No shakiness, her breath steady. “It’s just the idea that Russ hated Shane so much he was willing to die to hurt him . . . And Athena, too. The woman he was meant to love.”
“We’re seriously saying Russ did this to himself?” Lorenzo gripped at one of his wrists. “How did he get the knife?” The healer answered his own question an instant later. “No one locks their doors and he’s no child—could’ve circumvented the lock on the studio door and on Shane’s knife case.”
“Athena’s teaching schedule is available to anyone.” Garnet stayed tucked up against Kenji as she spoke, the pressure of her body a physical reassurance to his wolf that she was all right. “Shane’s work schedule wouldn’t have been hard to figure out, either.”
Easy, Kenji thought, for Russ to walk into the apartment when no one was home; and if he’d left the door open on his way out, his scent would’ve dissipated long before Athena and Shane returned. “It fits, but to exonerate Shane, we need hard evidence.”
“Russ had a mathematical mind.” Lorenzo’s words were quiet. “A liking for everything in its place.”
“The kind of man who might’ve come up with the perfect murder.”
Garnet nodded at Kenji’s statement, fine strands of her hair catching on the gray of his sweater. “Could be he kept a diary.” Pulling out her phone, she got in touch with Athena. “No diary,” she said after hanging up. “Athena did confirm he was meticulous in his research and planning, even if it involved a short trip out of town, or the purchase of a new appliance.”
Lorenzo rubbed at his jaw, his stubble rasping against his skin. “If he did this, he did a damn good job.” The healer’s difficulty in believing the ugly truth was a good indicator of the probable reaction of the pack should Garnet and Kenji not find any physical evidence. “Doesn’t make sense he’d leave behind proof that could undo all his planning.”
Kenji’s eyes went to the display cabinet and to all those academic accolades so prominently displayed. He felt Garnet’s head move in the same direction. Pulling on gloves from the forensic kit, they moved as one to it, began to remove items with care. They’d almost emptied the cabinet when they discovered a photo of Russ and Athena in a simple black frame. It was the only piece that didn’t relate to one of Russ’s achievements . . . unless he’d seen Athena that way, been proud of having her as his lover.
Beside him, Garnet examined the frame with care. “Russ’s scent is strong on this.”
“Recent handling,” Kenji said, his wolf at rigid attention inside him. “Do it.”
• • •
Flipping the frame to expose the back, Garnet undid the clasps on the sides.
The folded piece of paper that lay between the backing and the photograph made her breath turn jagged inside her lungs.
Touching only the very edges, she unfolded it . . . and all the air whooshed out of her.
“Fuck,” Kenji muttered.
Because, while the diagrams were mathematically precise, the plan was clear even to Garnet’s untrained eye. “He left proof,” she said on a hot wave of anger, “because he couldn’t bear to die knowing his brilliant plan would die with him.”
Kenji’s jaw was an unforgiving line when he spoke. “It didn’t matter if it wasn’t found for decades. He died knowing it would one day be found—but by then, Shane would’ve been long executed.”
“Shit.” Lorenzo, having joined them by the cabinet, stared at the diagrams. “If his fingerprints are on that piece of paper . . .”
“His scent’s all over it. I’m sure his prints will be, too.” Garnet slipped the plan into a transparent evidence bag, passed it over to Lorenzo so he could examine it more closely.
“Russ held his grudges close and he stewed,” Kenji said. “He would’ve spent a lot of time on this piece of paper—in a sense, it’s his masterwork.”
Garnet sat back on the carpet. “Changelings aren’t perfect.” Even as she spoke, she made a conscious choice to not be like Russ, to not stoke the anger roaring in her gut. “We have our good and our bad. Living in a pack, though, it helps.”
“Russ chose to be alone.” Kenji’s green eyes turned pale amber in front of her. “Pack can’t help those who choose to reject everything for which we stand.”
Community, Garnet thought, strength in the group, love that encompassed even those who stepped outside the lines and made mistakes. That was the SnowDancer way. Russ