Dangerous Obsession

The Obsession Begins

 Dale called Michele as soon as he had enough signal to do so. He apologized, gave her an ETA, and told her not to wait up for him. He could tell by her short, clipped responses, that she was not happy with him and she would indeed be waiting up to rip him a new one. Sure enough, he saw a lamp shining through the living room widow as he finally pulled his truck into the garage. 

Here goes nothing  he mumbled as he steeled himself against the storm that was to come. His wife's anger had taken away a lot of the thrill he had felt over seeing the wolf. He carefully opened the door to his home, hung up his pack and coat, and removed his shoes. He wasn't going to push Michelle too much by walking over her clean floors in his work boots. The urge to run upstairs and jump in the shower before she could corner him was strong, but that was the coward's way out. So with a quick prayer for luck, he squared his shoulders and headed to the living room to face the dragon.

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 Michelle Wilson was determined to be awake and ready when Dale finally decided to show up that night. It was bad enough that he spent so much time at work as it was, but being unreachable and alone in those woods after dark was where she drew the line. Her mind had already imagined out every gruesome way her husband could die before he called to check in at about 10:30 that night. She had tried not to worry the boys, Jacob and Evan, so she held it together until they were in their rooms for the night. As soon as she heard their bedroom doors click closed, she poured a large glass of wine, and paced the floors. The wine soon started to take effect though and she thought she would curl up on the couch with a book while she waited. She didn't last ten minutes before she was snoring softly, book and wine forgotten.

A soft hand stroking her cheek woke her up. She cracked open her eyes to see Dale leaning over her. She almost smiled up at him when she remembered that she was mad at him. 

"I told you not wait up" He said softly.

"Do you really think I could sleep after that, Dale? I was worried sick!" 

"I know, I know" he sighed.

"If you know, then why do you keep doing it? Do you enjoy giving me a panic attack?" She asked, her voice raising a notch.

"No, of course not. Listen, I really am sorry, Babe. I just got caught up in my work and forgot about the time change. Next time I'll set an alarm, okay." His apology was sincere, and his brown eyes begged her to let it go. She wanted to stay angry with him, to make him pay for giving her a few more gray hairs, but she couldn't. Dale was a good, hard working man. She was crazy about him and she knew it was an honest mistake.

"Okay" she conceded reluctantly, "But next time you aren't getting off so easy". A smile that warmed her to her toes spread across her husbands face and he pulled her up into a hug. Michelle snuggled into his chest and slipped her hands under his shirt to caress his bare skin. 

"Mmmm" Dale groaned into her ear, cupping her butt and pressing her into him. He ran feather soft kisses down the sides of her neck. She nibbled on his ear lobe in response, lowering her hands into the waistband of his jeans. 

"Hey, Babe, wait a minute. There's something I want to show you first"  Dale said, interrupting their petting session. Michelle pulled back and looked at him with an arched brow.

"Now?" she asked incredulous. Her husband had never in 17 years of marriage ever wanted to 'wait a minute' on s*x. This must be something major.

Dale nodded and grabbed her hand pulling her toward the mudroom, talking over his shoulder as he went. The excitement in his voice was palpable.

"You will never believe what I saw tonight, Mitch" he didn't wait for her to guess before exclaiming, "A WOLF"

"Dale, shhh, the boys" she interrupted.

"A real live wolf," he continued, more quietly  this time, "It was huge too. As big as a bear. And beautiful. I've never in my life seen a more majestic animal than that wolf Mitch.

They had reached to mud room and Dale was removing his camera from his work pack. Michelle crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame.

"Was this before or after the sun went down?" she asked.

"After" 

"Well, then, are you sure you weren't seeing things? Those shadows can play tricks on you."

"That's what I thought too...until he howled. I got chills hearing that howl. It was real and I've got the pictures to prove it" He said holding up his camera to triumphantly. "Come on, lets go look at them on the computer, we can see them better."

His excitement was rubbing off on her and she followed her husband up the stairs to his office. 

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Dale couldn't believe it. He snapped close to fifty frames of the wolf and there wasn't a single discernable one in the bunch. Just a few white blurs that could have been anything... or nothing. He knew he hadn't had time to aim and focus properly but he thought there would be a least one usable picture. He wanted to say something to defend himself, but his disappointment was too great for words. He had been so excited. He had so many plans, all riding on fifty blurred pictures. Michelle shifted uncomfortably beside him. She cleared her throat.

"I think I could make almost out a tail..." she offered weakly.

"I'll need more than an almost tail to convince the University to fund a research project on the wolves Mitch, a hell of a lot more."

