Zoology 101

by Larsen, Patti

Gerri could have turned on the AC, but opted for the wide open window thing again, breathing in the night air, letting it filter through her. Noting the different smells and tastes as she took the interstate and bypassed downtown, driving through some wild and untamed areas of countryside. While she had no idea what some of the often delicious and, at times, intriguing aromas meant, her bheast seemed to. And was content with her as she pulled into the driveway of the Pendletons, deep in the wealthy heart of Burnstile.

  Gerri didn’t get a chance to knock. The moment her boot hit the top step of the expensive mansion, the front door opened, and the woman of the house stepped through. Her carefully poised expression told Gerri everything she needed to know.

  “Detective,” Bernice Pendleton said. “I’ve been expecting you.”

  ***

  INT. – 9TH PRECINCT INTERROGATION – NIGHT

  Gerri loved this part, though very rarely did suspects give themselves up to her. It took some of the fun out of asking questions, digging for answers. She sat back in the metal chair of interrogation room one, Bernice and her lawyer across the table, and listened.

  “Yes, I saw Diane that night.” She sniffed softly, hands clasped before her, knuckles white. Her lawyer frowned at her but stayed quiet. “I slipped away from the dinner party. Easy enough to do.” Sounded like she did so frequently. “Jay was drinking too much, as usual. And his friends couldn’t care less where I am when he’s around.” Likely, had Gerri asked for her alibi, they would have told her the woman was there, somewhere. And yet, Bernice seemed willing to share her story. She confirmed that with her next words. “I’m here to tell you everything that happened.”

  “Bernice.” The older woman scowled behind her glasses, one hand reaching for the softly frowning socialite, but she shrugged her lawyer off.

  “I want the truth out,” she said, meeting Gerri’s eyes, crisp and controlled. “And I want Jay to know I’m not as big an idiot as he seems to think I am.”

  Now Gerri understood. This wasn’t about coming clean. It was about punishing the cheating husband.

  Gerri shrugged. “So, tell me the truth, Mrs. Pendleton.”

  “Diane’s death was an accident,” she said. “I knew about her affair with Jay.” Of course she did. And where there was one, there were others. How many? Didn’t matter. “I wanted to talk to her about it. Woman to woman. To work things out between us.”

  Gerri raised one eyebrow, unable to help herself. “Just like that?”

  Bernice sniffed again. Coke habit? Or emotional reaction? Gerri’s bheast didn’t smell drugs. “I’m a pragmatist, Detective,” she said. “Jay would never leave me for Diane. She was a fling, a momentary distraction. But we needed ground rules.”

  How practical, indeed. “Go on.”

  “I cornered her at the zoo that night, tried to talk to her. Diane ran away from me. She was a coward about it. So, I went after her.” Bernice tensed, shook her head. “I didn’t want to hurt her. But she made me angry, running like that.” Gerri felt her bheast stir. Wondered if there was a predator inside Bernice Pendleton as much as there was in Gerri. She couldn’t resist the chase, herself. And now knew why. “She finally pulled over on the side of the ravine road when I wouldn’t stop following her. She seemed afraid, ran away into the woods.” Bernice’s voice shook. “I can be… intense. I admit it.”

  Gerri had a copy of Bernice Pendleton’s license to carry a firearm in the folder before her. Likely, the furious woman screamed at the researcher, threatening her with a gun. Absolutely pragmatic, Gerri snorted. Still, there wasn’t anything in this story so far that led Gerri to believe Bernice killed Diane. Yet.

  No bullet, at least.

  “I followed her when she ran.” Bernice swallowed. “I’m not proud of it. I was angry. I just wanted to talk. She must have had an encounter with a frustrated wife before, because she begged me to leave her alone.” She looked embarrassed suddenly. “I almost turned around and just let her go. But, I couldn’t do it. Something was following me.” Bernice shivered, rubbed at her upper arms. “I think they were wolves.”

  Gerri’s bheast made the connection. “The rest of the pack?”

  The wolves in the zoo. She knew, as clearly as she understood her own heart, that they were all connected to each other. Could almost taste it still, as though she was in the zoo again, standing in front of the enclosure with her bheast hovering before the trapped lupines.

