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“Hormones, Tex! And now that man is focusing all of those hormones on your daughter!”

He gulped and almost dropped a file.“But what does he want from her?”

“What do all men want? Sex, of course, and plenty of it. Now what are you going to do about it is what I want to know?”

She had planted both hands on her sides and was eyeing him expectantly. He felt very strongly that he should do something, though he had no idea what.“What can I do?” he asked finally, when the solution escaped him.

“Go after them, of course! Save her from that man’s horny hormones!”

“But I have a full roster of patients to see. I can’t get away right now!”

“Oh, yes, you can. This is Odelia we’re talking about, Tex. The mother of your granddaughter. The wife of your good friend Chase. And most importantly, the only daughter you’ll ever have. So what are a few patients compared to saving the life of our most precious and beloved Odelia?”

“You’re right,” he said, galvanized by this pep talk. “And when you’re right, you’re right. We have to save her from herself and from that horrible man. And we have to do it now!” So he shoved the file folder back into position, and picked up his phone. “Cancel all my appointments,” he told his loyal assistant-slash-receptionist-slash-mother-in-law. He’d always wanted to say that. It sounded so important.

“Now you’re talking,” Vesta grunted appreciatively. “Let’s get out there and save a life, Doc Poole!”

CHAPTER 27

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I don’t know if you’ve ever searched a large swath of woods for a missing billionaire’s daughter? If you have, you’ll agree with me that it’s not as easy as it sounds. These woods weren’t made for walking, or at least big chunks of it weren’t. Parts of it are a protected nature reserve, and as such can get a little impenetrable. Lucky for us, cats are small, and so we can reach into places where humans would have a hard time reaching. Like inside a hollowed-out tree, or in that genuine thicket created by a field of brambles.

And so it was that a couple of hours into our search for the missing couple, Dooley and I found ourselves entering a clearing, with a circle of mushrooms in the middle. It all looked a little like a fairy tale, and even featured a squirrel that was eyeing us suspiciously, probably wondering who these trespassers were.

“Hey there, squirrel,” I said by way of greeting as we took a break by sitting down in the middle of the clearing. “Can I ask you a question, please, sir?”

“It’s ma’am, not sir, and who are you anyway, and what are you doing in my home?”

“My name is Max, and this is Dooley,” I said, gesturing to my friend, who’d closed his eyes and was about to take a refreshing nap. “We’re looking for a missing couple. They were last seen two weeks ago, when their RV broke down on the side of the road. You wouldn’t happen to have seen them, would you?”

“No, I would not,” said the squirrel, softening now that she could see that we meant her no harm, and were merely passing through. “I don’t usually see a lot of human activity in here, on account of the fact that humans aren’t allowed to pass through this part of the woods.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” I said. “Well, that’s too bad, cause the girl’s dad is very worried, as you can probably imagine.”

“Of course,” said the squirrel, drawing closer and darting curious glances at Dooley. “Is he all right?”

“He’s tired,” I said. “We’ve been combing these woods for the past couple of hours, and it looks like it’s going to be at least a couple of hours more.”

The squirrel sat down at the edge of the circle of mushrooms, and said,“It’s very nice of you to look for these people, Max. But if I were you I’d be careful.”

“Careful? Why?”

“These woods aren’t safe. There’s a malevolent presence here that is very dangerous, at least if you’re not used to living here, like I am.”

“And what presence would that be?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s not a laughing matter, this presence.”

“But is it a person, or an animal?”

“Not an animal, and not really a person either,” said the squirrel, musing for a moment. “I’d say it’s something in between. Half man, half beast, if you will.”

“And you’ve seen this man-beast?”

“Oh, sure. Many times. And I usually manage to steer clear of the thing. I can hear it coming, you see, and the moment it crosses my path, I simply skedaddle, hopping into the nearest tree and making sure not to be seen.” She shivered freely, as if a sudden gust of icy wind had fluffed up her fur. “They say that one look from this evil presence can kill you stone-cold dead in your tracks. So whatever you do, never look into its eyes, Max.”

“I won’t,” I promised the squirrel. I didn’t want to tell her that I wasn’t a firm believer in sorcery, or ghosts, or evil spirits, since she might take offense, but it did make me wonder if this man-beast, or whatever it was, might have something to do with the disappearance of Addie Dexter.

“Where does it live, this evil being?” I asked. “And how long has it been living in these woods?”