"Maybe not." She countered. "I don't think you are giving yourself enough credit, Babe. You're the head of your department and your record is beyond reproach. I think your word ought to count for something, shouldn't it?" She spun his office chair to face him and sat on his lap, leaning against him.

"I hope you're right" Dale said locking his arms around his wife, "Do you believe me?"

Michelle looked up at him and he could see the hesitation in her blue eyes.

"You don't, do you?" he pressed.

"Dale, it's not that I don't believe you. It's just that it was dark, and it could have been anything, and I've never heard of there being wolves around here."

Dale groaned. This is what he had been afraid of. He knew no one would believe him without those pictures. He'd talk to the Dean first thing in the morning. Maybe he could at least get permission to do some investigating. There were wolves out there and he was going to prove it.

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  Dale was sitting at his desk in his office at the college, cataloguing the information he had gathered the day before. His team would meet later that afternoon to start comparing the data collected with previous data and entering it all into their systems. The phone on his desk began to ring and answered it quickly. He was expecting a return call from Mr. Sommers, the Dean.

"Dr. Wilson speaking" 

"Good Morning Dr. Wilson, Janice said you called earlier. What can I do for you?" Dean Sommer's nasal voice came through the line.

"Yes, sir. I was hoping I could meet with you as soon as possible. I discovered something yesterday that I am certain the college will want to explore to the furthest extent, with your permission of course."

"Hmm. Sounds interesting. I'm all booked up for today. I can arrange a meeting first thing Monday though. Does 10:00 sound good to you?"

Dale quickly glanced at his desk calendar, thanking the heavens that he was free Monday morning.

'That will be perfect, Sir." He answered, trying not to sound to excited. They ended the call, and Dale knew the weekend would be torture waiting for this meeting. He didn't know if he was nervous or excited. On a positive note, at least he had two and a half days to research and prepare his presentation. This day couldn't be over fast enough for him... he was dying to bury himself in every bit of information available on wolves and recent wolf sightings. He'd get his research funded or die trying he promised himself.

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  The last slide of his power point presentation faded from the projection screen and Dale flipped on the lights. He waited a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness before turning to face Dean Sommers. The doubt was written plainly all over the older man's face. He wasn't buying it, and it was obvious. 

"Dr. Wilson, I have a lot of respect for you. You know that. But.... you haven't provided me with the evidence needed to fund a large and expensive research expedition."

"Dean Sommers, there are many other documented wolf sightings other than my own" I protested

"Ten other sightings, Doctor, ten. I am sure there are at least that many UFO and Bigfoot sightings." the dean said swirling his hand in the air dismissively. Dale was slightly offended at the comparison, but he wasn't ready to back down. 

"Wolves are not mythical or extraterrestrial creatures, they exist in the United States, making a wolf sighting much more credible than that of UFOs or Bigfoot." 

Dean Sommers nodded thinking over his next argument. Finally he asked the fatal question.

"I'm sure you had your camera with you, Doctor. Why did you not include photographs in your presentation?" 

"I would have loved to include them, but the frames I managed to capture were undiscernible, unfortunately." Dale answered in his most dignified voice, hoping his shame wasn't too obvious. 

"That is unfortunate" the dean agreed. "I'm afraid that I will not be able to fund this project Dr. Wilson. Wolves are long gone from Missouri. That is a fact that is well documented, from reputable sources I might add. One moonlight sighting is not enough to refute that. I'm sorry."

"Dean Sommers, I completely understand your hesitation. I'd be skeptical too if our roles were switched, but I am telling you that I saw a wolf. Heard it howl. A successful wolf program here in Missouri could bring a lot of new donors and grants to our research department. Not to mention the papers and studies that we could publish. It's a breakthrough discovery. I think the benefits of such a discovery far outweigh the risks we would be taking." Dale passionately delivered his last argument. 

The Dean leaned back in his chair, and adjusted his glasses, clearly tossing Dale's words over in his mind.

"This is what I'll do Doctor Wilson. If you bring me one single picture of a wolf, I will make sure your project is sufficiently funded." 

"Just one picture?" Dale asked. There must be a catch, that was much too easy.

"One picture." Dean Sommers confirmed, "But you must gather it on your own time. There will be no University funds expended until I see evidence."

Dale was disappointed. This wasn't the outcome he had been hoping for at all, but it wasn't a 'No' either. There was still hope. 

"Yes, sir. Thank you Dean" He said, shaking his boss' hand before excusing himself. If Dean Sommers wanted proof, he'd get him proof. He'd seen the wolf the first time by accident, it'd surely be easier when he was looking for them. He smiled confidently. He'd have a picture laying on the Dean's desk by next Monday morning.