Read Online Hunger of the Wolf by Francene Carroll - Free Book Online

lmost nothing to do with Native American people before. S he knew that many of them lived on reservations , but that was about it .
    “Thank you. I’m looking for the pawn shop on this street ”
    “Th en you’ve taken the wrong turn. You need to cross over to the other side of the main street. This is the Indian part of town . W e don’t get many of your folk visiting the area.” He seemed to be appraising her. “What’s a nice girl like you wanting to visit McNally’s for , if you don’t mind me asking?”
    “I’m staying o ut at the lake by myself and just thought I might get a gun for protection from…” she faltered, “from the wolves and other animals.” She’d gone and done it again. After knowing the man for a whole two minutes she had let him know she was alone in an isolated cabin in the woods. Would she never learn? “My friends will be there for the next few days , though , and then I’ll probably go home , so I’ m not really alone. I still thought it would be a good idea, ” she added quickly.
    “Oh, you’re t he lady who is getting a divorce.”
    “How on earth did you know that?”
    “We know everything,” he replied mysteriously and then laughed at the expression on her face. “ My sister owns the jewellery store. She mentioned a lady coming in who w as staying at the lake. Said you almost bit her head off when she asked about your husband. As you can tell , not a lot happens around here.”
    Amber didn’t know whether to be offended or amused, but the man’s easy going manner disarmed her. “That would be me then. I didn’t mean to snap at your sister, she just caught me on a bad day.”
    He waved his arm. “Don’t worry about it. Bonita needs someone to put her in her place now and then otherwise she gets a bit too nosy for her own good . I’m glad you decided to stay for a bit long er , even with all the stories flying around town.”
    “You mean about the wolves? Your sister told me about how brazen they are at the moment. Are they really as bad as people say? Please be honest with me because I’ve heard there’s a game you like to play in this town called scaring the city slickers.”
    “It’s true the wolves are bad right now, but that’s not what I was referring to.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Surely you’ve heard some of the rumours about Jesse Davidson . He is you r neighbour out there , and I’d bet money someone has filled you in about him. I’m pretty sure I can guess who , too . ”
    Amber couldn’t hide her surprise that he’d brought it up. “As a matter of fact I have heard a few things about him.”
    “Let me guess, di d they tell you that mister horror writer is a sick and twisted individual who spends far too much time in the company of young people than is right for a man of his age, and that there is a very strong possibility he was involved in t he disappearance of a young girl?”
    “Well , yes.” Amber wasn’t sure where he was going with this , but she didn’t like the way he seemed to be mocking her friends. “From my understanding there is strong evidence that links him to the girl ’ s disappearance. I’m sure people wouldn’t be saying these things about him without good reason.”
    He laughed again , and when he spoke Amber was shocked by the bitterness in his voice. “Oh they wouldn’t , would they? Let me tell you something about the people in this town , city girl. They like to keep things nice and simple around here. There used to be a small reservation just outside of town , but it closed down when I was just a boy . T he families who were left moved into town. Right from the start the towns folk here made it very clear they didn’t want us in their town and they would have nothing to do with us. They like to pretend we don’t even exist. Jesse Davidson got on their wrong side when he refused to follow their rules.”
    “I didn’t know about any of this, but I did hear that Jesse ’s grandfather was Native