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He nodded hurriedly. “Of course. I understand fully. You have the key, I presume?”

Claire nodded. She had the key all right. And with everyone distracted by Darrell's homecoming, tonight would be the perfect time to do some sniffing around.

 

CHAPTER 18

Alek woke from a fitful sleep in a cold sweat. It was pitch black in his room so the sun must have already gone down. Yet it felt like he had just laid down for a minute. He ran his fingers through his hair and sat up on the edge of the bed.

Rachel had apparently gone after Marilyn made sure he didn't have a concussion. She thought he might have a virus, but did a throat swab and took some blood to check out back at the clinic.

He was feeling a little better but had been having the strangest dreams and couldn't seem to quite shake it even now—that he was skulking around the school searching for something. He didn't know what he was looking for, but it felt terribly important that he find it because there was a ticking clock. He could never find the clock, but it kept ticking, always ticking, like a bomb was going to go off at the end.

He had no idea what it meant.

Maybe the clock was Kristy. Darrell had been skin and bones, even though he'd only been gone a week. And he'd been in the woods, not at the school. Kristy was younger, and not as tough. What if they didn't find her in time?

Could there be a clue that had been missed? Had anyone even checked her locker or desk? Everyone had been concentrating on the park. Why? At the time, it seemed logical because he presumed other people were searching other places. But were they?

Maybe his subconscious was trying to tell him something. He shook his head and wandered to the bathroom to use the toilet, unable to shake the feeling that he should be at the school.

Indecision beat at him as he drank a glass of water. He'd left a whole town full of chores for Claire to do. She hadn't complained—had in fact insisted that he stay home and rest—but it wasn't fair. She was probably still out there somewhere, cleaning or tending to someone. Exhausted like he always was.

He called the house, intending to both check on Darrell and Tammy and see whether Claire had made it home yet. But there was no answer, even after eight rings.

There was no way he was going to be able to get back to sleep until he made sure everyone was safe.

It only took a few minutes to throw on a black turtleneck, change pants, and brush his teeth; then it would just be another few minutes out in the cold wind to get to the Williams house.
Man, I miss my motorcycle.
The insurance was another thing he was going to have to deal with soon. But not tonight.

He was nearly to the house when pain erupted in his back and a crushing blow sent him sprawling into the snow. A cracking sound filled his ears. Weight pushed down on him, so heavy he couldn't move. He pressed his palms into the snow and tried to lift himself to throw off whatever was holding him down, but it was no use. He was pinned. Fingers clutched at his face, covering his mouth and plugging his nose. He couldn't breathe. He grabbed at anything he could, finally grabbing onto what he presumed was a pair of pants on muscular legs. He ripped at the cloth, trying to get some sense of who was attacking him.

Harsh words whispered in his ear. “Leave this alone. Or else!”

The weight was suddenly gone, along with the hand on his face. His ribs ached as he struggled to his feet. Lying next to him in the snow was a two-by-four that had been used to club him.

I'm on to something, but I don't even know what.
Still, the piece of wood was a clue, as well as the few threads still under his fingernails from where he'd ripped open the attacker's pants. He carefully sniffed all the way down the length of the board. He didn't recognize the scent, which was odd because he knew the scent of everyone who lived in town. So could it be someone from
outside
of town? It couldn't be Claire. She didn't have the weight needed. But did she come to town
alone
? He needed to talk with her, and with Dani. Taking the board with him, he fought off the pain as he walked the rest of the way to the house.

The moment he walked through the door, he smelled blood. He dropped the board next to the staircase. “Where is everyone? Is someone hurt?”

He heard his mom's voice in the distance. “In the kitchen, Alek. Come on back.”

Walking quickly down the hallway, he pushed open the swinging door. Asylin was wrapping a broad roll of snow-white gauze around Dani's arm. It was still bleeding in stripes that looked like scratches. “What happened?”

Dani looked stricken and smelled worried and scared. “I was taking Tammy her dinner. She lost it, Alek. She shifted right there in the cage and slashed my arm.” She stopped Asylin's wrapping and dug fingers into her hand. “I'm scared for her, Mom. Isn't there something we can do?”

Asylin's voice was cold but calm. “No. There's not. We'll have to put her down soon.”

“Mom! No!” Dani started to cry. “It's not fair. She needs help.”

Alek hated it too, but his mom was right. “The kind of help she needs doesn't exist, Dani. The plague messed a lot of people up. It's
not
fair. But nobody can heal a rogue.”

Dani stood up in a rush, nearly knocking over the heavy wooden chair where she sat. “Maybe nobody
here
can help her. But surely someone in the world has found a way to fix this. Just promise you'll keep her alive until the full moon. I'll find someone, somewhere to come here and fix her. I'll drive to where they are, pick them up and bring them back.”

Asylin shook her head. “I can't promise you that, hon. I'll do the best I can, but if she gets any more unstable, she'll break out of that cage. I can't have her attacking the rest of the family.” Dani crossed her arms over her chest angrily, glaring at her mother until she threw up her hands. “Fine! I'll do what I can. But I don't think she'll last until the moon.”

Dani turned to him. “You agree with me, don't you, Alek? There must be someone out there who can fix her. What about Claire? Doesn't she have healers in her pack?” Her desperate brown eyes seemed to drill into him.

Alek nodded but felt it was a hopeless cause. “She said she would call them. But I doubt she's had time. In fact, I was looking for her. Have you seen her tonight? And how is Darrell? Is he okay?”

Dani shook her head. “Darrell's upstairs sleeping. He's still not talking, but we're hoping he was just shaken up. Scott's sitting with him, but don't go up 'cause you might wake him. Claire called earlier, saying she wouldn't be home for dinner. She said she had more chores than hours today.”

