by Meg Ripley
“Yes, we do. If you drove in, you would have seen it. I’d be happy to show it to you if you’d like,” Knox replied in a friendly manner, but I could tell that he didn’t like being questioned.
“We find that not everyone reads the signs or listens to the warnings when it comes to the animals. This is a clear example of that.” I said, backing up my Alpha.
“Hmm…possibly...” Blanca looked deep in thought as she continued to stare at the body.
Knox, Sophia, and I exchanged concerned expressions.
“What are you implying?” Knox asked sternly after a beat.
Blanca didn’t address him and instead, looked up at Sophia. “Could these injuries have been caused by a human?”
“What? What makes you think that?” Sophia looked completely perplexed by the question; perhaps overly so. Goodness knew the woman wasn’t going to get nominated for an Academy Award anytime soon.
“Is it possible?” Blanca asked sternly. “Please answer the question.”
Sophia looked at Knox, her lips firmly pressed together. Knox gave a curt nod.
“I mean…yes, it’s possible. A human couldn’t deal this kind of damage with just his or her hands alone. The suspect would need a weapon of some sort.”
“A weapon like what?” Blanca’s expression grew much more interested and I felt a rumble of foreboding travel through me.
“I don’t know. Maybe a large fishing hook if used the right way, like a kind used for deep sea fishing? Or those ones with multiple points, treble hooks? There aren’t many things that could cause the type of damage we’re seeing, honestly.”
“But if the person was trying to make it look like a bear attack, they would pay special attention to something like that…” Blanca’s face was still clouded over by her intense thinking. I could practically see theories as they dashed across her mind.
What the hell? Is this chick crazy? Sophia’s voice echoed.
Come on Knox, now she’s just making stuff up. We know this was a shifter in bear form. There’s no way a human did this! I was on the same page as Sophia, for once.
“You’ve all gone quiet, so I guess you think I’m insane or something, but this is my job: to speculate. So, until more evidence is found and this is confirmed by me to be a bear attack, I will continue to speculate that this could possibly be a murder. I’ll be conducting a week-long investigation here, and if nothing points to a murderer in that time, I’ll leave. If something does turn up that could indicate anything else—anything at all—then that’s what I’ll pursue in my investigation.” Blanca looked at each of us, and lingered on me especially, narrowing her eyes.
Why does she keep looking at me like that? I squinted my eyes in return.
“I expect everyone’s full cooperation during my investigation. If any other information about the case turns up, you are to report directly to me, including you, Mr. Bernard.”
I took a broad step forward, bristling. “Who the hell do you think you—”
“Stand down, Trent!” Knox glared at me, holding an arm out in front of me to prevent my advance. My blood was boiling. I wasn’t about to let this lady step onto our territory and take over. I only answered to Knox, period.
“You will have our full cooperation, I assure you.” Knox addressed Blanca directly, who was glaring at me intensely. Our gazes pierced through each other’s and my anger rose. I felt my body start to shake, threatening to explode with energy at any moment.
Knox grabbed my arm tight enough that would hurt a normal human, but was just enough to snap me out of my thoughts. I said to stand down.
I took a deep breath and swallowed, hoping my anger would dissipate.
“I have rounds to do,” I growled before I turned to leave.
“If someone is found responsible, I’ll need you to show me the holding quarters for criminals,” I heard Blanca’s voice call out as I started to walk away, but I didn’t turn around to acknowledge her.
“I can help you with that,” Knox replied; I heard the smile in his voice and it made the fire in me burn that much hotter.
Who was he kidding? I knew he wasn’t happy, but whatever; he could put on a show for the feds if he wanted to. That wasn’t in my job description and way above my pay grade. He asked me to be cooperative and I was. I told her everything I knew about finding the body.
Except the footprints…
I hope you’re going out to catch this guy, whoever he is, so we can keep him out of sight until she is gone. Knox didn’t seem angry at me for walking away, just adamant about what I should be spending my time doing.
I’m on it.
I really hoped this guy was stupid and just carelessly left a trail of his footprints out in the open for me to follow straight to him. But once I found him, maybe I would get really lucky and he would put up a fight.
Because hell, I was certainly in the mood for one.
Chapter 4 – Trent
After about half an hour, I picked up on a trail of footprints. They were oddly arranged, however, with uneven weight distribution and sporadic gait length. It looked like the person had tried to retrace their steps backwards a few times, but had wobbled and lost their place more than once. Then, the prints grew deep, like the shifter had been running as quickly as he or she could.
I considered changing into my bear form to find the assailant more quickly, but decided against it; I wasn’t sure if Blanca had Alex and Gerard doing their own patrolling and I didn’t need them thinking I was the culprit.
I continued to follow the footprints as best I could through the woodlands and then, I saw it.
A huge puddle of blood.
I looked around quickly, trying to find the source, and I spotted drops of crimson liquid heading west. I started walking slowly, cautiously following the trail, and moments later, my boot collided with something. I had been so deep in thought that I nearly gave myself a heart attack. Looking down, I saw what I had stubbed my foot on and heaved the mightiest sigh I had ever uttered.
