“Did you believe him?” Oliver looked back at the fire, and I knew he was watching for some sign of me losing control.
“No, if Levi went with Mario there should have been no chance of them being captured by Ira. Unless Mario betrayed him.” I kept my voice even and focused on my breathing.
He nodded as if agreeing. “Do you think Mario would do that?”
“You just said Levi trusted him. Why are you asking me if Mario would betray him?” I saw the fire flare and tried not to curse.
Oliver glanced at me again. “Emotions Abby, they are your enemy. If you can’t keep them in check, they’ll know they can control you with this situation.”
“Tomes had no such luck. Now answer my question.”
“You said you didn’t like him, why?”
That wasn’t exactly an answer, but there was no point in trying to argue. “Because he was encouraging Levi to keep secrets from me. Had Levi known that Ira was still…” I didn’t want to give too much away. Ira was the vampire behind the experiments, and Levi knew who he was and that he was still conducting them. “I could have just ended the case quicker. Mario was encouraging him not to give me the information. Do I believe that he’d betray Levi? No. Anyone who poses that risk, Levi keeps at arm’s length.”
“Then I doubt that Tomes is telling the truth, but you must be prepared to deal with it if he is indeed telling the truth.”
I pressed my lips together and tried not to let premature grief rise up in me. I didn’t want to lose Levi, no matter how upset I was with him for hiding things. “Deal with it how?”
“Abigail, there are things that you need to know—“
My phone went off and I answered it. “Agent Collins speaking.”
Oliver narrowed his eyes at me.
“Abigail, I need you to come down to the morgue. I need to show you the results from the marks on the bones.” Jason’s voice sounded shaky.
I glanced at Oliver who still glared at me. “Can’t you just tell me what the results are?”
“No, you’re going to need to see it to believe it. Just trust me.”
I tried not to let the relief show on my face. The last thing I wanted to do tonight was discuss what would happen if Levi was being held captive, or worse. “I’ll be there in a bit; I’m outside of city limits.” I hung up without waiting for a response.
“Sorry, Oliver, I have to go.”
“You need to sit down and listen to me.” His voice raised a little bit. “Abigail, this is not something you can just walk away from.”
I resisted the urge to tell him ‘watch me.’ “We can talk after the case. If Levi’s in trouble, there’s nothing I can do.”
“There will be consequences for you if he dies.” Oliver stood up with me. “Please.”
There was a begging in his voice I’d never heard. “I’ll call you to talk after I finish with the pack tonight.”
“Is that the best I’m going to get?”
I nodded and he bowed his head. “So be it, I’ll speak to you tonight then. Be safe.”
I left without another word. For the past year, everyone had been trying to scare me into thinking there was a reason my life was constantly under attack. It wasn’t until the last case that I started to believe it, but I hadn’t expected Oliver to jump on that bandwagon.
I walked into Jason’s examination room as I pinned on my visitor badge. “Okay, Jason, what on earth couldn’t you tell me over the phone?”
I looked up from getting the little metal hook to sit right on my shirt and saw three fake jaws on the table. I frowned. “Jaws?” I knew what two of them were, but the third looked like a taxidermist had too much fun.
“I know this is going to sound crazy, which is why I had to show you.” He stepped up and put his hand on one set. “These are wolf teeth, well more accurately, werewolf, and these,” he put his hand over a second set, “are human teeth. Neither of them fit the marks just right.”
I crossed my arms and tried to be patient. “Okay, so it wasn’t werewolf, and it wasn’t human. I didn’t think it was human, why is that even in the equation?”
He pulled out a petri dish with a tooth in it. There had only been one case where I had dealt with a human tooth, and the murderer ended up being zombies. “Gross. Where did you find that?”
“I found it in the flesh of the neck; it was ripped out. It’s a molar; it’s not meant to tear at meat.” He set it down. “I also found a wolf tooth.”
What the fuck? “Okay.” My mind went to Mina, she had control over her wolf mate, but she was dead.
“So I had this crazy idea and molded a cast of both jaws…obviously not exact to our suspect. Some measurements of the teeth marks match what would be consistent for a human, some consistent for a wolf. Forensics helped me with the models. We don’t know why or how, but the simulations from this model are the only thing that makes a mark even remotely like what’s on our victims, including the scarring on the bones.”
“So what has the teeth of a human and a wolf?” I tried to squash my panic that there might have been some crazy experiment running around that had this type of jaw. Certainly someone would have seen such a creature, right? Unless it was only the jaw that was affected, but I doubted that would be the case.
He shrugged. “You’re the paranormal expert here. What do you think could have that?”
“I have no clue.” I rubbed my eyes. “Show me how it matches up?”
He motioned to the computer in the corner. “So with the help of a forensic agent, we were able to come up with this simulation. We took the way the skin was torn and the bones snapped, and came up with this.”
The simulation wasn’t much, a jaw against a genderless body, showing how the human and wolf teeth met with the skin, using the two teeth as a model. “And the measurements came up with no other conclusions?”
“Nothing.”
