by Terry Spear
Looking unruffled, Uncle Sheridan set his pad of paper on the coffee table. “Here’s what I’ve learned so far. We’ve run ballistics tests on all guns purportedly taken out in the woods the day the shooter killed the gunman. No matches. Which means either the test rules out it was one of our men, one of them had a second gun and gave us the wrong one to test, or the shooter was one of our men, except none of us knew he was out there.
“Or,” Silva said, walking into the living room, carrying a load of laundry.... it was a woman.”
Darien wondered how Silva had learned of the news so fast. But she always knew the gossip well before anyone else did. His brothers and Uncle Sheridan gave him shakes of their heads or shrugged a shoulder, indicating they hadn’t told her. Trevor. “Only woman out there was you. And you were with Sam the whole time.”
Uncle Sheridan snorted. “As if any of our women could shoot that far or accurately.”
Silva’s back stiffened. “I did.”
Hell, what now? Darien motioned to a chair. Have a seat, Silva. Tell us what you know.”
She plunked down next to Tom. “I didn’t say anything before because I knew you’d be mad that I’d killed him. I did it by accident. I swear it. We were sure the gunman was stalking us. So Sam told me to take his gun and go up on the ridge. If the bastard came after me, I was to shoot him. But he went after Sam and although Sam tried to tackle him first, the guy got a shot off, hitting him in the arm Instead. I meant to hit the guy’s gun arm, but he bolted when Sam dove for him, and I struck the gunman in the head. I swear I didn’t mean to. When Lelandi said she figured the shooter killed the guy to tie up loose ends, I got scared. Sam didn’t want to say anything either because you’d given orders that we were to stick together. He assumed you’d learn who the guy was who hired the gunman without involving me. But it seems you already know the shooter’s a woman so...” She shrugged.
“Sam knows better.” Darien blew out his breath. “Did you have Sam’s gun checked. Uncle Sheridan?”
He looked peeved. “Hell no. The lunatic shot Sam. I thought he and Silva had stayed together. At least that’s what they led us to believe. I would never have guessed she killed the gunman.”
“Run a ballistics test on Sam’s gun. I want to know right away. And Silva, next time, tell the truth.”
“Yes, boss. I’m so sorry. I well, I couldn’t let you think some shooter was out there still gunning for her.”
More likely she figured she was about to be found out when Ural came to. “Damn it, Silva,” Darien said. “You knew how important this is.”
“I’m sorry, boss.”
“When you were up on the ridge, did you sense anybody else up there? Smell anyone, hear anyone?”
“I didn’t smell or see anyone either. But I was pretty worried about the gunman and Sam so I might have blocked everything else out. Once I shot the guy, I hurried down to check on Sam and see if the guy was alive.”
Uncle Sheridan said. “You made a fine mess of it. And although you’re probably not involved in this, it sure can make tongues wag.”
“I only meant to wound him. All right? I’m... I’m late getting back to the tavern. Can I go?” Silva asked Darien.
He bowed his head, but he still couldn’t believe Silva was the one who’d killed the gunman.
Looking dejected, Silva hurried to the front door. From the foyer, she yelled, “Have you guys seen how bad the storm is getting?”
Darien and the others joined her and considered the whiteout conditions. “You’d better stay the night. Call Sam and tell him I said so.”
She sighed. “All right. I’ll be in the den watching a show. If anyone needs me to fix something to eat later, just holler.” Silva headed for the den.
Itching to return to Lelandi and smooth things out with her. Darien and the others retook their seats in the living room and he asked, “Anything else?”
Uncle Sheridan flipped through his pad of notes again. ‘Mason reviewed bank accounts to see if anyone had received large amounts of money before Larissa’s death. No one had. Which could mean that whoever was blackmailing her kept bank accounts somewhere else. So that was inconclusive. Jake found out some more stuff though.”
Jake took a sip of his beer. “Since we couldn’t find money in a local account. Trevor and Peter questioned folks to see if anyone bragged about receiving lots of money. Mrs. Hastings’s aunt died in a neighboring town. She received a substantial inheritance and put in the outdoor sauna and enclosed the deck to expand the bed and breakfast.”
