The Keeping(86)

“Just run off my feet.” Mel winked. “Did you get all your deliveries made?”

“Yep. No problem, though I did have a few people standing by their mailboxes wondering why I was late. The delivery of the Gazette is the high point of the week, after all!” Beth laughed and then leaned forward to look at Mel’s computer screen. “Lycans? You’re interested in shape shifters?”

“Not really. Mostly, I’m just fooling around, seeing what’s out there on the topic. I saw a book on it and thought I’d check it out. This site—Lycan Links—is the most realistic I’ve found yet. Not only does it list all these great fictional stories featuring Lycans, but there’s a ‘myths and facts’ area and FAQ.” She snorted as she pointed out the next bit. “Look here. This is where you’d go to help Lycans find jobs, immigration assistance, find physicians; you name it. Of course, I can’t access most of these areas because my application hasn’t been approved yet.”

Beth examined the page and frowned. “You didn’t really tell them all about yourself did you?”

Mel snorted. “No. They just wanted to know my family tree—I had to ‘prove’ I was a werewolf—but since I don’t know my father, it was pretty sparse.” When Beth raised her eyebrows, she hastened to reassure her. “And no, I don’t think I’m a werewolf. I was just curious about what would happen. You know, does anyone ever respond to this type of thing? What would the response be? It’s harmless fictional stuff.”

Nodding, Beth still looked a bit concerned. “I suppose, there’s no harm in that...”

“Beth, don’t worry. They have my name, my mother’s name, when and where I was born, and my e-mail address, that’s it. No phone number, no street address, or anything else. I haven’t opened myself up to an attack by ravaging wolves or a cyber weirdo. Besides, I bet nothing will even come of it. There are tons of sites like this, created by avid fans of paranormal stories. It’s all just for fun. No one really believes in it.”

*****

Mel helped Beth around the paper until noon, then went for her daily walk that was fast becoming a habit. As she passed by Miller’s Service Station, she tried to see if Ryne was working. If he was, she could stop in and ask about tonight. Unfortunately, she saw no sign of him. Instead, Harley came out to greet her and she crouched down, spending some time telling him what a good boy he was, even if he did scare her the other day.

“Yes, Harley. You scared me, yes you did. You scared me down by the river yesterday.” She baby talked to him while scratching his silky ears. He half closed his eyes, his tongue lolling out to one side, showing how pleased he was with all the attention.

“What’s that about Harley down by the river?” A deep male voice spoke beside her and Mel looked up to see Ben Miller watching her. They hadn’t been introduced yet, so she got to her feet, stuck out her hand and went through the formalities. Once that was taken care of, she explained her comments to the dog.

“So you see, when I looked up and saw Harley, I thought he was a wolf. It scared me and I slipped into the water.” She bent over and rubbed the dog’s chin. “But you didn’t mean to surprise me, so I forgive you, Harley.” Harley thumped his tail as if he understood what she was saying.

Mel stood up and smiled at Ben. “I’m just glad he made it back home by himself. That’s quite a distance for him to travel.”

Ben rubbed his neck and looked puzzled. “I don’t know exactly what you saw, Ms. Greene, but it wasn’t Harley. He was with me all day yesterday. I took him to the clinic for his rabies shot and then kept him inside afterwards.”

“You did?” Mel felt her jaw slacken. “You mean that might have been a real wolf?”

“Could be, or a large stray dog. All I know for sure is that it wasn’t Harley.”

“But Ryne said...” She let her voice trail off and furrowed her brow. Had Ryne really said it was Harley? Yes, she was pretty sure he had. But why would Ryne lie? And what animal had she seen? Knowing she wouldn’t be satisfied until she had some answers, she decided to query the man’s whereabouts.

“Ryne said what?” Ben looked at her curiously, obviously wondering about her half finished statement.

“Er...nothing. Is he working today? I need to talk to him about something.”

“No. He called in early this morning and asked to switch his day to Thursday; said there were some things he had to take care of today.”

Mel nodded. “All right. Thanks for the information.” With a final pat on Harley’s head and a nod to Ben, she slowly crossed the street, heading towards the diner. This definitely deserved some thinking and a very large, very strong cup of coffee.