My Feline Protector (Middlemarch Shifters Book 6) (6 page)

Gerard recognized Saber Mitchell’s voice. Part of the Feline council, he was also the oldest Mitchell brother. Gerard knew he’d do right by Henry, not that Gerard intended to walk away from his best friend.

Saber and Leo, Isabella’s mate, came to a halt by Isabella.

“Fuck,” Leo said in vast understatement.

“The cops are on the way,” Isabella said. “They’re coming from the station, so it will take them at least fifteen minutes.”

“Good,” Saber said. “That will give us time to check the scene. Isabella, you’re best at this.”

She nodded and approached the body.

Gerard heard a whimper and turned his head. He watched London’s face crumple. Tears rolled down her face as she stared at Jenny, at the brown hilt of the knife protruding from her chest. The pool of blood that had settled beside her sister. On shaky feet, she edged closer.

“Leo,” Isabella said in a sharp tone.

Leo grabbed London before she could get to her sister. He whispered to her, and Gerard couldn’t hear what he said, but London cried in earnest and Leo wrapped her in a soothing embrace. Gerard shot a glance at Isabella and saw she didn’t appreciate Leo touching another woman. The feeling was mutual. If it wasn’t for Henry, Gerard would have pushed between the pair and taken London in his arms.

“Henry.” Gerard tugged at his arm. “What happened? Henry!” Gerard stood and wrenched on Henry’s arm.

His friend gave an anguished howl, and Gerard heard London’s gasp. Crap. Henry needed to get control of himself before the cops arrived. None of them could help Jenny if Henry scared the cops, and they panicked. He slapped Henry over the face. It had the opposite effect.

Henry shifted farther into his wolf, his features becoming sharper and more canine.

“The cops are here already.” Isabella’s voice carried. “No, it’s just Hannah. He hasn’t called in cops from Dunedin to help.”

“Idiot,” Saber muttered. “I’ll meet him. Get Henry under control.”

Gerard didn’t need the warning. He leaned closer to Henry and spoke in a harsh, clipped voice. “Soldier, I need you to get hold of yourself. Attention!”

Henry’s entire body jerked. His shoulders straightened, and he climbed to his feet. His big friend trembled, his brown eyes glassy with shock.

“We’ll find who did this, Henry. I promise,” Gerard whispered. “I promise.”

The local cop was nearing retirement, and his mind wasn’t on the job these days. According to local gossip gathered since he and Henry arrived in Middlemarch, finding two bodies had been the final straw. PC Tom Hannah scowled at the third body, then huffed as he pulled up his trousers and settled them into position on his well-padded hips.

“Who found her?” the policeman asked.

“Henry,” Saber said.

Hannah surveyed Henry and scowled again.

“This is my fault,” Henry whispered, loud enough for Hannah to hear and jump to conclusions.

“I have backup coming. I want you to return to the clearing,” Hannah ordered. “You’ve trampled the scene enough. Go!” He threw up his hands. “I don’t know what is wrong with the people around here.”

Gerard looked to Saber, and he gave a curt nod.

“We’ll take London,” Isabella said. “You get Henry.”

Gerard took Henry’s arm. “Come on, mate. Let’s move and let the cops take care of Jenny.”

When Henry didn’t budge, Gerard exerted pressure around his shoulders. Hell, his friend was going the stubborn route.

“This is all my fault,” he repeated.

“How? You didn’t do it.” Aware of the cop’s ears flapping, Gerard stopped asking questions. “Henry.” He forced an order into his tone, and to his relief, Henry allowed Gerard to lead him into the zombie clearing.

They joined Saber and the others. More runners kept coming and Gerard saw that Leo and the scrutineer were directing the arriving competitors around the clearing toward the next obstacle. He scanned the zombies and runners still present.

“I saw a zombie come out of the trees as London and I entered the zombie territory. I thought he’d gone to relieve himself.”

Saber’s look was sharp. “Recognize him?”

