by Fawn Lowery
Chapter Five
The newsroom was a buzz over the recent murder in the city park. Janna listened to the comments as she slid into her desk chair. Her keen sense of hearing was the one thing she didn’t find fault with when she thought of her werewolf state. She had the ability to overhear the most secret conversations. Once she heard two colleagues planning a midnight rendezvous. She smiled at the memory. Both were married to different people at the time, but now she thought they were both divorced. She shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t one for office gossip—even when she could be privy to the truth about such things.
She felt a bit on edge because of the events of the previous evening. She hadn’t heard from Rick since he had stormed out of her house last night, his jaw set in a tight clasp. Nor had she seen anything more of the strange werewolf that had appeared on her front porch. She hoped she never did either—but of course, that was wishful thinking on her part. Since her father had seen fit to send someone to protect her, she felt certain he would appear again—she only hoped it was sometime when Rick wasn’t around. She didn’t relish the thought of having another explosive episode like the one last night.
She shivered at the reminder of the heated sex they had shared. He had been so rough—so brutal at times, ramming so hard into her body with his hard flesh, causing her such pain—but then giving her such a powerful orgasm too.
A strange thought suddenly sprang up in her mind.
Had Rick been mad enough to kill when he left her house last night?
She shook her head, trying to dispel the thought. Rick wasn’t a murderer. He was a lover—and a damn good one at that.
But he had been enraged when he left her.
But he had good reason—or did he?
He had no claim on her. He had no right to act so possessively. And above all, he had no right to be so rough with her.
Her brow wrinkled.
She really didn’t know Rick Sawyer—aside from the afternoon and part of the evening they had spent together. She had seen him on TV, being interviewed after tennis matches, linked to famous women across the globe; the gossip columnists loved to talk about him.
But he’s a werewolf.
He was capable of killing—of maiming and tearing a body to shreds. He had the ability. She shuddered with the thought of picturing him in wolf form, furred and armed with razor sharp teeth and claws. And the immense strength his big body could manifest—
“Janna, come into my office.”
She jumped at the voice just over her right shoulder, spinning round; she almost bumped heads with Elmer McCoy.
“You’re jumpy,” he commented in a dry tone.
She forced a smile and rose from her chair. Following him down the center aisle of the room, she hoped he wasn’t going to interrogate her again.
“Close the door,” he ordered, dropping into his desk chair. He propped his elbows on the desk and stared at Janna. “I hear you’ve done a bit of investigative reporting.”
“Yes, sir.”
She had hardly imagined he would make such a comment—and not sound derogatory when he voiced it.
“You probably heard about the murder last night in the park.”
“Yes, sir.”
Anticipation welled up inside her.
“Murders are rare here in Madison. The paper isn’t really equipped to investigate them properly. We usually rely on the police department to feed us bits and pieces of the details.” He stared across the desk at her, his brows drawn together. “Do you know anybody down at the police station?”
“No, sir.”
He opened a drawer on his desk and took out a business card. “Go down and talk to Tony Barton. He’s a lieutenant in homicide. Maybe he’ll let you poke around the crime scene a little.”
She pulled in a quick breath. Should she pinch herself—just to be sure her ears weren’t deceiving her?
She took the card with Tony Barton’s name on it, and rose to her feet. “I’ll get right on it, Mr. McCoy.” She hoped she didn’t sound too anxious. She was certain her face was lit up like a pumpkin at Halloween.
Her legs couldn’t propel her fast enough, it seemed. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door of the newsroom, one thought on her mind. If she could manage to convince Lieutenant Barton that she needed to warn the public about a possible killer on the loose—maybe he’d let her have a peek at the crime scene. She hurried to her car parked in the lot and slid beneath the steering wheel. Finally she was being given the opportunity she had hoped for since coming to Madison. Now, if she just didn’t blow it.
She drove across town to the police station and parked across the street. Shutting off the motor, she stared out the side window at the impressive yellow brick building. It dominated the block with its towering three-story height and massive stone stairway entry.
She felt a little nervous at the prospect of meeting Lieutenant Barton but she really needed to get a look at the crime scene, if possible. She felt certain she would be able to tell if the murder was werewolf related. A cold foreboding feeling gripped her insides as she opened the car door and grabbed her purse off the seat. What if it were true? What if the murder had been committed by a were?
She forced her legs to mount the massive staircase leading up the front of the building and forged onward. Perhaps her own safety depended on what she could find out from the policeman.
She found Lieutenant Barton at his desk, a phone pressed to one ear, a stream of curse words spewing from his mouth.
“Who the fuck are you?”
I’m the bitch who could rip your head off!
Janna forced a small smile. “I’m Janna Marlow—from the Daily News. I’m here to talk to you about the murder in the park last night.”
He ran his gaze the length of her, then motioned for her to sit. He slammed the telephone receiver down in its cradle and lurched back in his chair.
