The Devil's Pride (Wild Beasts Series)

by T. Birmingham

  She pulled from deep inside of herself and felt where her gift normally came up from, and she wished she could offer comfort. She knew she couldn’t. But for a minute, she pretended she could, and she pretended that her gifts could lessen Cam’s pain.

  “It’s going to be okay, Cam,” Mindy said, again voicing a promise she had no control over keeping, but that he needed to hear.

  “You can’t promise that,” Cam said, softly, and she felt his mood lift. “But thanks for saying it.”

  Mindy smiled. “And in regards to Devon, I hate to burst your bubble, but the roomie was talking to him this morning, and when she got done, she said there was no word. He’s still doing research…yadda yadda yadda. I honestly think the only thing that’s really going to solve this are – and I know you don’t want to talk about them but – those hunches you get. I think you need to tap into them…see how far they go,” she said, hesitantly. She just knew he wouldn’t go for that idea.

  “Nothing to them, Mind. Devon and the animal—” Cam stopped the conversation and looked around. “The Devon-turning-into-an-animal thing – that I can see with my own two eyes, and I’m sure there’s some explanation for it. But the hunches are just that. Hunches. Nothing more. Don’t go turning into a magic believer on me,” he said with a laugh.

  “But Cam—”

  “Mind, seriously. I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to solve these murders the old-fashioned way. No magic. No mystery except for the actual who-done-it kind. Sure, we know the Shadows,” he whispered the name, “are a part of this, but this right here, and the murder of the Andersons…that was done by a human. Or at least someone who can be prosecuted as a human. That means they have fingerprints. That means they have blood. That means that good old-fashioned police work can catch them.”

  Mindy took a breath. No, she wouldn’t be telling Cam about her gifts anytime soon. He wouldn’t believe her, and even if he did, he wouldn’t like that she’d gotten into his head. A part of her thought maybe he wouldn’t mind, that he loved her, and she was just being dramatic. But the other part – the part that had been raised by strict parents who’d acted like her gift didn’t exist; who’d taken her out of school for a week when she’d felt – and voiced – the emotions of her dead Aunt Rita; who’d grounded her when she’d shared their real feelings about each other over breakfast one morning… That part of her was afraid of how Cam would react to all the truths and thoughts she knew of his that he still hadn’t shared with her, even if his mind was usually a steel trap he liked to keep closed.

  “Okay, Cam,” she said, not pushing him further. What else could she do?

  “Hey, my two favorite love birds!” Danny Rios said, coming up on them. Mindy was forced to ignore the pain in her heart and the pounding in her head as she smiled and focused on the dark-haired, black-eyed Guatemalan who’d just joined them.

  Today, he wore black jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt that accented his fit body. Where Cam was muscular, but slender, and Devon was a bulky Man Bear beast – as Alexia liked to say – Danny was the quintessential romance hero – built to the nines. Danny definitely knew how good-looking he was at a perfect six feet, and he proved this constantly with women.

  “What’s with the smile, Romeo?” Mindy teased. She’d become friends with Danny since she’d started working with Caty, but especially since dating Cam.

  She’d actually met him on her first day working with Caty, when he’d brought his mom some dinner from Trappe’s after another bad date. Poor guy didn’t have any luck with women long term, despite the fact that he was gorgeous and a good guy all around.

  In the beginning, Caty had hinted that Mindy should go on a date with her son, and she had definitely been tempted…before she’d met Cam. But Cam was it for her. He was her everything. If only she could tell him the truth about herself without tearing his perceptions of her apart.

  But the angry look coating Danny’s features alerted Mindy that she’d said the wrong thing. His jaw was taut and his face wasn’t as relaxed as usual. Something was bothering him and Mindy wanted to ask, but it wasn’t the time or the place. He really was more agitated than usual, but they’d all noticed that he’d been spending more time at Trappe’s recently. Maybe even too much time?

  “What’s up, man?” Cam asked. “Everything okay?”

