“But I’m telling you,” she said emphatically, “Uncle William is behind the attacks on Luke’s cattle.”
“And I’m telling you again I don’t disagree,” Nick said just as firmly. “But before you can stop him, you have to figure out what he’s after, because that man is after something.”
Luke leaned forward and asked, “Who told you your uncle was involved?”
“No one,” Frances said, a note of disgust in her voice. “We figured it out ourselves.” She glanced back at them with a sly look before facing forward again. “How long have you known?”
“We’ve had our suspicions for a while, but it wasn’t until today when Edgar returned that we had confirmation.” Luke watched the two. “What made you decide it was Lancaster?”
“He’s the only one who makes sense.” Frances grumbled something under her breath that Luke couldn’t understand.
Nick shifted in his seat so he could see both Frances and Luke. “We’ve been trying to look at things the way Sherlock Holmes would.”
“Not that again.” Luke leaned back in the seat with a huff.
“Holmes has an orderly mind, and he picks up on details,” Nick said, his tone defensive.
“Don’t you mean Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has an orderly mind?” Luke asked. “Sherlock Holmes isn’t real.”
Frances muttered something again that sounded a lot like, “I told you he’d act like this.”
“Logic is logic, sir.” Nick was obviously struggling to be patient, but Luke couldn’t decide if it were with him or Frances. Nick said, “All we’re trying to do is use the same logic demonstrated in the stories to help us search for clues. That’s how we figured out it had to be William Lancaster behind the attacks.”
“I think they’re clever,” Judith said. “Tell us what you discovered.”
Luke decided to keep his mouth shut.
“Everyone kept saying wolves were attacking the herd,” Nick said. “My Pa grew up hunting wolves. Now, it can be hard to tell the difference between a wolf print and a dog print, especially if it’s a cross between a dog and a wolf.”
“And you could tell it was a dog?” Luke asked, finding himself interested after all.
“Yes, sir. Now, that beast of a dog was as big as a wolf, so I understand how everyone looking at the tracks would assume it was one by looking at his paw prints.” Nick was warming up to his topic, his hands moving for emphasis as he spoke. “But there’s a difference in the shape of their paws. A dog’s middle toe is bigger than the others. With wolves, they’re the same size. Dogs also tend to drag their toenails when they walk, so their track is messier.”
“Tell him about the path,” Frances said.
“Dogs like to wander more,” Nick said. “Pa always said wolves travel with a purpose. They’re hunters and trackers. They don’t waste energy. A wolf’s prints go in an almost straight line, and the length of their stride is longer too.”
“I’m impressed,” Judith said.
“Same here,” Luke added. “Did you happen to find any man tracks?”
“Sadly, no, though we saw some that looked like someone might have tried to disguise with branches.” Nick shifted toward the front. “We might have been able to tell better if it hadn’t been snowing every time there’s been an attack except that last one. I find that right suspicious.”
“We should have been talking to these two sooner,” Luke whispered to Judith.
“You’re right.”
Frances turned onto a side road and pulled up to a small house. Smoke drifted from the chimney, so someone was home. Old Mrs. Knox didn’t get out much, so Luke assumed it was her.
“Let me make sure it’s all right to visit.” He jumped from the sleigh and hurried to the door. Before he could knock, it opened.
“Well, Mr. Hamblin,” Mrs. Knox said. “What a pleasant surprise. Come on in.”
“I’m not alone,” he said quickly. “Do you mind having four visitors?”
She sent a doubtful glance toward the sleigh but nodded.
It had started to snow again.
