GRYDER'S COVE TALES: HOWLERS

the last body

"That has to be the most disgusting...I mean, the cows were one thing, but I can kinda deal with something that would've ended up hamburger someday anyway, but..ugh!!"

Olivia was on a bit of a rant, pacing the floor of the motel room.

"At least the next victim we have to go see is alive."

"If you wanna call it living," said Gail, "Sheriff Whaley said he hasn't said anything except 'stay out of Gryder's Cove' and 'it wasn't me, it was the wolves' since he was brought to Adams. He barely eats or drinks anything, doesn't socialize at all, never watches TV. Kinda weird, really."

Gail went back to looking over the pictures from the morgue.

"Um, Olivia? Mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure," said Olivia, now sitting on the edge of her bed and looking lost in thought.

"Are you positive you want to take over my spot? I mean, you seemed to have a hard time holding it together today and to be honest, the bodies we saw at the morgue aren't the worst I've seen in an animal attack case."

Olivia shot her a look that said nothing else but 'Are you fucking kidding me?'

"Well, yeah, the one in the tub, but you know what I mean. It gets easier with time, yeah, but I just don't know if it'll get easier for you. You couldn't even watch any of my dad's horror movies with me unless they were the old black-and-white classics."

Gail sighed and went to sit beside her friend.

"I'm just trying to look out for you again, I guess. I don't mean to step on your toes."

She laid her head on Olivia's shoulder and put a hand on her knee. Olivia put her arm around Gail and smiled a little bit.

"I know, but I have to try. Nobody thinks I can do it, so I guess I feel like I have something to prove. I'm gonna keep trying, though. I just hope I have enough sense to hang it up if I can't hack it."

"I'm gonna be behind you the whole time, Liv. I'll help you all I can, but you know the decision isn't mine in the end, right?"

"Yeah, I know, Gail. I won't be pissed at you if I don't make it. I'm gonna hate our asshole boss for the rest of my life, though."

They both laughed and then hugged.

Gail walked back over to her bed and picked up her backpack, taking out her tablet. She drummed her fingers on it gently and pondered reviewing the day's findings. Not now. Too tired. She tossed it onto the bed and uncapped a bottle of water to take her Pericodin.

"Damn, I don't wanna drive back to Crow's Rest tomorrow!" grunted Gail, falling back onto her bed, then immediately having to roll over quickly, catching her tablet just before it bounced off into the floor.

"HA! Dumbass!" chuckled Olivia, "I'm gonna shower. I feel like I have corpse residue on me."

"Can't blame ya, kiddo," said Gail, propping herself up on her pillows and putting her tablet on her lap, "I'm gonna watch a movie, I think. I was gonna go over these pics, but nothing really jumped out at me at the morgue, so I'm gonna clear my head a little with something funny."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. Maybe 'Machete Motel'."

"That's funny?"

"It's funny to me," smiled Gail, tapping the screen of her tablet and putting on her headphones.

"Go for it, chick. Later."