“He looked like a zombie.” Gerard scowled, trying to remember. “Hell, it could have been a female. He or she was big.”

“See them in the crowd?”

Gerard studied the loitering zombies. They chatted to one another and sipped from water bottles, their faces garish with makeup. Their grins displayed blackened teeth. One had bloody teeth. They kept moving, shifting positions within the knots of groups, and with their costumes and makeup, none of them stood out as individuals. The guy he’d seen had been tall. Most of these zombies were shorter, teenagers and kids. He had seen no one leave, but maybe one of the other zombies had noticed.

“I can’t see the zombie, but they are similar. We could question the zombies and ask how many were here.” Gerard wanted to go to London, but stayed put. He’d met London last night. His feline wanted her. He was sure she was the one for him, but Henry needed him more. If he were in the same position, Henry wouldn’t hesitate to offer his help—whether he asked for it or not—and he could do nothing less.

“The other cops might not be here for half an hour or longer,” Saber said. “Henry.” His tone was stern alpha leader, and Henry’s shoulders straightened from their slump. “Did you do this?”

“No.” Henry’s voice was gruff, his eyes narrowed at the accusation. “She was my mate. I wanted to keep her.”

“Did you argue about it? Her staying?” Saber demanded.

“No, she wanted to stay in Middlemarch. I told her she could live with me if she wanted, but she said she’d rent a house. She was just out of a bad marriage, and she wanted to take things slow. I was fine with that. I knew my mind.” The grief in his words made Gerard’s throat tighten. He’d never seen Henry like this over a woman.

“Why was she in the bush?” Gerard asked.

“I don’t know for sure. A toilet break? One minute she was with me, and the next she disappeared. There was so much noise. I didn’t see where she went. I dodged the zombies and caught her scent. And then, I found her.”

“Did you see anyone?” Saber demanded.

Gerard frowned. “Get a whiff of a foreign scent?” He had detected nothing out of the ordinary, but then he hadn’t thought to check for other scents. There was the blood and greenery, a hint of mud and water. “Footprints? Hell, we tromped through there to get to Henry.” He answered his own question. “Anyone else notice anything?”

“Just the blood,” Saber said. “Leo and Isabella mentioned nothing unusual.”

“We need to split up, question the zombies and the competitors who are still here,” Gerard said. “Before the rest of the cops get here.”

“Agreed. I recognize a few of the runners. I’ll start with them,” Saber said. “Henry, you’d better not ask questions. The cops will want to talk to you.”

“I want to inspect the zombies. I’ll keep Henry with me.” Gerard glanced at Henry. “Stay with me and say nothing.”

“I want to stay with Jenny.” Emotion gripped him, made his voice hoarse.

“Not now, buddy. Soon, okay?” Gerard urged Henry to move. “This is important. We need to do this before the cops arrive.” When Henry remained rooted to the spot, Gerard grasped his forearm and tugged hard. “Henry, do you want to help Jenny or not?”

“What about London? You should be with her. She needs you.”

Trust Henry. He’d always been able to read him. “London thinks you murdered her sister. I want both of you in my life and right now, I need to help you. Isabella and Leo are looking after London.”

Thoughts of London made his mind drift. A glimpse of several men in police uniform arriving in the clearing helped him to focus. “Crap, the cops are here faster than I thought.”

Chapter Four

London stood with Isabella and Leo Mitchell, her mind stunned and sluggish. Jenny was gone, and their last interaction had been Jenny sniping at her, making London feel lacking. Even though, in her heart, London knew Jenny had goaded her on purpose to boost her determination to beat the obstacle, a sliver of hurt remained. A remnant of their shared past. The notion ran through her mind as fast as a racing greyhound. Round and round. Round and round. Round and round.

Jenny.

Dead
.

It hardly seemed fair.

After the years of her horrid marriage and the estrangement between them, the harsh words, they’d made up and celebrated with a trip down under.

They’d almost been sisters again, and now Jenny…someone had killed her.

Her fists clenched at her side and her weight shifted. She needed to do something, but what?

