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Jock nodded.“I saw the pictures you took. Hard to believe such a creature could actually exist, and have kept out of sight for all these years. Though of course there have been rumors. Farmers whose sheep have been killed, cows attacked in the middle of the night. We always assumed wolves were responsible. Imyself have had chickens slaughtered, which I attributed to foxes. But I would never have thought a werewolf…”

“Yes, it’s hard to imagine,” she agreed, wondering if she’d given Max and Dooley and the others enough time now to conduct a thorough search of the house.

“Still, the pictures speak for themselves. Your uncle will probably organize a search party to hunt the beast down?”

“Actually the Mayor is organizing a group of volunteers tonight, to search those fields and surrounding woods.”

“Well done. Mayor Dunham is really taking control of the situation.”

“He is,” said Odelia. “I guess he wants the beast caught before these stories and sightings start to affect the tourist trade.”

“Of course,” said Jock, nodding. “So how is Marge? I must say it was wonderful seeing her again after all those years. I’ve seen her in town in passing, but never had the chance to talk to her until yesterday.”

“She’s fine,” said Odelia.

“Good. Good.”

The conversation was a little strained and stilted, which Odelia attributed to her desire to drag it out as long as she could, to give Max and the others the opportunity to search the house undetected. But there was also something about the man she couldn’t quite put her finger on. He was friendly enough, but she still got the sense he was hiding something. Of course she was, too. Not just about the fact that she was about to expose his chicken operation, but also the suspicions she harbored that he was responsible for whatever had happened to this wife.

But he couldn’t possibly know that, could he?

He’d gotten up and swiftly moved over to the door. Then, much to her surprise, closed the door and turned the key in the lock. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

His charming smile remained firmly in place, but had acquired a menacing quality.

“You haven’t exactly been forthcoming with me, have you, Odelia?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, her heart having skipped a beat. Was she in danger? Was he going to kill her like he’d killed his wife?

“Mayor Dunham called me just before you arrived. He told me about your visit to my farm last night. And my foreman Gino Nickel told me this morning we’d had nocturnal visitors. Of course I couldn’t have imagined it was you, but there it is.”

“Mayor Dunham told you, but how?”

“Your editor called him this morning, to formally ask him to launch an investigation into my business practices. Animal cruelty was mentioned, and animal control.”

“And instead of calling animal control, the Mayor called you.”

“Oh, Dirk Dunham and I go way back,” said Jock now, as he took a seat.

“You can’t keep me here, Jock,” she said. “Dan knows where I am, and so does Chase.”

“I have no intention of keeping you here, Odelia. I just want to explain a few things to you. When my father handed me the business several years ago, we were on the verge of bankruptcy. You see, it’s very difficult to make a profit as a small-time chicken farmer these days. You need to scale up, while still keeping down your costs, which is impossible without, shall we say, cutting a few corners.”

“By treating your animals like chattel, you mean,” she said, the images of those poor animals still burned on her retinae.

“I treat my animals fairly well, compared to some of my colleagues. Of course, the old story of chickens clucking happily away while they scurry round the barnyard is long gone. That isn’t an economically viable model. So you see, it’s not as if I have a choice here. It’s either this, or nochicken business in Hampton Cove at all. And Dirk Dunham, being an economic realist, and not a dreamer like some of these animal rights activists, knows this, and has supported my vision for the future of Hampton Cove from the first. Now all I want to ask you is to reconsider publishing that article.”

“I’m publishing my article, Jock, and the pictures that go with it,” she said.

He got up, his jaw working.“I guess I expected more from Marge’s daughter.”

“I can’t turn a blind eye to animal cruelty. And if you can’t run a chicken business without torturing those poor animals, maybe you shouldn’t be in the chicken business.”

“I think we’re done here,” he said, and walked to the door, and unlocked it.

She walked out, her heart still beating a mile a minute, and her throat dry.

“You’re not getting away with this, you know,” he said as she walked past him.

“No, it’s you who isn’t getting away with this,” she said, and stalked along the corridor until she’d reached the front door.

She expected him to stop her, but when she looked back he was nowhere to be found.

She walked out and closed the door behind her, then hurried back to her car.

Max, Dooley, Brutus and Harriet were waiting for her, seated on the hood of the car.