  “I have no idea.” Bernice’s voice dropped, fearful. “I begged Diane to stop, I was afraid. But, she must have thought I was still trying to hurt her because she wouldn’t listen.” She shivered, hands beginning to wind around themselves. She visibly forced them to stop. “I was almost to her when something rushed past me. I heard Diane scream. I was so scared, I turned around and ran back to my car and drove away.” She sniffed one last time, tears standing in her eyes. “I swear, I had no idea she’d died until I heard her body had been found the next morning.”

  “But, you didn’t think to call anyone, or to check, even knowing how high that ravine is.” Gerri sighed, closed the file in front of her. Wasn’t a crime. And no way to prove she hadn’t pushed Diane over the edge.

  Bernice stared at her in mute hurt.

  “Are you going to try to charge my client with murder?” The lawyer’s crisp question jerked Gerri out of her focus on Bernice. The bheast in her saw prey and wanted a taste.

  Maybe she should have just let it go. But, Gerri changed her mind as Bernice’s attitude shifted, out of regret and fear and into cold calculation. Screw it. She’d call Emily Pocket over at the DA’s office and see if they could make a case for manslaughter.

  She might not have shot her, but Bernice Pendleton was guilty of chasing Diane Lane into the dark woods, over a fifty foot drop and leaving her out there to die. That had to add up to minimum manslaughter.

  Gerri stood, took the file with her. “Don’t plan on going anywhere for the next ten to fifteen,” she said. And had the satisfaction of hearing Bernice argue with the lawyer as she closed the door behind her.

  ***

  EXT. – THE FOREST – DAY

  “I don’t understand.” Ray stood to one side, next to the box truck with the Paramount Zoo logo on the side, the wooded forest beckoning on the other side of the street. “Why would the wolves attack Diane?”

  “I doubt they did,” Gerri said, voice soft. Kinsey instinctively leaned closer to the detective as the back door of the truck opened and two young zoo handlers emerged. The cage inside rattled, the four wolves standing right at the front, eager, waiting. “They were probably trying to protect her. It’s likely Diane just fell.”

  “Why so much fear?” Kinsey took a half step behind Gerri when the gate of the cage was opened, a long, narrow run of more wire leading down to the ground and into the trees. A small handful of media had been allowed to witness the release of the four wolves into their natural environment, cameras snapping pictures while Abigail Armstrong and representatives of HACT stood waiting, smug expressions on their faces, to answer questions. “Why run away from Bernice Pendleton?”

  “Diane was part cubi,” Ray said. “Could that have left her vulnerable?”

  “We have no idea what her race’s reaction to confrontation looks like.” Gerri’s rumbling voice didn’t carry, words dying off in the still air as the four wolves made their slow and steady way down the wire covered ramp. “Or what Bernice really said to her. She has a gun registered in her name, though it’s vanished. I wouldn’t doubt she left out waving it around from her confession.”

  The wolves reached the end of their run and paused at the exit. The big male sniffed the air before turning and staring at Gerri. The big detective shifted slightly beside Kinsey, but finally nodded, just a tiny bit. With that, the family of wolves darted from the end of the run and vanished into the woods.

  Somewhere, in the distance, another wolf howled.

  Kinsey wasn’t surprised Jay Pendleton was absent from the release. From what
she’d heard, he’d been avoiding the press aside from a brief, “No comment.” He had to be circling wagons. She just hoped the death of Diane Lane wouldn’t mean the closing of the zoo. From the research she’d done, the Pendletons were actually doing more good than harm. And Abigail’s accusations, through Gerri, of animals being sold to private collectors had no basis in fact according to Kinsey’s connections. She had a lot of friends in countries where trafficking in animals might raise a good price. But as far as Kinsey could tell, every one of the animals released had arrived safe and sound at the sanctuary they were intended to live the rest of their lives.

  She could only hope she was right and that Jay would have the chance to continue to give those creatures a better future.

