Wolv

20 - Vein of Blood

I could smell Nadie the moment I approached the rickety wooden steps in front of the house. She was here, in the house, along with Max; the same man who'd drugged her a just a few days ago. My back tensed, and my lips pulled back, exposing my teeth. Behind me, Hutch did the same, tensing up to spring.

Scott Abrams was here as well.

I could smell his presence. I growled quietly as I padded up the stairs and to the door, searching for a way in. If he'd hurt Nadie...

I felt my claws involuntarily come out.

"Humfrey! Over here!" Hutch whispered, and I turned to find him standing a few meters away, peering out from around a corner.

I leapt off the steps and rounded the corner. Hutch stood a few meters away from the house, pawing at a lump lying in the brush. A feeling of foreboding filled me as I stepped closer.

A man's body lay at his feet, sporting a large bloodstain across his chest. A few shards of shattered bone jutted out from a hole in the man's ribcage, and deep cuts criss-crossed themselves across his arms.

He was tortured. Whatever had happened to him, it hadn't been pretty.

Hutch sniffed the chest wound solemnly. "He was shot, right here." He nosed at a bush a few feet away from the body. Blood was splattered all over the leaves, casting a rank scent out into the darkness.

I've seen this man before. I studied his Ojibwe features, and looked up at his face. "I know this man!" It was the man who'd been piloting the boat, the one that had been following Nadie!

"How?"

"He drove some of Abrams' people into the park a few days ago. They ended up drugging Nadie!"

Hutch snorted. "Sounds like he got what he deserved, then."

I shook my head. "No, I don't think he was working with them. He ended up drugging one of the men in return, and taking them back here. He offered to help me."

"Oh...?"

I looked away from the body, the smell of death becoming unbearable in my nostrils. "This probably happened as a result."

Around the corner, the porch light flicked on once again, and I heard the door creak open. The smell of burning tobacco wafted around the house, and I had to stop myself from coughing. Hutch and I pressed ourselves against the wall, ready to pounce should anyone round the corner.

A chillingly familiar, gruff voice sounded from around the corner, speaking loudly.

"Where are you? It doesn't take an hour to fill up a bloody boat, you fool!" Max's voice paused momentarily, then spoke again. "No! We can't do anything until you bring us those coolers! Everything will spoil if we don't get it on ice right away! Blood samples don't really like heat!"

After another pause, he laughed mischievously. "No no, she's a fighter! She's cute, but a fighter." I bristled angrily at his remark, but stayed completely still. "Barely said two words to us. Little bugger she is, I tell you." Again, a pause. "Oh, it'll all be worth it when your spending your days up on some nude beach, showered with women!" Max laughed once more. "Heck yeah! What do think I'm doing with my cut? It's been too long, if ya know what I mean!"

From around the corner, a smoldering cigarette butt flew through the air and landed on Hutch's paw. His body tensed, and he silently shook the butt off. The smell of singed fur filled the air, and I could hear him whining quietly.

Around the bend, a cell phone flipped shut, and the door groaned as it was pulled shut; the porch light darkening once more as the door closed. Hutch opened his mouth let out the growl he'd been suppressing.