of Wildwater Photography when Joe rapped on the door. She started to point to the sign, then recognized him and unlocked the bolt.

"What happened to you?" she asked, recoiling from the bruises and lumps on his face.

"Is Birdy here?" Joe asked, not wanting to take the time to explain.

"He's in the back," she said. "Would you like to come in?"

"I've got some colleagues with me," Joe said. He saw her look over his shoulder at the sheriff's SUV, which was parked against the curb.

"Am I in trouble again?" she asked.

"Not that I know of," Joe said, stepping inside and signaling Tassell and Trey to follow. The studio was small, the walls filled with action shots of skiers and rafters and a few obligatory Tetons at daybreak. A long front counter divided the public area from a small office and a curtained darkroom. A red light was on above the darkroom entrance, and Joe assumed that's where Birdy was.

"What do you want?" she asked. "We were just about to close up for the day."

Joe looked straight at her. "How would you like to contribute to a real bad day for Don E

Her eyes lit up, and she beamed. Then, with determination, she turned and shouted over her shoulder, "Birdy!"

"You've got to be real careful here," Joe told Pi and Birdy. "You can't lie, and you can't insinuate anything at all, even if he presses you, or wants to negotiate over the phone. Do you understand me?"

Pi nodded, trying to contain her enthusiasm. She was both giddy and nervous at the same time. For his part, Birdy seemed pleased to have Pi so happy with him for agreeing to go along with Joe's idea.

"I'll be on the phone in the office," Tassell warned, looking from Pi and Birdy to Joe. "If anything you say comes across as even a hint of extortion or entrapment, I'm pulling the plug on this. We'll have the call recorded, and it has got to be clean enough to stand up in court if we need it."

The store's office was crowded. One of Tassell's deputies had brought in the owner of the local Radio Shack, who was opening up boxes containing a tape recorder and an 8mm video camera. Randy Pope was at the Game and Fish building, calling the agency director and the governor to let them know what was happening. Joe wondered why Pope had been so anxious to leave, but was pleased the man wasn't there.

"What if he acts like he doesn't know what we're talking about?" Birdy asked.

"That's fine," Joe said. "That means he's either i

Over his shoulder, Tassell asked his deputy if the telephone tap was working, and the deputy said it was. The owner of Radio Shack looked excited to be able to play a part in the operation, Joe thought.

"What about the video camera? Where are we going to put that?" Tassell asked.

The man from Radio Shack and the deputy looked around the room theatrically for a good location.

"How about on the shelf behind the counter with all the other cameras? We can put a piece of tape over the red light so they won't know it's on," Trey said, pointing over Tassell's head. Birdy had a display of old and new cameras that he used for photographing skiers and rafters.

"That makes sense," Tassell said, rolling his eyes at the obviousness of it.

"Give us a minute," the Radio Shack owner said. "I want to test everything."

While they waited, Joe went over things again with Pi and Birdy.

"And to think this was all about meat," Pi said triumphantly. "Flesh-eaters lose their moral bearings when confronted with the possibility of not getting what they want, which is more flesh. Or in this case, better flesh."

Joe was confused for a moment, and could feel Tassell staring at him. He motioned Joe into the office and shut the door.