The Werewolf Whisperer (The Werewolf Whisperer Series Book 1) (10 page)

"You
think?" Lucy asked.

"Well,
I can't prove he did. But that's the thing about the CIA, they do things you
can't prove." Bob took a look at his watch. "To get down to it, I
need your help. I know of a place that's giving asylum to the Afflicted."

"You're
referring to Catalina," Lucy stated.

"Yeah,
you've heard of it then." Bob seemed optimistic.

"Bob,
it's just a myth." Xochitl hated having to squash her friend's hopes.

"No,
it's not." Bob's voice rose. "Like I said, I've got a lot, and when I
say a lot, I mean a lot, of money, Xochitl. And money buys you information. I
have it on very sound authority that there is a haven for Weres. And I'm going
to get my son to that place." Bob crossed his arms, emphasizing his last
words.

"Okay,
Bob." Lucy was calm as a cucumber. "Say we get your boy to Catalina.
Not an easy feat in itself. The harbor patrols are three times as big now. But
say we did, what do you think Travis' chances of survival are?" She added,
"I mean, you put dozens, maybe more, Weres in one small space, their
natural instinct is to carve out territory. And usually, carving out a
territory means killing anyone getting in their way."

"He
could get slaughtered in a place like that." Xochitl tried to say it
delicately, but she needed her friend to understand what he was asking. "Are
you prepared for him to die there?"

"Better
him die there with a fighting chance, than here where me or you would have to
kill him." Bob looked right into Lucy's eyes.

"Okay,
Bob." Lucy put out her hand. "We'll take the job."

"Thank
you." Bob shook Lucy's hand. "I can pay anything you want. Name your
price."

"Don't
you ever say that," Xochitl chided Bob. "It's pro bono. You're
family. We take care of our own."

Xochitl
looked over to Lucy who nodded.

"Let's
get to it then," Lucy said, throwing down a twenty on the table.

Xochi
raised an eyebrow at Lucy as if to say "really?"

"What?
It's a tip." Lucy hooked her arm in Bob's, leading him out of the
restaurant.

"Uh,
huh." Xochitl shook her head and followed close behind.

Yes,
let's tip the millionaires.

Chapter 6

OMEGA: he's not here
computer gone found journal

TROIKA:
Take it up north and find him.

OMEGA: & the
situation in la?

TROIKA: We can
use it. Nothing has changed.

24 months ago

Lucy
pulled up to the ranch she'd called home all her life. Captain Burch had
suspended her, had told her to go home. Lucy knew she was supposed to stay in
L.A. and wait to be recalled. She'd picked up her Jeep from the station,
intending to go straight back to her place. But before she had realized it, she'd
passed the exit to her Valley apartment and just kept going.

Back
home to Mama. Back home to the ranch.

Located
on the outskirts of the little town of Empyrean, the ranch housed Hanna's
Rescue and Rehabilitation. Lucy's mother Ellie and her business partner and
best-friend-since-childhood Hanna had established the dog boarding and training
facility when Lucy was a child.

A
beacon of best practices long before the national dog-training craze had taken
hold of television and print, Hanna's R'n'R had grown into a well-respected
California kennel in the three decades since Ellie and Hanna had started the
venture.

Initially
they had leaned heavily on Hanna's tremendous affinity for dogs and Ellie's
undeniable charm, but they'd proven themselves formidable business women and
hard-working, trusted caretakers of the area's canine population. Ellie's
influence on the community had grown too. Serving part-time on the small city
council, Ellie was a problem solver and beloved advisor to the citizens of
Empyrean.

Growing
up on the ranch, Lucy had never lacked for friends or fun. Her path had been
set early and clearly; everyone expected she would take up the reigns for Ellie
and Hanna when the time came.

Fate
had twisted Lucy's path the summer after high school, taking her from the
idyllic small town and driving her to the police academy in Los Angeles to
learn how to help the weakest of the weak instead of basking in the comfort of
home, surrounded by people who loved her and dogs who were obsessed with her.

Cruising
up the hill to the ranch, Lucy felt a twinge of guilt pierce her core. People
and dogs still needed her in L.A., but she'd run home to Mama.

The
morning air felt soft on her face, and the heady scent of narcissus calmed her
frayed nerves. A few early blossoms dotted the small apple orchard.

The
backyard kennels sounded quiet. Not too many guests, Lucy guessed. A few barn
cats roamed around the property, taking advantage of the early morning quiet.
Through the kitchen window, Lucy could see her mama prepare breakfast for the
house dogs, who were fed before all the boarding dogs were taken out for their
morning exercise.

