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telling you blokes, the
fight was vicious.” The vet looked moodily down at the body on the
table.
    Moz followed
his gaze, silence falling on the small group as they all gazed down
at the dog. The animal was a mess, old cuts and scars, fresh wounds
clotted with dried blood. What they were all suspecting was like a
bitterness in the very air, touching each of them.
    “Bloody dog
fighting.” Grant stroked the dog’s head gently. “Goddamn, bloody
dog fighting.”
    “I spoke to
the council rangers yesterday, no one has reported missing any
small pets,” Kirk stated. “So that’s one thing. No animals being
stolen to use for baiting and training dog fights.”
    “At least not
here.” Moz paused. “Not yet.”
    “Turns my
stomach to think anyone in Gully’s Fall could be involved in
something like this.” Kirk rubbed his brow.
    “May not be
here, they could be just using this place as a dumping ground.
Gully’s Fall is a small place, if dog fighting were going on around
here almost everyone would know within hours.”
    “Yeah. They’re
a good bunch around here.” Kirk met his gaze levelly. “But you know
as well as I do that we also get travellers through, and people
from other towns are probably involved. Dog fighting rings aren’t
just isolated, they can involve a lot of people from different
places.”
    “Speaking of
isolated, I dropped in on Harding’s place just awhile ago.” Moz
leaned one hand on the cold, steel table. “Follow-up inspection to
ensure he’d complied with one of the animal welfare codes I’d
warned him about. He’d complied.”
    “And you just
happened to have a look around,” Grant said.
    “Doing my job.
I can say I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”
    “His usual
crony with him?” Kirk asked.
    “Dawson was
there.”
    “Figures.”
    “And so was a
bloke named Cutter.”
    Kirk’s gaze
sharpened. “Really?’
    “According to
Del, they’ve been friends for years.”
    “Del?”
    Moz met his
gaze. “She was up on the roof of her house watching them.”
    Kirk’s jaw
clenched, the only sign he was far from happy. “On the roof?”
    “Oh yeah.”
Grant nodded. “I’ve heard about her liking for sitting up there.
She sees everything.”
    Moz said, “I
had a talk to her.”
    “I’ll see her
later,” Kirk said at the same time.
    Yeah, and Moz
wanted to see Kirk later about the very same thing. His eyes must
have relayed something, because one of the cop’s eyebrows rose a
little.
    Grant, still
looking down at the dog, missed everything. “So where do we go from
here?”
    Kirk switched
his attention to the vet. “We’ll investigate from our end, ask some
questions, step up patrols.”
    “You’d want to
ask discreetly, otherwise whoever is doing this is going to
hear.”
    “Thanks. I’d
never have known how to do that unless you’d just told me.”
    Moz
grinned.
    “Sharing my
expertise,” Grant said.
    “From dealing
with little old ladies and their savage little pooches?” Kirk
looked at him.
    “Don’t under
estimate little old ladies and their savage little pooches. You of
all people should know that.”
    “Duly noted.”
Kirk looked at Moz. “Don’t know what you’re smiling about. I hear
you got the rough end of Mrs Montague’s tongue for mentioning how
round her dog was.”
    Grant
whistled. “You took on Ryder’s mother? Brave man.”
    “Stupid, I’d
say,” Kirk added.
    “Some of us
just have to be big boys and deal with the tougher aspects of
life,” Moz said.
    “So what are
you doing about her?” Grant smirked.
    “Bugger all.
The woman may look like a beauty queen, but she has a tongue on her
like a razor blade. Nearly made my hide bleed.”
    “Good thing
you’re so tough.”
    “I said the
tougher aspects of life. I didn’t say Mrs Montague. She’s a whole
other category.”
    Kirk and Grant
grinned.
    “Right, back
to business.” Moz looked at the dog. “I’ll let the town rangers
know what’s going on, as well as