Two men were sprawled out in front of me, still and lifeless. One was a skinny guy with shoulder-length blonde hair; the other was a chubby ginger. Cuts and bites were apparent all over their bodies, staining the ground with a sticky pool of their blood. They didn’t seem to have as many broken bones as Danielle did, but they obviously hadn’t needed a grand, dramatic fall to end their lives.
Dammit, the shifter had struck again.
I examined the corpses to see if I could figure out who they were. I noticed a tripod and camera lying in the dirt a few feet from the bodies, as well as a boom mic, so I assumed they were Danielle’s camera crew.
In that moment, I realized why I was having so much trouble following the footprints: I was following two pairs of human feet coupled with the shifter’s, and they were all scrambled together from the chase that had taken place.
“Who the fuck is doing this shit?” I growled out loud. It had become personal. Whoever the shifter was, he was making more trouble for me.
Knox, we’ve got two more by Eagle Lake. Looks like Sophia was right: the camera guys ran, and the shifter went after them, too. They’re both dead.
You’ve got to me kidding me! Knox seemed as fed up with the situation as I was. I’m with the agent now, so I need you to call me to deliver the news. Pretend like you didn’t tell me because I have a feeling she’ll be listening very closely. I can take her to the bodies and hopefully that will stall her long enough for you to be able to find this asshole! We need to catch him before this gets even more out of hand.
I whipped out my cellphone and pressed 1.
“Bernard,” Knox answered apathetically.
“Hey Knox, it’s Trent. I think I found the bodies of Danielle’s camera crew. You might want to come take a look with the agent.”
“What? More bodies? This is getting ridiculous. Where did you find them?”
“Out here on Eagle Lake. Should I wait here for you two to arrive?” I really didn’t want to have another
encounter with Blanca if I didn’t have to, so I was really hoping he was going to say no to that last part.
“No, you don’t have to stay there. Call Sophia and have her come examine the bodies so Agent Gianni here can have some more information by the time she gets there.”
Phew.
“Will do sir.”
I hung up the phone and started walking again, reaching out to Sophia.
Hey Soph, I left a present for you on the western part of Eagle Lake. Follow the blood trail and you can’t miss it.
More bodies? I could sense her excitement. She really enjoyed her job, as gruesome as it could be. We didn’t see dead bodies often, so three in one day must have been like a party for her—a macabre, headache of a party that threatened our entire clan.
Your favorite, I snorted.
I’ll be right there!
Just try to get here before the agent does. You know she’s going to want information. She didn’t answer me, but I figured she was on her way to the location.
During the conversation, I’d been looking around the bodies for either bear or human prints that could have lead me to the shifter, but it proved extremely difficult to see beyond the blood to sort out anything that could have been mixed in with the footprints of the camera guys. I knew the shifter’s tracks were there, though, so I kept going.
A few minutes later, I found them. They were bear prints, alright.
Boy, were they bloody, too. I imagined the bastard was tracking the red trails from his victims on his paws, which just made things easier for me to be able to find them.
“Still here?” Sophia startled me as she came upon the scene, running up to the bodies to examine them quickly.
“Just found the shifter’s prints and I’m going after them. Have fun with your corpses.” I started walking away without even looking at her, focused on discerning the bear prints from the human ones.
“Oh, you know I will,” she called out after me and I snickered.
****
It took me about ten minutes to find him.
I took in a long, deep whiff of the cool forest air as I spotted him: based on his pheromones, the shifter’s most definitely a male.
He was still in bear form and hunched over the water, trying to catch some fish. His fur was coated in blood and I wondered why he hadn’t bothered to jump in the lake and wash himself off.
Why is he still in bear form? Maybe he figured he could blend in with the park’s bear population and not be noticed? Whatever his reasoning, it pissed me off that he had killed three people and was looking for something to eat like nothing had happened.
I walked out from the tree I was hiding behind until the bear could see me clearly.
“My name is Trent Bailey and I’m the Law Enforcement Ranger of this park. I am a shifter as well and ask that you please return to your human form so I can ask you some questions.” I really hoped he didn’t listen. I was holding my anger off for the moment, but I could feel it bubbling underneath the surface.
The bear glared at me and then let out a roar, standing on his two hind legs.
He wasn’t going to come easily. The bear wanted to play hard ball, but I was ready for it. I removed my clothes quickly, not taking my eyes off him; I needed my uniform intact since I didn’t have any spares nearby.
The change ripped through me, shredding my human form and snapping my bones as a towering black bear rose where I had once stood. In my bear form, I was taller than most and brawly, which meant I won almost all the fights people were stupid enough to challenge me to.
The battle awaiting me would be no different.
The beast charged at me with full force, swiping his claws at my head, making me jump back. I dodged a bit too late and the bear’s claws grazed my chest.
I growled and threw my weight onto the bear, crashing down on him and clawing away until his breath was ragged. I unleashed all the pent-up anger that had been building as the day progressed with no pausing and no mercy.
