Hunger of the Wolf (10 page)

The
Crow
s had been so certain that
Jesse
was involved in the teenager
’
s disappearance, but talking to Kat helped to put things
into perspective. As lovely as
Sharon
was
,
she clearly liked to gossip
,
and
despi
te his teasing
,
she suspected Bob
did too.
T
hey had probably
not lied to her deliberately to frighten her
,
but
rather
embellished the facts for the sake of a good story.

Kat picked up on her hesitation. “Would it help if I came and stayed with you for a couple of days?
Chris
is away on business
,
and I’m all by myself. They owe me some
time off work
,
and I’d be happy to protect you from the big bad wolf.
”

“That
would be fantastic
.” Amber relished
the thought of spending some quality time together. “It will be just like old times
, and a couple of days break from my work won’t do any harm
.”

“Great. I
can be there not tomorrow but the next day
. That will give you time to stock up on junk food
and red wine
.
I really need to get out of the city f
or a while too
,
so this is
perfect.
”

“
We can go hiking and watch DVDs and catch up on gossip. I can hardly wait.” They chatted for a few more minutes
,
and just after they had said thei
r goodbyes and Amber was about to hang up
,
she heard Kat calling to her
faintly
.
She put the phone back up to her ear.

“Amber, wait don’t hang up.”

“What is it?”

“
Thank goodness. I was worried once you hung up I might not be able to contact you again. I just wanted to let you know
Chris
will be in the area tomorrow
as he h
as to drive across to Patterson
.
It takes him right past the turn off to the cabin
,
and he me
ntioned something about
dropping in. I thought I’d better warn you in case he turned up
late
at night and totally freaked you out. I hope you don’t mind.” Amber’s good mood evaporated in an instant.

“Of course I don’t mind,” she lied. “It’s your cabin after all.”

“Good. With any luck we might even cross paths. I feel like I hardly get to see him these days because he’s always on the road
for work
.”

“That would be nice.” Amber tried to sound normal but inside she was panicking at the prospect of being at the cabin alone with
Chris
. It was the absolute last thing she needed, but she’d already made plans with Kat and there was no way she could back out now.

She went to bed that night with a heavy
heart and it took her a long time to fall asleep. It seemed she’d only just drifted of
f when she was awoken by a
noise coming from the front of the house. At first she thought she must have dreamed it until she heard
a loud creaking
followed by
the distinct sound of footsteps on the porch.

Bol
ting out of bed she grabbed her cell
phone
and
swore
under her breath
when she
saw it had no reception. She
made her way
dow
nstairs to the front window and
par
ted the curtains to peer
out. At first she could make out nothing in the darkness until a movement
near the edge of the yard caught her eye.
All she could make out
was a
black shape
disappearing into the woods.
It was t
oo big to be a racoon
,
but it could easily be
a wol
f or even a person.

Amber
hardly slept for the rest of the night
,
and a
t first light she went outside to check if a
nything had been disturbed. S
he was relieved to see the trash can overturned and garbage strewn all over
the porch. It was
obviously
just
an
animal looking for a snack
tha
t had woken her
,
and she was kicked herself for leaving the fish
Jesse
had given her out there
.
Hopefully whatever it was
would not return
.

She was turning to go back inside when she noticed something red on the chai
r. It was the
shawl that she had lost in the woods
a couple of days earlier,
f
olded neatly and placed where she would find it
.
Someone must have left it there last
night because it definitely was not
the
re when she came home. She
was sure she would
have noticed it. That meant the footsteps on the porch had been
made by a human
,
and the on
ly person
who knew the shawl belong
ed
to her was
Jesse
Davidson
.

What on earth was he doing lurking
around
the cabin
in the middle of th
e night? It was beyond
weird.
Was it also him who had knocked over the trash can and strewn garbage across the porch? But why would he do something like that? Amber remembered how strangely he’d behaved when she accidentally followed the path to his cabin, and how angry he seemed when he
realized she had lied about being too busy to have dinner with him
. Maybe this was his way o
f getting his revenge or a symptom of his disturbed
state
of mind
. He was the main suspect in a teenager’s disappearance
,
after all.