I sighed. “Okay, I’ll chat with the alpha and see what I can find out.” I didn’t want to believe that there was something out there like this, but I was learning new things about the paranormal world all the time. At least this time it wasn’t poltergeists or zombies. I watched the simulation a couple more times and just shook my head.
“I know, and that’s why I needed you to come down and see it. You wouldn’t have believed me over the phone.”
“Nope. How did you get forensics to help you so quickly?” I turned away from the screen in time to see him blush. “Oh…have someone special on the team, do you?”
“Well not yet, but hopefully I’ll get the guts to ask her out. She seems pretty into me.”
I chuckled. “At least this one knows you exist. I’ll be in touch, let me know if something else interesting pops up.”
“I will.” He turned back to the computer as I walked out and dropped my badge off. I walked out into the parking lot and found my little sedan missing. What the hell? A pit formed in my stomach as I mentally went through what was in the car. I kept my gun and my bag on me at all times. The car was registered to the new house. which meant that whoever took it had my address. I cursed and walked around the parking lot a few times. My car wasn’t there. In fact, a different car had parked in the spot on top of crunched glass.
I was stranded at the morgue. I wasn’t even sure who I should call at this point. I didn’t want to talk to Oliver until later. I pulled out my phone and called Simon.
He answered on the third ring. “What’s up, Abby?”
“So, I’m at the morgue.”
“Do you have an ID on Maddy yet?” He cut me off before I could continue.
“No, but that’s not what I’m calling about. Someone stole my car.”
He was quiet on the other end, and then a small laugh came.
“Oh my goddess, it is not that funny!”
His laughter grew, and I couldn’t help but smile a little bit. “Look, at least it didn’t blow up this time. But I need someone to pick me up and since you said you’d take me to pack land…”
“Okay, I’ll swing by and pick you up.” He continued to chuckle. “Don’t forget to file a police report.”
At least that was simpler than explaining to the cops that my car was blown up. “I’ll work on that while you’re on your way.”
He was still laughing when he hung up. Normally I would call Levi and ask him to bring the Hummer down for me to borrow, but since he was out of town, I was going to have to go up there and get it myself. I could ask Clarissa for a ride when I got back tonight. I dialed the non-emergency police number to make my report and hoped it’d pass the time Simon took to get there.
Simon pulled up in his truck, and I pushed off the wall of the building. He shook his head as I climbed into the cab. “Your car was stolen. What did the police say?”
“That they’ll put in a report but don’t hold my breath. I’ll contact Oliver later and have him track it.” I buckled up and leaned back in the cab. “Let’s get this over with.”
He pulled the car out of the parking lot. “Do I want to know why your uncle can track your car?”
“Probably not, but I’m sure you can come to the correct conclusion on your own.” I closed my eyes.
He snorted. “I’m going to keep my mouth shut since it’s not really any of my business anymore.”
That’s right, because we were nothing more than friends, and distant ones at that now. “He just likes to keep tabs on me. Can you blame him?”
“No, I guess I can’t. I’m sure Levi’s not happy about it.” He drove onto the highway.
“I’m not a hundred percent sure Levi knows…” I wasn’t aware of how often Levi and Oliver talked. Last I heard, Levi had contacted Oliver, blaming him for corrupting me. When I had first reconnected with my uncle, he had confessed that he wanted to bind my magic instead of training me like Levi wanted. There was a part of the story I was sure I was missing, but no one was going to tell me what it was.
Simon chuckled. “Then let’s make sure he doesn’t find out. I don’t want to imagine what his reaction would be.”
“He’s on vacation, so he’s not going to find out. I’ll get the car recovered, fix any damage, and take the Hummer back to the mansion without him knowing what happened. I’ll just tell him I had to take my car to the shop.”
“He can tell when you’re lying.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll do it by text message; he won’t know the difference.” And if he did, I doubt he’d say something to my face but talk to my uncle about it instead.
The tall buildings of downtown gave way to houses and fancy housing developments, then finally gave way to trees. This time of year the mountains were still green and lively instead of cold and dead, even though the weather wasn’t quite warm up there yet.
The rest of the drive was quiet. I was stuck in my own head thinking about the case and what Oliver possibly had to tell me, and I was sure Simon had other things on his mind, like how his ex-girlfriend managed to lie to him and wiggle her way into the pack. My thoughts faded as Simon pulled the truck into a little parking lot off the side of the highway. Last time I had been here, the lot had been dirt.
“Done some upgrading, have you?” I asked as I tapped my foot on the asphalt when I got out of the truck.
“It doesn’t hurt to pave it. It’s not like an invite to humans to hang out. It’s marked as a scenic stop, and thanks to your circle, most visitors don’t stay long.”
My circle was there to protect the pack and to ward off unwanted visitors. I was happy to hear that it was doing well, but that made me wonder. “The murderer had to be someone you knew or welcomed onto pack ground.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t feel anything unwelcome cross the circle. I would have known. My circle is still intact.” I glanced at him. “Are you sure none of your pack members could be behind this?”
He shrugged. “I guess my original answer must be wrong. But I have no idea who would be behind this, Abby. Seriously, why would someone dismember my wolves?”
Which brought me to my next question. “Do you know anything that has both wolf and human teeth?”
