“No bodies, but the scent of large pools of blood in the ground told me a number of males have been killed out there.”
Remy pressed two fingers to his eyes. He looked at his sister. “Where are they, Saria?” he demanded.
Saria blinked. She pressed her lips together. “Where is what?”
“The photographs. You took pictures of the dead bodies and the wounds on them. I know you did, so cut the crap and let me see them,” Remy snapped.
Of course she had. Drake should have thought of that. It was exactly what Saria would have done. She would have recorded the entire scene and the surrounding area. She would have done exactly as her brother said. Face, wounds, everything. She was a photographer and a damned good one. She would have needed proof to show Jake Bannaconni. And she’d probably seen enough crime scenes to photograph them correctly.
“Give them to him, Saria,” Drake said. “Remy’s the investigator.”
She bit down on her lower lip. “Remy, at two of the scenes, there were bottles from our bar. The kind we use exclusively. And Drake found evidence of other dump sites. There were no bodies, but he found where someone had lost a lot of blood and the same bottles were there.”
“You went lookin’ for more bodies?” Remy asked.
Drake nodded. “I wanted to confirm what Saria had told us. The bodies were long gone. The alligators took care of that, but my leopard found several more kill spots.”
There was a brief silence. The brothers exchanged long looks. Remy sighed. “Did you catch the scent of a leopard, somethin’ strong enough you might be able to recognize if you came across it again?”
Drake shook his head. “Nothing. Not a rake mark. No pile of leaves. No scent marking and nothing near where the victims were killed. Just blood and death. No leopard.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it, Remy?” Lojos, the youngest brother asked. “It isn’t a shifter.”
“Could you be wrong about the bite, Saria?” Remy asked. “Maybe Fenton’s Marsh is a body dump, but there is no leopard involved.”
Saria made a face at him. “You think I don’ know a leopard bite when I see one?” She jumped up and rushed from the room to get the proof.
Remy flicked his gaze at his younger brother Lojos, who silently followed his sister. Drake realized Remy was uneasy and worried for Saria’s safety even there in their home with all of his brothers and Drake’s team to protect her.
“What is it you’re not telling us?” Drake asked.
Remy sighed and glanced at Mahieu, who shrugged. “The dead bodies in Fenton’s Marsh aren’t the only ones. There have been five women that we know of murdered in similar fashion to what Saria says is goin’ on in the marsh. All stabbed with a strange bite mark to their throats—a leopard bite. The first killin’ was several years ago. We think there are more. It’s easy to go missin’ in New Orleans. We’ve had unsolved murders of women and people disappearin’ for years, but the bodies found were very distinctive.”
“Are you saying these killings have been going on for years—that they’re connected?”
“We believe so. And if a serial killer is on the loose and no one has come close to him before now, then Saria is in real danger. She’s alone all the time in the swamp. Everyone knows her and knows she photographs everythin’. If she found his current dumpin’ ground, and she sent a letter which he managed to intercept, she’s on his radar.”
Every muscle in Drake’s body tensed. The thought of Saria in danger was more than disturbing—everything male—in both leopard and human—protested.
“You’ve been watching all the females in your lair closely to protect them,” he guessed shrewdly.
Remy nodded. “The leopard bite bothers me. I doubt it’s real, but suppose someone knows about us and is tryin’ to cast blame on us—to bring us out into the open. We’ve married into families incapable of shiftin’ over the years. It’s possible someone born with the traits of a leopard but unable to shift could do this.”
Drake nodded. “Our species is capable of great cruelties. Without the ability to shift and allow the leopard freedom, yes, it could happen easily.”
“Saria bein’ so close to the Han Vol Dan complicates matters,” Mahieu added. “Every male for a hundred miles is crazy. Armande and Robert have both lost their minds.”
“It’s a lot more complicated than a female being close to emerging,” Drake contradicted. “This lair is in trouble and I think you all know that. You need strong leadership to keep leopards in check, especially around an actual city. This lair lacks that. You weren’t there the other night when they sent a fighter to challenge me. Robert Lanoux broke one of the most important rules in any lair and he went unpunished.”
“He was punished today,” Remy said grimly.
“Yes, but you’re not the leader of the lair, Jeanmard is. Or was. You know this situation will only grow worse if something isn’t done.”
“Are you advocatin’ one of us become the leader of this lair?” Remy sounded incredulous.
“Not one of you. You,” Drake said. “Because if you don’t, you’re going to have murders all over the place. If you think the attack on Saria was a one-time thing, you’re sadly mistaken. I’ve seen this happen before. Leopards have intense drives. You have to meet those drives or your leopard goes rogue. You all know that.”
“I have a serial killer to catch. Puttin’ this lair back together again is a full-time job.”