Skin Walkers: Monroe Read Online Free

Monroe StoneCrow as she drove her truck along the bumpy forest road. 
    In her line of work if you weren’t paying attention accidents were prone to happen, and they weren’t the type-the-wrong-word or mail-the-wrong-form kind of accidents. 
    She eyed the snow-covered road as she skirted a particularly narrow pass with a straight 200 foot drop down a rocky ravine.  Napping on the job out here could get you killed, and if the terrain didn’t get you, the wildlife surely would.
    Today , she was heading up the mountain to check on several suspicious reports that had come in over the past few days.  When Robert at dispatch had radioed her a few days earlier to let her know that Dorothy and George WhiteEagle had called to report a panther sighting, she knew there had to have been a mistake.  Dorothy and George were probably the only two people that knew the area better than Eden, so she’d asked Robert if he’d made a mistake.  “You sure?  Neither Dorothy nor George would confuse any of our local wildlife with a panther.”
    Robert assured her he’d heard correctly.  He’d even questioned George himself to ensure the old timer hadn’t accidentally used the wrong word.  “I asked him if he meant mountain lion Eden, but he was adamant that he and Dorothy had seen a black panther.  You don’t think ol’ George is going senile do ya?”
    Eden maneuvered her truck over a slope of wet rock, her brows furrowing as she scanned the area slowly.  A day after Dorothy and George’s report, a couple of hunters reported seeing a gemsbok.  Robert thought it had been a prank call until the two men showed up at the Wildlife Department office with what Robert claimed was “photo proof”. 
    A smiled tweaked Eden’s lips as she drove.  Modern technology was advancing so quickly.  Anything could be photo-shopped, and all you needed was a sucker to take the bait.  Poor Robert.  
    Still, the gemsbok photos were surely a joke, but it didn’t explain Dorothy and George’s black panther.  Often stray dogs would meander up the mountain, and Eden could only assume that a dog is exactly what George and Dorothy had spotted.     
    The two-way radio on her dash crackled before there was a long whine and finally, “Edie?  You copy?”
    Eden snatched up the receiver, “Morning Robert.”
    “You on your way to the WhiteEagle’s?”
    She smiled, “How’d you guess?”
    Robert’s voice was tight, “I just figured.  Anyway, we’ve got a bit of a problem.”
    Eden instantly sobered, “What’s wrong?”
    “Well…”
    Sensing his reluctance Eden urged, “You better spill it before I get out of range.  What’s going on?”
    The line crackled for a few moments before Robert spoke, “We’ve got a complaint here about a landowner up your way.”
    Eden’s brow furrowed, “ Which land owner?”
    She vaguely made out the sound of papers shuffling in the background.  “Appears to be a dispute over right-of-way.  Easement issues.”
    “ Our department doesn’t handle that.”
    “ I know,” Robert sighed, “but it wound up on my desk all the same.”
    “Well,” Eden prompted again, “ who’s the land owner.”
    There was a slight grin in Robert’s voice then, “Well paperwork states Eddie StCloud.  Any relation of yours?”
    Shit!   Eden didn’t respond immediately.
    “Ed ie you there?”
    “Yeah, I’m here.” She chewed on her bottom lip a moment.  “Put the report in my box, and I’ll take care of it when I get to town.”
    “Edie...”
    “Just do it Rob.  I promise I won’t shred the damn thing.”
    “Alright,” he answered reluctantly, “but if Richard asks, I’m saying I never saw the damn thing.”
    Now, it was Eden’s turn to smile.  “You let me worry about Richard and Monroe StoneCrow.”
    Robert laughed , “Wondered if you knew who the complainant would be.”
    “Yeah, I know.  Look, I’m about to get out of range.  I’ll buzz you after I talk to the