Chasing the Chupacabra: Critter Catchers, #2

By Hank Edwards

A struggling small business. An odd job opportunity. Two friends figuring out they may be something more.

 

Demetrius and Cody stopped a murderous wolf man months ago, but that hasn't done much to bring in jobs for their Critter Catchers business. Now, as the two best friends struggle to make ends meet, Demetrius also tries to find time to date Oliver, the new reporter at the Parson's Hollow Herald, and Cody can't help nitpicking about them. When veterinary student Agatha Tisdale approaches them with an odd case, they jump at the opportunity despite their misgivings. While Cody flirts with Agatha, Demetrius finds himself distracted by handsome farmer Reed Wilkes whose goats are being bled dry by something living in the woods around his farm.

 

While working to identify the blood-drinking critter, however, Demetrius discovers he's having to remind himself more and more often to keep Cody in the friend category of his mind and heart. And for his part, Cody is realizing he might be more than a little jealous of the relationship developing between Demmy and Oliver. But all of that must be set aside when farmer Wilkes goes missing and Cody, Demetrius, Oliver, and Agatha follow a bloody trail into the woods and come face-to-face with something as dangerous as the wolf man!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hank Edwards
• Release date: May 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223589860

Hank Edwards

Hank Edwards has been writing gay erotic fiction for more than twenty years. He has written over two dozen novels and even more short stories. His writing crosses many sub-genres, including romance, rom-com, contemporary, paranormal, suspense, mystery, and wacky comedy. Find out more at www.hankedwardsbooks.com.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Demetrius Singleton was trying not to feel overwhelmed. He was safe behind a folding table in the Harriettville Convention Center, but there were so many people packed into the hall, it was proving difficult. There had to be at least five thousand people crammed into the aisles dividing the booths of the Aspen County Home and Garden Show, where every manner of home repair, design company, and contractor hawked their services. The men and women who offered these services stood behind folding tables festooned with bunting and piled high with brochures, pens, refrigerator magnets, and all manner of takeaway swag. They called out to the passing mass of people, trying to hook someone, anyone, into stopping long enough to hear their pitch.

Demetrius stood behind the table he had reserved several months before, back when they had been flush with cash following a long string of referrals for animal control needs. But then winter came and most of their target animals hibernated, leaving the residents of Parson’s Hollow and its surrounding towns in peace. And with the peace of the local citizenry, came a more woeful peace to the telephones of Critter Catchers, the business Demetrius had started with his best friend, Cody Bower.

These days, there were not many critters awake for them to catch. But it was late February, and spring wasn’t far off. The critters would soon be stirring, looking for mates and new places to roost.

Demetrius watched the crowd surge past the Critter Catchers booth, passing him by without a second look, and a cold nugget of despair formed in the middle of his chest. They had no bunting and no banner, just the wood top of the table plus a couple of folding chairs and a stack of 250 brochures he had designed and ordered off a discount website. They had been in business six months now, and Demetrius had, thankfully, put off paying down his personal credit cards to pay ahead on the rent for their office space, or else they’d have been evicted. As it was, he could barely manage the minimum payment on all four of his credit cards. His aunt Amelia was keeping him and Cody fed with home-cooked meals, but that made Demetrius feel guilty. Amelia lived on a school teacher’s retirement and social security. She couldn’t afford to keep feeding the two of them. Especially an eating machine like Cody.

As if summoned by Demetrius’s thoughts, Cody rounded a far corner of the aisle. At a height of six feet five inches, he stood a full head taller than most of the people surrounding him, so Demetrius was able to spot him right away. Cody shouldered his way between people, earning a few curses and five times as many glares. Demetrius watched his friend’s approach, envious, as usual, of Cody’s easy masculinity and rugged good looks. With broad shoulders, a more or less flat stomach, and hands the size of dinner plates, Cody was an eyeful. He kept his dark hair a bit long, attractively shaggy, as he called it, and that, coupled with his disarming, confident smile and dark-brown eyes, were all he needed to get a girl to go out with him.

