“It’s not our beast.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself.
Bobby had been watching the medical examiner at work on the body. His head jerked up. “What are you talking about?”
“I told you the same thing at Elaine Warren’s. The cut is too precise.” She pointed. “It looks like it was made with a sharp instrument rather than a claw. And look at that blood? The Chupacabra never leaves any of the blood.” She looked up at him. “Remember Darrell Franklin’s body? Not a drop of blood around.”
“I think you’re making too much of that,” he told her. “I’d say with these last two bodies the killer was in too much of a hurry. Or maybe something interrupted him. Remember, we speculated Harland Warren had come home and frightened off whoever it was only too late to save his wife.”
“Bobby, if we go back to the barracks and you let me put pictures up on the big screen to compare, you’ll see the difference.”
He shoved his gloved hands in the pockets of his jacket. “We’ll see. I just think you’re on the wrong trail here. That’s why I wanted you to see the body.”
“No.” She tamped down her anger. “I think you are, tying these last two killings to the Franklin one.”
“Sophia.” His face was set in stubborn line. “I’ve got three dead bodies in less than a week. That tells me I have a homicidal maniac on my hands and he seems to be escalating.”
“Have you checked into the Warrens?” she asked. “To see if anyone could suggest something might be wrong in their marriage? He could be taking advantage of this situation to get rid of his wife.”
“And what about this body? What does Bradley Howard have to do with Elaine Warren?”
“I don’t know, but you might want to find out.”
“We talked to people at the hospital after Elaine was murdered,” he pointed out. “There was nothing anyone could tell us. Her coworkers said she seemed a lot more subdued lately but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. No one was stalking her. She hadn’t had a problem with anyone at the hospital.”
“And yet two hospital technicians are murdered with twenty-four hours. You don’t think that’s odd?”
“I think this maniac is choosing his victims at random. These two don’t appear to have any connection to Franklin.”
“My point exactly.” She clenched her fists. “Why are you being so stubborn about this? You’re a good detective. You usually look at every angle.”
“But I don’t usually have killings this vicious,” he snapped. “I just don’t believe anyone around here would do this. I know these people.”
“Do you mind if I do a little digging myself?” She wasn’t about to let this go. Her gut instinct was telling her there was more to be found here.
“You aren’t on the force anymore,” he pointed out. “You have no official status.”
“Then let me have Rebecca. We always worked well together. Please, Bobby. Half a day. That’s all I ask. Have someone pull the background on Warren and Howard for me so I can review everything and Bec and I will go ask some questions. What can you lose except half a day? And what if we’re right?”
“Jesus.” He blew out a breath. “You’re as much of a pain in the ass as you always were. All right. I’m sure you’ll give me no peace otherwise. I’ll call the barracks and have someone get the info together for you. And I’ll send Bec to you as soon as we’re done here.”
“Thank you.”
“Does this mean no snowmobiles?” he asked.
“Not at the moment. But Logan and I still need to do what’s necessary before the devil beast attacks someone else. If it follows its usual pattern we can expect two more kills in a short period of time.”
“We could use your help in that area, too, Bobby,” Logan interjected.
“Yeah?” Bobby cocked an eyebrow. “Like how?”
“It would be a really big help if you ask the sheriff to have his deputies patrol some of the areas I’ll show you on the map. We could use eyes at night.”
“And what am I supposed to tell them? To look for some mythical evil creature?”
“Just tell them to report anything unusual they see. If you’re right and we’re wrong, then it gives you extra eyes looking for a raving maniac who’s hacking up the population of Aroostook County.”
“Logan and I always have our cell phones on,” Sophia added. “If they find anything we can be there very quickly.”
Maybe Clint will run at night with Logan again. We’ll use the little radios the guys hang around their necks when they run as wolves, so we can communicate with them.
Bobby turned up his jacket collar. “That’s not a bad idea. I’d already planned to talk to the sheriff about this, anyway. He ought to be able to help us out. Except for our sudden spate of dead bodies the crime rate here is pretty low.”
“Thank you.” Sophia dredged up a smile. “I’ll have Logan take me back to the barracks. If you could have someone get me the background information on the Warrens and Bradley Howard I’d appreciate it. Friends, relatives, all that stuff. We’ll start at the hospital with their coworkers.” She paused. “And at the end of the day when everyone’s back, you let me put up the comparison pictures on the big screen in the conference room.”
“Shit. Anything else? Want me to assign the whole team to you?”
Sophia bit back her retort. “I truly appreciate everything you’ve done, Bobby.”
Rebecca walked back to the car with them.
“I don’t know why Bobby’s being so stubborn,” she said. “Except I think he’s having a hard time with the fact that someone he knows might be killing in this fashion.”
“If he can get the deputies to patrol at night for us it will be a big help. Cut down the territory we have to cover.”
Rebecca looked at Logan. “Will you be helping with the questioning, too?”
He looked at Sophia. “I think I have some other things to do.”
Bec frowned. “Like what? Are you going out on the snowmobile by yourself?”
“Not exactly.” He looked at Sophia again.
