Howl Deadly (22 page)

Talk about condescension! I thought Ned and I were better buddies than that by now.

“Thanks for the advice, Ned.” I didn’t even attempt to insert cheerfulness into my tone. “See ya.” I ended the call.

So now what should I do? I felt somewhat stuck.

A knock sounded on the office door. “Kendra?” asked a male voice—which moved me to the edge of my seat, but only for an instant; it wasn’t Dante.

It was, however, Brody.

“Come in,” I called, as if this were truly my office.

He pushed open the door and entered. Was it the mountain-vicinity air that made people seem so tired and stressed today? Looking at this handsome guy, and seeing how his firm jaw seemed slack and his flashing gold eyes appeared dull, I wondered what he was thinking.

I intended to find out.

“Any idea where Dante is?” I asked immediately.

“Some ideas.” He took a seat as Lexie leaped to greet him. “But nothing specific.”

Which made me feel no better. But I was always one to avail myself of an opportunity—which Brody’s presence presented. I pulled no punches, hoping to get him to open up. “So, are you under imminent threat of being arrested for Jamison Dubbs’s murder? Er, I mean Jesse Dryler. Oh, wait. That’s Jon Doe. Sorry.” I didn’t regret a word, especially as I read the shock on Brody’s face.

“What are you talking about, Kendra?” he demanded, obviously getting hold of himself in an instant.

“I think you know,” I said. “Dante gave me a sketchy background when I pushed him on it, and my research”—well, Althea’s followed by my own—“has netted me the rest.” Such as it was. It certainly had a lot of gaps. “But I’m still not entirely clear on who Jon Doe originally was, although I think I’m getting close. And—”

“Don’t you get it, Kendra?” he exploded, standing so suddenly that Lexie barked and I cringed in my chair. I had never seen the always affable, usually on-screen personality Brody go berserk. “Megan told me about the threats you’ve been getting.”

She did? But who told
her
?

My confusion must have shown in my expression, since he continued, “She just got a call from Frank Hura, who said you’d been in touch with him. I walked in then, and eavesdropped on her end of the conversation. She filled me in on what I couldn’t hear. I’m not sure who’s making the threats, Kendra, but Hura seems to like Megan, and was warning her . . . about Dante. That’s who he suspects. We know better, of course.”

He added that as I attempted to insert a protest.

“But—well,” he continued, “I gather you know at least a little more now about my background with Dante. I’m not going to give you details. That’s up to him, and may be foolish for him to do. But you might know enough to have figured that we blew the whistle on some nasty stuff years ago, and that Jon Doe—I’m not saying who he used to be—bore the brunt of it. His disguise wasn’t bad, but Dante saw through it even before I did. He wouldn’t have killed Doe unless he had to, and in that event he’d have told me. Which he didn’t. But since he didn’t, that could mean that . . . Doe’s superiors are still, or back, in the act. If they’re sending threats to you, that means you may be getting too close to finding them. And we’re certain they’ll do anything to keep from being found out. We suspect they finally got Doe, but we’re using our own means to investigate that. In the meantime, the more you’re in the middle, the more obvious it is to them that Dante’s not just backing off now that the deed is done. So . . . do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Not exactly,” I said as my head swam.

“The more threats you get from these guys, assuming they’re the source, the more danger Dante is in. And me, too.”

 

 

 

A WHILE LATER, I sat with a quiet baby wolf on my lap, holding his bottle and loving the soft puppy feel of him. At the same time, I mulled over what Brody had said, and watched Megan and a volunteer I hadn’t met before fuss over the other two.

Brody had already left HotWildlife. And I admit it, I was confused by his circumlocution. But I sure didn’t want to be the cause of imperiling either of them, even inadvertently.

But would I back off?

I’d ponder that, but my initial reaction was hell, no. Someone would pay for this guy’s murder, whoever he was, and I wanted to continue to search for the culprit.

Preferably not Dante or Brody. And preferably someone who wouldn’t be able to plead some kind of supersecret immunity.

But this was getting so damned complicated . . .

“I think we’re done,” Megan whispered, blessedly interrupting my train of thought.