“She’s above reproach.” Darien said.
“We thought so, too, but we had to double check every story.”
Tom walked back into the room with a Coke. “Then there’s Ritka.
Darien sat up taller. She’d certainly hated both Larissa and Lelandi, and she definitely could be suspect.
“She bragged she won at the tables In Las Vegas, Angelina and Hosstene vouched for her, but you know how thick they are.”
“Did the amount she won match up with how much was stolen?”
“Her winnings amounted to about a fourth of what the blackmailer had received.”
Deep In thought, Darien rubbed his chin, “What If the three women were in on it together?”
“We had the same Idea. If Angelina and Hosstene got any extra money, they hid it somewhere, aren’t spending it, and aren’t telling,” Jake said.
Darien mulled that one over. “Anyone else have any suspicious money dealings?”
“Nope.” Uncle Sheridan flipped to the next page of his notepad. “Concerning the family who wanted to join our pack, they’d heard you were a fair pack leader. As far as training, the man is a lumberman by trade. His brother is a male nurse. The mother makes Jewelry and is a renowned artist in her trade. The girls are in school. One wants to be a lawyer someday. The other hasn’t decided. Both girls want to help out when the ski lifts are running.”
“And the reason they left their former pack?”
“The leader, who was highly respected, died. Another took over and they couldn’t live with his rule.”
“We could really use the brother who’s a male nurse. If we learn the family is troublesome in the future, we can release them from the pack. But for now, they can stay,” Darien said. “What about the smell of rotten leaves at the site where we discovered Lelandi in the woods?”
Uncle Sheridan nodded. “It’s kind of a hollow and lots of leaves have collected there. Wet and shaded, it’s the perfect environment for making compost.”
But Darien figured whoever the attempted murderer was had to be wearing one of those hunter sprays that either made his scent invisible to others—even to bloodhounds, which could pick up the more subtle scents more so than any other animal including lupus garous—or he was wearing that humus type spray to blend in with the smell of the forest.
Jake cleared his throat. “Carol Wood keeps asking to speak to you about adding another nurse position.”
“Tell her it’s not possible.”
“She’ll have a fit when she learns we added another when we said no to hiring her,” Jake said.
“Tell her he was hired some weeks ago but just got here, if she asks. The woman will have to learn that when I say no, I mean no. What about the other two vases of flowers sent anonymously to Lelandi?”
“Still haven’t discovered the identity of the buyers. But the flowers her parents supposedly sent?” Tom said. “Ural bought and paid for them.”
Darien swore under his breath. “Doesn’t he know how upsetting that is for her? Giving her false hope that her parents are alive?”
“That’s another thing,” Uncle Sheridan said. “Chester McKinley informed me he located them.”
“What? Where are her parents supposed to be?”
Uncle Sheridan’s face darkened. “He wouldn’t say. If you want to hire him as a P.I.. he’ll share his information.”
“Damn him anyway.” Darien lifted his beer mug. “All right, schedul
e a meeting for a couple of hours from now. Anything else?”
“Nothing else. I’ll check Sam’s gun.”
“Think you can make it out in this weather?”
“No snowstorm has ever kept me homebound. Call you later.” Uncle Sheridan grabbed his Jacket, shoved his hat on, and left.
“I’ll see you both when Chester gets here,” Darien said to his brothers.
Intending to show Lelandi how lame Julia Wildthorn’s romance stories were compared to the real thing, Darien headed up the stairs. He couldn’t help how annoyed he was with Silva and Sam over the shooter incident though.
How many man hours had his men spent on the case, wasted now that they knew Silva was the shooter?
A man and woman were getting it on with all the moaning and groaning he heard on the television in the bedroom. He hoped Lelandi’s movie had gotten her in the mood for some real lupus garou sex and that she wasn’t still miffed with him over Ural. He gave Peter a nod, then opened the door to the bedroom and closed it.
