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Katie shook her head and looked at her watch. "You say we've got two hours before the nextappointment?"

Aaron nodded.

She moved toward the door, took a ring of keys from her pocket, and locked the front door. "What'sup?" he asked, a little surprised.

"Being a fellow stranger in this burg, I've got something I want to show you," she said, moving past him

and down the hall. "It's in the basement."

Aaron followed her to the door at the end of the hall. There was a sudden tension in the air that hadn'tbeen there before, and it concernedhim. "Does this have anything to do with your old boyfriend?" heasked.

"Yeah," she said with a slight nod. "I think it might." She opened the door and started down the creaking wooden steps into the darkness. "Kevin contacted me, asking me to come to Blithe to help him with something, but he wasn't exactly clear as to what the problem was."

At the foot of the stairs she reached out into the inky darkness and pulled the chain for the light,dispelling the darkness to the far corners of the underground room. "So I show up and I find himmissing," she continued, as she waited for Aaron to join her. "The office is in disarray. He hasn't beenhere for appointments for at least four days." Katie ran a trembling hand across her forehead.

Aaron's curiosity was piqued, but something was clearly upsetting Katie, and that was cause for

concern.

"Yes, he was a bit of a flake, and that's part of the reason we're no longer together, but he took his job very seriously. I even went to the police to file a missing person's report, but Chief Dexter said I should give it some time—how did he put it? 'Just in case he's out sowing his wild oats.'" The vet laughed with little humor.

"What did you find, Katie?" Aaron asked quietly.

She glanced at him, then turned toward an old freezer in the corner. "First I found his journal, anditmentioned—
things he had found in town."

"What kinds of things?"

Taking a deep breath, Katie crossed the cellar to the freezer. Aaron followed close behind her.

"Wrong things,"' she said, pulling open the lid on the unit. "See for yourself."

Katie reached inside the frosty innards of the freezer and withdrew a plastic bag. She let the lid slamshut, then placed the bag on top and opened it, spilling out the frozen contents. The corpse of an animalfell onto the hood with a heavy thud, and Aaron recoiled, startled and a bit repulsed. "What is it?" hewhispered as he studied the frost-covered body.

It was the size of an average house cat and bore some resemblance to—of all things—a raccoon, but itwasn't either. Not really. The body was covered in long, gray fur, but the limbs were scaled, like a fish. Curved talons like that of some bird of prey grew from three of its feet— the fourth ended in a stuntedtentacle.

"What is it?" Aaron asked again, unable to pull his eyes from the freakish sight.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Katie replied. She pulled a pen from her lab coat pocket and began to

poke at the corpse. "This wouldn't happen to be what bit your dog, would it?"

Aaron shook his head. It was as ugly as an Orisha, but it had no connection to Gabriel's injury.

"Looks to be a little bit of everything—a real evolutionary blend." Katie shrugged and continued. "We've got some bird and rodent attrib-utes, as well as fish—and there's also a little bit of cephalopod thrown in for good measure." She pulled the pen away and wiped it against her pants leg. "And that's just
this
 
one."

He looked at her hard. "There's more?" he asked uneasily.

She nodded, gesturing at the freezer. "There are at least seven others in there—each more grotesquethan the last. One,
maybe
 
two, could pass as a random Mother Nature having a bad day—but thismany?"

"What do you think it means?" Aaron asked, gazing at the monstrosity atop the freezer and imagining

with disgust how the ones inside looked.

"What do I think it means?" Katie repeated. She started to put the pen back in her pocket, then seemed to think better of it and tossed it into an old barrel beside the furnace. "I think something in this town is making monsters."

Aaron and Katie hurried up the cellar steps, as if the disturbing creatures in the freezer had suddenlycome to life and were chasing them. Quietly, lost in their own thoughts, they returned to the lobby, where Katie unlocked the front door.

"So you can see why I'm a little freaked," shesaid, rubbing her arms with the palms of her hands as if to

eliminate a winter's chill.

"Do you have any idea what's causing it?" Aaron asked, leaning against the reception desk. The memory

of the previous night's dream and his run-in with the strange raccoon yesterday suddenly flooded his mind

and made him flinch.
Could this somehow be connected?

"It appears to be some kind of mutation," Katie was saying. She had walked around the desk and was pulling open the bottom drawer. She fished around inside for a moment, then removed an unopened package of Oreos. She tore open the bag and stuffed one in her mouth. "Sorry," she said, her mouth full. She offered him the bag. "I have an incredible craving for these when I'm stressed."

Aaron took a few cookies as Katie continued with her theory.

"Maybe some kind of illegal chemical dumping or drug manufacturing." Katie nibbled like a squirrel on

an Oreo, eyes gazing off into space. "Something that could change an animal on a genetic level..."

"Here?" Aaron asked, surprised. "Is there even any industry around here big enough to cause that kind

of damage?"

Katie finished her cookie and grabbed another one. "Not anymore, but there used to be a business intown that made boats. It was Blithe's major employer until it closed aboutfifteen years ago. Theabandoned factory is still standing out by the water. Evidently the owners wanted to expand, but the landthere is unstable because of underwater caves that honeycomb the coast. So they took the companytoCalifornia ."

"What, are you an expert on Blithe? I thought you were fromIllinois ." Aaron laughed, licking the crumbs

from his fingertips.

Katie shrugged. "I was going to move here with Kevin before the split, so I did some research."

"You think some kind of toxic waste from the boat factory seeped into the soil?" Aaron reached for

another Oreo.

"When I first came into town the other night, I got a little lost and found myself on the road that leads to the old factory." She closed up the bag and returned it to the drawer. "There was an awful lot of activity around there, especially for a place that's supposedly abandoned. I think there's something going on in Blithe, and I think my ex figured that out and that's why he's disappeared."