Ellie
passed gracefully behind the picture window, allowing Lucy the chance to study
her mother in her solitude. Ellie was perhaps five foot six to Lucy's towering
five ten. Where Lucy had always been athletic and robust, Ellie was delicate in
both feature and form. Lucy often wondered if she had taken completely after
her father, whom she'd never met and of whom Ellie had hardly ever spoken.
Ellie had always attributed Lucy's straight auburn hair and her blue-grey eyes
to him. And occasionally, when Lucy was at her most taciturn and uncooperative,
Ellie would say she was just like her father.

As
Lucy made her way to the back door, she heard her mother's dogs Brisco and
Maggie, the usually tranquil
chocolate labs, scrabble on the
hardwood and yowl in their funny deep voices. In response a cacophony of dog
howls struck the alarm.

"It's
just me, Mama. Kids," Lucy announced from the back porch. Knowing her dogs
well, she set down her duffel and shrugged out of her sherpa-lined denim
jacket.

"Everybody
hush!" Ellie scolded the excited pack from inside the kitchen. The barking
ceased instantly and was replaced with whines and yips. Lucy nudged the door
and met the onrush of five dogs, all vocalizing and pushing for position, by
kneeling and throwing her arms wide open.

The
youngest female, Poppy, started to squat while crawling towards Lucy.

"Poppy,
stop it! You're not a puppy. No sprinkling. Cut that out," Lucy scolded
and pointed to the open door. "Outside!"

The
thin, rust colored dog raced out to the back yard, where she continued to bow
her head between her long legs and emit a high-pitched whine. The older dogs
darted around Lucy, getting in licks to her face and hands.

"Poppy
squats because she's afraid of you," Ellie teased. "She's being
submissive so you won't beat her." She brushed a wisp of white hair off
her neck and stuffed it back into her bun.

"Silly
dogettes." Lucy put her arms around Chasselas, the gargantuan Bernese
mountain dog, and kissed his warm muzzle.

Was
Mama's hair this white the last time I visited?

Poppy
raced back into the house, now in better control of herself, and pressed into
Lucy's back.

Bonn,
the German shepherd, squeezed his furry body under Chasselas and onto Lucy's lap.
Ellie chuckled and clicked her tongue to redirect the dogs.

"Hi,
Mama." Lucy squealed from inside the dog pile. A wave of relief washed
over her as she huddled with her adoring pack.

"What
are you doing here?" Ellie said abruptly, making Lucy snap her head to
look at her mother. It had been a long since Lucy had visited outside of a
holiday.

Cat's
in the Cradle. Crap! I'm the worst daughter.

"I
got suspended." Lucy had to come clean to her mother immediately. Ellie
didn't tolerate lies.

"Suspended?"
Ellie sounded shocked. "What did they do wrong?"

That's
my mama. Always has my back.

"Things
got really tense in L.A.," Lucy said, picking herself off the kitchen
floor and brushing the dog fur from her pants and long-sleeved thermal. Half of
a muddy paw print now decorated the front of the shirt. "Haven't you been
watching the news?"

"I
caught something in passing," Ellie said and pointed to the little
television mounted under the cabinet. "Some kind of drug or something is
making people violent. Is it those bath salts?" Ellie turned back to the
counter to scoop the rest of the cut-up lamb and potatoes into the dog bowls.

"Bath
salts? Hell, if it were only that." Lucy gathered up the dog bowls from
the counter and distributed breakfast to the impatient pack.

"You
didn't hear about that bizarre 911 call? The Kyon guy?" Lucy asked her
mother, a little surprised. "It was all over news radio when I drove up
here."

"Oh
you know, I don't sit down to watch TV," Ellie answered. "Hanna
always has new projects. We're expanding, by the way. It's been really busy."
She smiled and watched the dogs gobble down their food. All five tucked in with
great enthusiasm, only the sound of smacking and chewing broke the suddenly
uncomfortable silence.

"I
don't know. It could all be hooey," Lucy said and collapsed onto one of
the kitchen chairs. Not wanting to unnecessarily panic her mother, she searched
for the right words.

"All
I know is what I saw myself." Lucy watched her mama silently pull eggs and
a raw half-pound rib eye from the fridge.

"I...Gabe
and I were on a raid. A pit bull fight. I had this CI, confidential informant,
Xochitl. The dogfighting was in the back lot of her bar. Her gangbanger
boyfriend had...She contacted us about guns and dogfighting...Mama, when we got
there. The dogs...Everything went so wrong. I've never seen..." Lucy had
to stop as the night's events all jumbled together in her memory. She had tried
to sort it out before but couldn't face the images. The ripped apart cats the
East Los Locos had used for bait before Lucy and Gabe got there. The bloody dog
bodies. The pop of the sweaty audience. Men howling and betting, making a night
out of torturing animals. The stench of burning fur and flesh. Gabe in surgery.
She just wanted to un-see it all somehow.

