was traveling back East in lion form. Jake works in computers and coding, along with online forensic investigations. As soon as he started sifting through Callen’s email accounts, he discovered Callen had been trying to set a price on using Catamount shifters for drug smuggling.”
Jake picked up the thread here. “I came across his emails with you, but none of the smuggling details were mentioned. Later on, if I had to guess, you seemed to be trying to warn him away from some of the guys he connected with.”
Hayden nodded firmly. “Once I put the pieces together, I tried to head him off. But you know how that goes. I didn’t want to give too much away, and it became clear he was going to do what he wanted. I backed off after that, only staying in touch to track when he came out here.” Hayden paused, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “So, am I to understand you all didn’t know anything about what he was doing until after he died?”
Dane ran a hand through his hair and shook his head with a sigh. “Not a damn thing. He was my brother-in-law. My sister, his wife, had no clue. She’s devastated in more ways than one since she found out what he was doing. After Chloe was kidnapped, the lid blew off. Callen’s brother, Randall, was one of the kidnappers. By the way, Chloe’s my fiancée. They told her they needed her for leverage with me. We haven’t gotten much else from them, but they’ll be sitting tight in jail for now. Any ideas on that?”
Hayden shrugged. “If I had to guess, I’d say they knew you were a leader in the community. Since Callen died, they probably wanted to persuade you to either support their smuggling operation, or ignore it. I’d love to tell you I knew where this giant mess started. But all I know is a few years ago rumors started swirling around here that shifters were getting paid to smuggle drugs. So far, I’ve only been able to link it to individuals. Whoever’s running this show is not in this area. Until they made contact with Callen, far as I could sniff out, the smuggling was limited to the West from Montana down to New Mexico. The big money comes from smuggling from Mexico into the United States. With so many mountain lions out here, it’s easy for shifters to move freely when they are in lion form as long as they steer mostly clear of urban areas. I’d like to say I was surprised they wanted to work out East, but it’s about money. If they can start funneling the drugs to the East Coast, that’s a huge market. I didn’t think Callen would be stupid enough to fall for it. Mountain lions have been considered extinct out East for a long damn time. You can’t move freely. I don’t know how you manage it.”
Jake sat back with a sigh. Hayden was confirming his suspicions. He’d hoped Hayden would have more information about who might be behind this. “Any ideas on who started this?”
“Not much to go on. I don’t think it started here though. I can point you to a few local shifters who I know to be involved, but their involvement is what Callen’s was. I’ve been investigating this since I heard about it, but it’s not exactly easy. You might think I’m crazy to be working for the Feds, but I’ve had this job for years. Being a shifter in this role means I’ve got my ear to the ground about any rumors about shifters. We don’t have to worry as much as you do out East, but the last thing we need is for people to find out shifters truly exist. Myth works in our favor.”
Dane glanced to Jake. “Mind giving us a few names for the locals involved?”
“Not at all. I’m glad to know you’re working on this too. Maybe between us, we can find the source. Ever since Callen died and then I saw the news about the kidnapping in Catamount, I wondered if anyone would show up out here.”
Jake leaned back in his chair. Tension knotted his shoulders, and he rolled his head around to ease it. “We meant to get out here eventually, but circumstances forced our hand
Jake picked up the thread here. “I came across his emails with you, but none of the smuggling details were mentioned. Later on, if I had to guess, you seemed to be trying to warn him away from some of the guys he connected with.”
Hayden nodded firmly. “Once I put the pieces together, I tried to head him off. But you know how that goes. I didn’t want to give too much away, and it became clear he was going to do what he wanted. I backed off after that, only staying in touch to track when he came out here.” Hayden paused, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “So, am I to understand you all didn’t know anything about what he was doing until after he died?”
Dane ran a hand through his hair and shook his head with a sigh. “Not a damn thing. He was my brother-in-law. My sister, his wife, had no clue. She’s devastated in more ways than one since she found out what he was doing. After Chloe was kidnapped, the lid blew off. Callen’s brother, Randall, was one of the kidnappers. By the way, Chloe’s my fiancée. They told her they needed her for leverage with me. We haven’t gotten much else from them, but they’ll be sitting tight in jail for now. Any ideas on that?”
Hayden shrugged. “If I had to guess, I’d say they knew you were a leader in the community. Since Callen died, they probably wanted to persuade you to either support their smuggling operation, or ignore it. I’d love to tell you I knew where this giant mess started. But all I know is a few years ago rumors started swirling around here that shifters were getting paid to smuggle drugs. So far, I’ve only been able to link it to individuals. Whoever’s running this show is not in this area. Until they made contact with Callen, far as I could sniff out, the smuggling was limited to the West from Montana down to New Mexico. The big money comes from smuggling from Mexico into the United States. With so many mountain lions out here, it’s easy for shifters to move freely when they are in lion form as long as they steer mostly clear of urban areas. I’d like to say I was surprised they wanted to work out East, but it’s about money. If they can start funneling the drugs to the East Coast, that’s a huge market. I didn’t think Callen would be stupid enough to fall for it. Mountain lions have been considered extinct out East for a long damn time. You can’t move freely. I don’t know how you manage it.”
Jake sat back with a sigh. Hayden was confirming his suspicions. He’d hoped Hayden would have more information about who might be behind this. “Any ideas on who started this?”
“Not much to go on. I don’t think it started here though. I can point you to a few local shifters who I know to be involved, but their involvement is what Callen’s was. I’ve been investigating this since I heard about it, but it’s not exactly easy. You might think I’m crazy to be working for the Feds, but I’ve had this job for years. Being a shifter in this role means I’ve got my ear to the ground about any rumors about shifters. We don’t have to worry as much as you do out East, but the last thing we need is for people to find out shifters truly exist. Myth works in our favor.”
Dane glanced to Jake. “Mind giving us a few names for the locals involved?”
“Not at all. I’m glad to know you’re working on this too. Maybe between us, we can find the source. Ever since Callen died and then I saw the news about the kidnapping in Catamount, I wondered if anyone would show up out here.”
Jake leaned back in his chair. Tension knotted his shoulders, and he rolled his head around to ease it. “We meant to get out here eventually, but circumstances forced our hand
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