“Shut up, Holt,” Kelly interrupted. “Look, we don’t owe you any explanations. We—”
“But you do,” Kristine countered. “You attacked me because you thought I was part of this group that pretends to have a woo-woo cover? But what is it that you’re supposed to do even if you do find some members, if you’re not affiliated with them?”
“Make ’em look bad,” Kelly said. “Make you look bad, since we were already told you’re part of that Alpha Force. Like I said, don’t deny it.”
“Who told you that?” Kristine demanded.
“Look, here’s the deal. You’re not pressing charges against us, and we won’t make any complaints against you,” Kelly said, apparently negotiating. “No talk outside this room about stupid stuff like werewolves, either.”
“That’s basically fine,” Quinn agreed. “But I want more information first. Why are you supposed to make this Alpha Force look bad?”
“Orders,” Kelly said.
“From who?” demanded Quinn.
“Wouldn’t say even if I knew,” Kelly responded. “But those two disappeared honeymooners were supposedly part of that outfit. We’re here to figure out what really happened to the murdered tourists, and if we can tie it to those two missing people, all the better.”
“Then where do you think those honeymooners are?” Quinn demanded. “Do you know? Did you attack Kristine because you thought she was getting close to them?”
“We don’t know where they are,” Kelly said. “Last we heard, they were spotted before the tourists were killed somewhere around one of Acadia’s nature preserves. Around the Wild Gardens, I think. But they could have gone anywhere in the park. They had to have been there where the tourists died.” He looked straight at Quinn. “Look, we were told that the two of you are part of that unit but you’ve gone rogue, looking into the killings yourselves against direct orders not to. We’re supposed to figure out what really happened and at the same time make you look bad. That’s all I know.”
“But why?” Kristine asked. “And who told you to do that?”
And who knew they were countering direct orders besides Major Connell, who’d unofficially approved what they were up to?
“Like I said before—” Kelly now sounded exhausted, and he had collapsed back onto his raised bed “—I don’t know where it came from. But now you know all I do. If you figure out who killed those damned tourists, let us know.”
* * *
Before they left the hospital, Kristine had one more thing she wanted to do. Telling Quinn to keep his distance, she approached the nurses’ station nearest the room they had just exited.
The golden-haired nurse behind the desk was named Bridget, according to the name tag pinned to the sweater over her white uniform.
“Hi,” Kristine said. “My name is Kristine. I used to be a nurse before I got married and moved away.”
She glanced behind her and shot Quinn a caring look. He didn’t look happy, possibly because he wasn’t pleased that she wasn’t using a story fully conforming with their cover. But she had her reasons.
“I also—well, you might have heard that those two men attacked me, and I had to fight back, with some help. They said they both had concussions. Because of the situation, well...I know because of confidentiality that you can’t say much, but do you think they’ll be here awhile longer for observation? I never hurt anyone before, so I hope they’ll be okay—especially since you never know if someone’s going to sue because of claimed injuries. I’d also love to know how long they’re likely to be here so I can watch out for them.” She tried to look both rueful and upset.
The nurse frowned slightly, and her full cheeks flattened a little. “I really shouldn’t say,” she said in a low voice, “but I don’t think it’ll hurt to let you know that it’s the policy here to keep patients with possible concussions for at least a couple of days to try to ensure improvement. I did hear about what happened, and so did a lot of others on staff here. Glad you’re okay, at least. You can always notify the authorities that you’re worried when those guys are released. I’d imagine the cops will be keeping an eye on them, too.”
“Thanks.” Kristine beamed at the woman. “I really appreciate your help. I’m so worried about the situation, even though I did nothing wrong. It was self-defense on my part and—well, I’d be grateful if you’d try to keep them under observation as long as possible to make sure there’s no permanent damage...and to keep me from having to worry about where they are.”
Not that a nurse had much to do with treatment or length of stay, Kristine thought, as she finally walked out with Quinn. But doctors did sometimes listen when a nurse expressed concern. And Bridget had at least acted simpatico.
Maybe Quinn and she would know, at least for a while, where Kelly and Holt were.
* * *
Quinn drove their rental car out of the hospital parking lot into the nearest lane. As he turned onto Main Street, the satellite phone rang. Kristine pulled it out of her purse and answered.
“What the hell is going on there?” demanded Maj. Drew Connell.
“What do you mean, sir?” Kristine asked. As Quinn glanced at her, he saw how wide her blue eyes were as she stared at the phone now lying on the dashboard between them. “We just spoke to those two DSPA operatives in the hospital and—”
“You’d better have gotten something good from them,” the major interjected, his angry tone filling the entire rental car. “It’s just been made very clear to me that your injuring them, putting them into the hospital, has jeopardized the entire operation. Even the ongoing viability of Alpha Force.”
“But, sir,” Kristine began, “like I told you, they attacked me. What I did was self-defense. Quinn was shifted, but what he did wasn’t out of line. Since we knocked the guys unconscious, they’re not pushing too hard with their claims that one of those they fought with was a wolf. I’m guessing they don’t really believe in shapeshifters at all, let alone outside of a full moon. Plus, Quinn didn’t hurt the guy he attacked any differently from the way a human would. So why is Alpha Force in trouble?”
