by LAURA HARNER
“KC, what’s wrong? Are you all right?” Quinn barked.
My laughter sounded harsh, even to me. “No, everything’s not all right. Is it true? Is Susan dead? Did you arrest Gregory?”
There was a long pause, and then Quinn asked, “Where are you?”
“I’m at the House. Merkham is back. He showed up here a few minutes ago and he told me about Gregory and Susan.” I repeated my question from between clenched teeth. “Is it true?”
“KC, listen to me,” Quinn said, his voice sounding strained. “I’ll come over tonight and explain everything, but it won’t be until much later. I need you to stay inside, honor the curfew.
“Keep Merkham at the House. Tell him I’ll arrest him if he goes near the Ranch or anywhere else tonight. Hell, tell him I’ll shoot him! Just whatever you do, please stay inside. I’ve got to go, KC. I’ll be there later. Gregory is fine. He’ll be fine.” The connection ended.
I stared at the suddenly dead phone. Would I ever understand Quinn? He sounded concerned about me, almost panicked at the thought of my going out to the Ranch under the full moon tonight. The man left me reeling, not something I enjoyed. I wanted my men uncomplicated, a word that seemed to be the antithesis of Quinn. It hadn’t escaped my notice that he still hadn’t answered any questions, just made a vague promise of coming by sometime later. That thought brought an unwelcome shiver that started low in my belly and spread to my most intimate parts. Shit.
The front door slammed, pulling me from thoughts of Quinn that I didn’t want to have. I ran to the front of the house already aware I’d never reach him in time. I raced through the hallways and spilled onto the porch. I was just in time to watch helplessly as Merkham’s car turned onto the main road. Then my heart sank. There was another vehicle in the distance. The big, black truck that belonged to the big, bad wolf leader. Merkham was following Raymond. Was Gabrielle in the truck, too? Of course she would be. Tonight was the full moon. They were probably on their way to have a howling good time together.
Gabrielle had made it sound as though there was no danger, but I didn’t think that was exactly true. From what I’d learned earlier, they all shifted at the full moon, but the biggest danger wasn’t necessarily that they’d eat someone, but more that the lycanthropy might spread. Raymond said he and Gabrielle had full control. Didn’t that imply there were others who didn’t have control? No one had ever answered when I’d asked how many werewolves there were in Juniper Springs. I only knew of three: Raymond, Gabrielle, and Stevie.
Stevie didn’t have control. G&O was a safe house, there was a curfew for the whole town. There had to be some danger if such precautions were necessary.
All these thoughts ran through my mind even as I raced to change my clothes. Jeans, hiking boots, and a long sleeved sweatshirt were the best I could do to protect against the brush and random werewolf scratches.
If someone wanted to eat me…well, that’s what the gun was for. At least my trip to the Los Angeles area hadn’t been a total waste of time. I went to my nightstand and removed the nine mil hidden in the false front of a book. War and Peace, what else?
Call me superstitious, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to go to a werewolf ranch without silver bullets.
****
I thought over my options and decided it made little sense to track Merkham through the woods. He would probably park along the outskirts and hike to the trailer, just like last time. He was here for the werewolves and he wouldn’t stop until he had proof they existed. This was his big journalistic break and he would want pictures.
Assuming I knew his goal, I decided to make up for his head start by driving into the compound to park on the far side of the trailer. Maybe I could hide in the trees to wait for Merkham to hike in. Hopefully, no stray werewolf would eat either of us before moonrise. That would be bad publicity, all the way around.
I followed the dirt road to the trailer and found Merkham’s car parked next to Raymond’s truck. So much for my plans. Merkham was already here and I was late to the party.
I flipped my phone out to call and warn Quinn about Merkham, only to realize he probably hadn’t ended his call as abruptly as I’d thought earlier. The battery was dead. Shit. I tossed the useless phone into my truck and shut the door. This was completely stupid, but I couldn’t leave Raymond and Gabrielle to fend for themselves.
There was a faint glow to the west, but the night sky was deepening, and it would soon be full dark. Until the bright full moon took over the night. I had to get Merkham away from here before moonrise.
