He froze for a moment, torn between leaping over and gathering her into a hug, and keeping his distance to make sure Gallie and the other Karkadda didn't have a reason to follow through on their threats. Luke's mouth opened, but he didn't know what to say, acutely aware of Deputy Addison's presence behind him.

Oaklynn turned her head; looked right at him.

She sat up sharply, eyes widening in surprise. "Luke?!"

"Err... hi," he said.

"Hi." She stood up, awkwardly straightening out her short black jacket and scooping a stray hair behind her ear with one hand. A nervy smile danced on her lips. "It's good to see you."

"You too." He cast an uneasy glance around. "Though I'm not sure what we're doing here."

"Me neither."

"Alright, take a seat," Addison told him firmly, giving him a prod in the direction of the chairs.

Giving her a stiff nod, he shuffled over to the seats and sat down. Oaklynn hesitated for a moment, then lowered herself into the chair beside him. They exchanged an uneasy glance before looking expectantly to the deputy for an explanation.

"Relax," Addison grunted as she turned to leave. "Nothing to worry about around here, just so long as you tell the truth."

That parting shot didn't make Luke feel much better and he jammed his hands together, fingers interlacing tightly until his knuckles whitened. The deputy strode off, footsteps being swallowed into the bustle of the police station and leaving them on their own outside Nalen's office. For a moment he was surprised, before he remembered the only way out was back through the bullpen. No-one was about to get up and walk away unnoticed.

"What do you think this is about?" Oaklynn asked quietly.

He turned to look at her in amazement. "That's all you've got to say to me?"

"But... I just-,"

"After everything?" Luke laughed, looking at the ceiling for inspiration. "I know we're not exactly on best friend terms, Oaklynn, but you could at least ask me how I'm doing."

"Ah." She squirmed, gripping the edge of her seat with both hands. "Sorry. You're right. How are you?"

"I'm managing." He flapped a hand at their surroundings. "Though I probably could have done without this."

"You're telling me."

"What about you? How's life in the herd?"

Her face darkened. "It's okay."

"Looked more than okay to me."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I saw you and Kasper." He shrugged, trying to keep the venom out of his voice. "Just looked like you guys seem to be getting along better."

"I'm trying to make the best of it. Would you rather I was just miserable?"

"Of course not!" Luke blurted. "Never. I didn't mean it like that."

Oaklynn sighed; nodded. "I know it's tough. It's tough for me, too. You think I don't see you with your friends sometimes? Every time I see you I want to come and say hi, to talk, like we used to but..." She shook her head, looking at the floor. "If I did it would just remind us both of what we can't have."

"I get it." Luke leaned back, rubbing his eyes with both hands. "Well, doesn't look like we've got much choice but to talk now."

"So what do you think it's about?"

"I guess it must be about that other girl they found. She was a-," he broke off, casting a furtive glance around the hallway before lowering his voice. "She was a Karkadda, right?"

"Yeah." Her face pinched with regret. "She shouldn't have been out alone like that. We're not supposed to go anywhere in the woods without a partner."

"Can't say I disagree with that," Luke conceded.

"Kasper and the others, they're pretty strict about it."

"He's been keeping close with you, huh?"

"He's not so bad." She gave him a guilty look. "He's just doing what he thinks is best for the herd."

"And best for himself, I bet." Luke managed to force a smile onto his face, determined not to start an argument with her. Not when he didn't know the next time they'd even be able to speak. He tried to make a joke of it, despite the ashen feeling settling in his stomach. "You gonna ask him to bullhorn somebody for you or...?"

"What...?" It took a second for her to catch his meaning, at which point she scoffed in mock horror and smacked him on the arm. "No! It's not like that."

"Ow! Alright, alright!" He raised his hands in surrender. "So, why do you think Nalen wants to talk to us?"

"Well, you found the first body. And me..." She grimaced. "I mean, you managed to dig up that stuff from Thunder Bay. Guess it would be wishful thinking to hope an actual cop wouldn't figure it out sooner or later once this started again."