  “Nothing’s up,” Danny muttered, the anger instantly vanishing. He took a breath and his whole face changed. It smoothed out. “I’m good.” Danny forced a smile, and then turned his attention to the bodies.

  “Hey, Ma,” Danny said when Caty looked up from inside the pit.

  “Danny,” Caty said. “You coming in here to tell me cockamamy stories about what might have happened in this park, too?”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Danny said, clutching his chest. They all laughed of course and the tension was broken in that moment. “So, Waters, you’ve been driving my Ma crazy again with your voodoo hunches, huh?”

  “Not voodoo,” Cam snapped, and Mindy felt his anger churn her gut on top of the headache that still held her in its unforgiving grip. “Just logic.” He moved away from the pit. “See you all later. Find me something to use in these murders,” he shouted over his shoulder, and went to see Officers DeForest and Milligan who were pulling up the pictures that had been taken so far of the scene, before walking to his Range Rover. He didn’t say anything further to Mindy, just walked away. She ignored the stab of pain she felt at that and kept working. He was just working through everything that was going on in his personal life and now another murder. She understood, but his inner turmoil, and the outer lie of seeming indifference to all that was happening in their world, was starting to wear on her emotionally.

  “Something I said?” Danny asked, but he shrugged and climbed into the pit with his booties already on.

  “You mess up my scene, I won’t feed you for a week, and we know all you have at your place are leftovers, beer, and tequila,” Caty said without looking up.

  “Breakfast of champions,” Danny said, and winked at Mindy. She just rolled her eyes and punched his arm. Charmer. “So, what’ve we got?”

  “Honestly, it’s almost the same as the last one, Danny boy,” Caty said turning to him and Mindy, who’d re-gloved and was bagging some dirt specimens, swabs of blood, and other particulates.

  “Like, exactly the same?” Danny asked with curiosity.

  “From the current evidence? Not exactly, but there are a lot of similarities. Same order of killing based on lividity. Same family size. Different genders in the children, though. Different ages as well. Same time of day. Same shallow pit. The first family was Caucasian, but this family was of African descent. Both families had a parent in education – according to you and Cam, from earlier.” She looked to Danny for confirmation

  “Yeah, the father was set to be a visiting anthropology professor at Montville University for the fall,” Danny added. Mindy would have to ask Alexia, but she’d bet her bottom dollar that the visiting anthropology professor was also set to be the professor for the Europe trip that Alexia had mentioned. Way too big of a connection to an already crazy string of coincidences. Mindy said as much.

  “Shit, that’s a huge connection.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Language,” Caty said, absentmindedly... “So, another professor. That’s not really my area, but I think it’s incredibly important to note that there are a lot of similarities in both cases – except it’s a different park and a different trail head.” She breathed out a sigh. She was frustrated.

  Mindy had known Caty for almost two years now and had never seen her even close to frustrated over a case. These murdered families – so close to home – were taking their toll on the law enforcement and its branches in town.

  “Well then, I’d say the only good thing is we may have a pattern.” Danny paused. “After you get your findings during the morning autopsy, can we go public if the evidence is similar as well? Cam and I were talking earlier a
t the station, and we want to make families aware. They can protect themselves better if they know the killer or killers are going after families. I wonder if the fact that there are four here and at the other site matters. I’d bet anyone Kayla was collateral,” Danny said, almost to himself.

  “That’s yours and Cam’s job and your Captain’s approval you’ll be needing, but I’d say, as the town’s coroner and medical examiner, yes. I’ll have all the facts I can garner tomorrow. I’d say you could even run it now based on what we know, what I’ve found here, and what information you boys found out about in terms of the similarities between the families, but again,” Caty said, giving a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes, “not my decision.”

  “Good. I’ll talk to the Captain and see what she wants us to do. You good here, Ma?”

  “Yeah. Mindy and I will be putting the bodies in bags real soon, and then I’ll let her go to her man and fix whatever issue he’s got crawling up his ass,” Caty said.

