wouldn’t be neatly gift-wrapped with a bow and delivered in sixty minutes or less.
“Why me?” I looked up at Zane as he took a seat next to me on his lumpy sofa.
His eyes drifted to my clenched hands. “Who knows? This whole thing reeks of the supernatural. Based on the info you pulled from Will’s pit bull, it’s probable that a mutant is the cause of the actual killing, and a rogue werewolf, a female, is somehow involved. Why they’d even suspect a human is beyond me.”
“Zane, have you forgotten, not everyone knows about the supernatural world? A few days ago, I would have thought you were all insane for even mentioning werewolves and vampires. Why would Agent Green, a plain old human being, think that anything other than a human or wild animal was the culprit?
They probably don’t believe the puppy told me anything. Or, worse, they think I’m lying to protect the killer. Possibly one of us.” The more I thought about the out-of-town FBI agent, the more unsettled I felt. He gave me the creeps times ten.
“What about the park animals?” Zane turned to Michael, since he’d been the one watching over them while his father was manning the front booth and handling other security issues.
“They seemed calm for the most part. A little nervous at nightfall, but, overall, everything was normal.”
Michael’s update added to my theory that we’d been implicated. “No wonder they’re suspicious of us. We leave town and everything stops. No new murders; no animal attacks; nothing.” Why did it still feel like I was missing an important piece, something obvious?
“I still think Jazmine is involved. How, I can’t put it together, but I will.” Zane’s eyes narrowed.
“Down big guy,” Mack soothed. “We know how you feel about Jazmine, but really, why would she waste her time on something like this. Small town murders aren’t her specialty. She’s all about making money and gaining power.”
I wanted to remind Mack that killing for a killer was a sure path to power.
I listened while the men hashed out their theories and talked about the upcoming board meeting.
Logan was getting ready to present his ideas about expanding their hotels in the Pacific Northwest off the reservations, focusing less on gambling and more on family activities.
I couldn’t help remembering the very public murder associated with a similar request in the past. Everything was somehow connected, figuring out how was proving far more difficult than anyone had expected.
Chapter 2112
Taking a tour of the recent murder scenes was not my idea of a relaxing Saturday afternoon, especially after last night’s stress-inducing wedding reception. I agreed with Zane’s plan to launch our own investigation because I wasn’t going to relax until we solved these murders and I cleared my name of wrong doing and my head of everything but Zane.
Could he be God’s will for my life?
I don’t understand why I can communicate with animals, but I have accepted that gift. Was Zane another puzzling gift? My stomach’s insistent growls overrode my questions, for now, anyway. After recovering from our homemade Breakfast of Champions, and seeing the two M’s off to work, we decided to snoop, or, in Zane’s case, sniff around the crime scenes, starting with the oldest first.
I discovered Zane, being a purebred werewolf, had two options for shifting shapes. He could manifest into the wolfy, humanoid form I’d seen that first night behind the bar. In that formable shape, he appeared more closely related to the mutants. But, unlike his malformed counterparts, he could function on all fours too, making him a versatile killing machine.
Today, he’d morphed into an enormous, black wolf with bright amber eyes that mirrored intelligence not typical for any animal. His intimidating size made him significantly larger than any wolf I’d seen, giving me pause when he first emerged from the brush.
Before his change, he’d made sure to explain that his sense of smell was sharper when he was in his most natural form. Also, should anyone stumble upon us, he’d pass as an ordinary wolf.
“You think you are an ordinary wolf?” I laughed.
After watching me watch him, he padded over to my side, inclining his massive head. Yes, you can pet me.
That was the encouragement I needed. Dropping to my knees, I buried my face into the thick, mane-like fur around his neck. He pressed himself against me, allowing me to explore his supple coat. I ran my hands down his back and hugged him closer. He made as a happy growl. Being