Series of Death, Draft 02, CH 47 (Patreon)

Trembor parked in the lot by the park since it was the last place he knew his brother had been. It was one of the larger parks and, while not officially a no predation zone, Trembor saw the males and females making sure everyone was safe. Most were predators, with a few of the larger prey species helping.

Families came here, and this community had the cohesiveness to see to it everyone was safe. Not having to worry about a predator jumping out from behind a tree to eat one of the adults meant the parents could let the cubs run around carelessly. He watched from inside his car for a few minutes, remembering the wrestling and running around he’d enjoyed in places like this during his cubhood.

His family hadn’t had to worry about the errant predator. When lions went to the park, there were enough of them no one considered approaching unannounced. He’d heard stories of impromptu meals taking place when someone tried it, but he didn’t remember them.

He stepped out of his car and immediately attracted the attention of the closest watchers. A tiger, a hyena, and a longhorn bull. He expected they knew all the regulars, and without cubs of his own, he stood out even more.

He located the area by the large oak his father said he’d parked, and after sniffing around it found his brother’s scent. It was faint, the wind and other people’s scents dispersing it, but there was enough of it Trembor figured that unless his brother had tried to hide it, he’d be able to follow the trail to him.

Of course, he couldn’t force his brother to come back with him when he found him. The law was that if someone couldn’t be reached for twenty-four hours, the enforcers could be contacted and they would look into it. Those were low priority cases, and in these days of interconnectivity, losing touch was difficult. He could have brought them in it when Bo blocked him, but Trembor preferred solving his own problems.

And now, his brother’s involvement with criminals meant any enforcer looking into his whereabouts might get the idea to use him to bring them down, putting his brother into further danger, not to say the chances they might uncover what Trembor had done to ensure his brother’s freedom.

His brother’s scent stayed to the edge of the park, and while Trembor felt eyes following him, none of the watchers approached him. So long as his attention was outside the park, they wouldn’t care what he did.

The anger in his brother’s scent remained for longer than he’d expect. Whatever the argument had devolved into, his brother couldn’t cool down from it.

“So much for engendering an atmosphere of support, Dad,” he grumbled.

Bo made it to the other side of the park before his anger cooled enough Trembor lost its scent and he noticed a second scent mixed in. Male, not sexually interested in his brother. At first, he thought it was simply the two of them heading in the same direction, but they both turned to head toward another of the parking lots, this one less busy, so he located the spot the car had been parked in, not that it told him much.

He checked the time. The scents were too recent to work out an accurate time frame, but based on when Bo had walked out of their father’s car, when he’d arrived, they could have left close to thirty minutes ago.

He called Torim.

“Dad, are you at Bo’s house?”

“You did ask me to come here,” his father replied.

Trembor rubbed his face. His father wasn’t cooling down quickly either. “Since you aren’t telling me Bo’s there, he hasn’t arrived yet?”

“Is he on his way?” the impatience was clear. The cubs couldn’t be causing him problems, could they? His father loved all his grandcubs. Not that meant things were always easy, as he’d been reminded by the wolf.

Great, he’d been doing so well of not letting him intrude. “Hopefully. He got in a car with some other male, I’m hoping it means he’s getting a ride home.”

“I think you’re giving your brother too much credit.”

So that was what had Torim annoyed. He finally realized he’d made things worse.

“Is there anything you or the enforcers can do?” his father asked.

“I’m going to ask around. Someone’s going to have noticed Bo, maybe they know who he left with.”

Torim let out a slow breath. “I shouldn’t have been the one to pick him up. I thought I could have a reasoned conversation with him. Explain the risk he was putting on his family by continuing to gamble.”

“You two share a temper, Dad. Why do you think we all either get between the two of you or run as far as we can?”

His father chuckles. “Still, your brother overreacted. I’m not laying the blame on him, Son. I’m just saying I don’t think anything I said warranted him starting to scream at me about minding my business. And once he started, I couldn’t stop myself from yelling back.”

“That scent’s gone Dad, there’s no point continuing sniffing about.” Especially because his father didn’t know the real problem at this point. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”

“I’m going to going Herelex and Isenson home with me, so when you find that brother of yours, take him there.”

“Sure thing, Dad.” He disconnected. He’d make sure the females were there before that. Unfortunately, he didn’t know where his mothers would fall with this argument, so he was going to need a lot of back-ups.

