I walked out and pulled my phone out, calling Simon. His voicemail picked up, and I assumed he was out of range or sleeping. “Hey, wanted to let you know that I’m back on the case. I’m going to see the lab about the results on that hair. Thanks for having my back.” I hung up and practically ran to the basement to pick up the results.
As I was about to hit the next set of stairs, Kathy popped her head into the stairwell. “Agent A, I have the results you wanted.”
Perfect. I followed her into the lobby, and she handed me the folder. “Thanks, Kathy. I was just heading to the lab.”
“They sent them up to me when you hadn’t gone to collect them.”
“Yeah, I’ve been out of contact.” It was the only way that I could explain what had happened. I didn’t want to explain that I’d been kidnapped by a suspect that our execution team couldn’t find. I opened the folder and looked through it. The hair belonged to the supposedly deceased Zachary. It was the confirmation that I needed. “I’ll be back later.” I snapped the folder shut and put it in my bag while I walked out the door.
I needed to see Madeline to find out if she was aware of any of this, and the only way I was going to get her to speak freely was without Zachary next to her. I jumped in the Hummer and headed to the highway.
My phone rang halfway there. “Agent Collins speaking.”
“Reinstated I see.” Simon’s voice came over the line. Part of me was relieved that he’d called me back and nothing had been wrong.
“Yep, and I’m already back to working the case. Two days behind means that we risk Zachary getting away.”
“Yeah, he’s not gone. He left us another present. Travis’ pelt.”
I cringed. “How is he doing, by the way?”
“He’s healed and grateful that you showed up. I think he might start being nicer.” There was a small joke in Simon’s voice.
“Listen, can you check your pack records for some things?”
“Like what?”
“I need to know what packs all the victims came from if they didn’t originate from yours. Like where they started out as pups. Our system normally just states the current pack.”
“Might take me a while. But I can work on that for you. Where are you heading?”
“I’m off to talk to Madeline without her dad hanging around. That hair sample proves that he’s Zachary. I want to see if she knew anything about it and if she’s covering for him either out of obligation or out of fear. If I can get her to witness and maybe tell me where he is, we’ll be in good shape.”
“Be careful; I’d hate for you to have another life or death situation.”
“Hey, I pulled out of the last one alright.”
“Yeah, still a risky move.” He laughed.
“Turns out someone already told Boss Man about my elemental abilities, so it might not be a secret for much longer. Someone out there has the information.”
“And you still have a job?” He sounded surprised.
“We’re PIB; he knows it might come in handing in closing a case and bringing in the bad guy. Besides, I have a feeling he has his own secret ability because all he did was caution me to be careful with it.”
Simon made a ‘hmm’ noise. “So who’s teaching you how to control it?”
“That has to remain a secret; it’s best for everyone involved.” I sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t be, you’re right, that’s a dangerous ability to have out in the open. I’m just glad that it helped you.”
“Me too. I’m going to let you go. I’ll call and update you when I get back from talking to Madeline.”
“Thanks.” He disconnected and I focused on the drive to the restaurant.
When I originally had been to the restaurant, I figured it was some elaborate set up to hide pack goings on, but now, I was sure. I walked up to the door and pulled the handle. Locked. The little sign was now gone, raising my suspicions. There hadn’t been a window on that side of the building, but I thought I saw one inside on the opposite side. The non-parking lot, non-street facing side. I walked around the building, cutting through the alleyway and realized that the building faced another alley that crossed between main roads.
Sure enough, a small window stood just a little bit over my height, but it’d be big enough to wiggle through if I could get it open and pull myself through.
“What are you doing here?” Madeline’s voice came from behind me.
I spun around to face her. “I’m looking for your father.”
“He’s not here right now.” She fidgeted with her hands, a far cry from the confidence she showed when I had first visited. “You need to leave. He’ll kill you if he finds you here.”
“I know who he is. Can you help fill in some gaps for me? I can offer you a safe pack to move to.”
“You mean the one he’s slaughtering people in right now? That’s not safe.”
“If I bring in your father it will be.” I pressed my lips together. “Can you show me where he’s killing them? It’s not downtown.”
She shook her head. “He’ll kill me if I tell you.”
“Let me protect you by helping me.” I urged. “I know you’re scared, but if I don’t bring him in, he’s just going to keep killing random wolves. One day he may or may not decide to kill you too.”
She glanced over her shoulder as if hearing something I couldn’t. As a werewolf she probably did. “You have to promise to kill him. He won’t stop, he’ll escape whatever jail you put him in.”
Was it a victim’s fear that made her say that or did she know for sure? “What happened when they arrested him in California?”
“He killed those in the containment van, slaughtered them, and then crashed the van to fake his death. The whole thing went up in flames, and he escaped. He came and got me and the others…”
“He’s in the midst of hunting them down.” I muttered. “It’s not random. He’s killing anyone that might have had a hand in bringing him down.”
She gave a subtle nod. “Follow me.”
I hadn’t promised that I’d kill him. As a PIB agent, I was supposed to avoid killing them if I could. She darted back down the alley, and I followed her as she instructed. From her jeans, she produced a key to unlock the restaurant door and let me in. “I wasn’t here.” She whispered and shifted. The ease of her shift told me that she was strong.
