risk people’s lives for the sake of a cat. We’ll call in animal control once we know what we’re dealing with.”
“I know, just prioritizing. This cat is too big to bring back anyway.”
I found the passenger’s tracks again and picked my way along, reading the sign. This was going to be tricky because he was heading into the buttes and buttes meant rocks and rocks meant poor tracking conditions. I took mental notes as I went along. Smallish men’s boots. Looked like hiking boot tread. Could be a woman but the walk looked more masculine, the gait firm and determined, focused. This guy wasn’t looking for help. He was either hiding from something or looking for the cat. I couldn’t yet tell from the tracks if the person was injured. So far so good on that count.
The area around the plane was grassy, which wasn’t great for tracking but the trail was fresh so it wasn’t a problem either. It just slowed me down a little. This brittle yellow grass was much easier to read than other kinds. I wanted to take my time with this track. I had a feeling I needed to know something about the man I was tracking. This operation was not making any sense. Who would be transporting large cats in small planes across California? Was it legal? When things don’t add up I become cautious and piece things together trying to make sense of it. I take in all the subtle, little clues I can read.
Thez followed along, rifle in hand. Victor was behind him, calm, just waiting for his turn to act.
“Make yourself useful,” I told them. “Keep an eye out for movement, man or animal, doesn’t matter. If you see movement point it out to me.” Thez took his eyes off the ground and started looking around more.
I followed the tracks up into the bluffs and the terrain became rocky with sandy spots where the rock had eroded away. The guy’s trail became more erratic. He would walk and stop and his footprints would stay in one place for a bit, as if he was looking up into the rocks. He would then continue forward. I was convinced he was looking for the cat. He knew how dangerous it was with the animal being loose. I wondered whether his intentions were to shoot it or tranquilize it. If he was hunting the cat he must have a weapon of some kind. A tranquilizer gun or a rifle. Surely he wouldn’t just tranquilize it. That would only be a temporary fix for a very dangerous animal and there was no way one person could transport an animal that large back to the cage. If he found the cat he would be forced to shoot it. Why he didn’t just follow the cat’s tracks was a mystery to me, but many people just don’t think that way. They forget there are clues all around them and will just go by their gut reactions.
I’d followed the guy’s footprints around the bluffs in a fairly predictable pattern until suddenly I noticed that the man had knelt down on one knee. The weave of his pants was still visible in the dirt. This had happened very recently. I looked up at the rocks in the direction his leg had been pointing. I tried to picture what he was seeing and doing. Pictured the shot, pictured the casing falling. I looked back to the ground near the place where he had knelt. Finding the casing confirmed something in my mind. The guy was trying to kill the cat.
“Hey, guys, what do we do with evidence?” I asked. “I’ve never done this before but I know we ought to collect it in case this turns out to be a shady operation gone bad.”
Victor produced a plastic bag from a pocket and picked up the casing with a stick. It was a big casing. He then deposited the casing in the bag and we were on our way again. The passenger started into a kind of stealth mode. He wasn’t hiding his tracks but he was hiding from the cat. He would crouch behind brush and then inch forward. He was in a kind of defensive pursuit.
It’s just what you do if you are hunting something dangerous. Been there, done that, too. Sheesh! I was too young for all this.
I continued tracking and reading sign until I felt Thez stiffen and draw back to my left and slightly behind me. I sensed the tenseness from several yards away and I wondered how it was that silence shouted so loudly.
“What is it?” I asked quietly.
He crouched down and pointed. Movement. White movement. What would be white and be out here? Then it disappeared.
“Thez, is that dart gun loaded?” I said quietly.
Another motion and suddenly a shot went over our heads. I slipped into stalking mode heading for the shooter.
“Take it easy,” I called out. “We’re just search and rescue.” Another shot, this time lower. “If you’re within shooting range you’re within hearing range. Are you hurt? We’ve got medics. Just come out and we’ll get you patched up.”
I was staying on the guy’s trail, staying low so he wouldn’t shoot me. I was trying to close in on the situation when I saw the cat’s tracks cross the man’s tracks. Maybe he wasn’t trying to shoot us. Maybe the cat was close. The hair rose up on the back of my neck knowing how quiet a cat could be, how close it could come without being heard. It could also be stalking our rescue party. Now I was trying to keep track of four things. Where was the shooter? Where was the cat? Where was Thez? Where was the track leading? I looked back for Thez but couldn’t see him.
“Thez? You still there?”
No answer.
“Victor, where’s Thez?”
I backtracked to where Thez’s trail had departed from mine and followed until I found him sitting at the base of a large boulder.
“What are you doing here? We have work to do!”
“Did you see it?” he gasped nervously.
“No, but it doesn’t matter, we still have work to do. You’ve got the rifle but any of us might need it too. So we have to stick together here. You’re not going to leave me without the rifle are you?” He gave me a scared look.
“How long does it take a dart to work?” he asked.
“I don’t know, a few minutes, maybe?”
“We could be dead in a few minutes. That cat is huge!”
“We’ve got to find the passenger from the plane. He’s got a rifle. If we find him we’ll have more of a defense. We better our odds by finding him, so follow me. Let’s go get him.”
Thez stood and followed me reluctantly. I found the man’s trail again and followed in a crouch. I knew he couldn’t be far away. If his shots were reaching us he had to be close. I noticed the cat’s tracks following the man’s footprints. I really needed a rifle. I’d feel so much better with a real rifle. I had Thez with a dart gun and Victor with a pistol, yet I didn’t even know if he could shoot. I hurried forward. It looked like this situation could become intense real fast.
Quick and quiet, Cass, I told myself. You don’t want to startle the cat or the shooter, better to see them before they see you. I read the tracks and came to an open area. Finally there was the passenger standing with his back to the bluff, rifle aimed at a large white tiger. He was shaking. I turned and stopped the search party from advancing. I held a finger to my lips in the universal hush sign, and signaled for everyone to stay low. I took the tranquilizer gun from Thez. Victor appeared as if he wanted to take it from me but he didn’t know the situation yet. I looked at him seriously.
“EMT or sharpshooter?”
“I passed the test.”
“Thez?”
Nope, I thought, not Thez.
“I’ve got a plan,” I said, “wait here.”
“Cassidy…” Victor said trying to stop me.
“I’m no EMT. We need you after I take out the tiger. I can shoot it if I can just get the rifle.”
I looked again into the clearing. The passenger was shaking so bad there was no way he could possibly hit the tiger. He stood there in big game hunter clothes but it appeared to be more of a costume than a uniform. He was scared spitless. I stalked around to the side of the clearing getting closer to the man. He might not be able to hit the tiger, but I could.