Shepherd's Moon (9 page)

“Cassie sent me a list of all the known kill sites, and they all happened within a ten-mile radius of the lake. But, none of them occurred
at
the lake. I pointed to the map.

“This may be a good starting point. It’s secluded, has a steady water supply and it’s close to the University. And animals don’t generally make a mess in their own cage.”

He grinned and started the car, the motor a smooth purr in the night. “Have you even been in our rooms?”

I grinned. If I didn’t have Jace and Aida running the household, we would all be lost. “Okay—so it’s not really a well-thought out theory. But it’s something.”

The tires screamed against the blacktop as he placed the car in gear and floored it. “Yeah, it’s something.”

The second we hit the freeway, Billy began a steady monologue about everything from the domestic disturbance call he received yesterday to our neighbor’s cat, which he had finally frightened off his car for good. One thing Billy is good at is keeping a conversation going for hours. Lost in my own thoughts, I closed my eyes and dozed.

“So what happened with Richard’s cat last night?”

The question startled me into full attention. “What are you talking about?”

“I know he sent you out on some kind of secret mission and I know you didn’t take any of us along. I also know you spent some time with a cat, and it wasn’t any of ours.”

“How do you know that?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Coyote, remember?”

Damnit.
I didn’t want any of the pack to know a chimera was running around town unsupervised. The curiosity factor would attract most of them and I didn’t want to spook Daniel.

I shrugged. “A friend of his needed some help—it wasn’t a big deal.”

“A friend…” He said doubtfully.

“Yeah,” I answered slowly. “A friend.”

“What about the cat?”

“She had a cat.” I sensed him staring at me, but refused to meet his eyes. “What?”

“A female friend, then…” It wasn’t a question and a grin turned up the corners of his mouth.

Exasperated, I turned to him. “Do you have any idea how annoying it is to live with a detective?”

He smiled and kept his eyes on the road. “Wait, does Richard have a new girlfriend?”

“I wouldn’t tell you if he did have a girlfriend. And besides, it’s none of your business.”

“When I spend the day making chili, and you’re not around to eat it, your business becomes my business.”

Even the
thought
of his “famous” chili made me queasy, but he would never know that. I suspected that Jace had snuck burgers in for everyone later in the night. He passed a photo radar warning sign and gunned the engine, ignoring the flash of a camera in our wake.

“If you don’t stop intentionally picking up speeding tickets, Richard’s going to lock you up and you won’t have to worry about who he is or isn’t dating.”

Speeding tickets were not something he had to worry about in his division, although he would certainly receive an earful from Richard.

“Tell me if he has a girlfriend and I’ll slow down. Come on,” he whined. “This is huge! Richard hasn’t dated anyone for years—could you imagine the leverage I could have with that kind of information?”

“Which is exactly why I’m not telling you a thing.”

“Oh, it’s true. Richard is dating a cat lady!” Laughing, he slammed his hand against the steering wheel.

I just shook my head, quickly becoming annoyed. “Assuming it were true, and it’s not, what exactly is so funny if Richard were dating a woman who had cats?”

“Come on, Alex—you know Richard. He hates cats. More than I hate cats, even.”

“You don’t hate cats.” I readjusted the seat. “You just hate that they’re smarter than you are.”

“They are not smarter than me.”

I lifted my hands in mock surrender. “Hey, I’m just saying that you can’t get eight cats to pull a sled through snow. Dogs, on the other hand…”

He flashed me a look of pure irritation. “Well, yeah—maybe dogs. Maybe even wolves. But not coyotes.”

“Same thing,” I muttered softly, watching the oncoming headlights. The best way to distract Billy is to bait Billy.

“No, it’s not the same thing. And just because dogs happen to enjoy their work doesn’t mean they aren’t smart. Cats just expect the world to sit in wait for their every whim.”

“Better not let Modnik hear you saying that,” I warned. “She’ll kick your ass.”

His jaw tightened, but he remained silent, knowing I was right. Modnik and her two jaguar cubs had just moved in with us last year. We had stumbled across her during a trip to Costa Rica that had gone from a pleasurable vacation to my first introduction to what I would be doing the rest of my life. Within two weeks time, I’d made my first capture, my first illegal border crossing, and killed my first man. It was an eventful vacation.

Joseph and I had stumbled across Modnik while on a walk. She was trapped in a tiny enclosure, heavily pregnant and very pissed off. We learned that she had been used since she was little more than a kitten, repeatedly raped and bred over a period of years. But the experiences had not beaten her down—instead they had made her stronger and more determined than ever to live.

Prior cubs had been taken from her immediately following their birth. The man primarily responsible for the acts of cruelty was also a werejaguar, which just made the act that much more despicable in my book. His name was Diego Jimenez and he had the further distinction of being the first man I ever killed.

Just his name was enough to send a shiver down my spine—even after two years. He’d been the subject of many nightmares and more sleepless nights than I cared to admit to. Maybe it was because Diego was my first kill. Maybe it was because I cared so much for his victims. Maybe it was just because I had witnessed first-hand the brutality he had inflicted, but he remained my biggest fear to date. His death had not made that terror subside in any way.

Brock was convinced I had post-traumatic stress disorder. I didn’t disagree.

Thoughts of the man flooded over me. My mood darkened, the air in the car noticeably thickening. Billy recognized my expression and touched my shoulder, drawing me back to the present. “It’s over, Alex. He’s gone.”

“I know.” I took a deep breath and nodded. I had to focus on the good things, and the only good things that came out of that nightmarish case were Modnik and the twins. “At least we have Modnik and the cubs.”

“Remind me how that’s a good thing. How long are we keeping them, anyway?”

