The Beast of Bracksley Woods by Doreen Hayward Read Free Book Online Page A

those labradors. I think Kevin will have his work cut out trying to find that particular giant monster. What worries me is having to tell Greg what has happened to Trigger in my care.”
    “If I know Greg he isn’t going to blame you. It wasn’t your fault, that kind of thing can happen all too often. Unfortunately people whose dogs have bad temperaments should learn to keep them on a lead. Sadly, they do not I am afraid.”
    “Do you know Greg, then? He is still in the hospital. I suppose you must know that as well.”
    “Yes, I am trying to find the time to visit him but this is a busy time of year. Still, I shall endeavour to get there very soon.”
    “I shall be going up there this afternoon, visiting is at three o’clock.”
    “Well then, there’s a good chance I’ll meet you later,” Paul said letting his eyes linger over Debbie as he retreated towards the surgery door. Debbie stood up waiting for Kevin. In a moment he was by her side and shepherding her through the outside door. Debbie was in a dream as she got into the van and shut the door.
    Neither Debbie or Kevin spoke much on the drive home. Debbie was busy with thoughts of having to confess to Greg while Kevin grappled with thoughts of tracking the animal that seemed to be creating mayhem on his patch. He was beginning to get very worried. There had been five previous reports of dogs getting seriously bitten by a stray and Kevin made a mental note to go up to the woods after dark and take a good look round. This afternoon Kevin decided to pay one or two visits to the owners of the dogs that had become victims. You never know, someone might remember something which could possibly give him a lead on finding the culprit. It HAD to be the same one. Kevin felt physically sick as he thought of the recent rumour he had heard whispered and hoped to god that he was wrong. He’d been warned by a gamekeeper that there might be a dog fighting gang in the area and Kevin suspected that this particular animal was probably part of the circus. He hated any form of cruelty but to make dogs or any other animal for that matter, fight to the death, made him so angry. The right place for those sort of people who indulged in that kind of pastime was in prison. He was determined to find the ring leaders and bring them before the bench. These bastards won’t know what’s hit them when I get hold of them, he thought determinedly.
    When Debbie got home she sat quietly by the fire feeling how strange it was without Trigger. In such a short time she had become so fond of him she could hardly believe that she had resisted the idea of keeping a pet for such a long time. She reminded herself that she was only doing Greg a favour by looking after Trigger for him and sooner or later Trigger would be going back home. Even so, it had only been her own impulsiveness that had prompted her to take Trigger on. She thought of how she would cope with Greg when he came out of hospital. There again, had she been too eager to say yes. Only time would tell. And what about these new kennels Greg was having built? How were the kennels going to affect her? She comforted herself with the thought that she had only promised to look after him for the time being. If things didn’t work out she could always resort to her business idea. It was better to have a regular income for the time being and just take orders as they came along.
    Debbie felt rested by three O’clock that afternoon and ready to face Greg. She was a little later than she normally was due to the bad luck of getting stuck behind a slow truck which finally broke down and held all the traffic up. The minute she walked into the ward she drew in a gasp of surprise to find that Paul Norton had beaten her to it and got to Greg first. In other circumstances she might have been annoyed to think that Paul had given Greg her news first but the minutes she set eyes on him she felt a rush of excitement. She seemed to tingle all over. It was such a