I stepped away from the truck, listening hard, trying to catch any hint of sound from the others. The only sound was the rustle of branches as the wind caressed the trees. I moved forward cautiously, pausing every few steps to listen again. How could it be so still? They couldn’t have beaten me here by more than ten or fifteen minutes. The trailer was locked and silent; nothing indicated they’d gone inside. Where was everybody?
“Hello? Edwin Merkham, are you out here? Can you hear me?” No response. Even the wind seemed to pause for a moment so that the only sound I heard was the blood pulsing in my ears.
Coming to a decision and getting my bearings in the fading light, I walked quickly into the woods. I would walk a tight perimeter just inside the tree line. I was a city girl, I didn’t know anything about tracking people in the woods, but maybe I could find a clue as to which way they’d gone. The dried brush crunched beneath my boots as I passed between the trees, staying hidden in the deepening shadows of twilight.
I caught a flicker of movement from somewhere in front of me. What was that? Another flash, a bit of light between the shadows. Could that be Merkham’s white shirt as he moved through the trees? I quickened my pace.
Snap. Crackle. Pop. Those sounds didn’t used to be so scary, but they were now. A dried branch cracked close by. I whipped my head around but didn’t see anything, but I knew—there was something behind me. Shit! Some big, brave rescuer I'm turning out to be!
I sped up. I didn’t want to lose whoever was in front of me and didn’t want to be caught by whatever was behind me. When the figure spilled out into the parking area, I followed, without hesitation. What the hell?
Raymond stood in front of me, looking just as surprised as I must have looked.
Raymond must have realized his mistake as quickly as I had, because we both whirled around to look at the woods just as Merkham stepped into the clearing. He held a gun pointed right at the two of us.
Fuck! Merkham had replaced his little twenty-two with a nine mil. I knew, because it matched the one hidden in the waistband of my jeans. Merkham’s smile was as satisfied as any cat, having finally cornered his mouse.
All I could think to do was bluff, bluff, bluff.
“Oh, thank God, Edwin! There you are! Come on, we’ve got to go before Quinn gets here. He said he’d shoot us if we came back out here on the full moon.” I took a step toward him and he fired at my feet. Dirt and dust kicked up everywhere. My heart thudded in my chest. Shit!
“Both of you stay right there until I tell you to move,” Merkham said.
“Let her go,” Raymond said. His voice was deeper with more growl than I’d ever heard before.
“Ah, yes. Well, that will be a problem. I have plans, and they include the most unfortunate Miss Carmichael,” Merkham said.
I didn’t like the sound of that at all.
Chapter Twenty-one
“If you’ll both be so kind as to walk to the trailer. Stay close together now. KC, you in front. Raymond, you follow behind her. I want you both on the ground in front of the stairs,” Merkham said. He used his gun hand to point. Sloppy. Maybe I would get a second chance to kick his ass.
He kept a safe distance behind us and ordered us to stop when we got about fifteen feet from the trailer stairs. “Sit down, right there. Put your hands in your laps,” he said. His voice sounded excited, and he wore a grin on his face. It occurred to me he probably wasn’t quite sane.
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“Quinn will be here soon, Edwin. Why don’t you and I get in your car and head back to the House?” I asked, keeping my voice reasonable. I was still trying to pass this off as a misunderstanding.
Merkham’s grin widened. “Quinn won’t be here. He has a murder to solve, and thanks to me, he has a very good suspect. He’ll be busy tonight.”
Something about that statement made my blood run cold. “Edwin? Do you know something about these murders?” I asked.
“Who knows what’s going on in Juniper Springs? There are all kinds of mysterious happenings,” Merkham said, a grin splitting his face.
“I know nothing preternatural killed Jason,” Raymond said.
“True,” Merkham said, “but there’s enough circumstantial evidence that I can link it to the werewolves that I’m about to expose. The second murder will make it even more convincing that there’s a cover up happening in Juniper Springs. The sheriff can’t do much about it. Not unless he wants to look like he’s involved in the conspiracy.
“What conspiracy?” I asked.
“Why, whatever it is that’s been causing this town to shut down every full moon, of course,” Merkham said. He looked up and over the treetops for a second before his gaze returned to us. I realized he’d done that at least twice now. From the direction and angle of his glance, I assumed he was looking for the moon. Each time he looked away from us, his gun hand wavered.
