Jack was brought out of his thoughts by a file being tossed onto his desk. He picked it up and lazily read the case clip. "Baker?" he asked looking up at the chief standing in front of him. "Isn't this case closed?" he waved the file slightly. "Closed and stone cold," chief Loganson handed Jack another paper. "Until this morning that is, when one of our homeless drunks demanded our sketch artist draw that." Jack looked at the paper which was held the sketch of a girl who looked homeless too and yet familiar. Jack flipped open the case file and held the sketch next to the picture of the case victim. The girl in the sketch was almost identical to the photo of Arlena Baker a victim. "What happened?" Jack asked knowing the chief would give him the story short and simple.
"Our drunk wandered into the woods late last night to sleep. He found something weird hanging from a tree and tried to get it out. The girl in the sketch came at him from nowhere and they started fighting. He got scared and took off when he had the chance, but he swore he was being followed by wolves. Called for help and the ranger from the nearest pay phone." Jack thought it over for a moment then sighed. "You want me to reopen the case and look into this," he stated. Loganson nodded and handed him a card before going off to talk to more officers. The card belonged to the forest ranger's office and on the back was scribbled "wolves or wild dogs?" This was going to be a very long day.
By mid-afternoon Jack had made all the arrangements to go out and see the ranger. The ranger believed he'd found the spot where the incident took place. It was an hour and a half drive even without the traffic. When he got to the ranger station there was only one vehicle in the parking lot. It was the standard ranger's SVU with the info logo on the side. He took a minute to look it over noticing it was clean no dirt what so ever. Jack grabbed his back pack and went in. There was no one at the reception desk but there was a bell and with a small smile he made it ring. He could hear shuffling from the back before a tall young man came out of a back office. "Can I help you sir?" he asked. Jack nodded and took out his badge. "Yeah, I called earlier about the incident last night," he put his badge away. "You must be officer Howall, the man extended his hand. "I'm Jarrod Bell," he finished the introduction when Jack shook his hand. "You want to get settled first or head out to the incident sight?" Jarrod open the gate by the counter so Jack could pass through. "I wanna get to the sight while there's still some daylight left, then I'll settle in," Jack shifted his back pack to a more comfortable position. Jarrod nodded and lead him out the back door after leaving a note on the counter for any one who might come telling them where they would be.
They walked for nearly a half hour on a slight path before Jarrod stepped off the trail and they started into the trees. Jack followed and about ten minutes later they came upon a cordoned off area. "Well here it is," Jarrod held up the tape so they could pass through. Jarrod pointed to a particularly thick oak. "This is the tree your guy was talking about. There was nothing in it when we finally found this place, but the middle branches show some rubbing wear and tear so there was definitely something hanging. The fight happened over there mostly," Jarrod pointed to a spot not far from the tree. "There are quite a few footprints and lots of signs of disturbance but not much else." Jack went over to the fighting area and bent low to examine a remaining foot print. It was without a shoe and smaller to suggest a woman. "I'm going to take a casting for later," Jack said taking off his back pack a rummaging through it. Taking out a caster and a small silver bag he set up the molding caster around the foot print. Then he opened the bag and poured water in it from his canteen, mixed it with a stick and proceeded to pour it into the caster careful not to ruin the print. While he waited for it to harden he investigated the rest of the area. Jarrod filled him in on all the little facts and speculation. When the mold was ready Jarrod lead him back to the station as the sun was setting.
"This is your room, it isn't much but I'm sure you'll be fine." Jarrod said opening a door to a small room. It had a small bed, desk and chair set, a bookshelf and a dresser next to the only window. "Thanks," Jack said as he went in to set up his stuff. "Dinner's in an hour," Jarrod said closing the door. Jack started unpacking even know he would only be there for two days, three at most. When he was done he studied a map of the area pined to the wall. He tried to imagine where his prey might have gone after the incident with the homeless man. He didn't realize the passage of time until Jarrod knocked on his door and announced dinner was ready.