Lycanthropy Files Box Set: Books 1-3 Plus Novella Page 15

  “We’re interested in a car you just towed back here this morning,” I said. “It belonged to Louise.”

  His eyebrows crawled up his forehead. “And how’d you know that?”

  “Honey told me.”

  “Ah, so you’ll be the old man’s granddaughter. And this is the friend?”

  “This is Lonna Marconi, a social worker from Little Rock.”

  “Pleased to meet you.” She held out her hand and turned the full force of her smile on him.

  He took it, but his face didn’t show the interest Lonna typically caused. “Well, now, I normally wouldn’t mind you ladies takin’ a look, but Sheriff Knowles said no one was to touch the car ’til he gets his guys out here to check it out. He was already pretty pissed I’d moved it.”

  “We’ll only be a moment,” I said.

  He chewed on something. Gum, I hoped. “He was pretty insistent.”

  “I’m sure he was,” said Lonna. “Can you at least tell us where you found it?”

  “Honey mentioned it was between town and my place,” I added.

  “Yep. It was off the road a little ways in the woods. I’d’ve never seen it if it hadn’t caught the glare off the rising sun.”

  “And what were you doing on that road?” I crossed my arms and tried to look intimidating.

  “The old man paid me to drive that way a couple times a week and take care of any dead animals in the road. I thought I’d do it outta respect for his memory.”

  “Oh. Thanks, then. I appreciate it.”

  “Are you sure we can’t take a little peek?” Lonna was in full charm mode now. “We don’t even have to touch it, just take a look.”

  Ricky rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, if y’all don’t touch it, I guess I can let you take a peek at it.”

  “Thank you.”

  He led us through the wood cabin that served as an office to the “back lot”, a dirt slope strewn with vehicles in various stages of disembowelment and dismemberment. Louise’s car, a white domestic hatchback, was near the edge. The crumpled front end and dented sides told us it had gone off the road, rolled, and crashed into a tree or other large obstacle.

  “Wow,” I said. “How in the world did she survive that? That’s why she was in such bad shape when she showed up at my place.”

  Lonna was already scribbling her number on a piece of paper. “Would you do me a favor, Ricky?”

  “Sure, ma’am.”

  “Would you give me a call and let me know what the police say about the car?”

  His jaw dropped. “I don’t know if I can do that, ma’am.”

  She looked up at him through her long eyelashes. “It would mean a lot to me if you would.”

  He cleared his throat. “I’ll see what I can do.” Something caught his eye at the back of the lot, and his face went white. “I’ve got to do some paperwork, ladies. The gate in the fence over yonder is unlocked. Remember, don’t touch the car.”

  He scurried back into the office, and I turned to see a woman in a long white dress gliding through the cars. My first thought was that it was the angry ghost of one of the vehicles’ former owners, but then Lonna narrowed her eyes.

  “Isn’t that the chick who was with Leo in the restaurant on Tuesday? What’s her name, Kyra? The third—”

  “Yep, that’s Kyra Ellison.” I interrupted her before she could blurt out the word.

  She came closer, and I saw she wore a white sundress. So much for the ghost. But she did look pissed.

  “You!” Her shout was almost a shriek. “You’re the one.”

  “One what?” I couldn’t tell if she was looking at me or Lonna.

  “Man-stealer!” She reached into the pocket of her dress, and Lonna grabbed my arm.

  “Run!”

  We ran through the gate, hopped in the Jeep, and Lonna gunned the engine. We peeled out of the gravel parking lot, and when I looked back, I couldn’t see her.

  “What was that about?”

  Lonna relaxed her white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. “I think she’s jealous.”

  “Of who? Could she be sleeping with Peter, too?”

  “I think she was jealous of you, Joanie.”

  “Me? That’s a preposterous idea. Why should she be jealous of me?”

  “Because her boyfriend is sleeping at your house right now.”

  “Yeah, you’ve got a point there.”

  “Just what you need, a territorial bitch of a woman who can turn into a predator.”

