Hunter s Moon - By Lori Handeland Page 0,49

ask permission?"

"Keep it up," she muttered, "I just might shoot you."

If she was back to threatening me instead of staring at her shoes and moping, I was on the right track.

"Come on. By the time we get back, Cadotte will be home. You don't want him to know you're sitting around by the phone, do you? Have a little pride."

Her eyes narrowed; I smirked, taunting her. I'd welcome a good fistfight. I wanted my mind off Hector.

Off the knowledge that he was here, somewhere, watching me.

I'd been searching for him for years. But I'd never once felt that he was near. Until now.

My scar ached and burned. Was that what he'd meant when he'd said I would never be free of him? And here I'd thought he'd only been referring to my nightmares.

"I got a package from Mandenauer," Jessie said quietly.

I forgot about hunting, about Hector. "The rogue agent file?"

She nodded and handed me a FedEx envelope. They had overnight delivery even in Shit Heel. Amazing.

"I talked to Damien. He said the gun wasn't his."

"And you believed him?"

"Yeah, I kinda did." I hesitated, glancing at the package in my hands. "Did you... ?"

"Of course."

"And?" I held my breath. Had Damien lied?

"I didn't recognize Fitzgerald. But then I'm not as close to him as you are."

My breath caught. How could she know? Did my forehead flash She slept with him! in orange neon?

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.

"Never mind. Just look at the pictures, Leigh."

I upended the envelope onto the kitchen table. Several photos fell out. None of them were Damien.

"I'd better find out who lived in the cabin before he did," Jessie said.

"Couldn't hurt."

She nodded. "Hold on; I'll get my rifle."

Jessie disappeared into the bedroom. I guess we were going hunting. I couldn't very well renege when I'd just taunted her into it.

She returned with her gun and ammunition. "What if we see the white wolf?"

"Shoot first, ask questions later."

"That would be my call."

We took the squad car. While we'd been chatting, the sun had gone down and Jessie had gone on duty.

"Have you searched for their lair?" I asked.

"A little, with Mandenauer."

I should have known. One of my first lessons had been How to Find a Lair 101. Once you did, the rest was so much easier.

"We checked all the usual places," Jessie continued. "Caves, abandoned buildings, dugouts, collapsed barns. Nothing."

I remembered an earlier conversation with Will. "What about the mine?"

She glanced at me, her eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Let's find out."

We headed out of town.

"What about Elwood?" I asked.

"What about him?"

"Shouldn't you get him the picture, let him know who we're after?"

She glanced at her watch. "He's off the clock. I won't be able to get ahold of him."

"No phone?"

"He's got a phone, but he won't hear it."

"Because?"

"He turns off his hearing aid as soon as his shift ends."

Hearing aid?

I shook my head. "What if you need backup?"

"I don't want it from him. Shakiest gun in the West, remember?"

"Gee, I feel so safe and protected."

"Crow Valley hasn't had a murder since it appeared on the map."

"Somehow, I doubt that."

"Well, none that were reported anyway."

Which reminded me. "Anyone gone missing in the last few days?"

I was thinking about the black wolf - and the nine dead from the other night.

"No." She glanced at me. "It's strange. I agree. But without a report, what can I do?"

"With a report, what would you do?"

"Not much."

We'd know where the missing person had gone - straight down a werewolf gullet, but we couldn't say so. If someone was reported missing, Jessie would call headquarters. They'd make something up, ascertain that their lie held water. That's what Juger-Suchers did.

"I'll show Elwood the picture of Hector in the morning," Jessie said. "He'd be no use now anyway. He gets a little..." she roiled her finger around her ear, "when he's tired."

Swell. Werewolves, a psychotic, cannibalistic ex-boyfriend, and a loony deputy. I loved this town.

We reached the southern outskirts. I'd never gone in this direction before. Jessie swung onto a wide dirt path. Was anything paved around here but the highway?

Thirty seconds over another "good" road she stopped. "We'd better walk in."

I nodded. If the werewolves knew we'd found their lair, they'd abandon it. We'd be back to square one.

I checked the wind, adjusted our direction. Were-wolves could smell, see, and hear better than real wolves, definitely better than humans. We should stay upwind, keep quiet and out of sight.

I glanced at the sky. The moon became larger and larger with each passing night.