had dropped a still into the projector of my mind’s eye. I could see the antler handle with the crappy glue job and the gleam of the light glinting off the silver blade as if it were right in front of me. I sighed in deep disappointment because this case began to look like it might dead-end just as surely as Shamrock Street. With all leads on John Doe’s true identity going nowhere, the silver dagger was now the only lead we had left. And that was a position that didn’t leave me much hope.
I couldn’t remember making the decision to continue jogging, but I found myself heading down the path that led into the deep woods. My mind immediately returned to the antler dagger as I hoped it carried secrets I could unlock, secrets that would lead me down the path of exposing the killer.
I took a bend in the road and felt my breath catch as I stopped short. There, standing in the middle of the narrow path, was a wolf. Or maybe it was too big to be a wolf. With its narrow snout, thick fur, large paws and long, bushy tail, it looked like the wolf’s bigger, badder cousin.
I just stood there, panting as the enormous creature stared at me with piercing gray eyes. And that was when I realized I’d seen this creature before—many times. It was the same exact wolf as the one who had been haunting my dreams since I moved here. It was the same black, shiny coat, the same size, the same steel gray eyes.
I wasn’t sure why I didn’t go for my gun, but I didn’t. It was almost as if I were frozen in place, unable to tear my gaze from the creature’s beautiful eyes. It, too, stared at me intently, as if it were rooted in place, just the same as I was.
After another few seconds, it began to approach me, but it did so cautiously, slowly. I could feel my fight-or-flight defenses kicking into gear and a moment later, I pulled my gun free and aimed it right at the wolf. It was at that instant that I realized it didn’t matter if I thought I’d dreamt about this wolf—that was merely coincidence and coincidence wouldn’t protect me. I took a few steps back as the wolf continued to study me, completely unafraid. Given the fact that the thing probably stood as tall as my waist, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.
“Go away,” I said in a soft voice as I retreated another few steps. But the creature made no attempt to leave. Instead, it took another few steps toward me, its black fur reflecting almost blue in the moonlight. Even though it was probably thinking about eating me for dinner, I could admit it was remarkably beautiful.
No sooner did the thought cross my mind than a second wolf suddenly pounced in front of the large black one. This wolf was equal in size and breadth, but its fur was milk-chocolate brown. Unlike the first wolf, though, who seemed to be merely curious about me, this one turned up its lips and snarled as soon as it looked at me. Its hackles rose as its eyes narrowed, and it dropped its head down as it began to approach me slowly.
“Back off,” I grumbled as I glanced down, looking for a rock or something I could throw at it. Not finding anything, I held the gun straight in front of me, using both of my hands. It made sense that the creature wouldn’t be afraid of a gun, considering it didn’t know what one was. I was loathe to shoot it because gunshots made scenes and that was the last thing I wanted. But I would shoot if I had to.
The brown wolf continued to growl as it took another step forward. The black wolf behind it suddenly began growling, too, a low, guttural warning sound. At first, I thought I was in serious trouble because I wasn’t sure I could take both of them quickly enough. I also wasn’t sure if just one bullet would take each one down. These were big animals… As the seconds ticked by, though, it dawned on me that the black wolf wasn’t growling at me. It was growling at the brown one.
I continued to aim my gun at the brown wolf since he was closest to me. I took another step backward, followed by another. Meanwhile, the brown wolf turned