Demetrius was gay, and although he could appreciate Cody’s physical beauty, he was a bit more immune to his friend’s persuasive musk. Maybe it was all the years they had known each other, or maybe it was because Demetrius didn’t let Cody get away with much. Whatever it was, Demetrius was glad for it. Other than the occasional sex dream with Cody in a starring role, or a brief fantasy during slow periods in their tiny, shared office space, Demetrius was able to keep Cody firmly in the friend portion of his heart. And quite often Demetrius would call Cody out on how he dated and then dropped women so quickly in an effort to get him to understand just how badly he was treating them.

Cody would usually agree with him, but with a response something along the likes of If I’m not feeling that special zing with a woman, why waste her time as well as my own? I break it off quick, and then she can go find a nice guy to help her get over me. I’m like the training wheels for women who are looking to get married. After they get rid of me, they’re ready.

Demetrius usually had nothing more to add after that, and so Cody continued to date a different woman every few weeks. None had been able to stick around for longer than a month, and a few of Cody’s ex-girlfriends still lived in Parson’s Hollow and showed up now and then to give them both hell. Ex-girlfriends such as Lucia Durant, a Parson’s Hollow sheriff’s deputy, and Dr. Zenona Baldwin, who worked out of Parson’s Hollow Memorial Hospital.

Demetrius watched Cody stride up to the table and easily vault it, his size-twelve hiking boots slamming against the concrete floor.

He dropped a white paper bag on the table, right on top of the Critter Catchers brochures, and said in a disgusted tone, Eight fifty for a couple of hot dogs. Can you believe that? Eight fucking dollars and fifty fucking cents. For just the hot dogs. No soft drink, no bag of chips. Just the dogs. Jesus H. Christ on a Segway, just take me out back and dry fuck me, why don’t they?

A woman passing by, holding the hands of two small children, glared at Cody and hurried away with a scowl on her face, but Cody didn’t notice.

Cody! Demetrius said in a hushed voice. You can’t use language like that here, okay? We’re trying to draw people in to talk about our animal control service, not scare them off.

Cody dug one of the dogs from inside the bag and chomped off half of it in a single bite. He rolled his eyes before he dropped into the metal folding chair, grumbling, Whatever, around his mouthful of food.

Demetrius sat in the chair beside Cody and pulled the other hot dog from the bag. It was loaded: ketchup, mustard, relish, onions, and hot peppers.

He glanced at Cody and asked, Trying to get your money’s worth?

You fuckin’ know it, Demmy, Cody replied, already finished with his own hot dog and licking the condiments from his long fingers.

Well, thanks for getting me one, Demetrius said. He noticed the way Cody eyed the hot dog in his hand, and asked, This is for me, right?

Cody sighed. Yeah. It is. I’m just still hungry. He slapped his flat stomach a few times. Takes a lot to fill this boy up.

Aunt Amelia and I are both well aware of that, Demetrius said, then bit into the dog. Dear God, it was delicious.

I gotta tell you, Amelia is a saint, Cody said as he stretched his feet out under the table and stared at the crowd swarming past them. I love her like family. He looked at Demetrius from the corner of his eye. Guess that makes us cousins, huh?

Demetrius shrugged, his mouth too full to respond, but not too full for another bite of hot dog. Just as he did, a young woman walked up and stood before them. She was younger than them, most likely in college, and quite beautiful, with smooth, dark skin and short cut hair. She flipped through the brochure for a moment before fixing them both with a look.

Animal control? she asked.

Cody shot to his feet and leaned over the table, his smile turned all the way up to flirt mode. That’s right. We can wrangle any critter that might be giving you fits. Raccoon in your garage? Possum in your shed? Bats in your—

Belfry? she offered with a grin.

Cody grinned back, and Demetrius hurriedly swallowed the food in his mouth and slid the remainder aside. He stood up and, hoping to head off Cody asking out a potential client, interjected. Hi, hello there. Hi. Yes, we provide animal control services. Do you need an animal removed from a structure? We provide a humane, safe, and responsible removal service.

