She smiled broadly at him. It was always hard not to.
“Hey there Peaches,” he said as he slid past Tasha and into Jake’s office.
“Hey there yourself,” Jake responded.
Gil sank into the chair that Tasha had just occupied, his long legs bumping Jake’s desk. Instead of taking another chair, Tasha perched on the corner of the desk.
“Whatcha got, Gil?” Jake asked.
“Richard Roberts is an ass hat.”
“Figured that out on our own, did ya? But anything else?”
“Ran him off from down the street yesterday afternoon. I got a chance to watch him before I did though. He was walking from one end of the street to the other, stopping and watching your office from doorways and such. He’s starting to creep the area shopkeepers out as well as you, Tasha, so they are all beginning to file complaints with the Department. He thinks I’m the one filing the complaints, so he’s retaliated by filing a harassment complaint against yours truly. But, my boss doesn’t like him any more than I do. Bottom line is, with him making the neighbors antsy, and him aware that the police have been alerted to his presence, well, there’s no telling what he’s going to do, but whatever it is, it’s probably about time for him to make a move. Just thought I’d let you two know, and remind you to be careful.”
“Thanks Gil, I appreciate you taking an interest in this. He really gives me the heebie-jeebies,” Tasha gave a little shudder.
“My pleasure.” Gil stood and smiled one of his disarming smiles. “If you need anything, you’ve got my number.”
“Hey Gil,” Jake asked as an afterthought, “You’ve investigated him before. Does he have any magic know how or been known to use charms of any kind?”
“The guy’s an idiot. That deal with the sprite was pure, dumb luck. But he does use all the old superstitious tropes, the stuff you can find on the Internet, so, yeah, he uses magic, its just ineffective magic. Nothing that Avery couldn’t handle if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Good to know,” Jake extended his hand and Gil took it.
“Call me if you need me,” Gil said again, this time without the smile; he was all business.
After he left, Tasha reclaimed her seat again. “So, Gil’s a human. Not fae, not were-anything. Just human?”
“What do you think? I mean, besides what he’s told you, what do your senses tell you?”
She thought about it for a moment. “No, he smells human. I don’t know how I know that though.”
“Remember, we carry our ancestor’s memories, so that’s how you know. Gil is human, however, even humans can be good hunters and Gil is a very good hunter.”
“Is that why he’s accepted by the Fae?”
“Eh, in a way. He’s trustworthy and he’s my friend. The council doesn’t like him much but they tolerate him. Mostly because, human or not, there are always times when a keen hunter can be an advantage. He’s a capable warrior as well.”
Tasha nodded her understanding. “Good to know.”
Chapter 21
“Hey Jake, what’s going on?” Tasha yawned into the phone as she looked at the clock; it was 3:30 in the morning.
“Are ya up?” Jake asked, far to cheery for so early in the morning.
“I am now. Why am I up so early Jake?”
“Avery called me. There’s been another murder.”
“Same as before?”
“More or less. They’ve taken the body to the morgue. Dr. Dawson is there now, waiting for us.”
“Us?”
“You started this with me, I’d like for you to finish.”
Tasha rubbed her eyes and sighed. “Alright. I’ll get dressed and come right down.”
“I’ll be here.”
####
Ten minutes later, Tasha was knocking on the door to Jake’s basement apartment. He opened the door before the second knock.
“Here,” Jake said as he handed Tasha a travel mug, the aroma of coffee rising with the steam from the mouth spout, “this should help a little.”
Tasha covered her mouth as she yawned again. “Jake, I’m still part human. I actually need my beauty sleep.”
“Your beautiful already. Any more and I’d not be able to stand being near you,” he said dryly. “Now, wake up, sleepy head, we’ve got places to go.”
Jake opened the passenger door of his truck and Tasha crawled in. Jake settled behind the steering wheel and they drove out of the ally behind their office and headed toward the morgue.
####
Dr. Dawson opened the back door and led them to the exam room. Avery and Gil were already there, waiting for them, as well as Burly.
“Good news is,” Avery greeted them, “Not as many people have touched the body.”
“We were first on the scene and were able to limit the body’s exposure,” Gil finished, grinning.
Tasha thought that the two detectives were also way too cheery for the time of morning. She narrowed her eyes at them, disgusted with their chipper demeanor.
Burly simply grunted, his face showing that he agreed with Tasha’s assessment.
Jake looked over a Tasha. “You ready for round two?”
“Jake, you say the sweetest things.” Tasha sighed. “Yep, lets go.”
Dr. Dawson had the body ready for them. “Is it me, or does this one look, uh”
Avery finished for her. “Yeah, it’s a little messier.”
Tasha lost all color in her lips as she took a look. “Look past the gore, look past the gore,” she chanted to herself. “Oh my,”
“Take a minute, Tasha,” Dr. Dawson pulled her away and turned her around. Avery gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
“Okay, I’ve got it now,” Tasha said as she moved closer to the gory mess. Somehow it didn’t seem to bother as much as it had previously.
Jake looked at her with concern. “You sure?”
“Yeah, let’s get this over with.”