I sighed. “There’s no way to convince you the werewolves aren’t real, is there?” I asked.
“None,” he grinned. “I did see Jason’s pictures, you know. The first photo showed old Raymond here with a young man. The next three showed a shocking transformation. Suddenly, the young man was gone, and a giant wolf was in his place. The photos and article were very well done, actually. Too bad for Jason. His editor felt the need to kill the story,” he giggled. “Not to worry though, the story will be told, only much more dramatically.”
I felt Raymond move beside me, but Merkham saw it, and flicked the gun in his direction. “Don’t move, Martinez. We all know what you are. I would be completely justified in killing you here and now. It’s clear that I’m terrified. Of course, I’d probably accidentally shoot KC, too. So really, I think staying still is your best option. Don’t you?”
I didn’t think he looked very terrified of getting eaten by the werewolf. In fact, he looked excited. He was seeing the Pulitzer Prize dancing right in front of him, and we were his party tickets. Then his words penetrated my brain and I felt sick.
“You saw Jason’s photos?” I asked, suddenly flooded with knowledge.
Merkham nodded, his eyes sparkling.
“When was the last time you saw Susan?” I asked slowly.
“Clever girl. I want at least one person to know how creative I’ve been, and I suppose it doesn’t matter much if I tell you, since you won’t live beyond moonrise. The last time I saw Susan was when I killed her. She saw me here with Jason when I was supposed to be in Phoenix.
“The arrogant bitch thought she could blackmail me!” Merkham said, sounding affronted.
Actually, I couldn’t argue with the arrogant or the bitch part, Susan was certainly both. Still, the death penalty for those two failings seemed a bit harsh. Since Merkham was in a mood to talk, I didn’t interrupt to tell him what I thought.
Merkham continued. “I wanted Jason to look like a wolf kill, but I don’t think I was very successful. Since I didn’t know what an actual werewolf kill looked like, I just cut away the wounds. I was hoping people would assume the killer was a werewolf and he’d cut away any evidence of claw or fang marks.” He looked pensive for a moment, as if judging how he could have done better.
Saliva pooled in my mouth and I fought not to throw up. He was so matter-of-fact about the killings, about cutting into Jason’s body.
“Killing Susan was easier; I really didn’t like her. Did you know just how much she hated you, KC? Why didn’t you tell me about the little break-in and the dead coyote? She meant for you to die with her little spell. She tried to cast the same spell on me, but it didn’t take. Turns out you have to have a conscience for that one to work. Nasty spell, I hear. Really, KC, I did you a favor getting rid of her.
“There is no danger of tying Susan’s murder to me. It was such a simple thing. I just waited until Gregory and his fairy boyfriend were busy with customers. Then I snuck into their kitchen and took a knife from the dishwasher. Since Gregory does all the catering and cooking, I figured it was a sure bet his fingerprints would be on the knife. Believe me, I was very thorough.
“I’m getting better, don’t you think? This time the wolf really will kill you, then I can kill him and I’ll have my proof,” he finished, his face glowing with pride at his cleverness.
I swallowed. “What do you mean?” I asked. My voice came out strong. Score one for the good guys.
“Oh, KC,” Merkham said, sounding disappointed in his star pupil. “I thought you had this all figured out. We’re going to sit here and wait for the moon to rise. When Raymond transforms, he’s going to eat you, and then I’ll kill him. Oh, and I’ll take pictures of course, while I wait for the mighty Quinn to arrive. But the sheriff will be too late to save either of you.”
That he’d thought this all out was too disturbing for words. The man was a stone cold sociopath.
He gave a self-satisfied sigh. “I am a made-man, my Pulitzer awaits. Then an exclusive book deal. Maybe I’ll buy the Honey House from your estate, KC. I can live in luxury in the place that made me famous. I’ll drink to you every day,” he said and made an imaginary toast.
Merkham looked up for the moon again and I got an idea. It was time to see just how psychic I was. I would try to talk with Raymond, mind-to-mind.
