Free The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks

again. ‘You have to show me proof. How can I believe you, otherwise? I need proof.’
    Reuben grunted.
    ‘ Right ,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘ Yeah. I don’t blame you. ’ After a moment’s hesitation, he added, ‘ Is your mum there? ’
    ‘No.’ I was pushing Fergus away, as Amin mimed at me. ‘She’s at work.’
    ‘ Uh-huh .’
    ‘Have you got any evidence? Like . . . um . . . paw prints? Or a tooth, or something? I know you said you didn’t have photos—’
    ‘ Listen. ’ Reuben raised his voice over a metallic screech in the background. I couldn’t tell if it was machinery or car-brakes or even a bird of some sort. ‘ I’ve been wondering why no one saw you the other night. You musta been wondering about that yourself, eh? ’
    ‘Yeah. I guess.’ Actually, I hadn’t. I’d just figured that the whole of Doonside must have been in bed asleep.
    ‘ I’ve been looking at my street directory ,’ Reuben continued, ‘ and I think I know where you musta gone. I think you went to that big reserve near your house. The one with the lake in it .’
    ‘Nurragingy?’
    ‘ That’s the one .’ Reuben’s tone warmed up a little. ‘ If you were running around in there, you wouldn’t have been in people’s gardens, killing pet guinea pigs. Whatever you did wouldn’t have been very obvious. ’
    ‘How do you mean, killing pet guinea pigs?’ I repeated, so Fergus could hear. He nudged Amin, who smothered a gurgle of delight. ‘Why would I want to do that?’
    ‘ Because they’re edible ,’ Reuben rejoined. Then he changed the subject – or seemed to. ‘ Did you feel sick when you woke up that morning? After your blackout? ’
    I felt a sudden chill. ‘Why?’ I asked.
    ‘ You did, didn’t you? ’
    ‘Maybe.’
    ‘ That’s because you ate something rank. Like a rat or a dead pigeon. ’ Though he couldn’t have seen me wince, Reuben must have sensed my discomfort. ‘ We’ve all done that, ’ he said. ‘ It’s no big deal. Pigeons are nothing; it’s people we’ve gotta worry about. ’
    At this point Fergus couldn’t contain himself any longer. He had been avidly studying my face, and my expression was driving him wild. ‘What is it?’ he hissed. ‘Tell me!’
    But I shushed him instead, because Reuben was still talking.
    ‘ You were lucky, mate. If that reserve hadn’t been there, you woulda been chewing up aviaries and attacking drunks. I’m surprised you didn’t mangle a few mailboxes. ’ His flat voice became suddenly brisk, as if he was running out of time. ‘ The proof you want will be in that park. I’ll bet money on it. Just go there and have a poke around – you’ll see. ’
    ‘See what?’ I demanded. ‘What should I look for?’
    ‘ Damage .’
    ‘Huh?’
    ‘ damage . You know. When things get busted. ’
    ‘Things are always getting busted around here. There’s nothing much else to do.’ I wasn’t impressed. Vandalism? What kind of proof was that ? ‘I know lots of people who like pulling up bushes. It doesn’t make them werewolves.’
    ‘ Check the garbage bins . You’ll have gone for the garbage bins. ’
    ‘Yeah, but everyone goes for the garbage bins. That’s not proof.’ By this time, I have to admit, I was growing angry. How stupid did he think I was? Did he really expect me to believe such blatant lies? ‘This is all crap. What are you really after? What’s this all about?’
    ‘ Toby, I just wanna help. ’
    Suddenly Fergus grabbed my arm and whispered, ‘Tell him you’ve gotta meet him!’ When I shook my head, he began to nod frantically. ‘Yes! Yes! We’ll do it in the park!’
    ‘ Sorry. ’ Reuben must have heard something. ‘ I didn’t catch that .’
    ‘It’s nothing,’ I replied, glaring at Fergus – who wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He put his lips to my free ear.
    ‘We’ll play a trick,’ he buzzed. ‘We’ll fool him with fake paw prints. It’ll be a total set-up.’
    ‘ Toby? Are you there?