Jake nodded, then looked up at Dr. Dawson. “What’s your take so far?”
“Well, as with the other body, there have been a number of people that have handled it. I’ve got no fewer than five distinct people.”
Jake nodded. “How about you Tasha?”
Tasha looked doubtfully at Jake before she took a sniff. “Alright, I’ll go with that.”
“Avery, is there anyway I can meet the people who had direct contact with the body?”
“Uh, maybe, sure, if you think it will help.”
“Hm,” grunted Burly. It was the first intonation he had made since Jake and Tasha arrived. “Process of elimination, Jake?”
Jake nodded. “Theoretically. Hopefully, I’ll be able to eliminate the people I can smell and leave the one smell I don’t recognize as the one person responsible for this. Like I said, theoretically.”
“Dr. Dawson,” Tasha broke in, “were there body parts missing this time?”
“None missing, but definitely more damaged, due to the ferocity of the attack.”
“Why is the killer stepping up the ferocity I wonder?” Jake mused, pursing his lips and furrowing his brow in thought.
Burly grunted, “Perhaps this is what he intended all along, but was timid. He’s more comfortable now.”
“Well, that’s a cheery thought,” Avery’s mood became more somber, all joking aside for the moment.
“I don’t smell the knife smell that you spoke of last time,” Tasha said.
“It is there, smell deeper, but don’t look for the oil smell, that is not there.”
“Okay, got it.
“And by the way, unofficially, the Chief is beginning to favor the animal mauling angle,” Avery said.
Tasha was incredulous. “Even though the evidence doesn’t correspond with that?”
Avery shrugged.
“We can blame Dr. Jenkins for that,” Rick commented sourly. “He’s old fashioned and this just doesn’t fit in with anything he’s ever experienced. And we st
ill don’t have a motive. Not one that makes sense, anyway.”
Burly grunted. “Someone is killing, but wants it to look like an animal has done it, possibly a werewolf. Is there a motive other than killing for fun? I mean, killers don’t think the way normal folk do.”
Jake nodded thoughtfully. “My gut says there is a motive. We’ve just got to find it, sir.”
Burly considered Jake a moment before answering wryly. “Alright then, we’ll continue to go with your gut.”
Avery grunted. “Your gut is not much of a lead there Jake.”
“A lead’s a lead,” Gil offered. “Anything else Jake?”
“Nope, that’s all I’m getting. Tasha, you getting anything?”
“Nope, just nausea.”
“Let’s go then.”
Chapter 22
“What did you find at the factory tonight?” Tasha asked on their way home.
“Just what I expected; nothing. We’ll see what happens tomorrow night, er tonight rather. Sorry to wake you up so early. You don’t have to come in till this afternoon if you’d like to get a little more sleep.”
“I don’t see how I can sleep after seeing that. That was, rather brutal. I’m afraid I’ll dream about it.”
“Sorry about that. I didn’t know it would be so much worse.”
“Ha! You make the first go round sound like it was routine. I still want to finish this investigation. This is valuable training that, hopefully, I will never be able to get again.”
“You’re going to live a long time, I’m sure you’ll have ample opportunity to find a mutilated body somewhere along the line to sniff on.”
“Oh yay, something to look forward to. Seriously Jake, I’m really kind of freaked out about this.”
“It is a concern, yes.”
“I don’t get what the killer is after.”
“Maybe he’s got an animal fetish of some kind and wants to act out being an animal that hunts,” Jake offered with a shrug.
“You think maybe? That’s sounds kind of crazy.”
“This whole thing is kind of crazy. Who goes to the trouble of making a kill look like an animal attack?”
“I don’t know.”
Chapter 23
“Jake, turn on your TV,” Tasha called from the front desk. Jake came in from his office to watch with her instead.
The news was reporting an animal attack, the same attack that Jake and Tasha had been called in to investigate earlier that morning.
“Oh, this isn’t good,” Tasha shook her head.
“No, but the people need to be aware that something dangerous is out there, and take protective measures.”
“The police are letting them believe that there is a wild animal roaming about that kills people.”
“Better than having the populace terrified of what? Wolverine with rabies?” Jake asked. “Either way, it’s bad news for the populace as well as the police. Remember what Avery said about the Police Chief leaning towards the animal attack angle himself.”
“But the evidence.”
“I agree, but it makes his office look better if he can blame animal control or something. He is up for re-election you know. Avery says that his department is feeling the pressure, and I don’t doubt it.”
“What kind of animal are they blaming it on?”
“Unknown animal attack. I feel sorry for any predatory animal found anywhere near the city limits. There are posses forming up, looking for anything that even resembles a predatory animal. Oh, and that reminds me, Henry has mandated that all of us under his jurisdiction refrain from changing. We don’t need one of ours getting accidently shot and blamed for the killings. Be sure to let Anna know.”
Tasha nodded. She had no desire to be shot, accidently or otherwise.
Chapter 24
Avery dropped the newspaper on the desk in Jake’s office.
“What’s this?” asked Jake.
“It’s a picture of the crime scene. An unauthorized picture.”
“Uh oh,” Tasha said.