Lucy
closed her eyes. The words came out slowly, almost against her will.

"Mama,
my partner, Gabe...He turned into this thing. This big furry wolf beast."

The
cast iron pan clattered onto the stove. Lucy's eyes flew open; the dogs all
stared at Ellie.

Lucy
picked up the pace as if getting it out quicker would make it less painful. "Gabe.
It was still Gabe, but different and out of control and so inhuman...I can't...he
attacked...these gangbangers. And then I thought he would turn on us. Xochitl
and me. Then I told him to stop. And I swear when I said 'stop' he did."

Ellie
stood very still, head bowed over the stove. Lucy regretted having elaborated.

This
is too much. She thinks I'm crazy.

"It
was scary. And weird. It all happened so fast." Lucy ran her hand over her
face and through her hair, searching for an explanation. "And then Gabe
was just Gabe, but he'd been shot and they took him to this trauma center. And
I was supposed to take Xochitl to the station. But..."

"But
you didn't," Ellie said with so much understanding in her voice it made
Lucy want to cry. Ellie crossed the kitchen and wrestled the milk carton from
the back of the fridge.

"SWAT
showed up," Lucy continued. "They made some arrests, but the gang
leader, Memo Morales, got away. And later that night, he burned my CI's bar and
the apartment above it to the ground. Nobody died, but Xochitl lost everything.
She hadn't paid the insurance either. So, she really lost everything."
Lucy's stomach turned; she felt guilty again and useless.

Accepting
the glass from her mother, Lucy drank the milk down with one gulp.

"Mama,
I don't want to be a cop anymore." Lucy's words sounded far away to her
even as she spoke them. "I don't want to go back to L.A. I don't know what
I'm doing. It's too much. People got hurt because of me. And I couldn't even
help Gabe or Xochitl. Captain Burch suspended me, but the truth is I don't ever
want to go back. I want to stay here with you and Hanna. Be a dog trainer. Go
to vet school like you wanted." Lucy's voice came out small and hesitant.

"My
girl, my girl. Shhh. It'll be all right." Ellie reached out for her
daughter and cradled her head like she had when Lucy was a little girl.

"There
are reports on the radio about California being infected with some violence
inducing flu," Lucy said and cuddled closer to her mama. "And there's
that 911 call about a lab accident and a monster. I don't know. It could be a
hoax. But it could be what happened to Gabe. No one knows anything." Lucy
pulled away from her mother.

"I
just wanted to come home," Lucy said and stared into her mother's emerald
eyes. "I had to make sure you were okay. You and Hanna."

Lucy
froze momentarily. She had missed something.

"Where
is Hanna? She's not home?" Lucy started to rise.

"Don't
worry, my little one. Hanna just went to take care of something for the rescue.
She'll be back in a few days." Ellie's words soothed Lucy like they always
had.

"Why
don't you eat some breakfast?" Ellie asked. "We'll figure it all out
later," she continued hypnotically.

Lucy
felt weary, and deep exhaustion overtook her. Obediently, she ate her breakfast
while listening to Mama tell stories of the dogs, both house dogs and boarders,
that made them laugh and forget that anything beyond the ranch existed.

"I
love you Mama." Lucy lingered before she retired to her bedroom. "I
missed you."

Ellie
smiled and kissed her daughter's cheek.

Lucy stumbled to her room and fell down
on her bed too tired to change out of her clothes. She fell asleep instantly.

The
weeks flew by as Lucy slipped back into ranch life and enjoyed the constant
flow of boarders coming in and out of the R'n'R. Always up before dawn, she
took to the work without hesitation. The feeding and tending to the animals had
been her joy since she was old enough to walk.

She
exchanged stories with Ronna and Gerri, the local ranch hands Hanna had hired
when Lucy had moved to L.A. Lucy didn't know the two women well, but grew to
appreciate them in the weeks they worked together. They were good at their
jobs, dependable, and devoted to the ranch.

Gerri,
it turned out, was an excellent cook and had made it her life's work to come up
with delicious and nutritious canine treats. The dogs, being dogs, loved her
almost as much as they loved Lucy.

At
least they love me for me. Not for the treats I dole out.

But
Lucy had to admit that Gerri had a gift.

To
give Gerri and Ronna a break one afternoon, Lucy took the small band of
boarding dogs to the meadow along with Poppy, Bonn, Brisco, Maggie and
Chasselas. The stream provided hours of great fun for all the dogs despite the
chill in the air. Lucy had not a moment to consider recent events, but the
thoughts of L.A. kept nagging at her even as she splashed through the water
with her canine entourage.