I gently pulled the bottle away from my little canine charge, running my fingers over his small, gray, furry body. He and his siblings were a couple of weeks old and definitely growing. Soon, they’d become even livelier and carnivorous, and holding their wild little selves would become impossible.

But I loved it for now.

After we’d placed them back in their wolf nest, I followed Megan toward her office, where Lexie waited. I felt utterly drained and perplexed. Brody was angry with me. Dante wouldn’t return my calls. Sergeant Hura wouldn’t give me the time of day, and Ned Noralles had told me to butt out.

So why was I really here? Regardless of my prior experience, I certainly couldn’t solve every killing that crossed my path—especially given their inexplicable volume.

And with those threats flaying my mind, if not my shoulders, I had every reason to head home.

In fact, I was preparing to tell Megan my choice when I heard some noise outside the infirmary. I exited the area where the glass permitted a view of the wolflets, and went into the main hall.

There was Dante, at last. Holding his hand was Krissy Kollings—or was he holding hers?

And did it matter?

With them were big, brawny Anthony Pfalzer, ecology-minded Warren Beell, and Irwin Overland, former tourist and current HotWildlife volunteer.

At least they hadn’t been alone together—had they?

“Hi, gang,” I said preemptively, not wanting Dante to offer any excuse for their clasped hands.

“I understand you were off checking out a clue about the missing wolf mama,” I continued. “Any luck?”

“Not really,” Warren said sadly. “I’d heard from some people I know who also unofficially rescue wild animals. They live up near Big Bear, high in the mountains. Something supposedly attacked some dogs in a neighborhood up there, and a couple of residents said it looked like a wolf. But no one had captured it, so we decided to check it out. We hiked through the woods up there till we got a likely answer. Turned out it was probably a large local dog who’d gotten through a fence. Fortunately, none of the pets it attacked was badly hurt, and the owner promised to pay for vet bills.”

“I see.” I refused to meet Dante’s gaze, though he seemed to attempt to capture mine. “I don’t suppose anyone in that area had any ideas where mama wolf might be, did they?”

“We don’t think so,” Irwin said, “although we had lunch there and did some brainstorming. I’ll look at some other sites on my computer this afternoon.”

“We’ve already done that,” snapped Krissy. I glanced that way and saw that her hands were both free now, which probably had messed up her mood. Oh, well. And maybe Irwin would discover another clue that Krissy and Dante could scope out together. She would undoubtedly like that.

“Well, I was just leaving,” I said. “If I get any other ideas, I’ll let you know . . . from L.A.”

“No,” Dante said, suddenly at my side. “You and I have some strategizing to do before you go.”

“Oh,” I said airily, “we can do it by phone.”

But then my hand was in his, and he was squeezing—gently enough, yet I read some kind of communication in it, even if I couldn’t interpret the message.

“Sure,” he said, “but one-on-one here is so much better. Come on. We’ll take a little walk to get started.”

 

 

AND SO WE strolled outside without my retrieving Lexie from Megan’s office.

I inhaled the animal scent of the sanctuary as I sighed. We didn’t hold hands, and I suspected Krissy was watching us. Oh, well.

The air was slightly nippy, now that it was the beginning of October. Of course, Southern California was always subject to Santa Ana winds, so today’s chill could become tomorrow’s heat.

And speaking of chill, our prolonged silence grew increasingly uncomfortable. I suppose I was expecting at least an explanation, and preferably an apology.

But, hey, we were free adults. Not in any kind of committed relationship. Dante could hold whoever’s hand he wanted. Or not. Like he wasn’t doing with me.

We passed the first few animal habitats as we walked along the paved path. It was a Tuesday, early afternoon, not a time that attracted a whole lot of visitors. A few people were peering into the enclosures and exclaiming over the awesome rescued inhabitants. Their excitement was contagious, and made me smile despite myself—especially as I eyed some indifferent coyotes inside.

“I’m glad you finally made it here,” Dante eventually said.

Oh, ho. Apparently I wasn’t the only one miffed. Maybe his hand-holding with Krissy was a kind of retaliation for my not dropping my entire life to head up here yesterday, on his command.

