Just like our current crime scene. I continued to scan the article. No suspects were named or caught because it was deemed an animal attack. I copied and pasted the names of the victims and not only their death records and birth records came up; an old pack registration came up. These were rare for such a long time ago, but some packs still kept records even though they weren’t required to by the government, since the government didn’t know that they existed.
I looked over and recognized the name of the pack. The one that had been disbanded in California for being violent. I went back to the article and reread for details. There had been a kid involved, one who had bite marks. Zachary Ingram.
Well, shit. He came back home after his pack had been disbanded. How did he end up in California? I dug, looking for any record, but none could be found. Just his registration to that pack and it was without a date. Which was odd, but then again, no one was perfect at keeping paperwork.
Now I knew the connection with the restaurant. Though being over twenty years, I was surprised to see that it was still standing and hadn’t been sold. Maybe it belonged to an obscure relative that didn’t want to sell it. Maybe it had been left in a will and the taxes were paid up on the property. There were so many ways that it could have been left standing and untouched.
Zachary’s arrest warrant popped up with his name as well. Placing the date at the same time that the murders in California had happened. The report on his supposed death was the one that I was more interested in though. I clicked and the digital copy opened.
They had arrested him and put him in a containment van, just as Madeline had said. The van crashed because of being struck by a semi-truck, and a chemical mix and spark had set it on fire. The fire burned hot enough that all they found were three skeletons in the van. There was no report of DNA testing or dental records, but it was assumed that it had been two PIB agents and Zachary. Which is how his profile had been labeled deceased. Interesting.
I made some notes and shoved the notebook in my bag. I needed to get up to the pack lands and talk to Simon about this and see what direction we wanted to go. Zachary clearly had some problem if he was acting out what happened to his parents. I didn’t know if there was such a thing as wolf rehab or not.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I walked into the pack cabin and found Simon sitting there with all the pups. They looked at me, stood, and walked out of the room. I glanced at Simon. “Did I offend them?”
“No, I told them that you wanted peace and quiet to work your magic. That if they were lucky, this would let you find the person that changed them.”
I nodded. “If we’re lucky. I have a feeling that in Mesa there was a murder and no one has reported it to PIB, one that matches ours down here and the victim was a member of that pack in Cali. These pups, they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s it.” I sat down on the couch next to him. “The werewolves that brought them to you were part of the old pack, and they were trying to hunt him down because PIB says he’s dead. Died in a fire and with bodies burned so badly that they didn’t even attempt DNA testing.” I shook my head. “It’s almost the perfect crime. He’s a ghost taking advantage of the chaos of the protests to egg the people on and take out members of his old pack.”
“Are you sure that’s what’s going on?” Simon leaned his head back. “Someone has to be pretty psychotic to kill that many people.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s because his mind is scarred, something in his brain says this is how an alpha behaves. He saw his parents murdered in the same way that he’s killing the wolves.” He was a victim of trauma, that would screw up anyone’s brain. “He was changed by that creature. Somehow he ended up in the pack in California and became alpha.” There was no real paper trail on that, so I couldn’t begin to know how he became the alpha.
“I guess he continued what that alpha was doing, and maybe even was changed by that alpha. I don’t know because that alpha is dead and I have no witnesses to that attack other than him.”
“And it’s not like he’s going to sit down and have a friendly conversation with you.” Simon snorted. “We still need to think of a way to get him here once you find his location.”
I nodded. “I know, but are we sure that you guys have to kill him? If I take him into PIB, can we get him some type of werewolf rehab?”
“Abby, that doesn’t exist.” He chuckled. “You can take him in, but what’s stopping him from faking his death again and killing the rest of the old pack?”
He had a point, but pack justice…I’d seen them eat a man alive before. It wasn’t pretty, and some nights I still heard the screams in my head. “I’ll have to make sure this comes to a dead end for PIB if I do this.”
“It’s simple.” A small voice from the hall said.
I turned and saw Madeline standing there. “How?”
“You tell them that he disappeared, that he planted the evidence. My father known as Joshua doesn’t exist except on paper. The pack that he pretended to have in the other county, it doesn’t exist at all. The records are all fake except for mine and his. That’s why it was so alarming that someone was pretending to be me. On paper the pack is perfect, and yes, it would have been a great union between Simon and I…if the pack were real.”
I glanced at Simon. “How did you not know the pack was fake?”
He shrugged. “I never went out to see it. The deal was that if it worked out between us, then I would visit the pack. The transitioning of the pack has been rough, Greg’s notes said they liked to be left alone. I really haven’t had the extra time to go meet the neighbors. But now that I know she wasn’t Madeline, it all makes sense why she avoided me going out there and there was always an excuse for why her father couldn’t visit.”
I needed to teach Simon how to be more paranoid about things and question them more often. The poor wolf was going to get himself killed. “Okay. So if I dig further into that pack, everything will come up fake.”
