A Wolf's Heart (Harlequin Nocturne) (3 page)

“I never thought to bother anyone with them. I never felt threatened, Gabriel.”

He lifted an eyebrow in question. “Until now.”

“Yes, until now.”

“Did you keep the others?”

She nodded. “They’re in a drawer in my office at my house.”

“When was the last time you received one?”

“Over six months ago.” She set the wineglass back onto the table. “I remember it was right before I flew to Paris for principal shooting on the film.”

“You didn’t get any while in Paris?”

She shook her head. “No. I actually thought maybe he’d given up.”

“And this is the first letter since you’ve been back?”

She nodded again.

“How long have you been home?”

“Only a few days.”

He nodded, and wrote notes in his little notebook that he always carried in his jacket pocket. “Sounds like your fan is a local and knows your schedule.”

“Hmm, I guess I never really considered that.”

He slid the notebook into his jacket and closed his crime-scene kit with a snap. “I’ll have someone come by and pick up those other letters.”

She sat forward on the sofa. “Why don’t you come by? We could have tea in the garden.”

“No, thanks.” He picked up the kit and headed for the door of the trailer. “Someone will be by tomorrow.” He opened the door. “We’ll keep you apprised of the situation.”

“Gabriel?”

He looked over his shoulder at her. She was leaning toward him, biting her bottom lip. He knew that look. It was one of longing and pain.

“I…” She paused, then licked her lips. “It was good to see you again.”

He nodded to her and went out the door. At the bottom of the three metal steps, he shut the door behind him, the palm of his hand pressed against it. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath, let it out, then dropped his arm and walked away. He had work to do.

Chapter 3

“S
o, what’s she like?”

Gabriel glanced away from the plastic case, where the letter and envelope were being “glued” for fingerprints, and up at Dane, the analyst. “Who?”

“Elise Leroy.” The vampire’s eyes were bright with curiosity.

“I don’t know. I didn’t talk to her long.”

“Really? I heard you like knew her, knew her.”

Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, yeah, where did you hear that?”

“From Sophie.”

He shook his head, trying hard not to grind his teeth, and then turned his gaze back to the fingerprinting machine. “So what do we have?”

Wearing latex gloves, Dane opened the box and withdrew the envelope. With his magnifying glass, he examined the loops and swirls of the prints exposed on the white paper. He looked at all of them front and back then set the scope down on the desk.

“Looks like four distinct prints.”

Gabriel nodded. That’s what he’d thought. According to Lily’s statement, four people had touched the envelope—the courier, who they’d tracked down and had come down to give his statement and submit his prints, the studio guard, Lily and Elise.

“How about the letter?”

Dane plucked it from the machine, laid it flat on the desk and examined the dark swirls on the edges of the paper. Gabriel waited patiently as the analyst peered at the paper intently, knowing Dane was the best at what he did. Even if there’d only been smudges, the vampire would be able to decipher them.

“Three different prints.”

Gabriel’s heart skipped a little. “Are you sure?”

Dane nodded. “Definitely.”

“All right. Scan them and run them against what we’ve pulled from the witnesses. There’s going to be one that doesn’t match.”

The vampire smiled gleefully. “Suspect?”

“I’m hoping.”

According to Lily’s statement, only she and Elise had touched the actual letter. So if there was another set of prints, Gabriel had to assume they might belong to the perpetrator.

“Righto, boss man. I’ll call you when I get something.” Dane saluted him.

With a nod, Gabriel left the analysis room to head back to his office. He had to make sure he got someone to pick up the other letters from Elise’s house. They would have to print them all.

He reached his closed office door but before he could open it and escape inside, he heard his name being called.

“Gabriel, if you have a minute.”

He glanced toward the superintendent Jakob Weiss as he marched toward Gabriel. Another man strode beside him, his aristocratic face pinched in annoyance.

Gabriel cursed under his breath. He didn’t really need a problem like Mayor Benoit Dubois. Since the witch had taken office he’d been constantly in his face, inquiring about this, asking about that. Gabriel had a strong feeling that the man had delusions or boyhood aspirations about being a cop.

“Superintendent.” Gabriel nodded at the vampire, then toward the witch. “Mayor.”

“We have concerns about the Elise Leroy case,” Jakob announced.

Of course.
Gabriel mentally sighed. He opened his office door and beckoned the men in. “Let’s talk inside.”

It shouldn’t have surprised him. Elise had many influential friends. She’d probably called the mayor the second he’d left, telling him about Gabriel’s lack of fawning over her.

Gabriel sat behind his desk and gestured to the two visitor chairs. The superintendent sat but the mayor chose to remain standing. Hands clasped behind his back, he wandered through Gabriel’s office glancing at the framed commendations on the wall. Gabriel puffed out his chest with the knowledge that there were a hell of a lot of them to look at. Although the mayor and he had several differences of opinions, the witch couldn’t deny the number of times Gabriel had saved the lives of citizens of Nouveau Monde.

“This case needs to be handled delicately,” Benoit said, his back to Gabriel.

“It’s being handled like any other case we get in this office—efficiently and effectively.”

Benoit turned to face him. “Well, we both know, Bellmonte, this isn’t like any other case.” He began walking again. “Elise Leroy is a beloved member of this community, well respected here and in the human community. She’s an ambassador of sorts. We would all be greatly upset if any harm came to her.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to her,” Gabriel said. “Trust me, Elise can take care of herself.”

