Wolftown, Part Eleven

John asked, “Which wolf was it? Can you guess?”

“At the time, I thought it was Abel, but I thought Abel made an attempted attack on you,” Schuster said.

“He was attacking me, but I can’t blame him for being a wolf,” John said.

“That’s what Wayne says.”

Somebody knocked on the door and Schuster said, “Come in.”

“Someone woke me up because your briefcase keeps ringing,” Wayne grumbled and handed the satellite phone to John.

“Sorry,” John said. “Why?”

“Answer it and find out. I’m going back to sleep.”

“Thanks. Have a good nap.”

John called back—Rebecca Austin, the Happy Howlers secretary, answered. She asked, “Is Wayne there?”

“Just a second.”

John chased Wayne and returned to Holy Trinity’s principal’s office, then Wayne caught up. To Schuster, Wayne said, “Rebecca says Glenn found a wolf in the empty pen, and all the other wolves are where they are supposed to be. A wolf can’t get inside a pen by itself.”

“Can I talk to her?” Schuster asked.

Wayne handed him the phone.

Schuster listened to Rebecca. “Have you seen anyone around? Okay. Both of you stay inside, lock the doors, and lock the windows, and stay away from the windows. John, the phones are out, so is it okay if we use the satellite phone?”

“Sure,” John said.

“We appreciate it.”

Waiting, Wayne said, “Rebecca couldn’t get through, but she knew we would be together.”

“How did it get inside?” John asked.

“Breaking in is pretty easy if you have opposable thumbs, but no one has before. Being an idiot helps.”

“How?”

“You have to be an idiot to break into a carnivore’s enclosure.”

Hoisting a wolf over a wolf-proof fence required equipment and sedation, plus and an extremely good reason unimaginable to John.

“Can animal control take the wolf to the shelter or is the best place in Happy Howlers?” Schuster asked.

“It’s where animal control was going to put the wolf. The shelter could hold a wolf if it had to, but it isn’t as secure.”

“How deep does the road flood out there?”

“Too deep to drive and it has a strong current, so we shouldn’t walk. Do we need to go through a thunderstorm?”

“Is it deep enough for a canoe? Can we even find one, though?”

“I’ll start looking.”

“Is there anything I can do?” John asked.

“Just let me use the phone, please.”

“Sure.”

Schuster called Sheriff Jordan’s office and asked if anyone could respond to Happy Howlers. Wayne built the wolf sanctuary well outside the city limits, between Wolftown and a spread-out unincorporated community. Snowmelt and heavy rain placed Wilde County under a flood watch at minimum, and a flash flood detoured John during his drive to Wolftown. Consequently, John thought accessibility was not the only reason Schuster called the sheriff.

Then Schuster called Rebecca again.

John waited in the hallway, and hungry and tired, he wondered about wading to his hotel room. Before he and Wayne paddled a boat and hiked to Happy Howlers, he should eat, but he missed the opportunity to ask about the animal product content in Holy Trinity’s food.

Schuster said, “A sheriff’s deputy is there. We appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. Are they okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Was there somebody there?”

“They didn’t see anybody. Anyway, I finished telling you about the wolf attack. Do you have any questions?”

“Just one. Why did you say the wolf attacked you and Foster an attack and the wolf attempted an attack on others?” John asked.

“Because the law says harming someone is one thing and trying to harm someone and not succeeding is another thing. Basically, we didn’t want to shoot the wolf for doing something if we wouldn’t shoot a person for doing the same thing. Chief Laufenberg said it. I think it’s a good idea.”

John involuntarily raised his eyebrows.

“He didn’t become the Chief of Police by being completely wrong about everything,” Schuster said as if convincing himself.

“Thanks for your time.”

“You, too. Do you know your way back?”

“More-or-less, but at least it isn’t a huge building. Oh, wait, Wayne said that Chief Laufenberg shot at a wolf. Did the wolf attack someone Wayne doesn’t know?” John asked as he and Schuster walked down the hallway.

“I’m not really supposed to know what happened, but I know he discharged his weapon, and no one got hurt by anything. And sometimes he’s a ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ kind of leader. But maybe the wolf scared him. He likes them.” Schuster developed a thinking expression like John saw when Schuster decided to respond to the wolf attack and leave John with the patrollers, Debby and Frank. “He’s not a trophy hunter,” Schuster said.

