Help Wanted Read Free

only inches above the ground.
    For an endless moment she stared down at her fingertips, and then, slowly, she raised her hand toward her face and gazed at the thick streaks of red running down her fingers and along her open palm.
    â€œFaye!” she cried.
    â€œWhat is it?” Faye’s voice sounded impatient and very faraway.
    â€œCome here!”
    Robin’s gaze dropped once more to the ground. She saw the wide rut worn through the leaves—as though something heavy had been dragged there—and the dark red swashes, thick and jellylike swirled in the mud …
    And as she reached out, trembling, to brush some leaves away, she saw the splintered twigs and bits of broken pinecones, all tangled together with clumps of dark hair.

F or one long horrified moment Robin couldn’t do anything but stare. She didn’t even realize Faye had come up behind her until she heard the other girl’s squeal at her back.
    Faye gasped. “What is that?”
    â€œI … I don’t know …” Robin looked up at her friend in dismay. “I slipped and dropped my books and …”
    â€œIs that blood? ”
    â€œIt looks like—”
    â€œAnd hair? ”
    â€œWell … I …”
    â€œCover it up before I get sick!”
    Hastily Robin brushed the leaves back in place, nearly falling again as she tried to scramble up.
    Faye grabbed her arm to steady her. “Are you okay?”
    â€œAre you?” Robin’s eyes were still riveted on that flattened trail in the leaves. It led off for several yards, then angled off through a dense grove of pines, disappearing beneath shadows and fog. “What are we going to do?” she murmured.
    â€œDo?” Faye stared at her blankly. “What do you mean?”
    â€œI mean—do we tell the Swansons about this?”
    â€œAbout what? Trespassing?”
    â€œOr do we go to the police?” Robin rushed on. “Should one of us stay here while the other gets help?”
    â€œWhy?” Faye’s look turned slightly incredulous. “What are you talking about?”
    Robin gazed at her friend a moment, then frowned. “Faye, am I missing something here? Or did you just see what I saw?”
    â€œSome marks on the ground.” Faye jabbed a finger downward. “Some hair—”
    â€œFaye—” Robin began, but the other girl cut her off.
    â€œRobin, what’s the matter with you? Do you think the Swansons even care if some poor animal gets killed on their property? Skaggs probably shoots anything on four legs and eats it for breakfast.”
    â€œAnimal?” This time it was Robin’s turn to look surprised. “You think this was an … animal?”
    â€œWell, what did you think it was?”
    Faye held her friend’s eyes for a long moment, then began slowly shaking her head.
    â€œOh, Robin … come on, now …”
    â€œBut—that blood—and—and—the hair—”
    â€œLet’s not stop to think about the details of the struggle, okay?” Faye made a face. “Survival of the fittest, Robin, remember? I bet it was a raccoon and some dogs. Raccoons are always coming around raiding our garbage cans, and Dad won’t let us near them. He says they’re really mean fighters.”
    Robin was still staring at the indentation in the leaves. Faye grabbed her sleeve and shook it.
    â€œCome on—I’d like to at least try to pass that math test this morning, okay? Please?”
    Robin gave a vague nod and followed as her friend hurried away. Faye was right, of course, she argued with herself—those smears of blood and that hair had only been the remains of some unfortunate animal. What had she been thinking of, anyway?
    But that path through the leaves … it was so wide … so mashed down … that dead animal would had to have been awfully big .…
    With a sheer act of will Robin forced the suspicions