Billy’s attempt to lighten the mood.

A weary sigh slipped past my lips as I reached over and tapped against the back of his head. “Congratulations on proving my theory that cats really are smarter than dogs. I cannot believe you just asked me that question. First off, we’re not ‘keeping’ them. They’re here until they want to leave. Secondly, they’re part of the pack, whether you like it or not.”

He rubbed the back of his head. “Okay. Geez. I’m just saying that they don’t really fit in is all.”

“None of us fit in, Billy. That’s the point.”

And that is the truth. When I had first learned I could understand, and eventually discovered I could communicate with animals, I wasn’t even old enough to think I might be crazy. It was just something I could do—like some kids are better at throwing a ball. But my abilities, along with a revolving door of foster families, had made for some interesting pre-teen years. Until Joseph had come along, I was moved through foster homes faster than the state could track me. There was a time in my life when I despised those families who didn’t know what to do with me.

Now that I was older, the anger had faded.

I knew I couldn’t blame the people who had opened their homes to me. It was difficult enough to take in a child, let alone one that related to the family dog easier than she related to the family. When I finally bailed on the system for good at the age of twelve, no one even bothered to report me missing. Which was just as well…

I’ve always been a quick learner, but learning to adapt to my new situation was something I had been unable to do in the revolving foster family game. My ease in adapting served me well on the streets. Camouflage is nature’s most perfect defense.

“We need to settle on a location,” Billy said. “What does your little toy say?”

I touched the GPS on the dash of the car. Each kill zone was neatly encircled and an arrow marked our location and direction. “Take Rio Salado.”

“Which area are you thinking?”

“The golf course is between both freeways, and it gives our Handler lots of room to track in. It’s also next to the lake. That close to the University and he could be picking up vics nearby.” I pointed to the map. “Also, the train runs through here. Handy way to dispose of leftovers.

Billy took the exit and headed right. “Good a start as any, I suppose.”

“Got a better idea?”

He shook his head. “Not yet.”

Tucking a wayward strand of long hair behind my ear, I squinted at the map that glowed from the onboard display.

He flipped on the turn signal. “Let’s head to the bridge instead.”

I arched an eyebrow, “Hunch?”

“Maybe. It used to be that we pulled a body from under that bridge every week, but we haven’t had any reported for nearly six months.”

“Well, you’re killing my golf course theory,” I pulled the area up on the screen.

The resounding tone of a cell phone drew my attention and a quick glance at the screen told me who was calling.

“Are you scheduled to work tonight?”

He shook his head. “Nope, but Richard knows I’m with you.”

My first inclination was to ignore the call as I glared resentfully at the screen of the video phone. I’m not supposed to be on call tonight and I don’t want to be on call.

Tonight was
supposed
to be designated for hunting my new favorite bad guy, but if Richard knew that Billy and I were together, he wouldn’t hesitate to call us in. With a heavy sigh, I relented and answered the call. “Hello, Richard.”

Billy rolled his eyes and stepped on the gas.

“Where are you?” Richard asked, his voice was tense — the first indication that this was not a social call. Whatever news he was calling to deliver wouldn’t be something I wanted to hear.

A quick glance at the passing road signs told me our location. “Southbound on the 101. What’s up?”

“I need you.”

Richard has never been one for small talk, despite his insistence on cordial greetings.

I smiled. “Why Richard, I’ve been waiting for years to hear you say those words.”

He ignored my playful comment, the seriousness of the situation reflected in his silence. “Now is not the time, Alex. Your specialized skill set is required on a scene.”

Tapping Billy on the arm, I pointed to the police radio near his thigh. He reached down and flipped it on, turning the volume down until it was a soft buzz of radio traffic in the background. I could hear John Fogerty belt out
Run Through the Jungle
as the calm voices of officers responding to a call came over the radio.

“You’re about eight minutes away.” I could almost picture Richard glancing at his watch. “But, you’ve got five to get there.” He rattled off an address, which I quickly relayed to Billy, not bothering to tell him that we should hurry.

“Billy’s driving,” I said quietly into the phone, knowing I didn’t need to say anything else. Richard was very familiar with Billy’s driving, as he had personally gotten him out of more traffic violations than any person should ever have on any one record. “What’s so important?”

“Code 2, hostage. Domestic, a husband and wife,” Richard rattled off the news like it was something he dealt with every day and while I know he likely did deal with it every day, I didn’t. Reason number one not to go into fulltime police work. “The problem is that their five-year-old son is on location.”

My heart skipped a couple of beats at his words, and Billy glanced over at me with concern in his eyes. I have a special place in my heart for kids and animals, and I don’t like situations that involve either of them. But it didn’t explain why he was calling us in. He generally liked to save his elite team for more difficult cases.

“Okay…” I turned the phone on speaker so Billy could listen in. “So why are we required?”

“The 911 call recorded growling in the background.”

“Tell them to call animal control,” Billy chuckled.

Richard paused, clearly not amused with either one of us. “Look you two, I’ve got a bad feeling on this one and that means you go in.”

“We’re just playing, Richard. Don’t be such a… boss.”

I grinned at Billy, unable to help myself, then motioned for him to quiet down. Richard had already reached his limit.

“I’m trying to run a department here. Playtime’s over. I’ve got media in the air already.” He took a deep breath. “So far, we’ve been able to pass it off as a home invasion.”

“Sure… because that’s less scary,” I mumbled.

“The boy is the tool of negotiation,” Richard said, ignoring me. “You’re going to have to find a way to neutralize the father, then get the wife and kid out of there.”

I swore softly. “And if we’re dealing with a shifter?”