Free The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series by Geof Johnson Page B

destruction, all with troubled looks on their faces.
    “Holy crud,” John Paul muttered. “Look at that .”
    Jamie stared at the trap, and the extent of the damage seemed to be even worse in person; the tiny picture on his father’s phone did not do it justice. It looked as if it had been smashed by boulders and then thrown aside by a giant, petulant child. It was dented nearly flat at the front end and the wheels were missing from the side that now stuck up in the air. The door lay several yards away, bent outward in the middle, and two of the bars on it were broken.
    “Whew,” Carl said. “That’s something else. Find any prints?”
    “Just one,” Hank said. “Over here by the door. But it’s not a bear paw print. In fact, it’s not like any animal that lives around here. Looks more like a dinosaur print, which is why we think it might be pranksters.” He led them to a patch of soft dirt, and in it was the impression of a huge animal foot or paw. They knelt beside it and Hank pointed. “See here? It’s got three clawed toes on the front and one on the back. That’s definitely not a bear print. Somebody might’ve put it there as a hoax, like Bigfoot or something.”
    Carl rubbed his jaw. “So you think somebody smashed up the trap and faked the print?”
    Jamie pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen. “If teenagers did it, they might’ve posted a video of it somewhere.” He frowned. “Darn. I don’t get any reception here.”
    John Paul scratched his cheek with one finger. “Hank, you think somebody coulda put those dents in the trap with a sledgehammer?”
    “If Paul Bunyan was swinging it, maybe. That thing’s made of heavy-duty steel. It’s strong enough to hold a grizzly bear, and they can be as big as fifteen hundred pounds. Bears around here might be five, six hundred pounds, tops. Biggest ever killed was about eight hundred, but that’s still small compared to a grizzly.”
    Carl put his hands on his hips and surveyed the demolished trap. “But if some pranksters did it, they would’ve had to bring some kind of heavy equipment in here, like a back hoe or something. I didn’t see any tracks like that when we came down the trail, did you?”
    “That’s what’s so odd. I don’t see how they could’ve done it.”
    John Paul held up one finger and said, “You remember crop circles? Those were pretty incredible, and lots of folks were convinced that they had to have been done by aliens...couldn’t see how they could’ve been done by humans. But somebody figured out a way to make them. Maybe this is the same kind of thing.”
    “That’s what we’re thinking,” Hank said. “But we’ve still got a bear out there killing hikers.”
    “Has it killed any more lately?”
    “Not that we know of, but we have found the remains of some deer kills. That’s not all that unusual, though.”
    “Mind if we have a look around?” Carl said.
    “I was hoping you would. That’s why I asked you to come up here. You’re the best detective I know.”
    “Thanks.” Carl pointed down the trail. “Where’s this go?”
    “It curves around the hill on the right and then cuts across the valley.” Hank gave each of them a quick, serious look. “Be careful, though. Don’t try to be heroes. Holler for us if you see anything.”
    He tipped his hat to them as they walked away. Jamie waited until they were out of earshot before saying, “So what do you think?”
    “It definitely took a piece of heavy equipment to do that kind of damage,” John Paul said. “There’s got to be a track somewhere, unless they flew it in with a helicopter.”
    “That’s an elaborate prank,” Carl said. They walked on, eying the ground while remaining watchful of the bear.
    “Something’s bothering me about this,” Jamie said as they rounded the curve of the hill. “Did you see that hole in the side? Looks like something punched it and peeled it open like an orange.”
    Carl grimaced.