“Trust you.” Benoit smiled. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“My people are working hard on this just like they always do. Sure we’re a little short staffed, but it’s nothing we can’t handle as usual.”

Benoit put up his hand as if to swat away Gabriel’s protestations. “We’re going to give this one some extra attention.”

“It doesn’t warrant any extra attention, Mayor.”

“I understand that your two families have a long history together.”

Gabriel’s hackles rose, just as if he was being threatened. “I don’t see what—”

“It’s my job to know everything there is to know about the people who work for me.”

“I don’t work for you. I work for the city.”

Again Benoit waved his hand as if trying to get rid of some foul odor.

“What the mayor is saying, Gabriel, is that because you know Ms. Leroy well, we thought it would be prudent for you to maintain a close connection to her until we get to the bottom of this,” Jakob interceded.

“Elise and I aren’t exactly friendly, if that’s what you think. We haven’t been in a long time.”

“Regardless, she knows you and we think you’d be best serving the city and this case if you reconnected with her.”

“What exactly do you want me to do?”

“Be her shadow,” Benoit said. “Just until we catch this creep stalking her.”

Agitated, Gabriel leaned on his desk. “There is no evidence suggesting the letter writer is a stalker. Could be an overzealous fan.”

“And that’s why we want someone with Ms. Leroy at all times—so it doesn’t turn into a stalker case.”

Gabriel sighed. “Fine, if you want to assign a bodyguard to her, go ahead, but it’s not going to be me. I have more important things to do than be some starlet’s babysitter.”

“The decision’s already been made,” Benoit said. “Your other cases have been reassigned to Maria Serrano—she’s more than capable of handling them.”

“I don’t disagree that Maria is a skilled investigator and good administrator. That isn’t the point.”

“What is?” Benoit asked.

“Doing my job. I’m an investigator and a damn good one. I’ve run this office for several years and my team has solved more cases than my predecessor. That’s a testament to how I run the office and I’m not going to forgo that so I can ‘look after’ one victim on her whim.” He was breathing hard by the time he finished his tirade. Usually cool and calm, Gabriel found his blood pumping through his veins and his heart hammering.

He could feel the beast beating on his insides to come out and play. It had been too long since he’d shifted into his wolf form. Benoit had picked a terrible time to push him. The mayor didn’t want to meet his beast, especially since it was amped up by his vampiric genetics. Sometimes being a sangloup was more a curse than a blessing.

Jakob stood, almost as if trying to place himself between Gabriel and Benoit. The superintendent had worked with Gabriel long enough to read the signs. “No one is disputing your amazing work, Gabriel. You are an asset to this office and to the city.”

“But?” Gabriel all but growled.

“We think it prudent that you be charged with Ms. Leroy’s safety. It is in the interests of everyone involved that she remains protected and happy.”

“Sounds like I don’t have a choice.”

Benoit smiled, but it didn’t make Gabriel feel happy. “We all have choices.” He lifted one eyebrow toward Jakob then turned on his heel to leave. “I’ll inform Ms. Leroy’s agent that everything is in order.”

The moment the mayor left, Jakob sighed. He ran a hand over his weathered and sunk-in face. One of his investigators once told Gabriel that he thought the superintendent looked like Bela Lugosi. He had to admit there was a resemblance.

“I’m sorry, Gabriel.”

He was surprised at the apology. The superintendent usually didn’t acknowledge any weakness. His apology told Gabriel that he had no power in this situation, which would’ve been a first in the many years they’ve worked together.

He went on before Gabriel could comment. “Think of it as some well-needed time off. You haven’t taken a vacation in a long time. Actually, I can’t even remember you
ever
taking a holiday.”

“This will be far from relaxing, Superintendent, I assure you.”

“Well, you’ll find something to enjoy about spending your time with the world-famous Elise Leroy. She’s a charming woman, and I’m sure you’ll be waited on by her people for the entire time. It’ll be like being at a luxury spa.”

I highly doubt it.
He didn’t say it out loud, as he didn’t want the superintendent to know just how much this assignment bothered him on both a professional level and a personal one. Being around Elise for an extended period of time was going to be one of the hardest things he’d ever have to do.

“Keep me informed about the situation.” With a final nod, Jakob exited Gabriel’s office, leaving him to seethe.

And seethe he did.

Bolting up from his chair, he paced the office like a caged animal. An angry, frustrated animal that needed release. His blood was boiling so hot that he could barely think. He needed to get out and do something about it now, before he did something foolish.

He marched out of his office, slammed the door behind him and stalked down the corridor to the front doors. As he passed various people on his way, they pressed themselves against the walls, obviously sensing Gabriel’s foul mood. By the wide-eyed expressions on most faces, they were probably shocked to see him this way. He was known to be a very cool cucumber.

Sophie approached him. She was about the only person that his mood didn’t affect. She had a beast of her own that often needed to be coddled.

“You looked pissed. What’s up?”

“I’m going out to run,” he managed to grunt between clenched teeth.

“Want some company?”

He shook his head and pressed on, pushing through the doors separating the lab from the precinct, crossing the lobby and out the main doors. Thankfully, the Nouveau Monde Police Department had been situated near a park with lots of running room. They had quite a few lycans working for them and they needed a place where they could stretch their wolf legs.