AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know, I know. Still, if there’s a mystery, I feel like we should solve it.”
As the ATV moved effortlessly through the thick foliage and beautifully maintained paths, they finally arrived at the animal sanctuary at the back of the property. An electric gate separated it from the main property, which could be accessed from a dirt road. If you knew where you were going.
Pulling up to the main paddocks where many of their dogs were trained, Nine immediately noticed that Sniff was the one with his weapon pulled, pointed directly at the young man seated on the ground. Max, Dex, and Parker were calmly speaking to Sniff, not the alleged offender.
“Brother, put your weapon down and let him talk,” said Dex.
“Let him talk? Do you see what’s in the back of that truck? Do you see it!” yelled Sniff. Lucy gripped her husband’s arm, tears in her eyes.
“Baby, I see it. We all see it. But killing him won’t give us the answers we need. Let him speak. Then, if you’re good, I’ll let you kill him,” she said with a small grin. The young man started crying, Sniff turning to his wife and smiling at her.
“Fine. You get a reprieve, you little bastard. But so help me God, if you move, if you try to take one step, I will kill you and feed you to the dogs.”
“Sniff, brother, put the weapon away,” said Gaspar.
Nine gripped the younger man’s shoulder, then turned to look into the bed of the pickup truck. There must have been sixty puppies ranging in age from two months to six months. All were dirty, covered in their own filth, with sores on the pads of their feet, mange set in, and so much more.
“Jesus,” muttered Nine. He kicked the foot of the young man on the ground, and the boy looked up at him, tears in his eyes. “If you want to live, you’d better have a damn good explanation for what I’m looking at.”
“I tried to tell him, but he pulled that gun on me, and I got scared.”
“Tell him what?” growled Ghost.
“I stole them. I was out hunting for gators and heard dogs barking. A lot of dogs. I like animals. In fact, I love them.”
“But you were hunting gators?” frowned Ian.
“I hunt them to remove them from populated areas and release them into the swamps. I was at the back of a neighborhood. Folks were mad because they said gators had been eating their small animals, cats, little dogs, that kind of thing. They start to get crazy and then just shoot them. It’s not their fault. Folks are building on their land.” Gaspar stared at the young man, agreeing with what he was saying for the most part.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Jamie Kim. My father is Korean. My mother is Cajun. I’m quite a melting pot, but I’ve lived in this area my entire life,” he frowned, wiping the tears from his face. “I have a degree in wildlife and fisheries, and I work to help animals, not kill them.”
“Are you working for the state or the parish?” asked Ghost.
“No. I got fired from the state because I refused to kill a black bear who was only searching for food in the area that was once his home. I wanted to tranquilize him and move him, not kill him. They didn’t like my decision.”
“I see,” nodded Gaspar. “What about the puppies?”
“As I said, I heard them yelping while I was out hunting. When I approached, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Hundreds of dogs. Hundreds. Some were so injured I knew they were dying. I had to pick and choose what I took.
“There was one whole cage, about eight-feet by eight-feet, with just females. You could tell they’d all had recent litters, but they were sick. Their teets had sores on ‘em. It was awful,” said the young man, genuinely disturbed by what he saw.
“What happened next?” growled Sniff. Jamie stared at the man, shaking his head. He knew he was angry with him, but he didn’t know the whole story.
“I waited until they left. They took one kennel of puppies, but even those weren’t looking good. When they were gone, I went in and looked around and couldn’t believe it. I knew I could be risking getting caught, so I ran back, got my truck, and just put as many puppies as I could in the back of the truck. I couldn’t leave ‘em in the cages. They were filthy. I know it was dangerous for them, but what was I supposed to do?”
“Call the authorities,” snapped Sniff.
“Brother, you’re not helping here.” Sniff walked away, exasperated by Ghost’s comment. “Why didn’t you call the authorities?”
“Technically, I wasn’t supposed to be there, and I wasn’t sure how to explain it to them. I just panicked and did what I thought was right. I knew about the animal sanctuary here and figured it was my best option to get them help. Honestly, I don’t think some of them are going to make it,” he said, shaking his head. “But I didn’t do this. Why would I come here if I did this to those poor dogs?”
“He has a point, Sniff,” said Nine.
“Honey, let’s just get these puppies out of the truck, and we’ll start to triage them. I’m not sure what we can do, but if they can be saved, we’ll save them.”
“I can help,” said Jamie. “I mean, I know basic animal care, and I want to help. If you’ll let me.” Sniff stared at his wife, compassion and empathy in her eyes. Turning to Dex and Parker, he nodded.