He headed for the closest watcher, one of the largest bear he’d ever seen. She stepped in his direction the instant he began moving and met him at the edge of the grass.

“Can I help you with something?” she asked, looking down at him.

“I’m looking for my brother. He walked by here about half an hour ago, met up with some other male. Did you happen to notice them?”

She studied him, then took out her pad. “Harim, you and Fawirk were in the northwest corner before I relieved you. Care to come by? I have someone looking for a relative you might have seen.” She nodded and put the pad away. “They’ll be a minute.”

Two muscular hyenas joined them. “You’re who’s got questions?” the female asked.

“I’m looking for my brother.”

“He a lion?” the male asked, and she slapped the back of his head.

“When was that?” she asked.

“Half an hour, give or take. He walked with another male for part of it, then they headed for a car parked over there.”

“Hare,” the male said.

She rolled her eyes. “His brother’s a lion.”

He slapped the back of her head. “The male he was with.” He pointed to a table at the edge. “After he and the lion talked in the car, he went and sat there for a bit, then got back in the car and drove off with the lion.”

“He just left my brother in the car?”

The hyena shrugged. “I was making sure the hare didn’t do nothing to cause trouble. Maybe the lion got out and left.” He caught her hand before she slapped him again. “Probably not.”

“Do you know what kind of car it was?” he asked.

“Blue,” the male answered.

“Was he someone you knew?”

She shook her head. “Never saw him before.”

“Why’d you let me talk if you knew about him?” the male asked.

“Can’t slap you when you stay silent.”

“Doesn’t stop mom,” the male grumbled, turning and walking away.

“Mom’s mom,” the female said, following him. “She slaps everyone, me too.”

Trembor watched leave, then shook himself. “Hyena family are weird.”

“Tell me about it,” the bear said, and he startled. How had he forgotten she was there?

He caught his breath. “Thanks for the help.”

“I hope it does.” She turned and stepped further into the park, and went back to watching him as he walked to the sidewalk.

This was a dead end. Bo had left with some random male but wasn’t home. It didn’t mean his brother was off gambling, or that the male had something to do with the criminal gang. Maybe Bo had offered to pay for food as thanks for the ride? Maybe the only reason the hare had left his brother alone was that Bo still needed to settle down after the argument.

He looked toward the picnic table before turning to head back to his car, and stopped, noticing the rock on it holding something in place. Curious, he headed there. An envelope was under the stone. Lifting it, he saw his name was written in a blocky script using dark ink.

His hackles rose as he picked it up, and he caught the scent of blood. He sniffed the envelope to be sure; the ink was blood. And the hare’s scent was thick on the envelope, thick and familiar. There was something light in it; it shifted as he tipped the envelope to smell it.

He opened an end with a claw and an ID fell into his hand. Bo’s ID.

He stared at it, uncomprehendingly. Why would some hare leave his brother’s ID for him? Why write the name in blood. How had he even known his name? Had Bo told him?

A hare. Why did that bother him?

Why was the scent familiar?

An ID left on a dresser.

Marlot flicking his ID at him angrily after Trembor stopped him from killing a hare in enforcer uniform. The same hare who had knocked him out and poorly tied him up. That was where he knew the scent from.

He looked around for his brother, for any trace of where they’d gone. His brother had left with the male who’d attacked Trembor. There was no way that was a coincidence. What had the wolf said about the hare, about why he had to stop him?

He cursed, he couldn’t remember. Maybe he had said nothing, and it had been in the tone. The need to stop someone. Maybe it was just Marlot pissed that Trembor wouldn’t be the grateful rescuee he wanted him to be.

“Stop it!” he snapped. Whatever the reasons, the fact was Bo had left with that same hare. How was Trembor going to find them? He couldn’t follow the car’s scent. Even Marlot with his vaunted course wasn’t that good.

He looked at the stores on the other side of the road looking onto the parking lot. One of them would have seen something. He had the car’s color. That was a start. Looking at their security records, he’d find it. He stepped toward them and stopped.

Under what authority? This wasn’t his territory, there wasn’t even a body involved. Calling in enforcers wouldn’t help, they didn’t have the level of authority an RI on a case had. They’d need a warrant, which would take time.

He ran again.

“Fuck it.” It wasn’t like the people working the stores would know who’s territory this was, or that he wasn’t on a case. He’d shove his ID in their face and force them to give him access to the camera feeds, and the consequences be damned.

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