Beckett (Robinson Destruction #4) - Kathi S. Barton Page 0,29

That, my dear mate, is going to make you invaluable for searching things out when none of the rest of us can. I’m wondering what other things you got that the rest of us don’t have.

Is that a bad thing? He explained to her that it was wonderful and that even Rogen had gotten things that none of them had. So each time someone is changed into a tiger, they get more…what is it called? Power?

Magic.

They both turned when they heard another voice. It was Rogen, and she didn’t look at all happy. She was telling the other two that she had called the police and that she didn’t have any more on him than just that he was going to be dead soon. Almost like she’d counted on it, the man started talking about why he was there.

“I was looking for a woman.” Rogen told him there were plenty of other women around that he could have spoken to. “Not any woman. Her name is Rogen or something. She had my sister killed a few months ago. April. Bundy was her last name, and she was trying to make sure the world wasn’t full of shifters like you guys.”

“April Bundy killed her husband, then herself. It was in all the papers how she’d murdered for no reason.” Rogen looked at the two of them, then back at the man as she continued. “She had tried to murder a nice family: twin little girls and a little boy. Not to mention their parents. Why on earth would you come here and think to avenge her when she’d nearly killed some very nice people?”

“She wrote me a letter. In it, she told me there were too many monsters here to be taken care of alone and asked me if I’d gather my family up and come help. I was on my way when I heard she’d been murdered.” Rogen said suicide. “No. She’d never do that. I’ll never believe it. It was you monsters that made her have to kill them. Monsters are taking over the world.”

The police arrived just as Allie and Beck went into the house to shift. She supposed they could have done it out there, but the man on the ground was agitated, and she thought his noodle had been played with enough.

Allie had been briefed, they called it, on each of the circumstances that had brought them together. Rogen had nearly died while trying to save a family of five when Mrs. Bundy had taken on her crusade. Anna had been saved when Morgan had killed a man to save her life. Tru had been shot in the hospital taking out a target and had been a patient of Thatcher’s before Houston had met her. There wasn’t a nice meeting on the Internet or over a pizza among this family’s women. She did wonder how they’d describe her meeting Beck when another woman joined the group. Allie had no doubt either there would be at least two more to come around.

Going back into the yard, no one mentioned that she’d seen him or how she’d seen him out there. Nor that she’d chased him into the yard for the others to see. Andrew, the chief, said he recommended putting out more patrols around the houses for a few days.

“I don’t know if he acted alone or not, but there isn’t any reason to take a chance.” Thatcher agreed and said he’d take care of it. “Thank you. The world sure is full of the strangest notions anymore. Don’t you think?”

“Yes. I have to agree with you on that one. We had some idiot out at the hospital area that is being built saying that he was the owner of the land there. Come to find out, he was in not only the wrong county but state too. There is no small number of people anymore that seems to be not carrying a full load of brains.” They all laughed.

Allie could tell that Thatcher was upset about something. Whatever it was, she hoped it wasn’t about her. When the man was taken away, kicking and screaming about finding that Rogen person, Thatcher and Rogen asked to speak to her.

“No.” Thatcher looked shocked. Rogen just smiled. “I don’t know what you think I might have done, but I’m in a great mood, and I don’t want you shitting on my parade today. They’re all lined up to start the band, and you’ll just wait to talk to me