“I’ll tell you what, Bec,” she told her sister. “Bobby said you could meet me back at the barracks when you’re through here.”
“To work on this with you.”
“Then come find me wherever I am. Before I get out and start talking to people, we’ll go catch a cup of coffee somewhere and have a little discussion.”
“About what?” She looked from one to the other with a puzzled expression.
“About…stuff. Okay? But right now I want to get going.”
She hugged her sister deliberately to end the conversation and climbed into the SUV with Logan.
“You planning to tell her about me?” he asked as soon as they pulled out onto the highway.
“I think it’s best. Don’t you?” When he didn’t answer, she added, “Don’t worry. She won’t freak.”
He snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“I didn’t, did I? Plus, she totally believes in the Chupacabra and that’s an even bigger stretch.” When he was silent she added, “Logan, I see the way you look at her. If you ever plan to move further with her she has to know all about you.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Just…do it carefully. Okay?”
Sophia laughed. “Trust me on this, okay? I know my sister.”
Logan dropped her at the barracks. “I’m going back to the motel.”
“You going to shift and scout the territory?”
He nodded. “We’re missing something but I’m damned if I know what. I’m also going to call Ric and ask him to send the helicopter up here. We’ve needed it the last couple of times and I’m sure this will be no exception. I’d like to have it here by tonight.”
“Wear your radio when you run, in case I need to contact you.”
“Will do.”
“Good luck.”
Greg Flannery was waiting for her in the lobby.
“Bobby called and told
me what’s going on. And that he’s loaning Rebecca to you.”
“You’re good with that, right?”
He looked at her carefully. “I usually don’t get involved with my lead detectives unless I think it’s necessary, but your instincts always made you a top investigator when you were in the CID. So I’m good with this. Maybe you’ll pick up on something that will help us. Come on, I’ve got you set up in the conference room.” He walked her down the hall. “I saw your partner drop you off. If you need a vehicle just holler.”
“Actually, I’m hoping to steal Rebecca when she gets back here, if that’s all right with you. We sort of share the same abilities and can blend with each other.”
“No problem. Remember, she’s assigned to you as long as you’re here.” He paused. “I guess your partner’s off working on your particular dog and pony show. And we’re going to ask the deputies to keep an eye out for whatever it is you think you’re looking for?”
They were at the conference room now. Sophia hung her jacket over the back of a chair and dropped her purse on the table.
“I know you think it’s a bunch of woo-woo stuff, but I have a lot of stuff to back it up. Plus, I think if I can show your detectives the comparisons of the bodies they’ll understand what I mean about the differences.”
“As long as we catch whoever this is, you can bring in witch-hunters for all I care.” When she opened her mouth to argue he held up a hand. “The room’s yours. There’s a folder with all the information you asked for and a phone if you don’t want to use your cell. I’ll leave you to it.”
For the next hour Sophia poured over the printouts in the folder in front of her. Whoever had put it together had been very thorough. There were pages of information on the Warrens and Bradley Howard—families, friends, jobs. There was also information on Darrell Franklin which gave Sophia a small chuckle. Bobby wasn’t giving up so easily. Twice someone came by to bring her fresh coffee and she smiled at them gratefully.
By the time Rebecca arrived she’d read everything twice and made notes. An idea was forming in the back of her head but she wanted to interview some people before she spouted it to anyone but her sister.
“Ready for some coffee besides that foul stuff they brew here?”
Sophia closed the folder. “Actually I think I’d like a nice sticky bun with it, too. We missed breakfast this morning.”
“And I have just the place. There’s a new coffee shop that opened up last year. Cool Beans. They have all kinds of imported coffees as well as pastries to die for.”
Sophia lifted an eyebrow. “And the owners are making a go of it here?”
Bec laughed. “We’re actually not as backwoods as we used to be,” she told her sister. “We even use silverware and napkins sometimes.”
Sophia gave her a light pinch on the arm, slid her arms into her jacket and picked up her purse and the folder. “Then let’s go.”
Cool Beans was a stand-alone building at the corner of the parking lot in a big shopping mall. It was built like a log cabin but with wide picture windows on three sides. Inside Sophia inhaled the heady fragrance of freshly ground coffee beans and pastries right out of the oven. She ordered her favorite, a mocha latte, but when she saw the huge chocolate-chip, banana-nut muffins she ditched the sticky bun for one of those.
The booths were arranged along the window walls and they were lucky enough to find one in a corner. When they were settled with their drinks and food, Rebecca look across the table and said, “Okay. Give.”
Sophia took her time organizing her thoughts, stirring her coffee with the plastic stick they’d stuck in it. Trying to find the right words. The right opening.
“What can be so bad you can’t just blurt it out?” Bec asked. “We’re sisters. We’ve always told each other everything.”
“Well.” Sophia took a small sip of the hot liquid. “There are actually a few things I haven’t been quite up front about.”
“Like what? Come on. Give.”
“I know you’re a very accepting person,” she began. “You didn’t even balk when I discovered the information about the Chupacabra, which surprised me. You can’t imagine how difficult it is to convince people there’s actually a creature out there that’s a hybrid of many animals and who knows what. And that it might be breeding and reproducing.”
