“See the tracks in the snow?” he asked, pointing straight ahead. “It’s like they were being chased. This wasn’t a quick mosey down to the pasture. It was a herd running.” He pointed to the left at indents in the snow. “That looks like ATV tracks.”

“Does Charlie have an ATV?” I asked.

“That I can’t answer,” Trevor replied. “If not, someone drove on his property and chased his livestock. That doesn’t fly around here.”

Heck, no. There was most likely some law that led to hanging or a firing squad for harassing livestock. Well, maybe not that extreme, but people left other’s animals alone. It was basic consideration for their fellow human.

When the miniature goats, cows and the deer came into view, Trevor stopped the truck. “I don’t want to scare them anymore,” he explained, then he picked up his radio and gave the coordinates to other officers. We sat back and waited.

“Good eye seeing that Rudolph was missing,” he said.

Daisy giggled as I said, “Thanks.”

“So, just to be sure I have the story straight, Rudolph was missing this morning when you went there to rescue a litter of pups. You went home with the puppies, and then you went back to the farm… why?”

“I decided to ask Charlie about the missing deer. When he didn’t answer his phone, I felt something was wrong, so I came out.”

“You felt something was wrong?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Call it women’s intuition.”

“How about you call it that you have the most amazing dog in the world who can talk to puppies and get the real story?” Daisy huffed. “Why don’t I get any credit?”

“Well, whatever it was, I’m glad you came back out to the farm,” Trevor said. “Charlie seems to be in bad shape. Did he say anything about how he got that knot on his head?”

“Nope. He was very confused. I didn’t really ask any questions. I was more worried about his health.”

“Understandable,” he said, glancing in the rearview window. “Here comes the calvary.”

I turned to find a few more trucks coming our way, some towing horse trailers.

Trevor slid from the Ford and shut the door. Daisy and I exchanged glances. “What are we supposed to do?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I muttered. “But it’s warm in here and cold out there, so I think I’ll stay right here until someone tells me otherwise.”

“Good idea.”

As Trevor and the deputies walked around the herd with rope to corral them, Daisy said, “Maybe I should go out there and see if I can smell the mother.”

“You have her scent?” I asked, turning to her.

“Yep. I caught it in the barn.”

“There are a lot of animals in there,” I said.

“Yes, but I can tell the difference between a dog and a goat.” She narrowed her gaze as if I was the stupidest human ever. “I’m not dumb, Gina.”

With a sigh, I flung open the door. “Fine. Go ahead and see if you can track where she went.”

I had my doubts that the dog had ever come out this way, but at least I had a few minutes of silence so I could think. Who would want to take Rudolph? Someone who hated Christmas?

Or was it something else?

Maybe it had nothing to do with Christmas, but instead had something to do with Charlie. Perhaps he had a bone to pick with someone? Another farmer?

I’d been acquainted with Charlie most of my life, but I didn’t know him well. He seemed harmless. His focus was always on his grandkids, especially since his wife had passed away. That was the reason why he had so many miniature animals—so his grandkids learned about farming but weren’t afraid of the goats and cows. He’d described it as their own private petting zoo.

But people had dark sides, so for all I knew, Charlie worshipped Satan and sacrificed the goats while dancing naked under the full moon.

Definitely not a pleasant vision.

Daisy came running back to the car and I opened the door. She jumped in, her snow-covered paws wetting my jeans.

“Anything?” I asked.

“No. It’s cold out there, though.”

We waited as the police slowly funneled the goats and cows into the trailers. Oddly enough, they didn’t put up much of a fight, which I assumed was because they were very accustomed to humans treating them correctly. “Poor things must’ve been terrified when they were being chased,” I said.

After the last goats were loaded into the trailer, Trevor walked back to the truck and got in. “Thanks for your help,” he said, smirking.

“I’m afraid I’d be more of a hinderance than help,” I said. “I’ve never corralled livestock before, so I thought I’d better stay put.”

“Or you just wanted to stay warm,” Trevor said. He shoved the gearstick into drive.

“Well, yes, that too.”

We headed through the field, but not toward the house. “Are the animals going to be okay?” I asked. “It’s so cold.”

“I didn’t inspect each one, but I didn’t see any issues. They’re used to the winter weather, Gina.”

“Yeah, dork,” Daisy said. “They live in a barn.”

I shot her a glare and bit my tongue to keep from insulting her right back.

My heart was heavy with worry. In fact, I would say I was more concerned about the little cows and goats than I was about Charlie. He’d assured me he was fine, but the little ones couldn’t speak. Well, not that I could hear, anyway.

“Where are we going?” Daisy asked.

“Trevor, the house is in that direction,” I said, pointing to my right.

“I know. We’ve got a trail here, though. It looks like it could be the ATV. I wanted to follow it.”

As the sunlight bounced off the snow, I felt at times Mother Nature was trying to blind me, and I wished I’d brought my sunglasses as I squinted.

Driving up a hill, Trevor’s tires began to spin in the snow, but after he slammed the truck into four-wheel-drive, we were good to go. Once on top of the hill, he stopped.

There, at the bottom of the ravine, stood an ATV.