“I guess,” I responded noncommittally. So far, this visit to HotWildlife had been fraught with stuff I could have done without, like that menacing telephone call, and the subsequent conversations with Frank Hura, Ned Noralles, and Brody Avilla. And I’d yet to have one on this subject with Dante. “Anyway, I’m really sorry that the possible clue about our missing wolf mama didn’t amount to anything. I’d love to have had at least that mystery solved by now.”

“Me, too.” He stopped walking and started staring into the nearby home of the liger. “If you’d been here, Kendra, you’d have come along with us to look for the wolf.”

I stood beside him and also regarded the fascinating large feline. I loved the leonine look along with the soft stripes. But I also didn’t completely see the lovely creature pacing in the habitat. “That’s true,” I said, wondering what Dante’s point would be.

“But you weren’t. That meant I didn’t have your amazing insight and intuition along when I was in the presence of a lot of possible suspects in Jon Doe’s death.”

“Oh.” Was that why he’d gone? “But I thought Warren was the one who’d gotten the supposed lead on an attack animal. How could you have made it up?”

“I didn’t,” he acknowledged. “I took advantage of it, though, and encouraged as many people as I could to join us. I wanted to observe them. Talk to them in a nonthreatening situation. Get them to open up on their opinions, if possible.”

“On the missing wolf?” I asked.

“On Jon Doe,” he said, still without looking at me.

“Oh.” I finally got it. He had come to this area to seek out other viable suspects in the murder, to help prevent his own arrest. And he had wanted me along as backup. Mostly, he’d wanted me here for my own protection, in his presence, if I intended to look into the murders. That way, he could keep his eyes open and keep me out of danger.

He didn’t know about the latest threat I’d received. This didn’t seem the most opportune time to fill him in.

“So was it worthwhile?” I asked. “Did anyone say anything that suggested they’d hated Jon Doe? Or killed him?” This particular group of people were all on my suspect list, though none appeared especially murderous. Warren, Irwin, Krissy, and Anthony all seemed like nice enough animal lovers, not Jon Doe despisers. And I had no motive in mind for any of them.

“No one did or said anything at all suspicious,” Dante said with a deep sigh. He finally looked toward me, his dear dark eyes suddenly bleak. “And Sergeant Hura can’t say the same about me. He has enough information on my background to make it look like I had more than enough motive to kill Jon Doe.”

“But it’d be self-defense, wouldn’t it?” I tried that again, though I figured I knew the answer.

“Depends,” Dante acknowledged, “on whether he was armed and attacked first.”

“And did he?”

Dante didn’t say anything for a long moment as he continued to regard me, his expression suddenly blank. “Then you
do
still suspect me, too, Kendra.” It wasn’t a question. “Are you here to try to hammer another nail in my coffin?”

“I’m here, Dante, to find the truth.”

I was suddenly clutched in his arms, and we engaged in one hell of a sexy kiss.

“So,” he finally said as he broke away, “am I.”

 

 

 

WE DID WIND up holding hands as we ambled through the rest of the sanctuary. Didn’t run into Krissy, though, even when we got back to the entry area, so I couldn’t rub it in.

Heck, why was I even thinking that way? I still hadn’t discussed the hand-holding thing with Dante, and chose to assume it was Krissy’s doing. And in any event, I was the one heading to Dante’s cabin that night.

We stopped into the office so I could get my sweet and patient Lexie back. My pup acted so exuberant to see me that you’d have thought I’d abandoned her for a week.

We also said goodbye to Megan. She looked up sadly from behind her desk. “I didn’t really think that lead on the wolf would amount to much, but I couldn’t help hoping.”

“Yeah,” Dante agreed. “And the more time that passes, the less likely we are to find out what happened to her. But we’ll keep trying.”

“Have you done any more with the wolf pup naming contest?” I inquired. “Maybe as part of that, you can charge a fee to enter, as you suggested, and at the same time put out the word that whoever provides the best lead to help find their missing mama will get an extra-generous prize.”

“That’s a great idea,” Megan said. “We’ve thought about doing both, but this way the two contests—if you can call the search for clues on mama wolf a contest—will be combined.”