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office was mostly kept locked at night, when there was only a skeleton staff keeping an eye on the residents.
    The baby wolves were still in the enclosure, huddled together.
    Surely, no one was allowing them to starve. I asked Megan, “How are you taking care of them with their mother gone?”
    “By pretending as much as possible to be her. Want to give a baby a bottle?”
    “Me?” I squeaked, and then considered it. “Heck, yeah. I thought only the caretakers could feed the animals.”
    “This is a special situation. We need additional help. And nurturing the babies—well, at this age they’re not a lot different from doggy pups.”
    With no further fuss, and on Megan’s okay, Jon Doe led me into the area behind the enclosures and showed me to a plastic chair. Then he handed me a small bottle with wolf formula, I supposed, and a nipple that was soft and long and might have resembled a mama wolf’s—who knew?
    “I’ve done this before at other animal sanctuaries,” he explained at my inquiry.
    And then he handed me a baby.
    The little wolf was a small bundle of gray fur, eyes closed, mouth working the nipple voraciously. All I could do, sitting there with that pup in my lap, was smile and coo and make baby talk, as if I held a human infant.
    Eventually, she stopped sucking and seemed to fall asleep. I looked up and noticed two others similarly engaged with the other pups: Jon Doe and Krissy. I didn’t know where Dante was, but suspected he was outside somewhere attempting to track mama wolf—or her evil abductor.
    Eventually, I handed my baby to Megan, hating to give her up.
    “You can do it again soon, if you’re still around,” she said.
    “Thanks,” I responded gratefully.
    We went back to the outside of the glassed-in enclosure. No visitors were permitted in just then, so it was empty.
    Until a guy burst through the door, followed by an obviously angry Dante.
    “What the hell are you doing?” Dante demanded.
    “I want some answers,” the guy said. He was short and stocky, with curly gray hair behind a receding hairline. “I brought that wolf here expecting her to be taken care of—her and her babies, whenever they were born. I’m here today because Megan Zurich called and all but accused me of stealing her back. I should have found someplace else to care for her. This sanctuary sucks.”
    “This,” Megan said, glaring at him, “is Warren Beell. He brought the wolf here in the first place, but that doesn’t give him the right to insult—”
    “It gives him the right to question us,” Dante interjected smoothly. “Just as we have the right to question him.”
    “You have no right to ask me anything,” Beell yelled. “Especially since the questions I was asked before were nearly an accusation. I did nothing wrong. All I did was bring the wolf here. And look what happened to her.”
    The guy seemed justifiably upset. Maybe.
    But he also seemed to sling so many accusations that I wondered whether his intent was to discourage us from asking him anything else.
    Was that because he was trying to hide his guilt?

    WE GOT NOTHING useful from Warren Beell or anyone else.
    Three days went by so fast I could only watch them dash. Not that I stayed an idle observer. I hung out at HotWildlife as much as possible, trying to uncover clues to mama wolf’s disappearance.
    Good thing I had excellent backup in my pet-sitting enterprise. I again confirmed my human clients’ okays. Fortunately, all were understanding—and professionally served by people whom they’d met before. Both Rachel and Wanda went out of their way to take care of the charges I was tending.
    Plus, I was also lucky enough not to have any court appearances in cases I handled at the Yurick & Associates law firm. The depositions and client conferences on my schedule were deftly delayed by the sweet but firm receptionist and all-around assistant, Mignon, who was clearly eager to help me locate the missing mama wolf.
    Right now, I stood