  “I think most of us can when we’re threatened.” Honey Jorgen’s red-rimmed eyes came to mind. “Or when our kids are in trouble.”

  Gabriel had lunch ready for us when we returned. Although the dark circles under their eyes and shadowed jaws betrayed the fact they had only had a couple of hours of sleep, Leo and Ron seemed to be in good spirits.

  “How are you so awake?” I looked at each of them as they dug in to the Philly-style cheesesteak sandwiches. “I would be dead after that little sleep.”

  Leo spoke around the bite in his mouth. “We were in residency, remember? It’s no worse than a call night.”

  “That’s right, I’d forgotten.” I searched my mind for a topic change. I’m sure they didn’t like to be reminded of what they’d lost, especially Ron, who scowled across the table.

  Lonna jumped to my rescue. “So I’m curious, do you only have your transformations at the full moon, or is it every night?”

  Leo and Ron looked at each other, and Leo motioned for Ron to answer since his mouth was full.

  “The full moon is the only time when we have to transform. We can transform any night, but the urge is overwhelming at the full moon.”

  “Right.” Lonna scribbled something on her ever-present notepad. “And how much do you remember of your activities the next day?”

  Leo answered this time. “It’s hard to explain. It’s like having had a vivid dream to the point that some parts just don’t make sense. I know there’s stuff I don’t remember. It’s like the animal part of the brain takes over, especially at the full moon.”

  Lonna looked at me, and I knew she and I had the same thought: could they have taken the children? The savory sandwich turned to dust in my mouth, and I struggled to swallow. Could we be eating lunch with child murderers?

  She kept her tone neutral. “What do you do on those nights when you transform?”

  “We run, howl at the moon. You know, wolf stuff.”

  “Do you hunt? Joanie said she saw your pack.”

  “Sometimes. It’s harder than you’d think. There’s a certain amount of learning that goes into it. We didn’t have wolf parents to teach us.”

  “Do you remember what you’ve caught the next day?”

  Leo put his sandwich back on his plate and fixed Lonna with a cold, dark stare. “Why don’t we cut the crap, Ms. Marconi? What, exactly, are you trying to ask? Are you implying we took the children?”

  She met his glare with her own. “My job is to find out what happened to them. I have to explore every avenue of possibility.”

  “Need I remind you my own nephew is one of those children who is now missing? I can assure you, whatever my frame of mind, I wouldn’t be able to harm him.” He threw his napkin on the table and stalked to the porch. Ron followed him. I saw Leo had eaten all the meat from the middle of the sandwich without touching the bread.

  Gabriel came in from the kitchen and picked up the plates. “I guess they won’t be having coffee?”

  “Probably not. Thank you, Gabriel.”

  “We didn’t even get to ask him about Kyra.” Lonna picked her sandwich up and ate with dainty bites.

  “I think you got him wound up enough.” I kept my voice low, unsure of how sharp their hearing would be.

  “So what did you think about Louise’s car?”

  “It looked pretty banged up. Do you think Ricky will call you after the police have been there?”

  She smiled, and I envied the confidence she had in her power
over men. “I believe he will.”

  I sat in the office and looked at the medical charts again. There was something in there; I knew it in my gut, but what? I opened the laptop, got back into the database, and entered data until it swam in front of my stinging eyes. Still, I felt I was so close I couldn’t just give up. I decided to curl up in a chair and rest for a few moments.

  I closed my eyes on the office and opened them to a clearing in the woods, each tree trunk, branch and leaf illuminated with the silvery-gray light of the moon. My breath came in ragged gasps—it's after me! I heard it moving in the brush to my left, so I gulped air as quietly as I could and assessed my escape paths. My bare feet crushed the pine needles, which released a sharp, musky scent. Careful not to prick myself, I crept to the other end of the clearing. I looked at the trees to see if I could climb to safety, but part of my mind knew that wasn’t an option—my pursuer would follow me. So I continued to crawl inch by inch through the undergrowth, careful not to make a sound. The dirt caked my hands, the rocks scraped my knees, but I crept on for what seemed like hours, toward what I felt would be safety.

