Dingos Surrounded the Baby, but Something Older Watched From the Ridge

The First Calls

Tom came back from the lookout in only a few minutes. Clara drove the car down to the bottom of the ridge with Elsie still in her arms. She didn't say much, just pointed. Tom took his camera outside and walked carefully across the location where she had found their daughter. The prints were new and all over the place.

He didn't say anything till he had three dozen pictures. After that, he used the satellite phone to call the ranger station. Deaks and Maxine showed up in a dusty utility truck within an hour. They took statements and started working the perimeter. One pack of dingoes was rare. A ring that didn't move was unheard of.

A Chilling Warning

The rangers were gone by nightfall. Nothing made it seem like the pack was sick or hungry. The animals stayed close and went without fighting. Clara couldn't sleep, though. She put Elsie in her crib and sat down next to it on the floor. Then she grabbed the satellite phone and called a number she knew by heart. Miriam Wilcox had looked into strange behaviors in predator species. Miriam only stated this when Clara told her what she had seen: "Sometimes they gather, but it's never random." They were organized by something. Clara inquired what that meant. Miriam told her to stay with Elsie because it's probably not finished yet.