Amber’
s fears, which had seemed so irrational after her chat with Kat
,
came rushing back
and she
was ready to pack her bags
then and there
until she remembered K
at’s visit
. Her friend
had seemed so excited about the prospect of getting away for
a few days that
she had probably started to mak
e all the
arrangements as soon as she got off the phone. Kat was like that. When she made her mind up about something she went fo
r it like a bull at a gate
,
and G
od help anyone who got in her way. She would be very disappointed if Amber cancelled on her now
,
and with her cell phone reception dropping in and out
,
she could not call her
anyway
.

Amber was in a quandary until she remembered that
Chris
might possibly come
by that night.
For the first time since the incident on the hotel balcony
a year earlier she
actually looked forw
ard to seeing him
. With him there she would at least be safe from whoever or whatever had come onto the porch
,
and t
hen
Kat would be with her
the
night
after that.  T
hey would be having t
oo much fun to even think about
Jesse
Davidson
or creatures lurking in the darkness
.
If she went
ho
me when Kat
did
she would never
have to spend a night alone at
the cabin again.

This knowledge
helped to calm her nerves
,
but she
still
could not
help recalling
Sharon
’s words about buying a gun to prote
ct herself while she was here. Y
esterday she had said she felt very uncomfortable with the whole idea
,
but now it was starting to seem like common sense. I
f Chris didn’t turn
up she
really
did not want to spend another sleepless night looking out the window
and jumping at every sound
.
She made up her mind
to go into town and talk to Sharon
about where to buy one
. B
efore she left the cabin she finally put the charm on her bracelet that she had been given
by the Native American shopkeeper
for protection
, and she instantly felt better
.

Chapter 7

“I can’t say
as
I’m surprised. You wouldn’t get me out there alone without a
t least a
coupl
e
of firearms on the nightstand
.”
S
tanding in Sharon
’s sunny bakery overlooking
the cheerful main street,
Amber
began to
question her decision.

“It’s just for peace of mind. I had a little scare last night with an animal coming up onto the porch
,
and since I’ve decided to stay for a bit longer I thought it wouldn’t h
urt to have some protection. N
ow when I think about it
, it
seems like an overreaction
.
My friends who own the cabin will probably be there for the next few nights
,
so I’ll be fine.
”

“
Wait a minute
,
honey. Something out there spooked you enough to send you scurrying in
here
to ask me about a gun. I don’t think it’s an overreaction at all. What if your frie
nds don’t turn up or you decide
you want to stay a little longer after they are gone? There was
another wolf attack last night too
,
not far from where you are.
If you ask me
,
it’s the sensible thing to do.”

Amber was still wavering. “I guess you’re right, you can never be too careful.”

“Damn straight, especially when it comes to the wolves around here, and I’m referring to both the human and animal variety.” She gave Amber a meaningful look. “There
’s
p
awn shop is in Louis
St which runs both ways off the main street. Just turn right when you walk out the door and then take the first left
after the drug store
.
Ask for Robert
,
and tell hi
m I sent you. He’ll look after
you.”

“Thanks a lot. I
guess I’ll be seeing you around.
”

“When are you coming over for dinner again?”

“Whenever you invite me.”

“How about tonight then
,
if you d
on’t mind coming back into town?
Bob can pick you up
again
.” She slapped her forehead with her hand. “Oh I forgot, your friends are coming to visit. Well
, maybe if you stay on
when they go
we can do it again
.”

Amber jumped at the opportunity
to avoid spending time alone
in the cabin or
with
Chris
if he showed up
. With any luck
Sharon
a
nd Bob might invite her to stay
the night again
,
and she wouldn’t have to spend any time with him at all.
“My friend probably won’t arrive until very late
,
and I really can’t
turn down another chance to sample your cooking
. Tonight would be great.”

Sharon
beamed. “Okay then
,
that’s settled. I’ll see you tonight. Good luck with your sh
opping trip.”
She winked conspiratorially as a customer walked in the door.