by Tim Myers
He grinned as he saw my eyes were open. “Good, you’re awake. How’s the shoulder?”
I gingerly touched the bandage covering the wound. “It’s stiff, but the pain’s nearly gone. What happened?”
“Young Tommy used some nasty stuff on you. His claws must have been covered with it. You’re lucky he didn’t hit a vein, or you wouldn’t be lying here right now.”
“I didn’t know he wanted me dead,” I said. “At least not that way. Tearing out my throat, sure, that I’d buy, but not poison.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I doubt Tommy could have come up with even one of the bugs you had in you, let alone all twelve. Someone wanted you dead, and they weren’t afraid of a little overkill. Just be glad I’ve got access to the antibodies I dosed you with. You’ve got a pretty powerful enemy out there somewhere, Jacob.”
“That just doesn’t make sense,” I said. I knew Tommy was angry with me. I could easily imagine him jumping me at night with three or four of his thug friends, but infecting my bloodstream with tainted claws just didn’t match his style.
“That’s what I told him,” Belle said as she joined us. “I think it’s time Tommy and I had a little talk about where he got the stuff he used on you.”
I could smell the shift start in her, a subtle change in the air around us. “Stop it,” I shouted.
Belle hovered on the edge, then after a second, she shifted back to her human state. “Why shouldn’t I?”
“It’s my fight, not yours,” I said. “I’ll handle Tommy myself.”
I started to get up, but my head started swimming. Bailey put a hand on my good shoulder and eased me back down.
He said, “Don’t take this too lightly. You need to sleep this off. I got as many drugs into you as I could, but your system still took a hit. If you didn’t have the recovery speed you do, I never would have believed how fast you’ve bounced back so far, but you can’t afford to push it.”
“He’s right,” Belle said. “It’ll wait until morning. You’ll be stronger then.”
“Are you staying here with me until then?” I asked her.
“I’m not your wet nurse, and I’m not your lover, so no, I’m not sleeping with you tonight.” She winked, then added, “Nice try, though. You’ve been trying to get me into the sack for years, but I’m not giving it up that easily.”
She was trying to kid me out of it, but I wasn’t going to let her. “Leave it alone,” I said. “I’ll deal with him tomorrow, and if I find out you’ve confronted him, we’re going to have a real problem.”
“I haven’t been afraid of you in years,” she said as she shrugged, then walked out the door.
I grabbed my friend’s arm. “Bailey, you’ve got to keep her from doing anything crazy.”
He laughed. “Like I’d have a chance going up against her. Do you honestly think I can keep her from doing anything she wants to do? Don’t worry, Belle can take care of herself.”
“That’s what I thought too, and it didn’t work out too well for me tonight, did it?”
“Go to sleep, Jacob. We’ll talk more in the morning.”
I wanted to protest, but as I tried to push myself up off the table, I fell back, and before my head hit the examining table I was lying on, I was out.
I just hoped Belle would take my advice and wait for me to recover so I could handle Tommy myself.
But I wasn’t going to hold my breath.
“You should have let me cook,” I said the next morning as Bailey and I sat down to breakfast.
“Nonsense. I didn’t mind.”
I pushed the runny eggs around on my plate and nudged the burned bacon with the tines of my fork. “No, I mean, really, you should have let me cook.”
He looked down at his plate, then smiled at me. “Maybe you’re right. I’ve got more eggs and bacon in the fridge, if you want to take a stab at it.”
I didn’t need any more coaxing than that. My shoulder was still sore-and I could feel the scabs on the slashes where Tommy had hit me had started to heal-but I was a thousand times better than I’d been the night before. One of the benefits of being a brother of the Wolf is the ability to heal quickly, and if I’d had any doubts that Bailey had been telling the truth, the results this morning would have confirmed that Tommy had poisoned me with that single swipe of his claws. I should have been completely healed by now, and the lingering scabs were testament enough that the hit hadn’t been an ordinary werewolf attack.
I said, “I’ll cook, if you clear these dishes.”
I cracked six eggs into a bowl, added some milk, salt and pepper, then tossed the mix into the skillet. The bacon was precooked, so I wasn’t sure how good it was going to be, but I had to use what Bailey had on hand.
As soon as it was nuked in the microwave, I crumbled the bacon and added it the mix. My makeshift omelet was just starting to come together when I asked, “By any chance, do you have any onions or green peppers?”
He laughed. “What do you think this is, a grocery store? I’ve got some cheese.”
“Grab it for me,” I said as I stirred the contents.
He handed me a couple of pieces of cheese wrapped in cellophane. At least I think it was cheese.
“Do you actually eat this stuff?”
Bailey said, “If it weren’t for grilled cheese sandwiches, I would starve to death a long time ago.”
I broke off a piece of the yellow slice, tasted it, and was surprised that it was decent. After tearing it up, I added the cheese pieces to the mix, and in a few minutes, I plated our breakfasts.
Bailey took a bite, and I watched as he smiled. “I don’t get it. You had the same ingredients I did, but these two meals taste nothing alike.”
