It wasn't long before Sheridan pointed out another dead fish. It hadn't been dead as long as the other one, Joe noted, because it floated on its side, flaunting the rainbow colors that gave the fish its name. It had not yet turned belly-up. This fish was not as large as the first, but still impressive.

Sheridan was righteously indignant.

"Something is killing these fish, and it makes me mad," she said, her eyes flashing. Joe didn't like it either but was impressed by her outrage, although he didn't know whether her anger came from her outdoor ethics or if she was angry because someone was killing fish she felt she deserved to catch.

"Can you tell what's killing them?" she asked.

This time, he let Maxine retrieve the rainbow. The Lab unnecessarily launched herself into the water with a splash that soaked both of them, and came back with the trout in her mouth. Joe pried it loose from Max- ine's jaws and turned it over in his palm. He could see nothing unusual about the fish.

"This isn't like finding a dead deer or elk, where I can check for bullets," he told Sheridan. "I can't see any wounds, or disease on this fish. They may have been overstressed after being caught by someone."

Sheridan huffed with disappointment, and strode upstream. Joe tossed the fish into a stand of willows behind him.

While he waited for Lucy to mosey her way closer, he reached behind him and felt the heavy sag of his.40 Beretta semiautomatic, his service weapon, hidden away in the large back pocket creel of his fishing vest. He also affirmed that his wallet-badge was there, as well as several strands of Flexcuffs. Although he wasn't working, he was still the game warden, and still charged with enforcing regulations.