The woman looked at Demetrius and smiled before dropping her gaze. Demetrius cleared his throat and tried again. May we answer any questions for you?

Demmy, Cody whispered.

Not now, Cody, Demetrius whispered back. We’re speaking to a client.

Okay, never mind. Cody pressed his lips tight together and stared out over the heads of the crowd in the aisle.

Now, how may we help you, Ms…? Demetrius tried again.

Relish, the woman said.

Demetrius gave a single nod. Very good. Okay, Ms. Relish.

The woman and Cody both snickered. Demetrius looked between them. Something funny?

Cody raised his eyebrows. Permission to speak, Captain?

Demetrius sighed. Yes, speak.

You have relish… Cody tapped the left corner of his mouth. Right here.

Demetrius fumbled for napkins as Cody and their potential customer chuckled. Once he’d wiped the relish away, Demetrius faced the woman again and cleared his throat. Sorry about that. Now, how may we help you, Ms…?

Agatha Tisdale.

Cody shot out his hand. Cody Bower.

Agatha shook with him, her small hand swallowed up by Cody’s larger one.

Cody tipped his head in Demetrius’s direction. This is Demmy.

Demetrius Singleton, Demetrius corrected and shook Agatha’s hand, which was warm and soft. How may we help you?

Agatha held up the brochure, the front of it facing Demetrius and Cody. You’re the two guys who killed that wolf man last year?

Uh… Demetrius said, caught off guard by her question. There weren’t many witnesses to that incident. Well, not many that survived. And the news of it had faded out a few weeks afterward. Even the paranormal blogger sites had thankfully moved on to other suspicious incidents.

Cody put his hands on the table and leaned in, closing the distance between himself and Agatha. That’s us. You have a wolf man giving you problems? He looked right and left, then lowered his voice. We’ll need some silver to melt down into bullets. Do you have any silver?

No wolf man, Agatha said. But how are you guys with catching things that have killed goats by exsanguination?

Exsanguination? Demetrius repeated.

That means they died from blood loss, Cody explained.

I know what it means, Demetrius said, shooting a dirty look Cody’s way before turning back to Agatha. I’m just a little surprised by it, that’s all.

How many goats? Cody asked, his tone low and serious, scrubbed clean of all flirtation.

Five so far, Agatha replied. I’ve been working the last two weeks with a farmer out on 118, helping care for his goats and cows and chickens. We started finding dead goats every other day just after I started working with him. I told him I would see about getting someone to help me figure out what might be doing it.

Demetrius caught a nervous look from Cody and was glad he wasn’t the only one concerned with how things sounded. He took some time to neatly stack the brochures, then said, I don’t know if we’re the right guys for the job, I’m sorry.

It sounds a little bit out of our scope, Cody added.

The farmer is kind of desperate, Agatha said. He’s willing to pay twice your standard fee.

Demetrius looked at Cody again and held his gaze. Twice their fee would help pay a few of their bills. And there was no way to know something sinister was stalking the farmer’s goats. It could just be a coyote or maybe even a wolf. Not every case was going to turn into some kind of Supernatural episode. At least, he hoped not.

Cody gave a small shrug and Demetrius looked back at Agatha, giving her his best smile that he hoped didn’t come across as nervous as he felt, and he said, Ms. Tisdale, you’ve got a deal. Where should we meet you and when?

CHAPTER TWO

Cody lay sprawled across the futon in Demmy’s small living room. It was late—or would that be early?—and he couldn’t fall asleep. Thoughts of Agatha Tisdale, seriously sexy siren that she was, drifted in and out of his thoughts, intermingled with money worries and the usual life concerns.

Critter Catchers, their company, weighed heavily on his mind. It had been Demmy’s idea, of course. Demmy always had the best ideas. Between the two of them, Demmy was the thinker, and Cody was the doer. Cody always thought they complemented each other well. Sometimes a situation required a lot of thinking and consideration, and then other times a situation called for a less subtle, more hands-on solution. He didn’t think there was anything Demmy and he couldn’t handle together.

Well, almost anything.

Cody wasn’t ashamed to admit he