Hunting Death

Prologue

Prologue

Two weeks earlier;

Robert had been out of sorts lately, more so than usual, everyone saw it, and Keith sensed it. Robert attempted to act normal, but he didn't fool Keith who could hear the erratic way Robert's heart beat when they talked.

Something definitely seemed wrong, he only wished Robert would confide in him. Instead, Robert spent more time away from home, more time with Al. Which shouldn't have been so concerning, they both enjoyed a good game of golf, and Lord knew that man needed a break from the ranch, he'd literally work himself to death if given half the chance, but that wasn't it.

Even though Keith hadn't meant to, not at first, he'd followed him the other day. Robert headed straight to Al's office and stayed there for a while. And, because he wasn't much of a sleuth, after a couple of hours waiting out front in the parking lot, Keith finally left. While the visit shouldn't have been such a big deal, considering they'd been friends for a long time, it bothered him when he'd asked Robert about his day the next afternoon over lunch, and Robert lied.

He said he'd spent the day at a local shelter, helping out like he often had in the past. It didn't make any sense to Keith. What reason did he have to lie to him? They told each other everything; they were probably closer than most brothers.

It worried him. Just as the headaches did, and the dozens of other little tics he'd noticed lately. Like how he'd shake out his legs, or squeeze his eyes shut the way a person would when experiencing pain or having trouble seeing. He assumed nobody noticed, but not much got by Keith.

With the recent accusations being thrown around by the police, everyone on the ranch appeared to be on edge lately, and Keith had his plate full, no doubt about that, but he still recognized minute differences when it came to Robert.

Of course, his insistence that his dear friend saw a doctor fell on deaf ears. Keith had done a little research, wanting to match the symptoms and figure it out for himself, but without hearing it all from Robert, he really didn't have much to go on, a number of things might have been going on ranging from harmless to severe and even life-threatening.

In addition to seeing Al more frequently, Robert also spent a lot of time shut up in his office with the laptop lately, they hadn't had dinner together in almost a week. All the secrecy bothered him. Keith planned to catch up with him tonight and attempt to shake some information out of him. Hell, he'd get physical and literally shake him if he had to.

Keith finished with the ultrasound of the pregnant dog Robert had brought in the other day and put her in the temporary kennel they'd made for her in the clinic. It wouldn't be long before she gave birth, a couple weeks at best, and they wanted her to be comfortable, after which he fed her and closed up for the night.

Nearly to his truck; he had a date tonight with a hot real estate agent, he heard something strange. Like a low pitched gurgling noise accompanied by what sounded like a hoarse whisper.

Tom and Nicole had stopped off earlier to check in with him before leaving, so there shouldn't have been anyone but him and Robert left on this part of the property, and as the sun made its descent dipping below the horizon, even Robert should have been tucked away inside the house for the night.

He heard the commotion coming from over near the wolf enclosure, and fearing that one of the wolves may have been in trouble, or that a wild animal had stumbled into their habitat, Keith hurried in the direction of the barn. The closer he got, the quicker he realized that it sounded human and not animal, sending him into near hysteria.