Aaron recalled his run-in with chief ofpolice.
Is it paranoia talking now, or does this tiny,
 
seaside townreally have a deep, dark secret?he won  dered. But there was something—something that seemed tospeak to the inhuman side of his nature. It had spoken to Camael as well, and now, like Katie's formerboyfriend, he, too, wasmissing. "Maybe you should go to the state police," he suggested. "That wouldprobably be the smartest thing to do, especially if you think that Kevin might have—"

Katie shook her head emphatically. "No, not yet. I've got to be sure of the details before I start makingcrazy accusations."

Aaron felt a knot begin to form in the pit of his stomach. "And those details are ... ?"

"I want to check out the factory—tonight."

The knot in his gut grew uncomfortably tighter. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, Katie."

"It's the only way I can think of to prove that something's up here. Don't worry," she added with a

nervous grin. "I'll be fine. I'll just poke around a little, get the evidence I need, and be back here in no

time."

Alarm bells were ringing in Aaron's head, but he doubted there was anything he could say to sway thewoman's resolve. The voice of reason told him he was going to seriously regret what he was about tosay, but he hated the idea of Katie going alone even more. "I'll go with you," he said quickly before hecould change his mind.

Katie approached him, a look of genuine gratitude in her eyes. "You don't have to," she said, andreached out to touch his shoulder. "This is something
1
 
have to do, just in case Kevin—"

"No, I'm going with you," Aaron interrupted.

He shrugged. "After all, we out-of-towners have to stick together."

Before they could say any more, the door opened and a mother and two children entered with a petcarrier containing a yowling cat.

"The four o'clock, I'd guess," Aaron said, looking at his watch. "A little early."

"Thank you, Aaron." Katie looked hard into his eyes before stepping out from behind the counter to

escort the family into the examination room. "What would I do without you?"

chapter eight

Gabriel awoke with a start.

He'd been dreaming about chasing a rabbit through a dense forest, weaving and ducking beneath thickbushes and low-hanging branches, when his drowsing reverie turned unexpectedly to nightmare. Therabbit had stopped and spun around to glare at him with eyes that did not seem right. They wereunusually dark, almost liquid in their shininess, and when they blinked, a milky coating seemed to brieflycover them. Gabriel had seen many rabbits in his years—but never one that looked like this. It waswrong— the bunny was wrong.

Its body had begun to writhe—to undulate as if something inside of it were trying to get out. Slowly,cautiously, Gabriel had backed away, growling in his most menacing tone. The animal lay flat on theground. Its body had continued topulse and vibrate, its scary eyes never leaving the dog. Gabriel barked:a succession of sharp staccato bursts and snarls, hoping to scare the rabbit away. He had wanted to run,but didn't want to turn his back on the creature.
How embarrassing,
 
he had thought in the grip of hisnightmare,
to be chased by a rabbit.

The rabbit had suddenly stopped moving, although its unwavering gaze never left Gabriel. Slowly itsmouth began to open—wider—and wider still. The dog heard a disturbing wet crack as the animal's jawspopped from its socket. He wanted to run—but he was afraid. The rabbit's lower jaw dangled awfully,its mouth a gaping chasm of darkness. From within, the sound of movement came. Gabriel had whinedwith fear and was turning to flee, when something exploded from the rabbit's body....

Still shaken from the disturbing dream, Gabriel glanced about the room from his post atop the bed, nosetwitching—searching the air for anything out of the ordinary. Everything seemed to be fine, but then hecaught a whiff of something that made his mouth begin to water. Food, and if his senses could be trusted,it was meat loaf. He'd had his breakfast and half an apple before Aaron left for work, but the thought of a

snack was quite alluring.

Gabriel turned to sniff at the wound on his leg. Aaron had wanted him to stay off of it, but it was feelingmuch better. The dog jumped to thefloor and stretched the hours of inactivity from his limbs. It felt good,and he barely noticed any discomfort. He walked around the room in a circle, just to be certain. Therewas a little tightness in the muscles of his thigh, but nothing that could prevent him from headingdownstairs for a handout.

He stood at the door and hopped up on his back legs to take the doorknob tightly in his mouth. Slowly,he turned his head, pulling ever so slightly until the door came open. Gabriel made his way down thehallway and carefully descended the stairs. At the foot of the steps, he again sniffed, pinpointed thekitchen as the source of his treat, and made a beeline for the doorway.

Mrs. Provost was sitting at the kitchen table and was about to take a bite from a meat loaf sandwichwhen Gabriel appeared.

"Well, look who it is," she said with a hint of a smile. She took a large bite and began to chew.

Gabriel padded into the kitchen, tail wagging, nails clicking on the linoleum floor. His eyes were fixed onthe plate of food, and he licked his chops hungrily.

"Now don't go giving me the hungry horrors routine," Mrs. Provost said as she wiped her mouth with a

paper napkin and looked away. "Aaron said I wasn't to give you anything, even if you came begging."

He watched closely as she took another biteof the delicious-looking meat-and-bread combination.
Howcan Aaron do this to me again?
 
he wondered, remembering the incident at the rest stop. He felt thesaliva begin to drip from his mouth and land upon the floor beneath him.

"Don't stare at me," Mrs. Provost said, finishing the last of the first half. "He was very serious, made me promise and everything, so you might as well just go on back to your room." She picked up the other half.

Gabriel was sure he'd never been so hungry, and couldn't believe the woman wouldn't share even a smallpiece of her sandwich. It was very selfish. Remembering his success with the little girl and her family, hereached out with his mind to reassure the woman that Aaron wouldn't be mad if he was given only a bite.