She wasn’t in bed, no sound came from the bathroom, and the window was wide open. A willful breeze blew in snow all over the carpet. His blood running cold, Darien raced over to the window and peered out. Two of the rungs on the rose trellis were broken and the imprint of a body had impacted with the snowdrift.
“Peter! Jake! Tom! Lelandi’s gone!” He didn’t see any sign of a struggle, but it didn’t matter. If her past history was any indication of her current situation, she could be in real danger.
Peter flung the bedroom door open.
Jake yelled. “I’ll call Uncle Sheridan.”
“Tell him to notify Trevor since he’s taking care of the prisoner if she has a mind to try and free him.” Darien ran down the stairs with Peter on his heels.
“If she does try?”
“Trevor can throw her in a Jail cell until I get there. damn it!”
Tom offered, ‘I’ll call reinforcements to search the town for her.
“The woman is an absolute menace to herself!”
Darien swore he’d tie her to the bed, and there she’d remain until he eliminated Larissa’s killer.
Chapter 17
NORMALLY, LELANDI COULD SEE IN THE DARK. BUT THE blowing snow was blinding her. She trudged in the direction in which she smelled smoke from a chimney. More than half of the time, she stumbled knee deep in snow- drifts, and although she tried to keep her bare hands in her pockets, she constantly had to brace herself to keep from taking a nosedive. She was certain she’d been at it for over an hour, and she wasn’t sure if she was getting any closer to finding the town. Autumn definitely was her time of year. Winter was for the Arctic wolves and polar bears. Sheesh.
A blood-curdling scream pierced the frigid air. A girl’s.
Lelandi’s insides froze. “Hello?” she shouted.
The scream had seemed ethereal, everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She stood still and listened. The wind howled through the spruce, haunting her, but she was certain the scream came from a girl.
“Hello!” Leiandi called out.
“Here!” a girl screamed. “Oh god, help us!”
Tears sprang to Lelandi’s eyes, and she ploughed through the thick, wet snow, hoping she’d reach the girl and whoever else was in trouble in time. “What’s happened?”
“It wasn’t my fault!” a boy said. “How did I know the storm was going to worsen?”
“Oh, our parents are going to kill us,” the girl said tearfully.
They didn’t sound very young, probably teenaged. Lelandi opened her mouth to speak, but another boy said, “If you hadn’t talked us into this...”
Jeez, how many were there?
“Hello? Lelandi hollered again, sure she was getting closer to the sounds of their voices.
“She’s coming!” a different girl said.
“A woman. Just great. Like she could help us,” the first boy said.
“Listen, Cody, anybody would be welcome. Even Darien. Although he’s going to be pissed. Maybe the woman’s got a cell phone,” the other boy said.
Darien. They were probably lupus garou teens. A cell phone. Wish she’d had one, but hers was still back at her house in Wildhaven, and she hadn’t had time to grab it when she made her escape. Although she wasn’t sure where she was. Or where the teens were. So calling for help might not have brought anyone to their location anyway.
“Hello?” all of the kids shouted.
Sounded like four of them, their voices muffled in the snow and wind. But she was sure she was nearing their location.
A branch snapped several feet away, and she whipped around, but saw nothing in the white bleakness except trees laden with snow, their heavy branches dipping toward the drifts, making them look like weary old men.
A deer might have made the sound. Her wolf instincts remained on high alert.
“Hello!” the kids shouted again, but Lelandi didn’t budge. A shiver shook her but it wasn’t only the cold that created it.
She moved cautiously forward, listening for any other sound that might indicate someone was tracking or hunting her. The wind howled and the blowing snow blurred visibility down to a couple of feet, but even so she watched and strained to see or hear anything else.
“I think she’s not coming,” one of the girls said, her voice frightened.
“Over here!” a boy shouted.
I’m coming. I’m coming. But if someone was following her, Lelandi didn’t want him to know where she was. She wrapped her frigid fingers around the pistol grip, and the knowledge she had it, helped.
