The Werewolf Dates The Deputy - Kristen Painter Page 0,4
went back upstairs. Titus stayed close behind.
She nudged the basement door open and assessed the room beyond. “All clear,” she said softly.
She went toward the garage, cautiously, clearing each room as they went through until they got to the door at the end of the hall that led out. She stopped there, taking up position as she prepared to go through. “Stay behind me.”
She expected a thousand different smart remarks, but he just nodded.
She breached the door, her gun leading the way. The garage, like the rest of the house, was empty. She flipped on the light. The access was right above where a car would have been parked. It was closed, just like it had been earlier. But the cord that hung down to open the panel swung slightly.
She glanced at Titus and put a finger to her ear, then pointed up.
He listened for a moment, then shook his head. “You?”
She shook her head as well. She hadn’t heard a sound, but it was stranger that Titus wasn’t picking up anything. Werewolves had sensitive enough hearing that, at this range, he should be able to home in on a heartbeat.
Had whoever’d been in the attic fled?
He leaned in, putting him so close she could feel his body heat. Wolves ran warm, she reminded herself. Like that fact was going to distract her from his sudden proximity. “I’ll pull down the steps. You keep the opening in your sights.”
“Okay. On my signal.” She went through the door, training her gun on the attic access as she moved into position below.
He followed and grabbed the cord but kept his eyes on her. They were across from each other, separated by a few feet. She nodded, and he yanked the panel down.
The stairs stayed folded up against the panel, and the hinge creaked with disuse. How had neither of them heard the creaking before? The space above was dark, and there was no sign of movement.
She stood there, gun aimed, body tensed for action. “Nocturne Falls Sheriff’s Department. Show yourself now.”
Nothing. No movement, no sound. With her eyes still on the space, she spoke to Titus. “Can you get the light on up there?”
He tried a few switches. The third one did the trick. Light blazed from the rectangle in the ceiling, and she could clearly see the trusses holding up the roof. No signs of life, though.
“Stairs?” he asked.
She nodded and moved so she was at a forty-five-degree angle from the opening.
He was tall enough to reach the bottom rung easily and pull down the steps.
Once he secured them, she moved forward. “I’m going up.”
“Are you sure?”
She frowned at him. “It’s my job.”
“Right.”
But she wasn’t just going to climb those steps and make herself a target. Instead, she put both hands on her weapon to secure it, then jumped, landing neatly at the top of the expanded steps. With great speed, she cleared both sides of the attic. “No one up here. But there is a vent on the far wall that could be removed and used for access if the person was small enough.”
She moved to see past one of the trusses. “There’s also a small box sitting in the middle of the open space on the left side where the floor is finished. And the smell is pretty strong up here.”
“How small?”
“About twelve by twelve.” She glanced down at him. “I think we’ve been pranked.”
“How?”
“This box might be a homemade stink bomb.”
He frowned. “Great.”
She lifted one shoulder. “It’s almost summer. The kids are wound up from being in school all year. The summer crazies have begun. Or we might have some fledgling witches practicing their spells, that kind of thing. You never know.”
“That’s just perfect.” He rolled his eyes. “The good news is I have a containment bag in my truck.”
She made a face at him as she put her gun away. “For real?”
“For real. It’s not really for stink bombs, but I’m sure it’ll work. We had a skunk incident once.” He grimaced and shook his head. “Don’t ask.”
She laughed. “Oh, I’m going to ask, but later. You want to grab it?”
“Sure. Be right back.” He disappeared from view.
A second later, she heard the garage door going up, and natural light filled the space below. He came back in a couple of minutes with a large canvas contraption that was half bag, half box.
He climbed the steps to join her. She moved out of the way to let him go by, although there was so little area in