It didn’t take long for the shifter to stop fighting back. He shuddered and sank to the ground, bleeding. He was nowhere near as bad as his victims had been, but I wanted him alive for questioning.
Where was he from? Why had he killed those people?
I guessed it didn’t matter too much, because once the conclave was presented with the overwhelming evidence against him, he would be executed on the spot.
I grimaced as I thought of what had happened the last time they had met. The conclave was the shifters’ counsel and they handled all crimes within the shifter community of the region. Evidence was presented to them and they decided the verdict they felt was best punishment for the crimes committed. With three humans dead, they weren’t going to be lenient in any way, shape or form.
I honestly couldn’t wait to see that.
Due to his injuries, the shifter’s body was no longer able to hold his bear form and he began to morph back to his human state. He had dark brown spiked hair, a lanky frame and was average height for a guy who weighed no more than 200 pounds. He was naked and covered in semi-dried as well as fresh blood; a mix of his victims’ and his own.
I’m going to have to find him some clothes. Quickly. People would most definitely have noticed if I was dragging around a naked man in handcuffs, and I sure as hell I didn’t need the attention.
His breathing was rough, but he was still alive, and that’s all that mattered to me. He didn’t even deserve that much, of course, but we had trials for a reason. I guessed his injuries would be fully healed in about an hour and he would be fine.
I shifted back to human form and began to dress myself, the scratches on my chest already scabbed over.
Good. The last thing I needed was blood on my shirt to make Blanca think I was the culprit. I quickly put the rest of my uniform back on, keeping my eyes on the shifter. I removed the pair of handcuffs I kept clipped to my belt and snapped them around the guy’s wrists; he struggled a little, but obviously didn’t have enough strength to fight me.
Like mine, his wounds were already beginning to heal. They weren’t scabbed over like mine, but he’d stopped bleeding. I needed to hurry if I wanted to take advantage of his weakened state for transport.
“You are in so much trouble. I can’t wait to see what they do with you,” I growled into his ear as I lifted him up. I reached out to Knox with my mind again.
Found him. I started walking toward the lodges to find some clothes for the asshole. Are you guys still at Eagle Lake with the bodies?
Yeah, we just got here a few minutes ago. Take him to the holding area.
What are we going to do with him?
She’s not going to be able to close the case without questioning him, obviously, so we have no choice but to allow Agent Gianni to proceed with her interrogation of the suspect.
But Knox, shouldn’t he be presented to the conclave for—
He should be, seeing as how he’s taken three lives, but remember, Acadia is technically federal property, so we have to let the feds investigate. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make it look like the crime was committed by a human; we have to protect the clan, after all. Take him into holding. I’m going to need you to head over to the fishing lodge and dig up a deep-sea treble hook or two that you can say you found on him; we’re going to go with that as the murder weapon. Oh, and don’t clean him up. It’ll look better if he still has the victims’ blood all over him. It’s evening; I doubt the agent will want to question him now, so I’ll tell her that a suspect has been found and will be kept in our holdings for her to question in the morning. You are to personally keep an eye on him in the meantime.
Understood. After the day we had, I didn’t have the energy to argue with Knox anymore. He was irritated enough, with the worst crime in our recorded history taking place on his day off.
When we finally reached the holding lodge, I grabbed a shirt and sweatpants from my office for the shifter, then removed his handcuffs and pushed him into the cell. He still
hadn’t said a word, but his wounds were almost completely healed, so I knew he would be conscious enough to talk in a short while.
“Guess who you get to spend the night with?” I sneered. “And don’t bother trying to change again. These bars are specially made to withstand bear strength. You’re not going anywhere.”
Chapter 5 – Blanca
This case is turning into a handful.
I was staring down at the bodies of Danielle’s camera crew, which Sophia was examining.
“Do you guys usually have this many deaths in one day?” I raised an eyebrow at Knox, who was also studying the bodies with a serious expression.
“I can assure you, this is the first time anything of this magnitude has happened and I am just as eager as you are to find the culprit.”
He didn’t look at me when he spoke, but it was then that I decided to trust him. He seemed shook up by the whole ordeal; I was good at reading people and I could tell he wasn’t behind the killings.
So that made one of them I felt I could trust.
I wasn’t too sure about Sophia yet; she was so nonchalant about the bodies and something about that bugged me. Maybe she had so many years in practice, she was immune to it. I could relate, though; some would say the same about me and I’d only been with the FBI for three years.
I thought back to the pilot’s words and wished I was there on vacation as I looked out at Eagle Lake. Man, this lake is beautiful. It was at least fifteen miles wide and I could only see mountains in the distance. The view was amazing.
Or at least, it would have been, if it weren’t for the pair of corpses and the flies they were beginning to attract.
Sophia stood up. “Alright, I’m not finding a pulse or heartbeat on either. Definitely dead. Judging by the injuries, I’d say these two line up completely with Danielle’s death. Whatever killed her got these guys, too.”