“There’s a lesson in democracy for you,” I said as I took a bite myself. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do until something better came along.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about the idea that everybody-everybody but us, that is-should have the same power with every vote. Some people are more qualified than others to judge who would do the best job, just like I’m better at making eggs than you. As things stand out there, you only need three qualifications to vote: the right birthday, a pulse, and the lack of the lycanthrope gene. It wouldn’t break my heart to see the whole system collapse. Maybe if we had to start over, we could get things right this time.”
As he took another bite, Bailey asked, “You’re an anarchist at heart, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “Sometimes I have trouble believing that you’re not. We’re treated worse than any second-class citizen in history ever has been. They don’t enslave us, just because they can’t control us. We have no rights, not even the ASPCA cares about us, and yet you go happily along with a system that keeps us caged.”
He shrugged. “Nobody owns me, and I know no one owns you. We’re free to go wherever we want.”
“We deserve a hand in our own fate as much as any of the norms do.”
He put a hand on my good shoulder. “I agree with you, Jacob. We just choose to employ different methods. I believe we can make revolutionize within the system in place.”
I took another bite. “Good luck with that. Let me know how it goes.”
“Let’s talk about something more pleasant, shall we? Have you had any prospects for work lately? Is there someone out there who needs saving?”
“I got a job yesterday,” I admitted.
That piqued his interest. Bailey loved to hear about my work, and often threatened to come along with me on a job sometime. Even with some of the horror stories I’d shared with him, he still seemed to be under the delusion that it was all somehow controlled with predestination, as if things would work out somehow. I knew better. I’d come close enough to dying more times than I cared to think about. I understood the dangers of my job, and in a way, that was why I kept doing it. I needed a function, some usefulness to the world to justify the space I took up.
Bailey asked softly, “Tell me abou
t it.”
“Matthew Harkins took off with a norm, and she’s underage, to boot. I’ve got to find the girl before something even worse happens to her than what she’s probably already faced. Her parents are expecting a miracle.”
Bailey looked concerned by the image. “And what are you anticipating?”
I frowned. “The longer it takes me to find them, the more I expect to discover her body, or what’s left of her after Harkins gets finished with her.”
Bailey shook his head. “Harkins is one of the bad ones.” It was a statement, not a question, and I wondered if my friend had run into Harkins before. Dogtown wasn’t that big, but it was no small town. That was another myth the norms held onto, that every werewolf knew his entire clan.
I said, “I’m not a fan of New Pitcairn, but if there were any of our people who deserved a one way ticket there, Harkins is the one.”
Bailey finished his share of breakfast, then said, “I just realized something, Jacob. For an anarchist, you seem to spend an awful lot of time trying to save the world.”
I grabbed the dirty dishes, testing the strength in my shoulder. It was getting better, and by noon I should be back to full strength. And they call lycanthropy a curse.
“There you’re wrong. I’m not trying to save the world, I’m just trying to save a young girl who’s in trouble.”
My friend shook his head. “So, you’re in the retail end of it instead of the wholesale sector, but the outcome is the same, even if you have to do it one soul at a time.”
The door to Bailey’s kitchen opened, and to my surprise, Belle walked in. There was an air of sadness about her, as if she’d just lost something dear to her.
“What’s wrong?” I said, not even waiting for her to say a word. “Something happened, didn’t it?”
“Tommy Grace is dead. Somebody ripped his throat out, and the way the Dogtown cops are talking, they’re pretty sure you’re the one who did it.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Bailey said. “Jacob was here all night.”
I shrugged. “Do you think they’re going to believe either one of us? As an alibi, you aren’t going to do me much good. Besides, you went into your bedroom at midnight. I could have had time to kill Tommy and get back here before you even knew I was gone.” I smiled at Belle. “If you’d taken me up on my offer last night, I wouldn’t be in a jam right now.”
“No, but then we would have had a whole other set of problems, wouldn’t we? What are you going to do?”
I grabbed my jacket. “There’s not much I can do. I’m going to turn myself in.”
Belle put a hand on my sour shoulder, and to my credit, I didn’t wince from the contact. It was nearly healed, and that was a good thing. I was going to need all I had if things got any uglier, and I was pretty sure that was exactly where they were heading.
She said, “Be serious for a second. They’ll lock you up in a cage and forget about you.”
“Most of them might, but I’m going to call Dalton.” Detective Frank Dalton worked the Dogtown beat, and though he wasn’t one of us-that was against about a hundred city, state and federal laws-he understood that ‘werewolf’ and ‘bad’ didn’t necessarily go hand in hand. We had a history, and I was counting on that to mean something.
Belle shook her head. “He’s still a norm. Don’t put too much faith in him.”
“Right now he’s all I’ve got,” I said as I reached for my jacket. It had a little blood on it from the night before, but it wouldn’t be the first coat I owned that sported it.
“Thanks for taking care of me,” I told Bailey.
“Hey, if you cook breakfast for me every day, that cot is yours on a permanent basis.”
Belle looked at Bailey and said, “Aren’t you even going to try to stop him? You’re his friend, you have to talk some sense into him.”
Bailey shook his head. “I wouldn’t have any more luck with Jacob than I did with you last night. You’re both grown ups, do as you please. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to work.”
