Page 79 of Rhett

“Definitely,” I agreed.

CHAPTER19

RHETT

Pulling up to Henry’s place, I parked and hopped out. As I glanced around, I noticed Henry’s truck parked at the side of his house. From the light shining through his windows, he had to be home, especially since country music was blaring from inside.

I frowned when I strode up to the wide-open front door. “Henry?” I called out.

No one answered.

“Henry?” I yelled again, stepping inside his house.

Still no response.

I ventured into the kitchen. On top of his table was an opened bottle of beer and a plate full of untouched food. It looked like he was about to settle down for dinner, but I could tell the food had been sitting there for quite a while.

“Fuck. Something’s wrong.”

Pulling out my cell, I called Mack. “Hey, it looks like there’s trouble over here at Old Man Henry’s place.”

“On my way,” Mack replied.

Making my way out of the kitchen, I headed toward the sound of blaring country music and ended up in Henry’s living room. Turning off the radio, I peered around the space.

“Yeah. This ain’t right.”

Furniture was tossed about like there had been a scuffle. But the most damning clue that Henry was in trouble was the scent and sight of his blood that was splattered across the floor.

Sniffing loudly, I also scented the horrible odor of Sam. I followed the trail of blood out of the living room, down the hallway, and out the back door. The droplets of blood were heavier outside on the grass.

I continued following the blood across Henry’s lush green pasture. That was when I saw it. Henry’s body was splayed out in the center of the pasture. Sprinting over, I knew by the smell of decomposition wafting through the air that Henry was dead.

Careful not to destroy evidence, I circled his body. From the wolf claw marks on what was left of his corpse, he had been mauled to death. And the scent of Sam was unmistakable—the stench of the unwashed body burned the hairs in my nose.

Anger coursed through my veins.

Henry was a kind man who didn’t deserve this brutal death.

I heard a vehicle drive up, and a few minutes later, Mack called out, “Rhett?”

“Back of the house,” I answered. “In the pasture.”

It didn’t take Mack long to locate me, and when he did, sniffing the air loudly, he declared, “Dammit, Sam strikes again. His scent is all over Henry’s body.”

Sam had tossed Henry’s legs a few feet from his torso. “Sam’s escalating,” I muttered.

“But why Henry?” Mack asked as he crouched down, examining the torso. “He didn’t have a bad bone in his body.”

“Only Sam can tell us that. Let me call Quinn to tell him what’s going on.” I pulled out my cell.

“Wait!” Mack shouted. He pointed to Henry. “What’s that shiny thing in his right hand?”

We both stepped closer, hovering over his body. “You got gloves?” I asked Mack.

Mack pulled out black latex gloves from the emergency case he’d brought with him. A set for him and one for me. Both of us donned gloves, and Mack pulled the object out of Henry’s hand.

“What’s this?” Mack asked, eyeing the object.