A sopping wet woman squelched and ran down the hallway. “Good, Martha said you were here. The police won’t file a missing person report for twenty-four hours. But they asked us to say if somebody went missing in the flood. And nobody listened.”

“Who’s missing?” Schuster asked, getting his notebook.

“My niece, Corey Brown. She has issues.”

“Does she have dyed brown and blonde hair, a nose ring, and a tattoo on her lower back?”

“Yeah, but she’s trying to get her life together. Or she was. She’s a little erratic, but she’s trying.”

“I checked a lot of places today and didn’t see her, but a lot of people wouldn’t answer the door. Maybe something can be done.”

“Hopefully you’ll find her.” John found his way to the gymnasium again.

Excluded from the end-of-day wolf response meeting, John borrowed a wolf responder’s two-page special edition paper.

John left a message with Paula, his boss at the Nature Protection Society, explaining that he thought the wolf attacked normally and the police investigated murders that involved a wolfish canine. He still felt like observing a disconcerting event but attributed it to general stress and confusion. Possibly empathetically, the wolf gave him a weird, creepy feeling, too.

In a second message, John warned Paula that Schuster borrowed the satellite phone. The Nature Protection Society provided them for emergencies, and based on the wolf’s past behavior, Glenn and Rebecca could have been in a developing emergency. In more polite words, he said, If Wayne told me how aggressive the wolf was, I would’ve ridden in Schuster’s police car. Thanks for the warning, Wayne. “It isn’t anything to worry about. You won’t find anything weird here.” Yeah, right. Great.

Then John settled down to read the newspaper.

The paper said that Schuster and Foster alleged Chief Laufenberg accepted bribes, used drugs sporadically, and engaged in sexual misconduct, never very much, Schuster and Foster thought it was unacceptable in any amount. When Foster arrested him for drunk driving, the charges disappeared.

Chief Laufenberg’s corrupt behavior on duty alarmed them. The officers had reason to believe that, as a patrol officer, Laufenberg made stops and conducted searches without probable cause. As a detective, he arrested a burglary suspect without good evidence that the suspect committed the crime and there was good evidence that the suspect could not have committed the crime.

He allowed other officers to commit offenses; officers who objected tended to remain patrol officers and bounce from department to department or quit. Foster said, “A couple officers stayed on the force for decades because Wolftown needs good cops. They should have been promoted, but weren’t because they wouldn’t take part in unethical behavior, or they spoke out against it.”

To afford a private investigator, Stephanie’s wastewater treatment plant salary supported Schuster and herself, Megan worked part-time, and Foster and Schuster worked overtime as much as possible. Conducting legal searches and questioning limited Schuster and Foster’s investigative abilities, and many officers who learned about their investigation refused to provide information. The consequences of requesting warrants delayed their investigations; they were rarely issued a warrant. Schuster and Foster suffered the most severe, hampering consequences Dennis Laufenberg felt he could risk without drawing undue public attention to them. He and other corrupt officers harassed them, hoping they would resign, and to no avail.

Somebody broke into Schuster’s house and stole their evidence, and somehow determined that Foster’s basement held copies. Chief Laufenberg visited Megan at home, during Schuster and Foster’s patrol. According to her statement and the recorded tape, he asked to pick up important police evidence that Schuster and Foster brought home. Then he attempted to enter the house. Suspicious, Megan prepared to shoot Chief Laufenberg, who threatened to arrest her but ultimately left. He could not press charges because Megan, Foster, Schuster, and Stephanie knew too much about his corruption and would reveal it. The incident simply motivated them.

Kevin Miller, the local lawyer, gave Schuster and Foster legal advice and guidance.

A few wolf responders trickled into Holy Trinity’s gymnasium.

“Wayne is looking for a boat,” Schuster said.

“Wouldn’t it be easy?” John asked.

“The problem is the flood responders need all boats that can float in a couple feet of water. So far, most people decided to stay in flooded houses instead of leaving and running into a wolf, but it will be in the upper 30s tonight. So, flood responders decided to evacuate houses. Wayne says the wolf probably won’t attack in the conditions, but some wolf responders are going with them, just in case.”

“Maybe it will be all right,” John said, surprised Schuster remained behind.

Schuster said that Officer Danny Lang volunteered him to investigate accumulated odds and ends since nobody assigned him anything or accepted his volunteering. Utterly unphased or upset by the wording, but too worried for visible happiness, Schuster said that Lang said his idea would keep Schuster “out of the way” and “too busy to meddle in real crimes.”

