Page 28 of A Brighter Yellow
“Thanks,” said Ochre. “We should check out the….” He turned around to ask Anna how close she needed to get to sniff the car, but she was already heading across the parking lot.
“Uh,” said Steve. “She might not want to do that. Security is pretty touchy.”
“Shit,” muttered Ochre and hurried after her.
“Don’t worry!” chirped Sue as they left. “We’ll bail you out if you get arrested!”
Ochre waved a hand in acknowledgment but continued after Anna.
“Anna!” He stretched his legs to keep up with her.
“I told you I could handle this,” said Anna, over her shoulder.
“Yeah, great,” said Ochre, who could already see a security guard getting up off his stool by the front door. “But maybe there’s a better way to handle it? One that doesn’t get us arrested.”
“I just need to smell the car, and I’ll know if it’s him,” said Anna. She was within five feet of the car when she stopped dead.
“Hey!” barked the security guard, coming forward. “This is private property. You are trespassing!”
“Yeah, sorry,” said Ochre, as Anna took two steps forward and leaned in to smell the trunk. “We’re leaving!” He grabbed Anna by the arm. “Anna, we need to stay out of jail if we want to help Charlie.”
She looked up at him, and Ochre could see that she’d gone pale.
“Let’s back off and try this another way,” he said, tugging her back toward the picket line. Uncharacteristically, Anna let him lead her.
“What is it?” he asked when they were back by the card table.
“Charlie’s blood,” said Anna. “I could smell it coming from the trunk.”
Episode 14
Froot Loops
Anna
Anna’s stomach sloshed with acid panic, fear, and anger. She was having a hard time not giving into her wolf and transforming. She flexed her fingers, trying to keep them finger-shaped.
“How much blood?” asked Ochre, his voice cut through some of the fog of emotions, but she resented the question.
“How much does it need to be?” snarled Anna, pacing in an angry circle. “I know it’s him.”
“I’m not asking if it’s him. I’m asking if Charlie’s body is in the trunk.”
Ochre’s words were like a bucket of cold water, and she took a deep breath. “It wasn’t that much blood,” she said.
“That’s good,” said Ochre, his face impassive. She tried to read what he was thinking on his face. Did he think she was insane?
“The smell…” she began, hoping to at least explain the effect on her wolf. But Steve approached them before she could think of what to say, and Anna shut her mouth.
“Everything OK?” he asked, looking concerned.
“No,” said Ochre. “That guy may have kidnapped our friend. We need to find out where he lives. His name is Elliot Hoyer.”
“I can find that out,” said Steve. “Let me make some calls. But seriously, he’s going to leave soon, and when he comes back, he’s going to take the car to the car wash down the block and wash the mud off his tires.”
Steve’s implication wasn’t lost on Anna, and she hissed in anger. Ochre looked between the two of them in confusion.
“He’s making frequent trips to a location outside of town. That is way more likely than his home to be the place where he’s keeping Charlie,” said Anna. The very idea of anyonekeepingCharlie infuriated her, and she struggled to keep that rage from overwhelming her. She needed to make a plan.