At that moment the door to the office opened, and Sheriff Nalen's pillar-like bulk stepped into the corridor, thumbs hitched through his belt, his bulky torso fitting rather awkwardly into the shirt of his uniform. Indoors he wasn't wearing his hat, revealing a neatly combed, slicked back cut of dark brown hair. He nodded approvingly when he saw them sitting there.

"Afternoon," Nalen rumbled. "Appreciate you both making the time. I just have a few questions for you. Nothing to be concerned about."

Oh sure, nothing to be concerned about at all, Luke thought grimly.

They both stood at the same time and he took a step too quickly, walking straight into Oaklynn from behind, nerves sending him forward before he even thought about it. She let out a faint squeak of surprise and stumbled.

"Sorry, sorry," he babbled, clearing his throat and flapping a hand towards the door. "Let's just-,"

"Yeah, yeah." Gathering her composure, she stepped forward.

"Mr Arbor, you first," the sheriff said, holding up a hand to halt Oaklynn's advance. "There's just a couple of things I'd like to clear up with you."

"But I-," Oaklynn began.

"You'll get your turn, Miss Cooper," Nalen told her firmly. Her mouth snapped shut and she was frozen to the spot. The sheriff nodded, gaze shifting back to Luke. "Please, follow me." A pleasant smile crossed the sheriff's face and he gestured to the open door.

"Sure." Exchanging a dubious glance with Oaklynn, Luke swallowed hard and followed Nalen into his inner sanctum.

The description might have been a little grandiose, he thought, when he actually looked around. It seemed that Sheriff Nalen was not a particularly sentimental or ostentatious individual. There was a desk with some closed files sitting on it, a computer, sheets of paper and an overflowing pen holder. Some shelves loomed behind it, light wood and shining with varnish, but sparsely populated with a handful of other files, folders, books and a rickety-looking printer.

The door clicked shut behind them.

"Take a seat." Nalen trudged past them and slid into the high-backed leather recliner behind the desk, clasping his hands together over his chest.

Luke eyed the chairs warily, but stepped forward anyway, sinking into one of the two chairs in front of the desk with all the enthusiasm of a man heading for the gallows. He sat, wishing for an instant that he could disappear down into it.

Not much chance of that, unfortunately. Nalen rocked back and forth for a few seconds as he examined Luke, screws squeaking faintly with every rise and fall. Then with surprising abruptness he leaned forward, resting his hands on the desk.

"You're aware that three days ago we found another of your fellow students out in the woods?" he began flatly.

Luke gulped. "Yeah." He shifted nervously in his seat. "So what do you need from us?"

Nalen looked at him, fingers of one hand drumming faintly against the tabletop. "Just some clarity on a couple of things."

"We didn't know her," Luke replied with a regretful shrug. "I mean, I know her name now because it's everywhere. Can't get away from it on the campus."

"Yeah, reporters are a real pain in tailpipe aren't they?"

"I guess." Luke glanced furtively back at the door before replying. "But, like I said, we don't know her. I know I found that first girl but, that was just blind luck. Wrong place, wrong time. I reckon your friends in the news know more than we do about any of this."

"I'm not so sure about that," Nalen replied, lounging back in his seat with a faintly satisfied smile on his face. "Because what they don't know is that we found another body out in those woods the same night."

Luke stiffened, his eyes narrowing. "And you're smiling because...?"

"Because, at least for now, I can get on with my job without somebody jamming a camera up my ass every time I turn around."

"And it was another K-..." Luke almost let the word slip free, but an image of Oaklynn's furious face flashed in his mind, just in time for him to catch himself. He instead made a vague gesture to his face. "You know, another pick axe murder?"

"Interestingly, no."

Luke blinked; dug his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He couldn't keep his eyebrows from creeping up in surprise. "No?"