  Fascinating to observe the way Gerri avoided Matt Brichert’s gaze, though the bheast veterinarian seemed intent on getting her attention. Abigail approached before he could, the media done with her, Kinsey guessed. The old activist’s face was flush with excitement, eyes gleaming.

  “Did you hear that?” She spun, gesturing into the forest. “The pack knows they are free. They’ll be coming for them.” She hugged herself, spinning like a little girl excited for a treat. “This is the best day ever.”

  Gerri grunted in acknowledgment, leaving it up to Kinsey to smile and agree.

  “Someone broke into the Paramount Zoo two nights ago and assaulted Dr. Brichert.” Gerri’s tone told Kinsey—and the now wickedly smiling Abigail—exactly who she thought that someone was.

  “Well, good on them,” the old woman said. Laughed. “You’ll never prove anything, Detective. So don’t try.”

  Gerri spun on her, glared hard enough, her bheast pushing out before her, that Abigail’s amusement vanished, face blanching. “Don’t ever let me catch you,” she whispered. “And if anyone gets hurt…” Gerri blew out a gust of air, backing down. “I’ll make sure you pay for it.”

  The old woman turned, stumbled away, silent. Kinsey watched her go while Ray sighed.

  “Making friends again, Gerri?”

  The detective grinned suddenly. “Everywhere I go,” she said.

  Kinsey didn’t bother to warn the redhead they were about to have company, knowing she should have her friend’s back, but wanting to see, first hand, how Gerri reacted to Brichert. Though the detective might have freaked, Kinsey was happy to see she simply stiffened and nodded as the vet nodded back, hands in his pockets.

  “Now to make sure local ranchers don’t shoot the pack or set out new traps.” He sighed. “It’s a never ending battle.”

  “Will the zoo stay open?” Ray sounded concerned.

  He shrugged, smiled. “Probably. I’m thinking with Jay’s resourcefulness, he’ll turn this into some kind of silver lining.” Brichert bowed his head to Gerri, holding out one hand. She just stared at him a long moment.

  “You’re supposed to take his fealty,” Kinsey said. Guessed, really, but that was what it looked like.

  Gerri twitched, felt distinctly uncomfortable. But, she slowly reached out and took his hand. As if guided by her instincts, the tall redhead bent forward and sniffed his ear before dropping his fingers from her grip.

  He backed away, looking up with a glimmer in his eyes that wasn’t there before, his wolf rising. “It’s been an honor meeting you,” he said. “And, with your permission, I’d like to invite you to come introduce yourself to my pack.”

  Gerri’s twitch was more a jump of fear this time. It was her turn to back away. Kinsey wished she could find a way to encourage her friend not to be afraid, but knew better than to push the redhead. Instead, she put herself between Gerri and Brichert and smiled her best political smile.

  “Thank you,” she said. “But Gerri has a pack already.”

  He looked first at Kinsey, then Ray who closed ranks, shoulder to shoulder with the blonde, gaze lifting over them to Gerri behind. “You three,” he said, a hint of wonder in his voice. “If you need me, you know where to find me.” He turned and left without another word.

  Kinsey spun, Ray beside her, to find Gerri breathing heavily through wide nostrils. The anthropologist’s empathy finally won as she reached out and patted the redhead’s shoulder.

  “I meant it,” she said, smiling up at Ray. “We’re the only family I trust.”

  Gerri nodded, absent but firm and Ray mirrored the motion.

  Exactly the way Kinsey wanted it all along.

  ***

  INT. – THE NIGHTSHADE LEAGUE – NIGHT

  Margot DanAllart strode with fury pushing her high-heeled feet faster and faster down the long, wide corridor. She barely noticed those she passed who stopped in their tracks to bow to her, to show her reverence. They didn’t matter, not when she was faced with one of the most dangerous games of her life.

  She heard his voice before she even entered the council chamber, the echoing, rumbling charisma Gideon Orter was famous for sending a chill down her back that had nothing to do with attraction. Though he’d tried with all his attention for years to influence her, she was too much a Nightshade to fall for such parlor tricks as the charismatic charm of a dervish. Even one as pureblooded and powerful as him.