Quinn wanted to interrupt with his own angry questions, but Kristine was doing fine...for now.
“Because it is,” Drew responded. “Because we were under orders not to get involved at all with the investigation of those tourist maulings, and I didn’t discourage you from doing it on your own. I should have, though. I just got reamed by the general, and I’m on my way to D.C. now. He was called to a meeting at the Pentagon to discuss Alpha Force, what it really is and the involvement of its members in the ugly attacks that have occurred in Acadia recently—including the DSPA’s own agents. He says there’s more to it, too, that he can’t reveal yet. But even more, there are additional ugly rumors that too many Alpha Force members have been acting way out of line.”
“You mean like Simon and Grace supposedly did?” Quinn finally jumped into the conversation. “That’s exactly why we were on those two DSPA guys. They acted like they’re sure the honeymooners were responsible for the attacks on the civilians. They didn’t seem entirely convinced about shapeshifting, though—a good thing. But I gathered that they may consider that just some kind of odd cover story to allow Alpha Force to engage in some terrorist acts without repercussions. What we need to do now—”
“What you need to do is back off,” Drew said. “Immediately.” His voice was lower, but the tone was unambiguous. They were under orders.
Quinn had continued driving when the conversation began. But as it progressed he had pulled into a grocery mart parking lot so he could concentrate on what was being said.
And counter it if necessary.
“I understand,” he said, “but something is going on here that we haven’t figured out yet. Maybe I’m just feeling paranoid as a new member of Alpha Force who hasn’t even been assigned an official mission yet, but there are too many complaints about our unit—and too many people gunning for us who don’t even know what we’re about. Somethin
g about that seems very fishy to me. I thought that the military is more discreet than that, that covert means covert.”
He glanced at Kristine. She didn’t look happy.
“It has nothing to do with the military,” she said, “but there appear to be a lot of people willing to believe that Simon and Grace—on their honeymoon, yet—decided to do something really nasty and kill people. Those with even a hint of knowledge about Alpha Force seem sure they grew violent while shifted, and others may think they simply mutilated the tourists to make people think wild animals did it. But no one has come up with a motive for them.”
“No one has found them yet, either,” Quinn added. He watched out the windshield as people pushed grocery carts past them. Hardly anyone glanced toward their car, which was a good thing. “But those DSPA guys—they gave us a possible clue when we were in their hospital room just now.”
“What’s that?” Drew demanded.
“They told us the last place anyone appears to have seen Simon and Grace—near a nature preserve within Acadia.” Quinn paused, then continued, “We still have nearly three weeks until the next full moon, when they’ll have to shift at least part of the time whether they want to or not, even if they’ve got some version of Simon’s imperfect meds or the newest form of the Alpha Force elixir with them. In case they do, or there’s some evidence still around, I want to check that area out while in wolf form and also look for any clues that people would miss. I plan to do it tonight.”
Drew said nothing for a few seconds. “All right,” he finally said. “I won’t order you home immediately. But be careful. And report to me first thing in the morning—and right away if you find any sign of them.”
“Yes, sir,” Quinn said. Kristine echoed the words.
Quinn reached up to the dashboard and turned off the phone. He shook his head. “This kind of investigation is hard enough without—” He stopped, knowing that Kristine realized he was about to criticize the military again. Instead, he said, “Looks like tonight’s going to be even more significant than we thought.”
“And we already thought it would be critical,” she replied. “Let’s go somewhere private to discuss strategy.”
* * *
They walked slowly near the brookside area, one of twelve habitats within the Wild Gardens of Acadia. Kristine had taken Quinn’s hand and held on tightly—and not entirely to maintain their cover as newlyweds. She wondered if she needed to control him—or herself.
“They can’t still be near here,” Kristine said dejectedly. “Presumably, since the moon was full, they were shifted the night those tourists were killed, but they’d have changed back to human form by dawn. And if they had no elixir or other meds along—”
“They’d have stayed in human form,” Quinn finished. He looked down at the park brochure he held in his other hand. “The Nature Center’s just over there.” He pointed to their right. “It’s housed in a building, at least.”
“And you don’t think any of the park personnel would have noticed a couple of strangers hanging around there? Or wolves?” Kristine used sarcasm to hide the sadness—and hint of panic—that she had begun to feel.
“Who knows? My bro is a pretty resourceful guy, and I suspect his bride is, too.”
“That resourceful?” Kristine demanded, even as they began walking in the direction of the Nature Center.
Quinn stopped. She looked up into his face as he planted himself in front of her on the path. “Look, I don’t want to think they really had anything to do with killing those people. But if they did, and they needed to hide...well, yeah, they could be that resourceful. Otherwise...”
He tapered off, but Kristine finished the thought—something they had not even discussed. Hadn’t wanted to discuss.
But one reason no one had seen her former boss and her new husband could be because they were off the radar altogether.
Dead.