“Together?” He started towards the thick line of trees. The branches seemed to have grown since the last time I was out here, almost hiding the worn path that I knew led to their pack grounds.
I nodded. “Jason showed me this simulation with a jaw that had human and wolf teeth. It was the only thing that they could get to match the grooves in the bones.”
His steps hesitated for a minute. “There are some of us who have a half-wolf, half-human form. Normally it’s someone who is extremely strong. Like, can control everything about their shift strong, not just when it occurs and keeping their human mind. I mean like every muscle change and every bone crack. But I always thought that was a rumor.”
“So you haven’t had a chance to look in the mouth of one then?” I tried to keep my voice light, but there wasn’t much I could do with a myth or a rumor. “I don’t know much about the anatomy of werewolves, though I’m learning. What kind of person would be able to do this? Clearly not a pup, but as an alpha, this isn’t an ability that you possess?”
He shook his head, and we broke through the tree line. My magic wrapped around my body, warming me to the bone, welcoming me home. I closed my eyes and let out a contented sigh. If it wasn’t for the not-so-friendly pack of werewolves, I could have run to this place anytime I needed to regroup. It was mine. The circle recharged my magic and my emotions. I resisted the urge to take off my shoes and walk barefooted to ground myself in the magic and the earth.
“No, it’s not something that I possess. I haven’t seen it firsthand either. Like I said, I just thought it was a rumor. Don’t you guys have a database for this stuff? Shouldn’t you be keeping track of what kind of person has that ability?”
I’m sure we probably had some kind of information in a database, but I don’t think that was an ability listed under the registered werewolves. “I honestly have no idea; I’ll have to check when I get back. I just thought I’d pass it by you because that could narrow our suspects tremendously.”
I opened my eyes and looked at the log house that stood in the middle of the circle. The outside wood logs looked worn and old, but inside I knew was filled with modern stainless steel appliances and a breakfast nook to match. Flat screen televisions, and beds to house the wolves. It wasn’t what most people expected of log cabins, but the wolves enjoyed their commodities since the pups were stuck here for six months after being infected.
“There’s no one in the pack that I know of that carries that ability.” He shook his head. “So it had to be a friend of the pack.”
I shook my head. “You should have had someone come out here and look at the scene. If they weren’t killed here, it’s possible a pack member brought the bodies here.”
“So someone working with the monster.” He ran a hand through his hair and then shook his head. “I don’t know who would risk that.”
I didn’t either, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to find at this crime scene since they had taken care of the bodies. “You said the bodies were the same?”
“Less blood in the house, but yes.” He nodded and motioned to the house in question. “Do you want to take a look and see if you can work your magic?”
I nodded. “Yeah, let me take a look.” I wasn’t sure what spell, if any, I could perform tonight. I had what was in my bag. I could perform a trace spell. I had practiced it a few times since I learned with Merick, but I couldn’t promise to keep my control. No, that wasn’t going to be the right route.
I followed Simon into the house. The area smelled vaguely of bleach and the chemicals that I assumed they used to clean up the blood. “How many pups do you have here right now?”
“None, there haven’t been any since Greg was alpha.” There was something in his voice I couldn’t decipher.
He sat at the breakfast counter and shook his head. “The wolves have been careful as of late. There haven’t
been any rogue werewolves in our territory, so there are no pups that are my responsibility.”
That was good to know. “So no possible witnesses. No security cameras?”
“No, because some people don’t want to risk their identities being recorded and handed out to the tabloids.” He glanced over his shoulder at me. “I’ve tried all the routes you’re going to think of, except for magic.”
I sighed. “I’m just covering my bases, that’s all. I’m not sure what spell to use at the moment. You cleaned up all the blood, but even if there were some left, chances are that it was the victims and would lead me to a dead body. I can’t control a trace spell on my own yet. At least not one that’s tied to such strong emotions.” I shook my head. “My circle wasn’t disturbed, so I can’t do anything that way.”
“Then why did you want to come look?” There was a sharpness in his voice I hadn’t expected.
“You invited me to come look. I was hoping there was something that you missed. Clearly, you’ve thought of everything.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm from my voice as I reminded him that he wanted me here and on this case.
His nostrils flared and his eyes flashed yellow. Jumping up, he made the stool clatter to the ground. My heart skipped a beat when he threw himself forward. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t his body hitting mine. We fell to the ground with a thump, and something whizzed by over his shoulder. He snarled in my ear. “Stay down and stay still.”
I gave a very subtle nod as I tried to search for whatever passed over him and where it came from. My eyes darted all around, but I couldn’t see anything flat on my back. Simon kept me pinned to the ground as his gaze moved over the room. I smelt something in the air. Something hot.
“Fire.” Simon snarled and bolted for the door. I jumped up and started to follow him, but stopped as I saw the flames in the kitchen. I could stop this.
“Abby!” Simon stood at the front door. “Get out. Before it spreads.”
But it had already taken over most of the kitchen. Accelerant of some sort, I was sure of it. I shook my head and focused on the fire. I used my magic and energy to demand that it disappear. The flames slowly died down and then dissipated.
To Skin a Wolf Page 6