He was a heavy man, with wrinkled clothes, and an unshaven face. His pale blue eyes were bloodshot, probably from lack of sleep because of last night’s murder. He picked up a Styrofoam cup from one corner of his desk and took a drink, then scowled and tossed the cup into the wastebasket beside his desk.
“So, talk.”
“I want to see the crime scene.”
“So does half the people in Madison.”
“But I may be able to help.”
He chuckled out loud.
“No. Really.”
“Do you have a crystal ball, or ESP, or—“
“None of those.”
Boy could I set you on your ear!
“I might be able to offer some fresh insight into the killing.” She gave him her best smile. “It’s worth a try, isn’t it?”
“You didn’t do it—did you?”
Janna bristled. “Hell no. I am not a murderer.”
“Then I don’t see that you could offer anything new about the case.” A vein the size of a lead pencil stood out in his neck. “You reporters are all alike. You want to see the crime scene—then you pull out a damn camera and start taking pictures. A few hours later, the crime scene ends up in the local tabloids and evidence is compromised. No thank you! I can do without your help!”
Janna rose from the chair, her temper raging.
Get a grip!
The urge to Change was difficult to suppress. Ripping off the lieutenant’s head would be so easy—so fucking easy!
She leaned her palms on the edge of the policeman’s desk and glared at him. “I have no intention of compromising the case for you. I merely wish to get a close up look at the crime scene in an effort to make some assessments.”
He stared back at her.
“What did you say your name was?”
“Marlow.”
Miss Marlow to you!
“And Elmer McCoy sent you over here?”
“He did.”
He combed one beefy hand through his thinning gray hair. “I’ve never seen any killing like this one.”
Ja
nna’s anger suddenly subsided. She lowered her body slowly in to the wooden chair in front of the policeman’s desk.
“I’ve never seen a body ripped to shreds before. The coroner picked up pieces of the poor slob for almost an hour. They were everywhere, strewn across the grass like confetti.”
“Male or female?”
“Male. But we don’t have an ID yet. The body is in autopsy right now. Tests are being run.”
Janna hesitated to ask about viewing the crime scene again, especially since Barton was actually giving her some details. She took quick notes on her pad, careful not to come across as authoritative.
“It’s pretty gruesome. I don’t know whether to look for a human suspect, or an animal.”
“I need to see that crime scene, Lieutenant.”
He pushed out of his chair. “If you’ve got the stomach—“
Janna followed the officer across town in her car, all the while telling herself to keep her reactions at bay. Barton may be crass acting in some respects, but he was savvy in more ways than one, else he wouldn’t be sporting the moniker of Lieutenant.
The City Park was closed to all visitors because of the murder. The playground was empty, looking forlorn without children on the swings or the slide. The single pavilion was cordoned off for the crime lab. Janna saw several white-coated men milling about the area. Since Madison didn’t have a crime lab of its own, a neighboring community had sent over a crew—reaction to the news media, no doubt.
The severity of the murder intensified inside Janna as she parked her car and followed the policeman across the grass. An area roughly the size of a tennis court was roped off in yellow caution tape. Silently, she rushed to keep up with Barton, her eyes pinned on the area where the murder took place.
There was little breeze to carry the scent of blood or wolf stench left behind but the putrid aroma of death was easily identified as they drew nearer the spot where the body had been ripped apart. Barton paused at the edge of the cordoned area and turned to look at Janna. She immediately sensed his curiosity at her wanting to view the crime scene.
“May I go beyond the tape?”
He shook his head no. “I can’t risk you disturbing something of significance to the case. Sorry.”
A lab technician was moving cautiously around the area, white boots on his feet and rubber gloves on his hands. Janna watched him with increasing curiosity. Periodically he paused and picked up something from the ground, depositing his finds in a plastic container.
Janna studied the grassy area near where the technician was walking. If a werewolf had committed the murder—and she was almost certain one had because of the rending of the body—there would be sure signs of claw marks in the grass. Whenever a were attacked, he braced himself with his hind feet, almost certainly digging his long back claws into the ground. She had learned that much from investigating the crime scenes in Dover Run.
The Lieutenant left her side suddenly, heading toward the pavilion after being summoned by one of the techs, and Janna ventured around the taped off area to catch the attention of the tech she had been observing.
“Are there signs of struggle on the ground?” she asked, knowing full well the answer to her question.
The tech looked in her direction and nodded his head. “There was definitely a struggle. But there’s something weird about it too.”
Janna held her breath, knowing what he was about to reveal.
“There’s really big paw prints all over the place but I haven’t found any tissue from a canine. I wonder if the guy was walking his dog and when he got attacked, the dog ran away.”
“That’s not saying much for guard dogs,” Janna remarked, shrugging her shoulders.
She turned and headed toward the pavilion, hoping to snoop amid the collected evidence a bit. She spied Barton and deliberately turned her steps away, avoiding him if possible. The lab people were likely to be friendlier—if she could approach them on her own terms.
A picnic table displayed numerous brown bags of evidence ready to be transported back to the lab for analysis. Janna surveyed the collection, then turned suddenly as a tech nearly blindsided her.
