Howl Deadly by Linda O. Johnston Read Free Book Online Page A

he could—at least when it came to finding ideal animal supplies.
    He smiled back at her. For an instant, I wanted to kick him so he’d remember my presence. But if he wanted to react to Krissy’s obvious adoration, that was between them.
    Even if it irritated the hell out of me.
    Anthony had apparently been primed to participate in the lecture, too, since he inserted some comments about how the baby wolves felt in his arms. It seemed utterly adorable to me to see this large high school football player type being so sweet to such tiny animals. In fact, I’d learned he actually was a football player who was hoping for a college scholarship soon.
    Anthony compared the wolflet he held with a domesticated canine pup. He was large enough that hanging onto the small animal seemed nearly a juggling act to him, a little awkward but absolutely tender. “When they’re this little,” he announced, “they don’t know they’re wild animals yet. Or at least they don’t act any wilder than the babies of any pet dog. But when they start getting weaned, they sometimes bite the face that feeds them. Of course their wild mothers quickly show them who’s the alpha of their little pack, but she wants them to learn to fend for themselves.”
    I stayed with Rachel in the observing crowd as Dante and Brody left once more with Wagner. They soon returned, just as the pups finished their bottles. I watched as Dante took Wagner into the room behind the nesting area, where supplies were kept. Jon Doe was there, too, and Krissy and Anthony joined them.
    Only, Anthony looked pissed. He aimed a glare toward Doe, and I saw his fists clench before he stomped away.
    “What was that about?” I asked, curious, as I caught up with him.
    “The guy’s nuts,” Anthony responded, not, at this moment, the easygoing big guy I’d thought he was. “He’s told me I can’t feed the pups anymore. Said I’m too big, liable to drop one. But I’m always careful.”
    “I’m sure you are,” I soothed, but when I looked around to see if I could smooth things over with Jon Doe, I saw him exchange a look with Dante that I simply couldn’t read. I wasn’t exactly sure why, but I suspected he wasn’t conveying the same message I’d intended.
    Brody stayed in the observation area with Rachel and me and the rest of the onlookers, who had just started to disperse. “I’m heading back to L.A. tonight,” he told us.
    “Me, too,” Rachel said.
    “So are we,” I told Brody. “Or at least Dante said we’d go home if Wagner didn’t come up with something for us to follow up on. From what I saw, he didn’t.”
    “Finding something else is my assignment, too.” Brody sounded grim.
    “Do you think there’s something going on around here that resulted in the disappearance of the wolf?” I attempted to assume an air of total innocence. “I mean, a wolfnapping or someone trying to make HotWildlife look bad . . . or anything else?”
    Brody shrugged his movie-star shoulders beneath his green knit shirt. “Who knows?”
    You might know , I thought, but he clearly wasn’t going to give me any guesses.
    We hung around through most of the day. Dante only became more frustrated as he attempted to use Wagner’s services to find a mama wolf clue. I accompanied Rachel to the paths outside the various wild animals’ habitats, and we both had an enjoyable time observing. Midday, I slipped back into the infirmary and successfully begged Megan to let Rachel and me give the pups their bottles.
    I didn’t pay a lot of attention, but I noticed Jon Doe moving all over the sanctuary, doing his caretaking duties.
    By the end of the day, a lot more visitors had come through the sanctuary’s gates. Rachel left, wanting to hurry home to retrieve Lexie from doggy daycare and help with the evening’s pet-sitting, and I thanked her again for all she’d done.
    A while later, Brody, whom I hadn’t seen much of during the day, said it was also time for him to go.