  Just when I thought I could rest, I heard a low chuckle, and it was upon me—sharp claws in my shoulders and hot breath on my neck. I rolled and grappled with it into another clearing, and as I lay on my back, pinned by its weight, I could see the sharp fangs in the moonlight, the tongue lolling as it panted over me. The black wolf, but this time it was a wolf-man in ragged khaki trousers, its chest finely muscled and furred.

  I struggled, but it held me with one claw/hand around my throat. It reached into its pocket with the other paw and drew forth a long silver wand. The thick needle flashed in the moonlight, and I knew if he jabbed me with it, I would become one of them. I opened my mouth to scream as he brought it down toward my left shoulder, but no sound came out. I woke covered in sweat.

  “Joanie?” Lonna knocked on the door and poked her head in. “Are you okay? I heard a whimper.”

  I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyeballs until I saw stars. “I just had a weird dream.” Why are they always after me?

  “Tell me about it.”

  She came in, and I recounted as best I could. When I got to the part with the needle, I jumped up. “That’s it.”

  “What is it?”

  “Hang on.” I pulled the computer out of rest mode and collapsed some of the data so I had two columns side by side: Tdap vaccination date and symptom onset date. The symptom onset was clearly two to three weeks after the Tdap, or tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis vaccine, commonly given around age eleven. “That’s the dream. The CLS—it’s getting to the victims through the vaccines.”

  She clapped her hands. “Brilliant! Who would suspect the vaccinations?”

  “But it’s not common enough to be showing up in every single pre-adolescent. There have to be some other factors.” I stood up. “I’ve got to get out of here—I can’t breathe. I’m going to take a walk.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “No, but thanks for offering. I need to be able to think out loud and talk to myself to work this out. Having company would only distract me.”

  “Be careful, then.”

  I looked at the clock. Two thirty. I had only been asleep for an hour? It had felt like several. “If I’m not back by four, send a search party.”

  “Right. Werewolves to the rescue. Are you sure you’d feel safe with that?”

  “It depends on which one you send.”

  The puzzled look on her face as we walked out of the office told me she would ponder what I meant for a while, but I didn’t care. I felt like I had finally made progress in solving the mystery of the missing children.

  I walked across the lawn and resisted the urge to look back and see if I was being followed, or at least watched. I found the trail leading into the woods and took the north fork, which would bring me to a bluff over the river and my grandfather’s “thinking spot”. It was amazing how quickly my feet remembered the terrain, the dirt path with underlying rock exposed by the rain and erosion. I wondered if anyone else had been this way recently, if my grandfather had gone out to his thinking spot soon before he had disappeared. The sunlight made dappled patterns through the leaves, but the slight metallic smell in the air told me a storm was building close by. I didn’t care—a little rain wouldn’t hurt me.

  I stepped on to the bluff and walked to the front, where a boulder with an indentation that was just the perfect size for an adult bottom stood and looked over the woods and the land below. To the left, a few small trees held on, but there was mostly a drop-off. I could see across the hills, the trees a patchwork of green with fading that hinted at autumn but no true color yet. Below me, the river whispered, but I could only see glimpses of it through the greenery. I sat on a rock and watched the clouds, felt the space, and was reminded this was the first time I’d been truly alone in almost a week.

  I let my mind wander over the past few days, the revelations about the guys and the suspicions I had about my own family and the Landover Curse. Up there, alone, I knew I would have to face memories I’d avoided for years. I would have to read the contents of the box my grandfather had pointed out to me as well as the letters from my childhood.

  “Oh, Andrew,” I moaned, and a drop plopped on my jeans. I went to wipe the tear from my cheek, but another one fell, then another. I buried my face in my hands as all the grief from the past—and the past week—welled up and spilled out in great, heaving sobs. The biggest insult was that Robert wasn’t there to hold me and comfort me, to let me cry on his shoulder. Lying bastard.