“Find Simon. Tell him I offered you protection.” I nodded to her. “Thank you.” She ran off and I didn’t waste any time. I walked into the restaurant. The tables still looked dusty; nothing moved inside. I walked through the tables and chairs, trying to see what this was all covering up. A tapestry in the back hung slightly crooked and the glinting of a handle shown behind it. I raced over to it and moved the tapestry. Cliche, a door hidden behind it, the man needed to watch fewer movies about hiding doorways. No one would have thought twice about a door marked staff in a restaurant. Even one that was abandoned.
I found the door unlocked. Another mistake. It creaked as I opened it. Dried blood splattered the walls, and what looked like torn bits of flesh clung to the ceiling and corners. A tarp was thrown over a pile of something against the far wall. I put my hand to my mouth to stifle a scream that tried to crawl up my throat. Madeline had just led me to the murder scene. I pulled out my phone and called Mason.
“Abby, what do you have for me?”
“I have our murder scene. Send a crew to the Golden Goose quickly, because I have no idea how long it’ll be before our suspect returns.” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see him alone after stumbling into this. I walked over to the tarp and kicked part off it off with my foot. “I also have bodies without heads. I’m betting they match the most recent victims.”
I heard him shouting orders away from the phone. “We’re all on our way. We’ll see you there. Do you want to tell me how you found it?”
“A little wolf told me. I want to keep her name out of it until we have Zachary in custody.” Or he was dead; eithe
r one would work for me at this point.
I was still alone at the restaurant when the crime scene crew and Mason showed up. I had no idea where Zachary was, and I had yet to hear from Simon on if Madeline went to find him or not.
Mason jumped out of his cruiser and walked up to me. “This place says it’s closed on all websites that mention it.”
“That’s a change from a week ago.” I shook my head. “I just met with the alpha here about the case after the bodies showed up at Simon’s club. It was completely empty. It’s just covering up what he’s doing.” At this point all that mattered was that it was our crime scene.
I led the crew into the back room. “Have at it.”
One of them whistled before I left them. They’d be able to collect the blood samples and everything else I needed from the scene to close my case and go after the suspect. All I needed to do was find him. I knew exactly how I was going to do that at this point. Get him to pack grounds, and from there, I could let pack justice take its course. Zachary was already labeled as deceased; PIB wouldn’t know the difference.
“Abby, a look of evil just crossed your face, what are you thinking?”
I shook my head. “You don’t want to know. I was just entertaining a horrible idea.”
“Right, I don’t want to know.”
It was his way of saying he wanted to remain out of the loop in case it actually came to fruition. “It’s going to take your guys awhile to process that scene. I’m going to head back to the lab and get some evidence to perform a spell.”
“Black magic?”
“Give me some credit, Mason; I don’t play with black magic, you know that. I’ve seen too much bad crap come from it. No, I’m going to do a tracking spell, like every case.” I muttered. “I never get to do any fun spells.”
He shook his head. “Who should we watch out for?”
“You know the wolf I tried to shoot while the world was watching?”
He nodded.
“Him, because my rounds didn’t touch him.” I walked back to my Hummer.
I called Simon the moment I got in the car and started driving.
“What’s up, Abby?”
“We found the crime scene, Zachary is still on the loose, but I sent the real Madeline to you for protection. She’s terrified that he’ll kill her. He’s not killing random wolves, they all belonged to that pack in California at some point.”
“I was starting to see that pattern.” He muttered. “What’s your plan?”
“I come there and perform a tracking spell, and we go from there. Madeline wants me to kill him.”
“And what are you thinking?”
“I’m honestly thinking pack justice.” I shook my head. “I can’t believe I’m considering it, but the guy has apparently faked his own death once.”
“And what does that mean for PIB?” There was caution in Simon’s voice.
“It means that the case becomes cold because I won’t be able to come up with anything. Everything will be dead ends. Nothing will come of the restaurant; all DNA evidence points to a dead man already.”
“Won’t Boss Man be upset?”
“I rarely don’t close cases, but as Agent Grace pointed out, not all PIB cases can be closed.” I never thought that idea would become my advantage. In reality, I should have brought Zachary in and turned him over to PIB, but I’d seen what he was capable of and if I could verify Madeline’s story, then I’d be one step closer to letting the pack handle it.
Simon was quiet for a moment. “What’s your plan then? Tracking spell and then what?”
“Set a trap with you and your wolves and then wait.” I shrugged even though he couldn’t see it. “I’ll be up there in a bit. I need to swing by the office and do a bit of research before I head your way.”
“Be safe.” He disconnected.
I was hoping there wasn’t anything crazy waiting for me on pack grounds, not like last time. Of course, it would still be daylight when I got up there, so I didn’t have to worry about Ira. Not yet. With any luck, Ira would be staying away from me for a bit. I didn’t think I’d seen the last of him by any means, but maybe he got the memo that I wasn’t helpless.
