But as soon as she silenced the phone, she regretted it. What if Cole was calling with news about Garrett? Or the kids? Her life had expanded this past year so that not everything focused solely on her.
She hit Cole’s number on speed dial, resuming her quick pace down the mountain.
The phone rang once before Cole answered. “Mattie. I’m glad you called back.”
She could hear the stress in his voice. “I’m on my way to meet the sheriff, so I have only a minute.”
“I’ll just say it, then. I feel terrible about how we left things last night. I never wanted to hurt you, and I’ve gone over it a hundred times in my mind. I don’t know how I could have changed things, but I’m sorry if I made a mistake.”
Cole sounded so contrite that her heart went out to him. She had to let him know that she didn’t blame him. “Not your fault, Cole. It is what it is. We need to talk, but it might be late before I get off work.”
“Call me no matter when. I need to talk to you.”
She could tell he wanted to resolve things as much as she did, but now wasn’t the time. “Do you have news from Garrett?”
“He had a good night. They took him downstairs to the rehab department for evaluation, and he’s been there all morning.”
It was a relief to hear that at least Garrett had rested well. She caught a glimpse of McCoy’s large frame through the trees. “I’ve got to go.”
“Don’t forget to call me tonight.”
“Okay.” She ended the call, feeling tired and overwhelmed. Did she have it in her to navigate an intimate relationship? She didn’t have time to think it through, because she’d reached her destination.
When she entered the small clearing, McCoy and a woman were squatting beside the paw prints Mattie had flagged earlier. They both stood to greet her.
“Deputy Cobb,” McCoy said, “this is Glenna Dalton, the new wildlife manager.”
Mattie extended her hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
Glenna returned Mattie’s handshake while her eyes went to Robo. “Likewise. I’ve only been in town a few weeks, but I’ve already heard about you and your partner.”
Mattie knew that Robo’s successes over the past year had built his reputation, so she wasn’t surprised. “What do you think of this cougar attack?”
Glenna stood at least six inches taller than Mattie’s five foot four, and she was built strong and solid. She wore khaki shorts and a shirt with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife logo on the upper sleeve. Her curly brunette hair was caught loosely in a long ponytail at her nape, and her hazel eyes studied Mattie from under a floppy, wide-brimmed hat.
“It was a little hard to believe at first,” Glenna said. “Not typical mountain lion behavior. I’ve been driving this territory since I was hired, and it looks like rabbits and rodents are plentiful up here. You know, a cougar’s usual fare. I have trouble believing a big cat would be hungry enough to feed off a human, unless something’s wrong with it. Maybe it’s been injured and unable to hunt.”
Glenna squatted back down near the paw prints. She reached into her pocket and took out a ballpoint pen, laying it down alongside the clearest print before taking out her phone and snapping pictures. “These prints are quite large. Bigger than any I’ve seen before.”
“Do you have experience studying cougar prints?” McCoy asked.
Glenna rocked back on her heel, bracing her arm against her knee while she looked up at the sheriff. “I was involved with a cougar project up in Montana prior to moving here. For six months we tracked and tagged mountain lions. I’ve seen some large cats, but this one is bigger than the norm.”
Glenna was studying the photos she’d taken, zooming in as she stared at the screen. She stood, offering her phone to McCoy first and then Mattie.
“Notice the toe shape here.” Glenna’s finger hovered over the screen as she pointed. “It’s shaped like an oval.”
Mattie didn’t know the significance of toe shape and assumed the sheriff didn’t either, but Glenna had taken back her phone and was swiping through photos again.
“Here,” Glenna said. “This is a photo I have from our project. Notice the toes. They’re teardrop shaped. That’s the hallmark of a cougar print. This print is smaller, too.”
Mattie took the phone and looked at a smaller print in the photo, lined up beside the same type of ballpoint pen. She’s right. These toes are shaped like a tear. “Are we looking at a different animal, then?”
Glenna shook her head. “I don’t know for sure. But the prints don’t match, do they?”
“They don’t.” Mattie decided she should mention the different sound the cat made. “When I heard this cat growl, it was deep-pitched, so deep that it rattled. I’ve only heard a cougar scream once, but it was nothing like what I heard last night.”
“What else could it be? A bobcat?” McCoy asked, but even as he spoke, he was shaking his head. “I know. Not big enough.”
Glenna stood and looked upward at the mountainside that loomed to the north. Mattie followed suit and scanned above the forest, noting cliffs and rocky outcroppings, canyons filled with the bright-green leaves of aspen, spires and crags, all places where a cougar could hide. Or lie in wait for his prey to pass by.
“I guess I need to go on a lion hunt,” Glenna said.
“How do you plan to do that?” McCoy said.
She turned away from the mountainside and looked back at the sheriff. “I don’t have a horse yet. Can you help me find one I can use?”
Cole could help, Mattie thought. He and his dad often supplied horses for search parties up in the wilderness area.
“Maybe,” McCoy said. “But you’ll never find a cougar up in that country. They’ve got a million places to hide and are rarely seen.”
“I’ve got a dog that’s trained for tracking game.” Glenna pointed at the paw prints and then traced her finger along an invisible pathway that traveled upward to an indefinite spot on the mountain. “If I start out first thing in the morning, I can pick up the track here and follow it to its territory. I should be able to find it.”
As soon as she uttered the words, Mattie thought of Cole’s Doberman pinscher. Bruno’s previous owner had used him to track deer and elk that she hunted up on her mountain property. With the right dog, it could be done. “That’s a dangerous mission for a dog,” Mattie said. “Tracking a big cat.”
The sincere expression on Glenna’s face projected the confidence she had in her dog. “Mine’s a Rhodesian ridgeback. They’re used for tracking lions in Africa. I use an e-collar with an audio signal that tells him to come back to me, and he knows I’m serious when I call him.”
Mattie considered all the things that could go wrong: the dog could get out of signal range, the cat could ambush Glenna from above, and since this new wildlife manager was unfamiliar with the rugged country she was headed into, she could even get lost. “You’re going to need some help.”
“I hoped someone would offer.” Glenna looked directly at Mattie.
McCoy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, a rare sign that he’d grown restless. A quick glance told Mattie he was frowning. “I don’t know if this is a good idea. I need to loop in Cole Walker and discuss it with him—he’d be the one to line up the horses. We need to think this through before we go off half-cocked.”
“He’s the local vet, right?” Glenna asked.
McCoy nodded. “I’m calling a team meeting at four this afternoon, Ms. Dalton—”
“Glenna,” she interjected.
“Glenna,” McCoy said. “Can you meet with us at the station? By then I’ll have discussed this with Dr. Walker. Perhaps he can come, too.”