With his new assignment, Schuster could give some authorized information, and, also, John’s permission to observe the investigation clearly included Schuster asking Wayne questions.

“And telling you about the wolf attack on Foster and me was iffy until now. If you get in trouble, I’ll take responsibility,” he said.

“I decided to risk it,” John said.

“Wayne is good at investigating the wolves who attack because they are wolves and have wolf problems,” Schuster said. “I’m investigating a person or persons causing the wolves to attack. I can’t track down the wolf with the intent of killing it.”

It relieved John, but he asked, “Can I ask why?”

“I’m no forensic scientist, but I’m pretty sure killing the evidence isn’t preserving it. Police preserve evidence. And live animals have been used in court.”

“Really?”

“Kevin Miller says so. I don’t have any police resources, but Wayne gave permission to use his. You probably won’t want to, but can I question you about the attempted wolf attack on you?”

“What kind of questions?”

“If you noticed anything that a human would do and a wolf couldn’t.”

Schuster seemed trustworthy, so John said, “When I saw the wolf, the door behind it shut. I didn’t see anybody inside, but I was trying to stay in eye contact with the wolf. The door was diagonally across the street. I think it was a gift shop. The wolf was behind a mailbox and stuff in front of it.”

“Did you see the door open while you were walking?”

“If it did, I wasn’t looking at it.”

“Anything else?”

“No.”

“If you think of something, please let me know.”

“Sure. Do you know anything about the police attempt to catch the wolves this morning?”

“Just in case a person was involved, the police can’t release information about it. If we find a suspect, we have to know he didn’t just pick up the information from someone else. You’d need special authorization for it.”

Stalking to the table, Wayne spoke over Schuster, “We can’t even rent a boat from Lucky Luke’s because the phones are out. Can you claim one for an emergency?”

John waited quietly.

“No,” Schuster said.

“Maybe we can wake up Luke and rent one.”

“Anyway, wouldn’t Nancy be upset about boating in a thunderstorm?”

“She would get over it. And where was Dennis Laufenberg?”

“If Deputy Chief Phelps wouldn’t give you an answer, I couldn’t.”

“I figured it was worth a try. I bet he is running away or something. Did you have wolf questions?”

“Any chance I can your notes to see if I have the right questions first?” Schuster asked.

“Yeah. Do you want me to tell you about Barbara Lubens?” Wayne asked John, calming down a little. “It was this morning about when you got here.”

“Sure,” John said.

Barbara Lubens suffered from mild dementia and probably forgot about the wolf attacks, hence the power walk while her husband, Dale, showered.

People sighted the wolf several times and the patrollers chased him. Escaping them, he ran down the same block Barbara Lubens walked on. The patrollers’ warnings confused her. The wolf barreled into her, and she fell face-down in an overflowing gutter.

The satellite phone rang again, and John inwardly groaned. He spent the last several hours constantly around acquaintances and strangers, plus he disliked telephone calls under the best circumstances. Confused, John answered politely.

“Is Officer Schuster there?” The lady whispered through a crunchy mouthful. She sounded concerned.

“Just a second.” He passed the phone to Schuster. “She asked for you.”

“Okey-dokey,” Schuster said.

“Anyway, by the time Barbara got to the ambulance, she had died,” Wayne said. “She wasn’t bitten, but she died of something.”

Like he had said throughout the day, John said, “Condolences.”

“The wolf bit one of the patrollers near the spine.”

“Oh no,” John said.

“It didn’t bite the spinal cord, just near it, and most of it was raincoat. He should be fine in a few weeks. The wolf ran away and ended up on Main Street. He charged you. So, you know everything I can tell you.”

“Thanks,” John said.

Schuster said, “John, I don’t know exactly what’s wrong yet, but she’s in really bad trouble. The phones are still out, and she’s out of walkie-talkie range, so do you mind if I keep talking to her?”

“Sure.” If Paula complained about the bill, he could pay it.

“She won’t talk to me unless Kevin Miller is present, and she won’t let me go to the police station, so I have to bring him here.”

“I’ll leave my briefcase here. Just stick it in when you’re done.”

“We appreciate it.”

Due to the holidays, there will be no post in December. Regular, every-three-weeks posting will resume on January 10, 2025.