Now he really felt like a heel. “I'm going to head out and look for her and help her get caught up. But hey, maybe you could answer a question. When you picked her up to bring her here, was she alone? It's important.”

Dani didn't hesitate. “Yeah, she was alone. She was waiting for her luggage to come out at baggage claim at the airport. She wasn't talking to anyone or anything like that. Just standing next to the carousel, waiting. Why?”

“I don't know. I'm just trying to figure some stuff out. I need to talk to her. She's got to be somewhere around town.”

Asylin clucked her tongue. “Then at least make yourself up a burger. Everything's on the counter. I'll bet you forgot to eat again today.”

She was right. Everything was still warm so it only took a second to put a meat patty on a bun and slam it down before he was completely to the door. He hadn't been eating very well lately. He'd have to fix his diet pretty soon or he was going to be fighting with his gut for a month. That's when he spotted Scott's key ring. Having a car would be very useful in tracking down Claire. And he had been told to not go upstairs to disturb them.

He won't mind. I'd do the same for him.

The little black VW wasn't roomy, but at least it kept him out of the wind. And it was a lot quicker to get out to the Kragan place. He had bet himself she hadn't been here yet, but discovered he was wrong. Claude and Egan were playing checkers when he arrived. They'd seen the
pretty new wolf
just an hour before. She'd made them a nice bowl of soup and even buttered the crackers when they asked. Claude offered, “I think she said something about going to Fred's next.”

“No, no,” Egan said as he jumped a red checker over two of his brother's black ones. “She was going to the school first and then to Fred's. Remember? She said she had to stir the soup.”

“Oh, yes. That's right. She was simmering soup for the kiddies for lunch tomorrow. Nice girl. Bet she makes good soup too. Probably better than this canned crap.”

Alek thanked them and started on his way. Claude called out the door after him. “Tell her to come back tomorrow and bring us good soup, boy! No more canned crap.”

He couldn't help but smile as he closed the door. “I'll tell her.”

Fred's or the school? Where next? The nagging feeling that he should be at the school wouldn't leave, so he headed that way and parked in the empty lot. As he approached the building, he noticed a flicker of light in one of the rooms. It was a flashlight.
Now, why would someone be using a flashlight instead of the overheads?

He crept up to the edge of the window and was shocked at what he saw. Claire was in the school office, digging through the filing cabinets! A penlight was held in her mouth and she was pulling file after file from the drawers. What the hell?!

He quickly went to the back door and started trying all of the keys on the ring. The tenth key slid into the lock and he heard the tumblers trip.

It was hard to open and shut the door silently, but he did the best he could. Warm air rushed at him and the scent of rich beef stew filled the air, making it impossible for him to smell emotions. To his advantage, though, she wouldn't smell him coming either.

He crept down the hall, listening for anyone else who might be in the building with her. He focused all his attention to his ears. But the only sounds were crinkling paper and the heated air coming through the vents.

Would she be armed? She didn't seem the firearm or knife type, but he couldn't put it past her. It would be better to stay in a defensive position. Moving to the doorway, he made his first noise. “Claire! What are you doing in here?”

The flashlight fell from her mouth and she let out a little yip. “Alek! I'm … I mean, I can explain.”

He moved through the door, still keeping most of his body behind the bulk of the file cabinets near the door. “Then you should start. I'd rather not hurt you or turn you in. If you're armed, you need to drop your weapons.”

She shook her head, her hair flipping in the breeze from the heater. “I'm not armed.” She held her gloved hands up and out. He turned on the overhead lights. She squinted in the sudden brightness. “You might want to turn that off.”

He motioned toward the open files on the copy table. It looked like she'd already copied half a ream of paper. “What are you looking for?”

“It's … complicated.”

He pointed to the nearest chair. “Sit down and start talking or I'm calling the station. I think I'm smart enough to handle the explanation.”

She sighed and sat down. “Something really strange is going on in this town. I've been talking to people here at the school. Did you know that only a handful of people know Darrell and Kristy are missing?”

That threw him off guard. “What? No, everybody knows. We've all been looking for them.”

She shook her head, slowly. “No. They haven't been. At least, nobody from here. Most everybody thinks they're visiting their aunt in Louisiana. Do you remember that even Asylin thought that after the thing with the cougar?”

Alek moved to sit on the edge of the nearest desk, careful to be able to watch her and to keep an eye on the open door. He did remember, but that didn't explain this. “So what are you looking for in here?”

Claire started to stand and he instinctively moved toward the counter, watching her movements. She stopped. “Can I show you what I found? Please, Alek. Trust me. I'm not trying to steal anything or hurt anyone.”

He stared at her for a long moment, taking in the sincerity in her eyes, her relaxed posture, even the scents of worry and concern that were stronger than the bubbling stew. Maybe he was crazy, but he believed her. “Okay. Show me.”

She did. File after file of children that didn't match other school records. She had open yearbooks that showed photographs of kids he knew. But the official file showed they had either been expelled from school or had transferred. He couldn't remember a single incident of an expulsion. If there had been, Denis would be one of them. Yet, when Claire showed him another list, the children appeared on the school roster as attending classes. “What the hell?”

“I know! You see what I mean?”

“But why would you be looking at all these other kids? What's the connection?”

She pointed to the file label. “Darrell's and Kristy's records are in files with green striped labels. I didn't think much about it at first, but there aren't that many in a whole decade that have that color of file. And look here.” She used a fingernail to lift up a corner of the label. “These didn't used to be green, and see how white the white part is? The other files with green striped labels are more yellowed in the white part.”

Alek shook his head. “I'm still not getting it. I'm missing something here.”

She grabbed the stack of yearbooks again and pulled out a file folder from the green label stack. “Okay, look at this name—Sammy Havens.”

“I don't know a
Sammy
Havens. April Havens works here in the office, and she has a younger brother, David.”