"No." The sheriff's smile faded somewhat as he straightened up in his chair. "We found the victim out off the trails. Different wounds, and he's older. Not a student – not even close."

"What does that have to do with us?" he asked, confusion rising to boiling point. If this wasn't to do with the Karkadda, then he really didn't know what he was doing here.

"Interesting thing," Nalen continued as though he hadn't heard. "He had a pretty nasty wound too, but different." He tapped himself on the sternum. "Centre mass."

It hit Luke like a bucket of icy water and he stiffened in his seat. His mind flashed back to the cabin; the charge and the crunch of bone on bone. The blood. It had to be the poacher, the one Oaklynn had killed when she saved his life. It was the only explanation. He resisted the urge to look over his shoulder, keeping his eyes on Nalen with a conscious effort.

"What was so different about it?" he asked at last, though he heard the faint crack in his voice and cursed himself. Luke cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, trying to look casual, but he knew how awkward he must've looked.

"The wounds on the other bodies were precise – in the same place every time. This poor bastard looked like somebody stuck a railroad spike through his chest."

Luke gulped. "Oh."

"I'm still getting to the good bit. We have a witness, who claims to have seen what happened." Nalen looked at them both. "Do you see where I might be going with this?"

"You know who did it?"

"I haven't decided yet." He shook his head before his expression hardened. "The witness claims they saw you and your girlfriend out at that cabin."

Shit. In the craziness of that night it never even occurred to him to wonder about such a thing. Hell, they'd been so far out in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, the prospect of their skirmish being discovered seemed almost impossible. Then he remembered the fire – the inferno that the two Karkadda had extinguished. Maybe some sharp-eyed pain in the ass had spotted the smoke in the night. Maybe someone had seen them out there.

"That is what this has to do with you," Nalen continued. "So, why don't you try and untangle that little mess for me."

"I think someone made a mistake," he said quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. Then added, "and she's not my girlfriend."

Nalen ignored the distinction, sighing as he steepled his fingers. "Mr Arbor, I'm going to need you to account for your whereabouts on the night of October fourteenth."

"The fourteenth? That was movie night," Luke interjected. He gestured back over his shoulder towards the corridor with one thumb. "We were up in her dorm for most of the night."

"Movie night, huh?"

He glowered at the sheriff. "Predator, one and two."

Nalen looked far from convinced as his gaze flickered to the door. "And when I bring Miss Cooper in here and ask her the same question, is that what she'll tell me?"

"It's the truth." He spread his hands wide, speaking a lot more confidently than he felt. "Bring her in, ask her. She'll tell you the same thing." It was the lie they'd stuck to with his friends - hopefully she would stick to it now. If not...

"So you were on campus the entire night?"

"Sheriff, do you seriously think we killed this person?" Luke exclaimed.

"I never said that," Nalen replied coolly. "But finding witnesses in this damned town makes finding a needle in a haystack look like child's play, so when I have one, I have to follow up. Why would someone make this up? Why would they point the finger at the two of you if that's not what they saw?"

"I don't know what to tell you. I've already said we weren't out that night." Luke shook his head, throwing up his hands helplessly. "Do you honestly think we'd be tramping about in the woods with people getting their skulls staved in around here?"

"Then why does someone claim to have seen you running from a burned down cabin four miles from ELU?"

"I have no idea. We weren't out there!" Luke felt the hint of desperation creeping into his voice and tried to fight it down, just praying that Nalen didn't pick up on it. He wondered if Oaklynn could feel it from outside the room. He could recognise the sensation of the strange bleed over that the Karkadda seemed to exude – maybe it worked both ways. "We were in her dorm, I swear."

Nalen bristled. "I'll be checking this with Miss Cooper, but is there anyone else that can vouch for that?"

Luke tried to think. He couldn't even begin to tell Nalen the truth. Neither of them would be leaving the station for a long time if he let slip even a fraction of what had really happened out at that cabin. Then a desperate thought occurred to him,

"Kenny!" he blurted. "Kenny Matlock!"