Speeding down the highway, I wondered how I’d gotten to this point, worried about a vampire trying to kill me and considering pack justice over PIB justice. My life had taken some seriously twisted turns the last couple of years.
I walked into my office to find Oliver sitting behind my desk. “My boss is on to you using Nick’s card. So I’m hoping you’ve disabled security somehow so you’re not caught.”
“The security cameras in your office are rigged with repeat footage while I’m here.” He shrugged. “It was an easy task, and no one has caught on to that yet, but thank you for being concerned. I’m here on behalf of Levi.” He leaned back in my chair and put his feet up on the desk. “It seems that he has talked to the king about bringing you in.”
I crossed my arms. “Is that so? Despite my determination to kill Ira?”
“He plans on keeping you far from Ira. He’s hoping you can perform some magic for him.” Oliver raised a brow. “A spell I didn’t know you knew.”
Aw crap, what was it? “Just get on with it.”
“A trace spell? Apparently, you managed one with a man name Merick. A bit of a…cat, I heard.”
“You do have spies at my house,” I snapped. “I thought you said you didn’t.”
He smirked. “Who said it was spies?”
I shook my head. “What is your obsession with knowing my every move?”
“I would say you need to trust me, but you trust me just enough to let me get away with all of this. I know about Merick because I saw him shift at your apartment once.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?” I resisted the urge to throw my hands in the air. “You talk about Levi keeping secrets, don’t you think that you should have told me that my cat was actually a man?”
“Probably, but I talked to Merick about it, and he and I have a deal.”
That was interesting seeing as my uncle hated the Cult. “Lovely. Care to share what that is?”
“No. Back to my reasons for being here. The trace spell, can you do it?”
I pondered the question for a moment. “I don’t know if I can do one as big on my own. It depends on what they want me to check out.”
“What if I help you?”
I’d done very little magic with my uncle simply because his tended to lean darker than mine. The trace spell required blood to ground the witch or warlock so they didn’t get lost in past memories. I’d done it at the haunted house and lost control because of my emotions. “Then I can do it. Why didn’t Levi ask you?”
“He doesn’t trust me to do it alone. There’s something we’re missing, and we’re not sure what it is or how to find it.”
“So you’re hoping that I’ll be able to figure it out from tracing the events at the scene? Same scene you sent me pictures of?”
He shook his head. “Different.”
I had a feeling I wasn’t going to get any more than that out of him. “Tomorrow night. Tonight I’m at the wolf pack trying to track a suspect. I’m not sure how late I’ll be there.”
“Are you safe there? Last time Ira used the pups to get to you.”
“If I feel something even cross my circle, I won’t go in. Simple as that. I won’t put myself in that situation again.” Though if the same situation happened, I couldn’t tell him honestly that the outcome wouldn’t be the same.
“That’s the best answer I’m going to get from you. Just like my sister, a bleeding heart.” He shook his head. “I see so much of her in you. It makes me miss her.”
I sat in the chair in front of my desk. “You never talk about her with me.”
“She taught me almost everything I know.” His gaze went distant. “The night that she died, I knew before Levi called me. My main concern was to get to you and get you safe, but Levi had already been there. He already kne
w what Elizabeth had written in her will. When she was alive, she was a spitfire, like you, never taking shit from anyone, forging her own path, but she had such a caring streak in her. She wanted to save the world. Wanted it to be peaceful between all creatures. Since she discovered that witches weren’t the only paranormal creatures she was convinced that we could all live in harmony.” He shook his head. “A dreamer, if you will.”
I smiled. I vaguely remembered stories in her voice about the perfect world. “When did she meet my dad? Was he the same?”
“Now is not the time to tell you stories of your parents. You have work to do, and I need to get back before the security guys catch on to your office feed. Levi has me running his errands during the day since you can’t do it for him.”
I laughed. “Never thought you’d take orders from Levi.”
“Well, when the vampire king calls for help, it’s not only the vampires who get called.” He bowed his head. “Sadly, I was assigned to Levi.” He walked out of the office.
I didn’t move from my chair. I hadn’t been aware that Oliver and my mother were close. The fact that he claimed she taught him almost everything he knew was scary, seeing as he knew a lot of magic that could be considered gray. My mind went back to the dream and the voices claiming that she had been accused of black magic. No, everyone spoke of my mother as a gentle and kind woman. Even Oliver just did.
After a couple minutes, I got up and went to my computer. I opened the search program and typed in the address of the restaurant to see if I could find any other history on it. After a couple minutes of the computer whirling away only a couple documents popped up.
“Family murdered at local restaurant,” I muttered the headline out loud before clicking on the article. An old scanned in newspaper article popped up on my screen. A man had been brutally attacked and torn apart by some type of animal over twenty years ago. The bite mark analysis came back inconclusive and was thought to be contaminated because of the two different types of teeth imprints found.
Just like our current crime scene. I continued to scan the article. No suspects were named or caught because it was deemed an animal attack. I copied and pasted the names of the victims and not only their death records and birth records came up; an old pack registration came up. These were rare for such a long time ago, but some packs still kept records even though they weren’t required to by the government, since the government didn’t know that they existed.
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