“Yes.” She hadn’t led me wrong yet, and I could work it into the investigation within PIB standards. It occurred to me for just a moment that this was the stuff I wouldn’t be able to get away with had Nick still been my partner. Part of me was concerned with how easily I could manipulate a case without someone knowing. Maybe that’s why Boss Man had partnered me without being willing to move Nick to his own cases, even though we both disliked working with a partner.
“Any ideas on how to get your father here?” Simon asked. “Something that doesn’t put any of my wolves in danger?”
She nodded. “Let me go to him and tell him that you’re here, that the witch has located him and will come with PIB.”
“That puts you in danger.” Simon shook his head. “You’re one of my wolves.”
I sat back and thought for a moment. “What if you tell him that Simon’s pack wants to make peace? Negotiate pack justice for the wolves that have wronged him? That way the pack can be moved out of the public’s eye. That’s better for the pack and keeps her out of trouble. Then she’s just seen as the messenger.”
“And how did she find us?” Simon shook his head. “There are too many holes.”
“Agent Collins came to talk to me, saying that the local pack leader wanted to contact him. It’s simple. I came as his liaison to make sure it wasn’t a trap.”
“When he gets here, the pack takes it from there.” I shrugged. “I tie up the ends with PIB.”
Simon nodded. “I don’t want you on site, Abby.”
“I’d rather be here in case something goes wrong.” I shook my head. “I’ve seen this man move.”
“There’s a bunch of us; we can take him.” Simon met my gaze. “Please. I don’t want you involved in this any more than you have to be. You’ve already seen pack justice once.”
Twice really, if you counted the battle with Mina. “Okay, but you call me the moment everything settles.”
“Or if something goes wrong.” He nodded. “So get to your tracking spell. Whic
h version are you going to use?”
“I only have his hair, so it’s going to have to be the map version. I’d rather have one I can follow, but since Madeline has to go alone, that wouldn’t do us any good at all.” I shook my head. “A blood one would be nice, but again, no blood, just hair. You have a map?”
He stood, and disappeared down the hall. Madeline took his place next to me on the couch. “Thank you.”
“For what?” I turned so I could see her completely.
She took a deep breath. “For letting the pack handle this. For freeing me from the monster that my father is.”
“Can you tell me his reasoning behind this?”
She nodded. “It’s similar to what you thought. The alpha of the pack in California had heard about his history and threw him in the rings to fight. This was after I was born, but I was too young to understand what was going on. He infected me by force when he found out that I wasn’t carrying the lycanthrope virus.” She looked away from me. “And that’s when the alpha started to groom him to take his place. It was inevitable that someone was going to kill Tim, the original alpha, but no one would challenge my father if he stepped up. Tim was poisoned, this was right before packs had to be registered and monitored by the government. Then that happened, and things started to go downhill. He wasn’t able to keep the pack together, and the other wolves were able to work against him to get the pack disbanded and everyone relocated.”
“And I know the rest from there.” I shook my head. “That’s a lot of people to kill for revenge.”
“Simon said it; he’s psychotic, there’s no other explanation. The alpha really screwed him up, but that’s what he was good at, screwing with people’s minds.”
So I wasn’t too far off with my theory. “Thank you.”
“Anything to bring him down.” She stood and walked out of the room. I grabbed my bag and went outside. I didn’t want to perform the magic in the house. I sat down and closed my eyes, taking a moment to ground myself.
“Here’s your map. I’ll leave you to your magic.” Simon dropped the map next to me. “Let me know what you learn.”
I nodded and grabbed the map, opening it. It wasn’t a street map, but a topical one with coordinates. “Thank you.” It wasn’t what I was used to, but I could make anything work. I pulled the bag of hair out of my bag, spreading it on the map. I pushed my magic out and into the ground, focusing on it finding the circle. A thrill shot through me when it hit the edges. This was my circle; it welcomed me with open arms, and with active magic, it threw a purple haze around the area. It was nice to see that my magic still defaulted to protection.
I laid the strands of hair on the map and uttered the spell that would help me track where Zachary was. Luckily for me, my magic blocked out natural wind so the hair wouldn’t be swept away, but the spell caused an unnatural wind that moved the hairs how they needed to be.
A tracking spell with hair wasn’t as accurate as with blood because blood held a piece of the person’s life force. The strand moved over the map in a swirl, dancing across the lines of mountains and rivers, valleys and dips in the land. I held my breath, willing them to stop. I needed this spell to work. We needed this plan to work.
Finally, the hair formed a circle around coordinates. I pulled out my notebook and wrote them down. I put as much of the hair as I could back in the bag. Pulling my magic back into me, the purple haze faded with it. I gathered the map and went back inside. Simon and Madeline waited there, talking idly with each other.
“I need to borrow your computer to look up the location.”
Simon nodded and motioned to the hall. “First door on the left is the common room computer.”
I took myself back there. Bookshelves lined the walls, except for the built-in desk that housed a desktop computer with a flat-screen monitor. Bean bags and pillows filled the floor to the point that I had to move them with my feet to clear the path. None of the pups were in here, and it made me wonder where they were, probably watching TV in a different room. Had I been stuck here for six months, I would have spent a good chunk of it in this room.
