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bears.”
    â€œYou the new girl?” Ty winked. Since he was a white-haired, grandfatherly looking fellow, she didn’t take offense.
    â€œI’m the new girl and a little out of my depth here,” she said. “What do we do with him?” Sloane nudged her head at the bear.
    â€œUnless we think the animal is a danger, I monitor the site and make sure he eventually returns to the wilderness. Spread pretty thin these days, we’ll often bring in local law enforcement to keep an eye on the situation until we get there.”
    â€œYou won’t kill him, right?”
    â€œNah. But Griffin here needs to keep that Dumpster locked.”
    â€œI know, Ty. I got lazy.”
    â€œSo do I stay with you?” Sloane asked.
    His lips curved up into a playful smile. “You can if you want. But it’s not necessary.”
    Well, in that case she needed to get going and patrol a few of the neighborhoods left on her beat list. Sloane said goodbye to Griffin and Ty, and radioed Connie to let her know she was leaving the Gas and Go.
    â€œRhys wants you to come back to the station,” Connie told her.
    She had no idea what that was about, but she pointed her vehicle onto Main Street and headed for the square. A few minutes later, she ducked inside the office, hoping that Jake would be there to give her a heads-up. No such luck.
    Rhys came into the main area, an open room with cubicles and a few desks, and beckoned Sloane into his office. “I heard you tangled with a bear. Bet you didn’t get too many of those in LA.”
    â€œNo, sir.”
    â€œJust call me Rhys.”
    â€œOkay, sir . . . Rhys.”
    The chief shut the door behind them. “Take a seat.”
    Sloane wasn’t getting a good vibe and wondered if someone had complained about her. Although she couldn’t imagine who. All her contacts so far had been nonconfrontational, downright pleasant in most instances.
    â€œI got a call from LAPD today,” Rhys said.
    Here it starts all over again . “Yeah, I bet you did.” She wouldn’t even pretend to be surprised. “It didn’t take ’em long, did it? Who was it? Jacobs?”
    He didn’t say anything. Just watched her. It was an investigative trick to get the other person to talk. Did he think she didn’t know that?
    â€œWhat did Jacobs say?”
    â€œIt’s not important since I’ll judge your work for myself.”
    â€œHe told you I was crazy—a hysterical female with a persecution complex—didn’t he?”
    â€œAre you?”
    That certainly didn’t take long. “No,” she said, but what was the point. He’d just believe whatever the lieutenant told him. The brotherhood.
    â€œLook, the only reason I’m telling you this is because I don’t want you thinking I’m taking calls behind your back. I have the utmost faith in you, Sloane, or else you wouldn’t be working here. I also want you to watch out for yourself. I didn’t like this guy’s tone.”
    â€œDid he threaten me?” She should probably tell Rhys about the voice mails, but running to her new boss would make her seem hysterical. The calls couldn’t even be traced. They just sounded like idle threats. Pranks, really.
    â€œNo. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to do that publicly. Although I did get the impression he thought I was a Barney Fife type and that I’d be real beholden to him for passing on the information.”
    Sloane knew that before becoming chief in his home town, Rhys had been a narcotics detective in Houston. He’d left a big promotion—homicide lieutenant—to come here. That folksy Texas drawl might fool some people, but Rhys Shepard knew the workings of a big metropolitan police force.
    â€œJust keep on your toes,” he continued. “And if you’ve got a problem, come to me. Or if you’re more comfortable, go to Jake.”
    â€œAll right.