  She felt the frustration in him as she stormed into the room and confronted him personally, though he certainly didn’t show it on his face.

  “Ah,” he said with grand welcome, “Nightshade DanAllart. How delightful you were able to join—”

  “Leave.” Her voice shook with the same rage that drove her here. Her fellow Nightshades and League members muttered to themselves, but didn’t counter her. She was their Chair after all, duly elected, and her word was law. Which was why Gideon tried to circumvent her by speaking to the League in her absence. While she could have eventually ousted him if he’d convinced the others to accept him, it would have taken her a great deal of time and effort she didn’t want to focus on him. Catching him in the act of charming her fellow League representatives gave Margot a sick feeling in her stomach. They knew better, damn them. And, from the guilty twitches and the fact the other four wouldn’t look at her, they realized their mistake.

  She’d ensure they never made the same one again.

  “How rude.” Gideon looked to the League, but even he could see how the tide had turned against him. “Well, then,” he said. “I suppose my visit is over. Lovely seeing all of you. The Collective is delighted to work in any way with the Nightshade—”

  Margot snapped her fingers and four large and threatening looking bheast guards stepped forward. She felt Benedict lurking in the background but refused to involve the vampir just yet. Gideon’s eyes flashed his anger at last.

  “Unnecessary,” he said.

  “Not so,” she countered. “You’ve been ordered to leave by the Chair of the Nightshade League and have failed to do so. Do not make me repeat the order, Gideon.”

  He shrugged, bowed to her, and left. Margot held her place, turning only after he’d gone, the bheast guards following after, to glare at her fellow League members.

  “You fools,” she snapped. “What were you thinking?”

  Torrent Minouche spoke up, cold, gray danu eyes guilty, but her youthful face tight with challenge. “Times are changing, Chair DanAllart,” she said. “We thought it prudent to hear what he had to say.”

  “Times are changing,” Margot snarled at them all, “because that bastard and his Collective are purposely ruining all the careful plans this League has protected and nurtured for centuries.” More guilt. But she hadn’t gotten through to them, not completely, not yet. “Do you have any idea what damage you could have done accepting him into our organization?” She couldn’t help tsking sharply. “You know better, damn all of you. He will bring us down if he has the chance.”

  “We would never go so far without your permission, Margot.” Boris Grenchnev’s Russian heritage showed, as did his dervish, in his deep, harsh voice. The others nodded. And yet, she still didn’t believe them.

  Margot hit the full assembly—sixteen strong—with the
full power at her command, crippling them, driving them out of their chairs and to the floor from where they sat on the dais, pretty as you please. Playing at being leaders while she fought to keep the world from flying apart.

  “The next time,” she said, cold and quiet, “one of the Collective steps foot near the League, it will be in chains. Or when we’ve fallen.” They stared at her in horror. “That’s right, you ridiculous idiots.” She let them go, shaking her head, shaking all over. “He means to destroy us, from the day he left us and formed the Collective. You think time has tempered that desire? Has changed his dervish mind?” She pinned Boris with her furious gaze. “Of all of us, you should know better. Whatever animosity Gideon Orter has for the League, it has only grown over the last twenty years, not retreated.”

  “There’s no proof of that.” Torrent didn’t sound convinced of her own argument. Even less so when Margot stared her down with pity and icy calm.

  “I must return to Silver City,” Margot said. “But I can only do so if I know I can trust all of you to prevent the world from going up in smoke in my absence.” Sixteen eager nods. Benedict drifted out of the darkness and joined her as Margot turned her back on them. “See that you do so.”

  The vampir lord followed her as she stormed from the room, hating she felt so afraid.

  “I’m coming with you, I take it?” His deep voice soothed her somewhat. Here, at least, was someone she’d always been able to count on.

  “If you would. I must warn the girls without openly showing my hand.” Margot’s fear almost engulfed her, stopping her in her tracks before she could force her feet to move again. She couldn’t show her terror, not on the outside, not here in the seat of her power. She was Chair because she was strongest. If they decided to do the unthinkable, what no paranormal in their right mind would do… to side with Gideon Orter and the Collective and challenge her—