Jake stared at it for a moment. “Good camera. This picture was not taken from up close.”
“How can you tell?” Avery asked, picking up the paper and holding it close to his face.
“See here, this blur? There was an obstruction of some kind. I’ll bet the killer or someone associated with the killer took this picture.”
“Officially the paper already said they wouldn’t reveal their source. Unofficially, the picture came in by mail.”
“I’ve always wondered how you get unofficial information,” Tasha asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.
“Its Gil. He has incredible powers of persuasion.”
“Ah, the editor is a woman?”
“No, but his executive assistant is.”
“Ah ha.”
“Says here that the police are being blamed for a cover up.” Jake said as he looked up from reading.
“Yeah, that’s not all. Look at this one,” Avery pulled a gossip paper out of his back pocket and flopped that on the desk as well. “This one is calling it an outright werewolf attack.”
“Looks like our theoretical motive has just been confirmed. Someone wants to blame a werewolf for the attack.”
“Well, whaddya know,” Tasha picked up the paper and read the article. “The police are hiding the evidence, and there’s a call out for the citizens to put pressure on the police department to release all the evidence they have to the public. Ah, let’s see. A leading animal expert, no name included, says that the evidence indicates an animal larger than the normal species of predator that are native to this area, such as coyotes, foxes or even dogs. It would take an animal the size of a lion or tiger to inflict the type of injury found on the victim. Oh goody.”
“You’re leopard isn’t as big as a lion or tiger.”
“Well that makes me feel better. Look Jake, this is serious. This article spells out very explicitly that werewolves are the only things big enough and clever enough to make a kill like this without being seen. Even if the police don’t take this serious, you know some crazy vigilante group will and start looking for werewolves.”
Jake nodded. “If that news didn’t make you happy, then the information I got from Burly is going to make you even less happy. He put out some feelers, to see if there were new bounties being offered for werewolves.”
“And?”
“And, the answer is yes. Though we don’t know who yet, there is someone offering serious cash for any kind of were-creature or shape shifter.”
“Hell, we even know of a self professed bounty hunter that’s been keeping an eye on this office,” Avery added, “who’s got a following of blog readers just waiting for an opportunity to put theory into action.”
“One thing in our favor, however,” Jake said with dry humor, “no one really believes in werewolves.”
“Jake, damn you, this is serious.” Tasha frowned.
“All it takes is the right person that does believe to make trouble for you,” reminded Avery.
“I guess I’ll have to be more careful then. We all do.”
####
“This will be the third such killing in our area in the last month,” the strong-jawed man with the spiffy haircut said to the television audience as he sat behind the news desk.
“Jake, they’re talking about our third vic on the news,” Tasha called out from her desk.
Jake strolled in, resting a hip against a sofa as he watched the newscast but was interrupted by Avery and Gil as they entered through the front door. “Detectives,” he greeted.
“Hey Jake, Tash.” Avery looked worn out, Gil not much better, his usually ready smile replaced by a grim line. “Look, there’s no way to say this nice, but we’ve got a problem.”
Jake pointed towards the TV. “No kidding.”
“No, it’s worse,” Avery said as he looked over at Gil.
“I was running down some leads, and had a little di
scussion with that rag that’s calling these werewolf attacks. It seems their main contact is a greasy man who claims to be a monster bounty hunter. No name, but it sounds like our man Roberts,” Gil explained.
“Uh oh, Jake.” Tasha looked at her boss, worried for both their safety.
“Roberts got to runnin his mouth and he says he’s got a line on the werewolf they’re lookin for. Says it’s a hot little number with black hair and gray eyes.” Gil looked over at Tasha. “I only know one hot little number that matches that particular description, Tash.”
“I didn’t do it,” Tasha shrunk in on herself.
“We know that, but what if this guy comes at you?”
“We will not be letting her out of our sight,” Anna said, coming in from the back part of the office.
“Momma,” Tasha began to protest.
“No, I agree with Anna,” Jake said. “If he’s got his sights set on you, you are in danger.”
“Just because he may have his sights on me, doesn’t mean that the killer does as well.”
“True,” Avery agreed, “but he could kidnap you and torture you into making a confession.”
“Or worse, if this information got around, the killer may take interest and start killing all good lookin women with dark hair,” Gil added.
“Tasha, you will be in the company of one of us at all times.” Jake pronounced.
“Jake, really,”
“No, we are going to protect you.”
“Do you think we should send her to the Lord Henry?” Anna asked.
“Maybe. I don’t know though, that could lead to even more trouble. He’s called all wolves with control issues to his estate to keep them safe. If somehow it’s known that Tasha is out there,”
“Someone could stumble upon a whole pack of werewolves.” Avery finished. “The council would not be happy with that.”
“They are already going to be unhappy that a bounty hunter is hunting one of their own,” Jake said. “Tasha, we’ve got to be pro active on this, or they will lock you away for the safety of the whole of the fae.”
“Okay,” Tasha said, trying to accept her fate. “Do we have a plan?”
“Gil, does that paper have any photos of the latest attack?”
“Funny you should mention that. An anonymous packet came in just before I did, and there were pictures of the scene.”