After he was gone, she turned to me and said, “He’s a heartless bastard, isn’t he?”
“Aren’t we all?”
She started to follow me out the door.
I put a hand up and asked Belle, “Where do you think you’re going?”
“You haven’t fully healed yet, and don’t try to tell me you have. I saw you bite back the pain when I hit your shoulder a few minutes ago.”
So she’d been testing me all along. “It’s just a little tender, but most of the pain is gone. I appreciate the offer, but I have to do this on my own. Thanks for caring, though.”
Belle shook her head. “You don’t understand. It’s not that I care. There just aren’t that many people I can tolerate, and usually you’re one of them.”
“Stop or I’m going to tear up,” I said.
“Bite your tail,” she said, a common werewolf insult among our people.
“I’d rather bite yours,” I said.
She let that pass. “I can’t talk you out of this, can I?”
I stared hard at her a few seconds. “Belle, if I’m going to do find Jennifer Granger, I have to be able to move around Dogtown, and the cops are looking for me, I’m not going to be able to do that. I can’t find anybody if I’m holed up somewhere ducking the police.”
She nodded. “You could always give them their money back and forget about the whole thing.”
I shook my head. “You know me better than that. What’s the real reason behind the way you’re acting?”
Belle sighed, then said, “I’m going to be gone a few days. I’d get out of it if I could, but I’m kind of committed. Can you manage to survive without me until I get back?”
“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll give it my best shot,” I said.
Once she was gone, I got out my cell phone and dialed Dalton’s number. It was time to straighten this mess about Tommy out with the police, if I could.
“I’d like to report a crime,” I said when I finally got Dalton on the line. It had taken some finessing to do it, but then I was good at working the system when I had to. I had a case to work on, but what I’d told Belle was the truth. I couldn’t do my job if I was ducking the police, so it made sense to get it cleared up first before I found myself in jail.
It was pretty obvious he recognized my voice by the way he responded. “Yeah? You should probably just look the other way. Sorry, the jail’s full. Some days the bad guys win.”
“I hear you’re looking for me,” I said as I looked out one of the windows of Bailey’s place. It was a combination house and laboratory, and it wasn’t in the best section of town, even in our little sector. The windows were protected with heavy gauge steel wire to keep the bad elements out, and I kept scanning the street outside as I spoke. I was always looking out for someone who might want to do me harm. I’d made a lot of enemies over the years-in Dogtown and downtown-and I’d grown accustomed to being aware of what was going on around me. It had kept me alive more than once. The street was empty at the moment, but I knew that could change in a heartbeat.
Dalton said, “Yeah, I understand you ripped another mutt’s throat out. Shame on you, Trask, you should know better than doing that, especially when there are witnesses around.”
I let the ‘mutt’ comment slide, though I didn’t care for the slur. Then again, it wasn’t the best time to teach Dalton a lesson in manners or political correctness.
“Would it help my cause if I told you that I was in bed last night with a cocktail of drugs that knocked me out?”
Dalton snapped, “Are you telling me you’re a druggie now, too?”
“I got hurt,” I said. “Bailey medicated me, and I was down all night.”
Dalton sighed heavily. “Your friend better watch his step. Last I heard, he didn’t have a vet’s license.”
That was enough. “Listen, are you trying to piss me off, or is just a natural gift? That’s two jabs in two minutes. I’m pret
ty sure you know that we don’t like being called mutts, and the vet crack was over the line.”
“I didn’t know you were so sensitive,” Dalton said.
“That makes us even. I didn’t know you were such a jerk.”
There was a pause on the line, and I thought I’d lost him, when he said, “Yeah, you’re right. I was out of line. This murder’s got somebody’s attention higher up the food chain, and the chief is acting like it’s my fault.”
“So you gave him me? Didn’t you at least think to ask my side of things before you put the word out to arrest me?”
“You were seen in a public altercation with the murder victim an hour before he was killed. Who do you think we’re going to look at, his mom?”
“Bailey can swear I was here most of the night,” I said, “But I could have slipped out. I didn’t, but I could have.”
Dalton laughed. “That’s the first thing you’ve said that makes me think you might be telling the truth.”
“Why do you say that?”
“If you’d actually done it, I’d like to think that you’d be smart enough to have twenty witnesses swearing you were with them all night, so I’m inclined to believe you didn’t do it.”
“Thanks, I think,” I said. “Is it enough to make you lose your interest in me?”
“No chance. Let me talk to Bailey, and I’ll get back to you. Did anybody else see you there last night?”
“An hour after the fight? Belladonna was here with us.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to her, too.” He paused, then asked, “Are you working on anything right now?”
“Why do you ask?”
He said, “If you’re as innocent as you claim, somebody went to a lot of trouble to frame you for this. I’m just curious if you’ve pissed anybody off lately.”
“How much time do you have?” I asked. “I can make you a list, but I’m not sure I’ve got enough paper and ink.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured, but I had to ask. Is there anything else?”
“You should have your lab guys test Tommy’s fingernails for foreign substances, but make sure they wear gloves first. If nobody cleaned him up, there are some nasty bugs hiding on his nails.”