Then something raced in her direction. A Iupus garou in wolf form? It charged at her and she aimed her gun. But as soon as it emerged from the blanket of white, she exhaled a tentative sigh. A buck. As soon as he saw her, he dodged off and disappeared into the woods.
A second passed before she realized something must have startled it in her direction.
“She’s lost,” one of the girls said.
Lelandi moved more quickly now, although she couldn’t shake loose of the feeling a predator had spooked the deer. But if she could reach the kids in time, if someone was stalking her, he would have too many witnesses, and he would most likely stay clear of them.
“I think I hear her!” Cody shouted.
“Hello! What’s happened?” Lelandi shouted back, keeping her gun at the ready.
If worse came to worse, the kids could turn wolf if they were lupus garou now that the moon was out again. As long as the teens had an adult chaperone it would be acceptable. Their wolf coats would protect them from the cold, they could run faster, and find their way to town more easily.
“We’re here,” one of the girls shouted. “She’s getting closer!
Nearly there, her legs weary from the trek and her body trembling with cold, Lelandi waded through the last of the drifting snow.
“We’re here!” one of the four teens responded again.
“But don’t come much closer or you’ll be down here with us,” the boy named Cody warned.
Lelandi froze in place. “Is anyone hurt?”
“I think Caitlin might have fractured her leg,” the other girl said, her voice breaking.
Lelandi tucked the gun inside the jacket pocket, then got down on her hands and knees and tried reaching out for solid ground, hoping to god that no one would sneak up behind her and shove her off the cliff. Her hands were so chilled, she couldn’t feel anything.
“The snow was banked up against the trees, and then the whole side of the mountain gave way,” Cody said. ‘Anthony’s sprained his wrist. But Minx and I are okay.”
If they were lupus garous, it wouldn’t help the injured kids to shapeshift. Not if one of them had a sprained wrist and the other a broken leg.
“I’m coming to you, but I’m not sure where the drop-off is yet.”
“You’re getting close,” Anthony said.
“We lost two of our sleds down the mountainside, but there are another two up there somewhere.�
� Cody said.
Winded, Lelandi took another deep breath, the frigid air burning her lungs. “We can use one to take Caitlin out of here.”
“It’s awfully steep and I’m not sure either my brother or Caitlin can climb.” Cody said. “I can’t either without a rope.”
“But we can’t leave anybody behind!” Minx sounded on the verge of hysteria.
Lelandi drew closer and felt the land give way. Her heart thundered as snow cascaded down the cliff and the girls screamed.
“Back up!” Cody shouted.
As if she wasn’t already! Scrambling backward, she moved away from the edge. “Everyone okay?”
“Yeah!” the teens shouted.
The two sleds were wedged up against a tree, both wooden, both had long ropes attached. “We’re not leaving anyone behind. I’ve found the sleds.”
For a minute, she surveyed the forest, looking to see if anyone watched her, took a deep breath, and tried to smell anyone. Nothing, but the fresh, frigid air.
Fighting the numbness in her fingers. she managed to slip one of the sled’s ropes around a sturdy oak near the edge of the drop-off and tied a knot. “Okay. I’ll slide the sled over the edge. Let me know if it reaches you.”
“The rope’s too short by about ten feet,” Cody shouted.
Lelandi dragged the sled back up and again studied the forest. Still nothing.
For several painfully excruciating minutes, her frozen fingers worked on untying the rope from the other sled, then she fastened it to the rope from the first.
“Are you still there?” Anthony hollered.
“Combining ropes from the two sIeds,” she said. “Okay, here the sled conies again.”
“It’s long enough!” Mlnx shouted after a few minutes.
“But you couldn’t pull any of us up,” Cody said. “You’re Just a woman.”
She rolled her eyes. Male teen lupus garou for sure. “First, everyone take off their belts and anything else that you might be able to use as ties, scarves, whatever. Then tie Caitlin onto the sled. Can you make secure knots?”
“Boy Scouts.” Anthony and Cody yelled.
Unless the lupus garou had their own Boy Scout troop. she feared they were human kids. Which could be bad news for Caitlin’s injuries and the frostbite they may have suffered.