Read Online Isabel and the Wolf: (Part 3) by Ariana Hawkes - Free Book Online Page B

kiss. “I wake up when you get out of bed, but only for a moment.”
    “I’ve been in touch with all the conservation centers across the US, Canada, and even Mexico, and they’ve had nothing similar going on. They have to have been imported from somewhere, but that doesn’t explain the photos.”
    “There’s a lot about the world that we don’t understand,” Josie said, resting a hand on his arm. Isabel did a double take. What was it with the people in this town, and their higher-knowledge hippy values?
    “Trey and I are heading out to do some more tracking now. You can come if you want, ladies? You might have more luck with the camera than I did.”
    “I don’t have anything better to do,” Josie said.
    “Sure!” Isabel agreed. Rob led them over to a pick up truck.
    “Are you ok sitting out back?” They nodded enthusiastically, clambering onto the open truck bed, while Rob and his colleague climbed into the front. Isabel used to love bumping around in the back of her grandfather’s truck when she was a child, her back against the cab and the wind whistling past, blowing her hair everywhere.
    “Hold tight, it can get pretty bumpy!” Josie said, and they each clung to the sides as the truck started moving along the rough dirt tracks.
    “Rob seems pretty stressed,” Isabel said.
    “He’s having such a hard time now,” Josie replied. “He loves nature because it all makes sense – unlike people, he says! So being confronted by something like this, that defies logic, has totally thrown him. Every minute that he’s not here, he’s on the internet, researching, trying to find out if anyone has encountered something similar in the past.”
    “Poor guy,” Isabel said. “Let’s hope we find something today that starts to make sense.” The truck went over some particularly bumpy ground, and they levitated a few times, landing back down with a bump. Isabel’s still bruised ass wasn’t enjoying it at all. “Why nothing better to do today? Don’t tell me you’ve got writers’ block?”
    “Uh huh. It’s not just a myth of the pretentious,” Josie replied, eyebrow arched. “I really want to get going with my new novel, but nothing’s right.”
    “Is it ok to ask what it’s about?”
    “Of course! To be honest, I’m not sure. And I think that’s the problem. I’m setting it right here, in Silver City, and I want it to bring out the spirit of the place, but so far, I’m having a hard time constructing the plot.”
    “Who was it who said that all the stories in the world have been told already, it’s how you tell them that counts?”
    “I don’t know. Some wise person, a very long time ago. Even Shakespeare borrowed all of his stories from older tales – except one.”
    “Which is?”
    “The Tempest. And what a crazy, trippy play that is!”
    “I should give it a go. I’ve never enjoyed Shakespeare to be honest. I think my English teacher ruined it for me.”
    “You and too many others. Start with watching one of his comedies. A good production will bring it to life and you’ll actually laugh at the jokes.”
    “Thanks for the tip!” Isabel said, looking at Josie with something approaching admiration. Josie never failed to surprise her, revealing a new dimension to her character every time they met. Isabel knew she was a writer, of course, but somehow hadn’t expected her to be so bookish. She mentally ticked herself off at her own narrow-mindedness. She glanced at Josie again. Now was the moment to ask her about Peter. Her heart beat fast. Josie had already denied knowing him, so she was basically about to call her out on a lie.
    “Hey, you know the guy I said I was dating?” she began. Josie’s expression changed, a shutter coming down, blanking out the brightness in her eyes.
    “Yeah,” she said, a little too casually.
    “Turns out you do know each other!” Isabel heard the slightly manic tone behind the enthusiasm in her voice. “I was just telling him about the cool