And that was something Kristine could not accept. Not unless there was evidence.
She could only pray that, whatever Quinn learned around here tonight, it wasn’t that.
A while later that afternoon, Quinn called the hospital. The DSPA men were still there.
The time was right, then. That night, she drove him back to the Wild Gardens and parked in the lot closest to that area and the nearby Nature Center. There weren’t many people around there at that hour.
It was time for him to shift again.
* * *
He was deep in the forest, beyond the multiple, diverse plant communities of the Wild Gardens. He crept slowly on his sensitive paws, his ears alert, his nose, too, taking in all the diverse scents around the area and searching for more.
He had hated to leave Kristine. The last time she was alone while he was shifted, she had been attacked. Those who attacked her remained in the hospital, but other people in their organization might be under orders to assist in the downfall of Alpha Force.
Finding anything tonight would be a long shot. But he had to at least attempt to take advantage of what those men had told him.
Was there any possibility that Simon and Grace remained in this area? It was more than a week ago when they had been spotted here, so Quinn knew how unlikely it was.
Even so...he began circling, still slowly, senses alert for all wildlife.
As before, there were nocturnal rodents. Birds. Even reptiles.
No wolves.
He waited, circling even more for long minutes that turned into an hour, or so he believed. That night’s moon wasn’t so visible overhead any longer.
And still he scented and listened. And hoped.
More time passed. He had sensed no human presences save for Kristine—whom he checked on often as she remained locked in their vehicle. She seemed fine.
Nor did he sense any other canines in the area, not coyotes or wild dogs or anything else. Still, he continued to prowl.
Daylight would return soon. He would change back then, or earlier if he chose.
He moved farther and farther from the area where he had begun his hopeful quest, continuing to circle, to try to sense any unusual presence. Any other wolf.
Finally, he could resist no longer. There had been no humans but Kristine around for hours. Only she would hear...
He sat on his haunches, lifted his muzzle in the air.
And howled.
Then, he listened. If there were other wolves around within their keen earshot, they would respond.
Nothing.
Not surprising, of course. Especially when he had no belief that his brother and his brother’s bride would be shifted tonight, when the moon was far from being full and they were outside the aegis of their military unit.
But though he had found no indication of their having been here, he had also found no sign that they had died here.
He could maintain hope that they were still alive.
Chapter 14
What was Quinn doing? How was he doing?
From the car’s driver’s seat in the parking lot, surrounded by trees and the almost hidden walls of a couple of buildings, Kristine heard the howl of a wolf nearby. It had to be Quinn.
No responsive howls, though. Not that she had really expected to hear any, not even from any local coyotes or wild dogs. Even so, she was eager to see Quinn and make sure he was all right. And, as doubtful as it was, to hear if he had found any sign at all of Simon and Grace.
Kristine moved in her seat, peering out through the windshield. The parking lot near the Nature Center and other park visitor sites was illuminated only by the moon, which had begun to slip down below the top of the tree line. That meant she would be in darkness soon.
Of course she had come prepared for that—and more.
She was no fool. For one thing, she had kept fully alert as she sat in the car waiting for Quinn to return.
She kept the doors locked, too. Her cell phone was near her hand. Her Taser was still in her hotel room, this time.
But her military-issue weap
on was right beneath her seat.
Sure, she could have let Quinn out of the vehicle, waited for him to shift, then driven off, planning to come back at daybreak for him.
That was what he’d told her to do, in fact, just before the sun went down. She’d be safer. But though his concern had turned her warm and fuzzy inside, she had kept her demeanor neutral. She had thanked him and left his clothes hidden behind a building, where he’d wanted them, but made no promises.
Within the last hour, she had seen the wolf that was him poke his nose into the parking lot every once in a while, in the moonlight, so she knew he was aware she remained there.
Fortunately, although the spring night was cool, the fleece jacket she had brought was heavy enough to keep her warm. She felt comfortable.
She also felt alert. And concerned. What had that howl meant? Should she go see? Surely, Quinn was all right.
Before she could decide what to do, she saw headlights approaching along the road toward the parking lot. Rangers patrolling for security? Tourists arriving to see dawn in Acadia?
The car pulled onto the pavement nearby, and Kristine felt her blood start to freeze. The vehicle was much too familiar.
It was the one that had been driven by those DSPA guys.
So they were out of the hospital? That wasn’t what they’d been told, but she shouldn’t be surprised. Doctors didn’t tend to keep people for long in hospitals. Kelly and Holt might still be in pain, but if they’d insisted on leaving and their physical condition was nonthreatening, they might have been released.
But what were they doing here?
Had they set Quinn and her up—again—by mentioning the area around this nature preserve?
Memories of their assailing her the last time made her consider turning on the engine to flee. But she’d come out of that okay. They hadn’t. Would they really want to try again to harm her?
Of course, this time they’d be prepared.
Well, so was she.
She stuck her phone into her left pocket, then bent down for the gun beneath the seat. That would only be a last resort. Maybe the Taser would have been a better idea, but it hadn’t done much good last time.
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