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spent a moment rearranging their food and sipping at their drinks as they thought on what they might be facing in Matheson. It was Teague that broke the silence. He said. "I don't know what exactly we're dealing with here, but I doubt very seriously that it's human. Bear attack, maybe?"
          "No bear did the butcher's work we saw out at the mill." Baker said, peering into his drink. "No animal that I've ever seen."
          "I've seen a wood chipper do something similar." Faux said, his voice low. Everybody looked at him, going quiet. He shook his head. "It was too savage for that though. I agree with Derek. It has to be some kind of animal, something we haven't thought of?"
          Underhill cleared his throat. "I may be able to add something, gentlemen. I was able to visit with the brother of the boy who went missing, before he left the hospital. Bobby was a mess, having witnessed his brother's death, but he was coherent. And what he described to me was something that wasn't entirely human or animal. Something in between."
          "What are you saying?" Faux leaned back and stared at the other man. "Some sort of mutant? An escaped lab experiment?"
          Underhill shrugged, slurping his coffee. He said. "The boy was in shock, but lucid enough to describe the thing that killed his brother. A cross between a fox and a person, those were his exact words."
          "Those kids were all smoking and drinking God only knows what, Al." Teague said, dubious. "I don't think we can rely on what that kid says he saw."
          "And what about Emily?" Underhill asked. He looked at each man in turn, taking their measure. "She described the same thing. A fox, wearing clothes and using a knife. It killed Bobby's brother Jack with a weapon, not its teeth. This thing was seen by two of my students. Two kids that wouldn't even halfway know how to lie to me, not without giving themselves away. And I believe them. That they saw what they described."
          Faux said. "I still say we get the media involved. Call in outside help. The National Guard, maybe? We need more men if we're really going back into those woods."
          Again, Teague went silent and looked at the others. But instead of being evasive and changing the subject, he shook his head. He said. "I'm going to be up front with you guys. There's no way any of this is going to end up in an official report. If we call the media, we'll get shut down before the first TV van gets to town. I've seen how the council deals with this kind of thing, from both sides of the law, and it's never pretty."
          Baker and Underhill just nodded, but Faux was shaking his head. "What does that even mean? We're talking about missing kids and a missing police force here. There's no shoving that under the carpet. I don't care how powerful this city council of yours is."
          "Don't underestimate Matheson, Mr. Faux." Underhill said, his tone deadly serious. "There are interests here that can crush the stoutest soul. Dark currents run just beneath the surface of our idyllic streets, currents strong enough to pull down even a strong swimmer such as yourself. I've lost old and dear friends to those dark interests. As has Derek."
          "So what do we do then?" Faux didn't like the sound of defeat in his voice. He looked at the other men, seeing his own doubt and frustration mirrored in their eyes. "What can we do?"
          "We fight." Teague said, eyeing each man to gauge their resolve. Leaning back, his hawklike gaze might have softened, but not by much. His voice was hard. "We hunt down these things, whatever they are, and we put them down. We stop this, whatever it takes. We won't get any thanks from the town, that's for damn sure. And if we die, nobody we know will ever learn the truth of it."
          "Jesus." Baker shook his head and barked a laugh. "You're one cheery bastard, you know that, Derek?"
          Everyone laughed, too long and