Read Online The Hunt Ball by Rita Mae Brown - Free Book Online Page B

all.”
    Trident, a lovely young hound, smiled at Sister before diving back into the feed trough.
    â€œWhy’d you go up there, or did Ben come for you?”
    â€œForgot to tell you that. I heard the screams. Woke me up. I didn’t think too much of it since I knew the boys had planned their Halloween surprise. Then I heard the sirens.”
    â€œYou would have heard someone drive through here.”
    She replied, “No one did.” She switched gears. “How are the puppies?”
    â€œNursing. Delia’s a good mother. Even if you’d been sound asleep next to her, she would have warned you if someone drove through the farm. You would have known. It’s a crazy thing, isn’t it?”
    â€œIt is.”
    â€œSooner or later, they’ll catch ’em.”
    â€œOne hopes.” She reached for a gallon of corn oil.
    Shaker opened the door for the fed group of young hounds to return to their runs. He then washed out the troughs, refilling them with kibble. Sister poured a line of corn oil over the feed as Shaker opened another run door for older hounds to enter. They rushed up to Sister in greeting, then dove for the chow.
    â€œIt’s supposed to rain Tuesday, temperature’s supposed to drop, too.” Shaker checked with the Weather Channel constantly.
    â€œYeah, I saw that, too. But I’m betting the rain will come in after we wrap it up at Mud Fence.” She named that day’s fixture, an old estate whose fences in the mid-eighteenth century were made of mud. The first settlers lacked the money for nails. They could fell trees and plane boards but nails were very expensive. Eventually they built snake fences once the work of clearing began in earnest. One didn’t need nails for that. Some folks had to make do with a mud fence until they could clear more land, get more timber.
    â€œWant to bet?”
    â€œFive dollars.”
    â€œBet.” He held out his hand and she shook it. “Boss, ever consider murder?”
    â€œYou mean me killing someone or someone killing me?”
    He laughed. “Ever consider what drives someone to it?”
    â€œSure.”
    â€œI expect any of us can kill. Just need the right or wrong circumstances.”
    â€œWe might be mad enough to kill yet we don’t. We don’t step over the line.” She listened to the hounds chewing their kibble, a comforting sound. “If one of these hounds kills another hound, why does it happen?”
    â€œSometimes they know a hound is weak, sickening. They take him out. Maybe that’s canine mercy killing. Doesn’t happen often.” He thought a bit more. “If there’s a fight, it’s a challenge, a top-dog thing.”
    â€œSame with horses. They rarely kill but they can sure kick the powder out of one another if they take a notion.”
    â€œYou’re saying we murder, they don’t.” Shaker kept an eye on Dragon, growling. “That’s enough, Dragon, shut up.”
    â€œApart from war or self-defense, if we kill it’s revenge, that’s straightforward. Sex killing or serial killing is men against women. Sickness and anger, I reckon. Then there’s money. Always that.”
    â€œAnd a challenge to authority. The top-dog deal.” Shaker’s auburn curls caught the light.
    â€œRight. For the life of me I can’t figure out how Al Perez, a mild fellow, fits any category. Can’t see him as a sex criminal taken out by an enraged victim or father of same.” She noted Shaker’s expression. “Well, Custis Hall bursts with girls becoming women. That’s a potent cocktail for a certain kind of man. Money? He raised millions for the school. But he didn’t work on a percentage basis. Yes, he received a big Christmas bonus. Being on the board, I’m privy to the financial life of the school, but I can’t divulge details. He could have gotten resentful and figured he should get