I sat down at the desk. With a stroke of the keyboard, the monitor woke up and displayed a web browser already open for me. I typed in the numbers and hit enter. The address that popped up had me reaching for my phone. The device rang before my fingers even touched it.
I swiped it. “Agent Collins speaking.”
“Someone set fire to the restaurant.” Mason’s voice came across the receiver. The sounds of wailing sirens and shouting almost covered him up. “Everyone got out safe, but we lost all the evidence. Did you get any history on the building?”
“Yeah, it belonged to Zachary’s family before they were murdered in it. I have a feeling he set it on fire.” I cursed. “Can’t confirm it though. Did they at least get a chance to get the bodies removed?”
“Yes, and they are on the way to the morgue. Jason will let you know if they match the heads that we found.”
There was that at least; there was going to be something other than heads for the families to bury. “Thanks, I’ll deal with the lack of evidence when I can.” This would work to my advantage in the case of pack justice. “I’ll talk to you later.” I hung up. I stared at the address of the restaurant and wondered if Zachary was trying to cover up his tracks or if he was mocking us. I was willing to bet it was both.
“Do you have something?” Simon walked in and looked over my shoulder. “I’ll let Madeline know. Maybe he hasn’t left yet.”
“I’m wondering how he managed to set a crime scene on fire without someone noticing that he was there.” I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms.
“Maybe they weren’t expecting him to return, so he was able to slip in. You don’t normally see what you aren’t looking for or expecting.”
He had a point. It was often how murder suspects were able to return to the scene. I sighed. “Send Madeline and let’s get this plan started.”
“And again—“
“Yes, I know, you don’t want me here. That’s fine because I have to prepare for tomorrow night.”
He raised a brow. “Another case? A date?”
“Levi has requested Oliver and me to do a trace spell.”
“Magic with your uncle? You’re getting more and more comfortable with him around.”
I shrugged. “I don’t really have a choice most days. Call me to let me know how this goes?”
“I will, and I’ll call you if I need you.”
Hopefully, he wouldn’t need me. “I’d like her to stay.” Madeline came in. “If the pack can’t take care of him, she can. With magic.”
“I don’t use my magic to kill.” I shook my head. “Sorry, that taints an aura too much.”
“But you could trap him here? With a circle, right?”
I gave a slow nod. “Yes, are you expecting him to run?”
“I am when he realizes that he’s here for an ambush. If the pack fails, you can take him in to PIB if it makes you feel less guilty.” She crossed her arms and stared at me. “You already have blood on your hands.”
“Not with this case, I don’t.”
“You must feel like you do if you’re even willing to try this.”
I kept my emotions in check. “Don’t assume you know my reasoning; you don’t know anything about me.” I glanced at Simon. “What say you, pack master?”
He looked between the two of us. “You can stay, stay out of sight though. If you’re here, you have to make him aware that you’re acting on Levi’s behalf.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That means I have to play by political rules and offer my neck.”
“Which he may very well tear out.”
“And your neck?”
“I’m alpha; I don’t have to. It’s a perk of being on the top of the pack.” He glanced at Madeline. “I just want you to be aware that if you are planning on betraying my protection, you’ll also be killed in this.”
She bowed her he
ad. “I am aware. I plan on making my switch to this pack official once this is all over.”
Part of me felt a ping of jealousy, just another female in the pack to have Simon’s attention. I squashed down the emotion. We weren’t dating, even after this case we probably wouldn’t date because it showed how crazy our lives got.
“I’m off to talk to my father.” Madeline didn’t so much as glance behind her as she walked off. Leaving Simon and me alone in the common room.
“There’s no promise that he’s going to show up tonight if you want to go deal with Levi’s case,” Simon said after a couple minutes of silence.
I shook my head. “I told Oliver that I’d handle it tomorrow night. Besides, there’s a chance that I wouldn’t be up to this afterward.”
“Is it dangerous?” He sat down on one of the beanbags.
“The spell? No, it just takes a lot of energy. I’ve been able to perform little ones on my own, but this one will be massive.”
“Which is why you need Oliver’s help.” He put the facts together. “Where did you learn it?”
“Merick taught me on the last case. He helped me do it right after Nick died. My emotions fed into the spell and I almost lost control. Merick let me lead after I took over the circle, I don’t know if Oliver will or not. I’ve never worked magic specifically with him, at least nothing like this.”
He shook his head. “You’re always pushing your limits.”
“I know.” I laughed. “I wanted Nick to help me, but he refused.”
“Any reason why?”
“Doesn’t matter now. He didn’t live to see the results.” I sighed. “I’m going to curl up in here and take a nap. Let me know when we hear back from Madeline?”
“Yeah. I need to start calling the pack back here, so we have the backup that we need.”
“What about the other half of the pack?”
He pressed his lips together. “I could try and call on them for a truce for now, but I can’t promise what would happen after we take down Zachary.”
To Skin a Wolf Page 17