  “Language,” Danny whispered in mock horror.

  Mindy smiled and Caty just rolled her eyes. “I hate to bring this up, but I’ve had it floating around in my head for a good hour now. I just didn’t want to say anything with Cam around, but I’m getting feelings off this family,” Mindy said, seriously considering taking all of her ibuprofen when she got home.

  Caty and Danny exchanged a glance, but just as with Cam’s hunches, they knew Mindy was for real.

  “What’s up, Mindy?” Danny said, growing serious.

  “Well, I’m getting images of two people… Maybe a man and a woman? Both with dark hair. It’s just glimpses. First, they’re talking and arguing and I sense a lot of anger. More like fury. Then, there’s a clip, like from a movie, of them taking the family. The other clips follow, but they’re even more fragmented. The couple kidnapped members of the family separately, but I sense that the male is in pain while the female kidnapper is, well, she’s actually kind of bat-shit crazy. Lots of colors and scattered images from her lingering emotions. After that, all I sense is the family’s fear…then…nothing. Except, I’m not getting the usual feeling of floating weightlessness and peace. I feel trapped, vulnerable, caged.” Mindy breathed out, and her mental pain – she didn’t know what else to call it – dissipated with the breath, but also at the telling of the feelings.

  “Clips? You’re getting movie clips now? Did you happen to see any locations in these clips?” Danny asked, who just sort of rolled with the things. The first time she’d shared with him about the ghosts, he’d just started jotting down notes. Like he’d seen things. Like he knew there was more out there than could truly be explained.

  “No. Sorry, Danny. No locations…” Mindy paused, dejected. She sometimes felt useless with her gift. Just emotions. Just blurry faces. No background. No context. She could infer a context, like the kidnapping part or the fight, since she could see the couple’s vague outlined faces as they argued and felt their anger. But she didn’t know what the argument was about. She didn’t know where the family was taken from or to. “And I honestly don’t know when I started getting these movie-like clips. Things have been a little wonky up here,” Mindy said, pointing to her temple and grimacing.

  “Hey, it’s okay. You can’t be expected to do all of the work. Finding evidence. Sensing the dead’s emotions. Helping figure out a profile for those killed and the murderers. Any other gifts, and none of us would be needed,” Caty said with a shake of her head. She glared in her son’s direction, and a small yet surprisingly strong squeeze to Mindy’s hand as she walked over to the other side of the pit and called for a tech to bring the body bags.

  “Sorry, Mindy. You know I respect your gift even if it is getting kinda scary,” Danny said, looking sheepish.

  “Yep. Scary. That’s definitely the word for it,” Mindy whispered, tiredly. And then, in a normal tone, “And hey, no worries. I want to solve this case as much as you do. This is our town. I never thought I’d see the day we’d be solving murders like this, looking at a serial killer pair…” She trailed off, but she couldn’t keep the few tears she’d been holding in from falling down her cheeks. She brushed them off gently with the sleeve of her blue, crime scene jumpsuit.

  “We’re going to solve it, Mindy,” Danny said, giving her chin a chuck and smiling down at her. “And I hate to bring it up, especially now…but you’ve got to tell Cam what you can do. Every time I bring Cam one of your leads, I feel a little sick lying to him about who it’s coming from. I’m not saying that to make you feel guilty. I’m saying it because it’s true. I’m also saying that to remind you that I’ve known him longer than you.” Danny’s eyes looked shadowed for a moment, as though the shared history between Danny and Cam was darker than Danny would like.

  Mindy wanted to know. She wanted to get inside Cam’s head beyond what he’d let her. His mind was always so closed off, his emotions so layered and hard to break through. She wanted to settle in to who he was and be his comfort. But she didn’t ask. And she didn’t think Danny would tell her even if she had.

  “He’s a good guy,” Danny continued. “A good man. And he’ll stand by you once he gets over his ego.” He paused and watched her expectantly. “You’ll think about it?”

