“We baited them,” Burl said. He had the smug air of a hunter who’d downed an apex predator. “We knew from certain correspondence how desperate you were to get your hands on the wren. And I can hardly blame you. He is a blight on our town—” “I’d kill him myself,” Chance interjected, “if I knew who he was.” “We all would,” Wilder chipped in. “Our team of hackers left a trail of digital breadcrumbs,” Burl continued. “Some were legit, to boost credibility: crime scene photos, witness statements, forensic analyses—all courtesy of our very own chief of police—”