“Excuse me!”
“Could I help you carry some of those?” Janna offered, seeing the tech’s arms overloaded with bags of evidence.
“Thank you.”
The woman shifted half her load into Janna’s arms and led the way across the grass to a white van. The words CRIME LAB were printed in red across its side.
“Are you from the coroners office? I thought we gave you guys all the body fragments we could find this morning.”
“Yes, you did,” Janna hurried to say, a slight smile gracing her lips.
“So have you been able to make an identification yet? I don’t envy you your job.” She shook her head and shivered. “I’ve never seen a body destroyed like that body was. It was horrible.” She paused and squinted her eyes at Janna. “One thing I can’t figure out though.”
“What’s that?” Janna prompted.
“Well, the body was torn to bits, and left on the grass—as if by wild animals. Why wasn’t it eaten?” She shrugged her shoulders.
It was a were murder!
Janna didn’t speculate on the tech’s suspicions. She gave the impression she thought the murder was an animal attack. And at the moment, Janna didn’t want to say anything to the contrary. She looked around to see Lieutenant Barton coming her way. Now was a good time to separate her self from the lab tech—just in case the policeman should reveal she was a reporter instead of someone from the coroners’ office, as the tech assumed.
Chapter Six
“So,” Lieutenant Barton said, his gaze scrutinizing. “What kind of investigative instincts do you have about this gruesome murder?”
Janna chose her words carefully.
“Are there any packs of wild dogs in the area?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “You think dogs did this?”
“It’s a possibility. There are paw prints in the dirt; the body was ripped to shreds, yet apparently left uneaten.”
“I see where you’re going with this,” he interrupted, waving one hand. “You think the public will suspect a wild dog attack—given the fact that the murder took place in an open area in the night time.” He leveled his assessing gaze on her. “Now tell me what you really think, Marlow.”
Janna pulled in a long breath.
“A werewolf attack.”
Surprise wreathed the policeman’s face. Then he chuckled aloud. “That’s bullshit. Werewolves are a figment of the imagination. They don’t exist for real.”
Janna expected the disbelieving reaction. And maybe it was for the best. If she sounded too convincing, he might be apt to investigate her.
“I suppose now you’re going to remind me that it was a full moon last night as well.”
“I think the public should be warned to stay inside at night—just in case there really is a pack of wild dogs roaming the neighborhood.”
He studied her, a slight smile on his pudgy face. “And you expect me to make that announcement?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I could mention it in my column.”
“The society column? That would go over big.” He laughed out loud.
“My editor sent me to cover the murder, Lieutenant. He expects me to come back with some information and since you seem to be without suspect or suspects—“
“All right. We’ll go with the dog attack. But I don’t believe it for one fucking minute.”
“Then show me something that proves otherwise.”
He rubbed his chin with one beefy hand. “I’m checking with the patrolmen on duty last night to see if anything related to this murder occurred—you know, any thing that looks suspicious.”
“Did you find any evidence of a weapon?”
“Not yet.” He glanced in the direction of the cordoned off area. “And at this point, I doubt we will.”
Janna considered whether to say
anything more about her suspicions that a werewolf perpetrated the murder merely because the officer didn’t believe her.
“Can I have your permission to go speak with the coroner?”
“That’s our next stop,” he informed her, taking her arm and turning her toward the parked cars.
It was a short drive to the hospital. The coroner’s office was in one end of the building, off limits to hospital visitors by way of the rear parking lot. Janna followed Lieutenant Barton into the lot and parked beside him, then exited her car and walked with him inside.
“Now if you feel the need to puke—“
“I have a strong stomach.”
“All right. But you’ve been warned.”
The putrid stench of death filled the outside corridor leading to the coroner’s office. Janna stifled the urge to cover her nose and mouth to keep the odor at bay. Having a wolf’s sensitive nose was just part of the Curse. Sometimes it jolted her system to the point of vomiting.
“Have you put that puzzle together yet, Hank?”
Janna followed the policeman through the double metal doors into a room that looked all aluminum and machines—except for the red pile of flesh heaped in the middle of an examining table and the ravaged remains of a corpse lying on another. A small man shrouded in white scrubs and gray rubber gloves looked up at them, a large pair of plastic goggles positioned over his eyes.
“Hell Tony, this is the worse mess I’ve seen in thirty-five years as coroner.”
The pile of flesh was heaped on the table like so much hamburger, dark red in color due to the exposure to the air and the time past since the shredding. Bits of grass and torn pieces of clothing were mixed in, giving the gruesome mixture an unrealistic appearance. The badly mangled body lying near by looked equally unbelievable. The rent remains of clothing, possibly the only visible identification that the person had been male, were embedded in the scant fragments of flesh still clinging to the bony skeleton.
Janna looked away, feeling her stomach lurch.
The aroma of werewolf musk hung in the air; putrid and deathly, forewarning of the creature she knew the police department should be on the trail of. But did she dare mention the fact to Lieutenant Barton again?