“Raymond, can you hear me?” I yelled in my mind. I was feeling rather foolish about the experiment. At least I was feeling foolish until Raymond’s head jerked back.
“Fuck, KC. Don’t shout. I didn’t know you could talk this way. You’re not a shapeshifter,” he answered, his voice softer than a whisper inside my head.
“Sorry,” I thought. “Is this better?” I mentally whispered. Okay, this rated right up there with Most-Bizarre-Things-I’ve-Ever-Done.
“Yes,” he answered. “I won’t hurt you. Are you afraid?”
“A little.” I answered honestly. “But since I’ve never seen a real werewolf, I’m not really sure what to expect. Is there any way you can reach Merkham before he could shoot you? Are you that fast?”
“No, not before he could shoot me,” Raymond answered.
“Then we have to disrupt his plan, force him to go out of order. Are you really good enough to transform whenever you want?” I asked, remembering his assurance that his ability to transform was under control.
His smile whispered through my head. “I’m really that good,” he said.
“Then let’s put on a show. I’m going to kick your ass, and you’re going to back me toward Merkham. You go ahead and transform whenever you think the time is right, but we need to move quickly. He’ll hesitate to shoot us before you shift because that would deviate from his plan. He needs this to be a werewolf kill, so we’ll have an advantage for a little while. Whichever of us can get closest to him needs to take him out. Go for his gun hand, he’s sloppy. If you knock his gun away before I do, then get out of range because I’ve got a gun, too,” I thought.
Raymond’s gaze shot over to me then, his glance seemed to be an involuntary reaction to my last thought. Then the wind shifted and his nostrils twitched. “Fuck! Go KC, go now!” he urged, his words suddenly a roar in my head.
“What the fuck are you two up to?” Merkham yelled, and he glanced back up, probably looking for the moon again.
The horizon was brightening, moonrise wouldn’t be long now.
I stood quickly. “I’m not going to just sit here and wait for you to kill me,” I said to Raymond. He stood and started to circle me, as if sizing me up.
A feral growl spill
ed from Raymond’s still human-looking lips. His thoughts pushed out passed me, toward the tree line, “Goddammit, Gabrielle, get him out of here!”
The skin on the back of my neck tightened, and a shiver passed over me. Gabrielle was out there with someone else. Someone Raymond didn’t want around. We needed to move faster.
I feigned left, and Raymond was just there suddenly. I moved back with a squeal, and only part of me was acting. The other part began to be very afraid. Raymond growled again, and his skin began to ripple over his muscles. He took another step toward me, and I stepped back.
Then everything happened at once. I heard noises in the trees, branches and twigs snapping, warning growls, whining. Merkham started yelling at us to get back or he’d shoot. Another voice yelled, “Drop it!”
There was a sudden blast of heat and standing in front of me was the biggest wolf I’d ever seen. Raymond.
I pushed aside all of my concerns and focused on Merkham. His attention was divided between the commotion in the woods, the voice coming from behind him, and Raymond’s wolf form. He never even realized the real threat was the woman he’d so casually planned to kill. Me.
With a sharp scream, I leaped into the air and let my legs fly out in a controlled kick. I hit Merkham on the right side of his head just as gunshots exploded all around us.
Chapter Twenty-two
When the dust settled, there were three bodies on the ground and a giant russet-colored wolf blocking my way to them. His hackles rose and a low, deadly growl rumbled deep in his chest. This had to be Stevie, and there was no sign he was in control. In fact, judging from his quivering muscles and snarling maw, he was getting ready for a midnight snack. Me.
A massive black wolf lay on the ground in a pool of blood. His eyes were closed, mouth open, and he was panting shallowly. Gabrielle knelt beside him, and spoke rapidly in Spanish. I only caught some of the words, but I thought she told him to wait to change.
Merkham lay near them, his upper chest a bloody mess. Everything had switched to slow motion when Merkham pointed the gun at Raymond. I was spinning, he was firing, then my gun was in my hand, safety off, and I’d fired as he’d already been stumbling sideways from my kick. He’d hurt more than one of mine and I hadn’t hesitated to take him out. I’d placed three shots in a line down the center of his chest, as if each shot caught him as he was falling backwards. He wasn’t going to hurt anyone ever again.