“Stay here,” Isabella said in a low undertone. “The Middlemarch cop can’t organize himself out of a paper bag, but we have to let him go through the motions. We will find who did this to your sister. I promise you that.” The blonde woman grasped her upper arms and shook her.

Maybe it was to make sure London was paying attention. These people were strange. What could they do that the police couldn’t? Her thoughts shifted to Henry. All that blood. She shuddered at the memory, the peculiar aroma of fresh blood. Bile rose up her throat, and she wrenched from Isabella’s grasp. She ran toward the nearby undergrowth and vomited.

With her stomach empty and her throat burning, she straightened and wiped the back of her hand over her mouth.

“Here,” Isabella said, thrusting out her hand. “You want gum?”

London hesitated before deciding the gum trumped her gross breath, even if she threw up again.

Her thoughts returned to Henry. His face…she was sure she’d seen… No. Her mind was playing tricks on her.

“Something’s happening,” Leo said in a low voice.

The cops grouped together in a discussion. PC Hannah pointed at Henry. Two cops broke away from the group and headed toward Henry and Gerard.

“Idiots,” Leo muttered. “Anyone with half a brain would know he didn’t do this. He was halfway in love with the girl. They were m—”

Isabella jerked her head in London’s direction and Leo broke off.

“Who did it then?” London burst out. “Henry was the only one with her.”

“Henry spent last night and all the morning with your sister. Don’t you think if he’d had sinister designs on her he’d have killed her in a less public place? He’s a big man. He had plenty of opportunity to have his wicked way then dispose of the body. What you’re implying isn’t logical.” Isabella’s flat, concise explanation tore holes through her conviction.

London thought back. Jenny had liked Henry too. While she’d picked up guys in places they’d stayed, she’d always been happy to leave the next morning and she’d always returned to her room. That hadn’t happened with Henry.

Henry had been different, an exception.

Henry had…

London felt her brows squeeze together in a frown. Henry’s face…it hadn’t been her imagination. For an instinct he’d appeared…animalistic. Yes, that was the word.

“How can you promise to catch the p-person who did this to Jenny?” London sucked in a breath to grasp at control because she could hear the hysterical note in her voice. “I—” Her voice cracked, and she inhaled, swallowed. “What can you do?”

Isabella and Leo exchanged a speaking glance, although not one in a language she understood. Was it her imagination or were there weird undercurrents here?

“No! I didn’t do it!”

London whirled around to see two cops yanking on Henry’s beefy arms. Henry pulled away and one cop fell.

Gerard helped up the policeman and said something to Henry.

“Come on,” Isabella said. “We need to hear this, listen to the charges.” She took off with long strides and her husband flanked her. London scurried to catch up. This was Jenny. If Henry had murdered her sister, she wanted to know why.

“Henry. Go with them,” Gerard said in a sharp voice, taking hold of Henry’s free arm. “Don’t make trouble. We will fix this. Get you a lawyer. I promise we will fix this.” He spoke in an undertone, for Henry’s ears only.

“You can’t bring Jenny back.” Stark emotion shimmered in Henry, his brown eyes glassy with the sheen of unshed tears.

“We can find who did this,” Gerard said. “That will be a start for you and London.”

“London. Fuck, is London all right?”

And Henry returned, his brain jolted into gear again.

“London is upset. I’ll look after her.” His lips twisted as he forced a grin at his friend. “You’re not the only one hung up on an English lady.”

“You too?”

Gerard nodded, glad the cops had let him speak to Henry. Most cops would have pulled out their Taser and fired without another warning. Henry’s size had worked for him. Neither of the cops were big and having to drag Henry to where they’d left their cars made them cautious.

“Ready?” one cop asked, his tone skirting sarcastic.

Henry nodded and let them lead him away.

“They arrested him?” Isabella asked.

“Read him his rights,” Saber answered, a trace of disgust in his gaze. “Hannah’s retirement can’t come soon enough. We need cops who will use their brains. Someone younger.”