Page 84 of Capture the Moment

Ignoring his protests, the agents kept pushing him along the creek bank toward the trailhead that would lead down the hill to the parked cars. Coop motioned to the rest of them to follow along.

“Hold up!” Sally hurried over to the game wardens. She took off her ranger hat and pulled a thick envelope from it to hand to a warden. Then she reached into her shirt and pulled a small tape recorder to hand over. “Take good care of this. You’ll be needing all of it for evidence.” She turned to give Tim alook.

“Oh boy,” Tim said.

“Sally,” Coop said, “who is that guy?”

Sally turned to face Coop. “Hon, have you ever heard of Wade Schmidt?”

Frankie whistled. “Aww, yeah! My dad’s talked about him! Big-time poacher. Stealth hunter!”

“He’s what?” Kate said. “He’s a ... stealth hunter?” How could she have missed so much?

“Wade Schmidt,” Coop said, “is one of the most wanted poachers in the national parks. No one’s been able to catch him. They’ve never even gotten an image of him. He uses all kinds of disguises. All kinds of aliases. All kinds of ways to keep from being identified.”

Like Oliver, the churchgoing, straightlaced boyfriend. It was all a facade. A sickening nausea flooded over Kate.

Coop turned back to Sally. “So this was a sting?” Hands on his hips, he said, “You’ve been working a sting?” He sounded impressed.

She grinned, ear to ear. “Sure was, darlin’. Wade Schmidt offered up thousands of dollars for the pleasure of hunting the world’s most famous bear.”

“Kate!” Oliver said, turning his head back to shout as theagents led him down the trail. “Katie-Kat! Tell them! This is all a big mistake!”

But it wasn’t. Somewhere, deep inside Kate, she knew it was true. Slowly, her mind started to piece things together. Meeting Oliver at the zoo, right in front of the bear exhibit. His keen interest in bears. His fascination with 399. His evasiveness whenever she asked him about his work.

How relentlessly he pursued her. He was a hunter. She was his prey.

She squeezed her eyes shut. What afoolshe’d been.

Still at a distance, Sally put her hands on her hips. “Zoo Girl, I hope you got yourself that picture you wanted.”

It took a moment for Kate to realize Sally was talking to her. Her eyes popped open. “What do you mean?”

“Hon, that’s the bear you came for.”

Kate gasped. “Thatbear was 399? Really and truly? You’re sure? You’re absolutely sure?”

“Darlin’, I know my bears,” Sally said. She narrowed her eyes at Tim and jabbed a finger in his direction. “I know a lot more than some people might think.”

“Oh boy,” Tim said.

“But I have to give you props for tipping off LE to detain Feldmann. That ended up being helpful.” Sally spun around and hurried to catch up with the game wardens.

Frankie gave a light punch to Maisie’s arm. “You okay? You aren’t talking nonstop like you usually do.”

Maisie managed a shaky smile. “I think I’m still in shock.”

“Let’s get you two back to the lodge,” Coop said.

Wait. Kate couldn’t leave Pilgrim Creek without her camera. She just couldn’t. She looked at Coop. “I really need to retrieve my camera. It’s my only chance.” Her only chance to redeem this disaster.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Coop said. “After all this?”

“Becauseof all this. I can get it myself. I don’t have to involve anyone.” She’d done enough of that with Oliver.

“No, Kate,” Coop said, “I’m not going to let you go alone up there. You’ve already had one bear encounter for the day.” He looked at Tim. “Would you mind dropping Kate at Jackson Lake Lodge? Frankie and I have an errand.”

“Aww, yeah!” Frankie said, pumping his fists. “Let’s race to the top.”

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