  “It’s all I think about,” Mindy admitted, breathing out a sigh. He ducked his head in a nod.

  “So, two people? Maybe a couple? Dark hair?” Danny asked.

  “That’s what I got. I don’t know about the dark hair, one hundred percent, but it’s important or I wouldn’t have seen that particular thing. Their faces are blurry – no surprise there, but I can sense anger. Love and hate. Not sexual love and hate, so maybe siblings or friends? I don’t know. I can’t get a read on their actual relationship. Nothing on age either…but definitely adults.” Mindy paused. “The family…hmmm, the older girl. She’s eighteen – just turned eighteen – like Margarite Anderson would have been soon. Her... I’m getting something before the fear. It’s almost—” Mindy blushed at what she was feeling and Danny laughed, but she wasn’t one to sugarcoat – ever. “It’s possible she was having sex before she was taken, like within an hour or so before. I don’t know… It’s just the feeling is strong, and my gift doesn’t really believe in time. I can only tell you order. The fear is strong after the sexual feelings, but it could just be that was the last strong emotion she felt before the fear.”

  “All right, well, we can put out an APB on a male/female couple with dark hair in the area. We can also check to see who this girl had sex with in town. She’s on vacation with her family, so it had to be another camper or a local. They’ve been here”—he checked his notes—“three days. Damn, that guy she was with must have been a regular Casanova! Props,” Danny said, laughing.

  “You’re disgusting,” Mindy said, but she smiled. Leave it to Danny to change the mood and make light of the situation.

  “You wound me, Mindy Choudhury.”

  “Oh, I’ll wound you all right,” Mindy threatened, but lightly.

  Caty just shook her head at them as she and the rest of the team started packing up to go home or back to the morgue.

  “See you at Trappe’s after you finish up Damon’s books this week?” Danny asked.

  “Same as always,” Mindy countered.

  Danny cleared his throat, and Mindy felt his sadness, his anxiety, and underneath that, a deep-seated fear. There were no images, though, and when his eyes met hers, she saw the whole of those emotions in a set of brown eyes she’d gotten to know very well these past couple years.

  It annoyed the fuck out of her that people could lie so well; inside, they were breaking, but outside they acted as if all was right as rain. Danny was no different in that regard.

  In fact, Devon was one of the few people she’d ever met who wore his heart on his sleeve – everything was right there. He never pulled his punches, was as truthful as any person could be, and she suddenly appreciated her boyfriend’s twin beyond his ability to bring her friend what she’d always wanted.


  “Gotta go. See ya around,” Danny said, and she gave him a big smile, hoping the smile warmed his soul. He gave her a smile in return, this time brighter, a squeeze of the hand, and a quick goodbye to her and to his ma before heading off to his ’67 Mustang.

  Mindy watched him retreat with a sense of foreboding. There was too much going on in her friend’s mind. He was battling demons, and she didn’t know how to help him. Then again, he hadn’t asked. Danny was such a great guy and he deserved the kind of happiness she had with Cam. Though, obviously, that kind of happiness had not been present today, she thought, replaying Cam’s exit earlier and not liking how they’d left things.

  And just like that, her headache from before was back. Apparently the aneurysm-inducing headache wasn’t only about the emotions of the dead, but about her own emotions. Fucking gift was going haywire, and she didn’t want to examine the ‘whys’ of that mystery.

  Alexia was bored. But at the heart of that boredom was fear and sadness and a strong feeling of uselessness. Mindy had called a couple hours earlier to let Alexia know there’d been another murder. A family, who’d been staying in one of the mountain parks and visiting from out of town and who was there to see some nature and the full moon eclipse, had been killed in much the same way the Andersons had been. The father had apparently just been granted a visiting anthropology professorship at Montville University for the fall as well. Alexia felt awful that, for just a moment, she’d been glad it wasn’t anyone else she knew. Selfish, true, but another loss in town was bad enough. Another loss attached to one of their own would have been too heartbreaking.