“If you’re not from the southwestern part of the country and haven’t had firsthand experience with it, it’s a stretch. I agree. But you know I’ve always had a fascination with the supernatural, anyway.”
Sophia took another sip. “And a good thing. Because that’s part of what I have to tell you.” She looked at her sister. “I’ve told you a lot about this group I’m part of, the Night Seekers, whose only purpose is to hunt and destroy this devil beast.”
Rebecca nodded.
Sophia bit off a piece of muffin and chewed it slowly. “What I didn’t tell you is that all of them except for Dante Martello and me are shapeshifters. They’re part wolf.”
Bec’s eyes widened. “Are you shitting me? For real?” She laughed. “Ohmigod! I must own half the books written about them.”
“Get out of here. You do?”
“Uh-huh.” Rebecca leaned across the table. “When the twins were killed I began studying all the legends I could find about people and animals who could assume other forms. I actually took a couple of courses online about that particular paranormal aspect.”
Sophia laughed. “I told Logan you wouldn’t freak. I didn’t realize how excited you’d actually be. Wait until I tell him. He’ll never believe it.”
“If you accepted it why would it bother me? We think a lot alike. Look at the world in very similar fashions.”
“I know, I know. It’s just…” Sophia spread out her hands. “It’s not something that comes up in everyday conversation. But I should have just trusted my instincts.”
She stared at Sophia. “So, you discussed this with Logan? Wait. You said only you and Dante were pure human. So this means that Logan is a shifter.”
“Yes. It does. Like I said, he was very uneasy about me telling you.”
“I can imagine.” She bit into the flaky pastry on her plate and chewed slowly. “Mmm. They do make the very best goodies in here. Okay. So what color is he?”
“Color?”
“As a wolf. Everything I read said the genetic code for the human part of the shifter determines the color of his or her coat.”
“Oh.” Sophia was still trying to assimilate the fact that Rebecca was taking this all so calmly. “Dark brown. Almost a sable color.”
“Have you ever, you know, seen any of them actually shift?”
“Yes. But the men are actually a little reticent about it because they have to get naked to do it.”
Rebecca’s eyes sparkled. “You think Logan would let me see him get naked and shift?”
“Maybe after we’re finished here. I see the way the two of you look at each other.”
Bec’s face sobered. “Not that it could go anywhere. I’m here and he’s going back to Texas.”
“Let’s worry about that when the time comes. The reason I told you now is because he’s going to head for the woods behind the motel and shift so he can try to track the devil beast. He can cover a lot of territory when he runs as wolf. Shifters have incredible speed.”
“I still want to see him, but okay. Let’s get down to the business at hand.” She pointed to the folder. “What did you come up with?”
“If Bobby and the others hadn’t been so fixated on the serial killer angle they’d have locked onto it themselves.” She opened the folder. “Elaine Warren and Bradley Howard both work at the hospital. She’s in the pharmacy, he works in X-ray. How farfetched is it to think the two of them hooked up and Harland Warren discovered it?”
“And killed them?”
“What better place than to bury two murders than in the rumors of a homicidal maniac? I want to know a little more about him. His personality. And I want to talk
to Elaine’s and Bradley’s coworkers at the hospital.”
“Then let’s get going. If you’re right and these are human kills, it means the Chupacabra still has to feed its lust and is about to hit prey number two.”
Chapter Eleven
Logan carefully made his way from the back of the motel to the edge of the woods behind it, watching to make sure he wasn’t attracting anyone’s attention. The sun was exceptionally bright today, reflecting off the stark whiteness of the snow and making everything stand out more vividly. But no one seemed to notice him as he followed his usual path and was finally swallowed up by the trees.
About twenty feet into the woods he stopped by the tree he’d marked that first night, a thick, majestic black spruce with a wide crotch where one of the limbs met the trunk. A place he could easily stash his clothing. Taking the waterproof pouch from his pocket, he shook it out and loosened the drawstring. He undressed, very carefully folding his clothes and stuffing them into the pouch. From one pocket of the jacket he pulled a radio receiver on a cord that he hung around his neck, stuffed the jacket in with the other clothes and tightened the drawstring. He tucked the bag and his boots into his usual hiding place in the tree, hopping from foot to foot as the cold snow seeped into his human feet.
Then he took a deep breath and allowed his body to change. Bones elongated, fur sprouted on his skin and his face morphed into that of a wolf. At last he was ready, down on all fours, scanning the area one last time to make sure he wasn’t seen. Then he was off, racing across the frozen landscape, his wolf vision searching, searching for any sign of the devil beast.
He had run for perhaps an hour, scouting around the isolated houses, when something teased at his nose. He stopped, snout raised as he sniffed the air. Was that turpentine? He knew that the odor of that liquid lingered briefly in the air after a Chupacabra kill, but dissipated quickly. Did it also remain for a time after the beast had been in an area? What held it and what made it disperse? There was just so damn much they still didn’t know.
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