  When I raised my face to the sky, I saw the clouds had turned dark gray, and an ominous rumble was enough to send me scurrying off the bluff and back toward the Manor. Soon sheets of rain fell, and I had to stop to get my bearings as the path seemed to taper off into the woods. Had I taken the wrong path off the bluff? I didn’t know if there was more than one, but then, things may have changed since my childhood. Righteous indignation welled up. I’d been through enough, and now the forest would betray me? I picked a direction that felt right and headed that way, picking my way through the underbrush.

  I walked along, pelted by raindrops so big they may as well have been small water balloons. My clothes were soaked completely, and I couldn’t help but ponder how miserable I was. It was all Robert’s fault. If he hadn’t screwed up my appeal to keep my job, I wouldn’t be in this mess.

  But then, the little voice at the back of my head told me, he would be the most welcome person to you right now, and I had to admit it was right.

  I continued to walk through the forest, completely lost, and then the rain let up enough for me to hear something behind me. It matched me step for step, only a beat behind. I quickened my pace, and it did as well. The image of the black wolf came to mind, the way it had stalked me and driven me into hiding on the night of the fire, and then how it had reappeared the night of Louise’s death. Had it played with me enough? Was it waiting to finally drag me to my doom?

  Strong arms wrapped around me and tackled me to the ground on a bed of pine needles. The smell, the same as in my dream, burned my nostrils. I screamed at the top of my lungs and brought my knee up to my attacker’s groin. He grunted, but laid on top of me, which completely immobilized me. I squirmed anyway.

  “Will you be still?” asked a familiar voice.

  I stopped writhing. “Leo?”

  “Who else?” He raised himself up on his hands and looked at me through rain-soaked hair. I became acutely aware of his thighs across mine, his face only inches away, and his hair dripping into my eyes.

  I turned my head away. “Okay, okay, I surrender.” Then a thought crossed my mind, and I couldn’t help but giggle.

  “Oh, for God’s sake, what are you laughing at?”

  I rolled on to my side, now laughing so hard I couldn’t speak for a moment. He sat back on his heels and watched me.

  “I’m sorry,” I said as I sat up. “The thought jus
t hit me that I’m very glad you don’t smell like wet dog.”

  His lips twitched. “Actually, it’s a good thing I do smell like a dog, otherwise I wouldn’t have found you. Do you have any idea how far away from the Manor you are?”

  I looked around as though I could divine my location from the trees. “I’m completely lost.”

  “Well, it’s going to be a long walk back. Come on.” He stood and held out his hand to me. I took it, and he helped me to my feet. He didn’t let go when I achieved balance, and I stepped closer to him. The rain pelted us, but the heat between our bodies didn’t turn it to steam.

  “Are you cold?” he asked, but desire flared in his eyes more than concern.

  I shivered and nodded. He drew me to him, and I tilted my head back. “You could help warm me up.”

  “How?” He didn’t close the distance between our lips, but he didn’t let go, either. The corner of his mouth curled, and I knew he teased me.

  “Like this.” I stood on tiptoe and brushed my lips against his. He brushed the raindrops off my cheeks with his thumbs and clasped the back of my head with one hand while supporting me with the other. Then he captured my mouth with his, and I opened to him with my lips. Something loosened in me, a worry that I wasn’t desirable and that men would always leave me in the cold like Robert had. I reached around his head and allowed my fingers to play in the damp curls at the base of his skull as our tongues danced. But when I pressed myself into the evidence of his desire, he released me.

  For a moment, he didn’t speak, and the cold of the rain and his rejection slammed into me. He steadied me with one hand.

  “We shouldn’t.” He said and gestured around us with his other hand. “This is no place for…”

  “Right.” I turned. “Which way to the Manor?” I asked, my tone light so he couldn’t tell how much he’d hurt me.

  “Don’t be angry.” He squeezed my hand, then let it go. “And it’s this way.”