by Dave Ferraro
***
Valor stepped into the infirmary and knocked lightly on the wall to draw Jade’s attention.
Jade glanced up from a microscope. “Valor. Good. Come in.”
Looking around the room warily, she walked up to the hunter. “You wanted to see me?”
“Yes.” She gestured to the chair next to her and they both took a seat.
Valor watched Jade carefully, and noted the tense set of her jaw. “What is it, Jade? You can be completely frank with me.”
“I know,” Jade frowned. “I just…don’t want to cause any more pain than I need to. And if it’s just a coincidence and I’m seeing things where there aren’t things…” She shook her head.
“Just tell me,” Valor coaxed her. “Tell me what you know and we’ll go from there.”
“It’s, um…” Jade looked up and bit her lip. “Felicia’s death.”
Valor straightened and suddenly looked more serious than before. “Go on.”
“There are some inconsistencies to what we’ve found.”
“What sorts of inconsistencies?”
Jade cleared her throat. “I’m really waiting for the autopsy report before I make any formal assumptions, but my preliminary examination found…traces of glass in the wound at the back of her neck.”
“Glass.”
“Yes, and it seemed like a blunt object had struck her. Now I don’t want to jump to conclusions or make something out of nothing, but it got me thinking…what if the werewolf claw had been dragged over the wound after the fact, to make it look like an accident? And what if somebody let it go on purpose?”
“That’s a pretty serious accusation,” Valor said thoughtfully. “Who would…” She frowned. “Have you found anything else?”
Jade scratched her forehead. “Well, I mean, that’s why I wanted to wait for the autopsy results. I want to see if the claw marks match the force of the actual animal, if it had caused the damage. Because if it’s not consistent with the strength of the animal, and the way it would have killed its prey, then this is the work of somebody covering their tracks.” She hesitated. “I, um, just because it got me wondering, I decided to take a look at the security camera footage for the hallway where we found her…her body.”
“And?”
“The tape is blank.”
Valor blinked. “Blank?”
“Yes, it’s…the film’s there, it just…it’s like it never recorded anything for a certain amount of time.”
“That’s…interesting.”
“I don’t want to make a big deal out of what may be coincidence, but…it all seems pretty fishy to me.”
“No, you’re right to have told me,” Valor assured her. “Something is going on here.” She looked away for a moment, as if thinking, before turning back to her. “Keep looking into it, and let me know as soon as you receive those autopsy results.”
Jade nodded. “Of course.”
Valor stood up and turned toward the door, but paused. She looked back at Jade over her shoulder. “And Jade?”
“Yes?”
“Keep this between you and me for now.”
Jade nodded as Valor walked out of the room.