Alphas on the Prowl (23 page)

8

By the time Mac’s mind stopped reeling, he heard Carol already on the phone with the police.

This was like a nightmare.

He
had
the keys.

But if he gave them back, Dr. Thayer would think
he
had taken them.

On the other hand, he could hardly let the police come and investigate when the keys were right here.

Why
did he have the keys?

“Yes, a murder mystery party,” Carol was squeaking in her trembling voice. “Yes… yes…
thank you
.”

Carol closed her ancient flip phone and slipped it into her skirt pocket, then cleared her throat.

“The police are on their way,” she warbled.

“No one will leave,” Dr. Thayer announced. “Now, Farthing, empty those pockets.”

Andrew pulled car keys, a cell phone and an asthma inhaler out of his pockets.

“It wasn’t me, Helen, and you know it,” he said. “I’ve been acting out this stupid play the whole time.”

A thoughtful expression crossed Helen’s distraught face.

“Besides,” Andrew continued, “I’m the only person here who understands how devastated you would be to lose them. How could you think I would take your father’s keys? You’ve known me since I was a little kid.”

Dr. Thayer frowned.

“You weren’t acting in the beginning of the party,” she said, less certainly.

“But Helen, we were in this room just before the soup. You showed me the keys,” Alice Hawkins scolded.

Dr. Thayer colored.

“That’s true, Alice,” she admitted, then turned back to Farthing. “I’m afraid I owe you an apology, Andrew. You couldn’t have taken the keys.”

Andrew had just time to nod his reluctant acceptance of her apology, before she addressed the party again.

“However, someone here
did
take them,” she declared. “And I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

“Is this part of the game, Myrtle?” Hank Phillips whispered too loudly.

“No, Hank!” Myrtle whispered back, elbowing her husband viciously. “It’s those old keys she’s always showing us.”

There was a moment of embarrassed silence. It was pretty clear the Phillips didn’t think anyone had heard them.

Mac decided to speak up.

Sure the keys were in his pocket. But because they were, he felt a responsibility to find out why.

And besides, the party was finally beginning to get interesting.

9

“We know who didn’t do it, Helen.” All eyes in the room shifted to Mac at the sound of his most commanding, alpha voice. “But now we need to find out who
did.
”

He dropped Parker’s hand and strode up to the table to address Helen directly.

“What do we know?” he asked, surveying the crowd. “Someone stole your keys. They had historical value to you and to Andrew. They had little value to anyone else. So why would anyone want to steal them?”

“I-I don’t know,” Dr. Thayer replied.

“Well, besides historical and monetary, what other value do they have?” Mac asked.

He was met with blank stares. Just like his AP History class. The smart kids never wanted to think outside the box.

“They’re keys, right?” he continued. “So what do they open?”

A murmur of approval ran through the small crowd. Mac was having fun.

“Well,” Dr. Thayer replied, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. “One of them opened the old Garden House. But the Garden House was torn down years ago. Another used to open the Observatory. But they changed the locks in the ‘70s. Most of them don’t really open anything anymore. That’s the point. They’re antiques - relics of the college and the town.”

A heavy pounding drew their attention to the front door.

En masse, the entire party headed out to see who was there. Mac had heard the quick chirp of the siren as the patrol car pulled up a few seconds before. He suspected most of the other wolves in attendance had as well, but it didn’t seem to dampen the collective excitement.

On the way, Mac noticed the tape outline of a body on the floor of the center hall. That must have been set up while he and Parker were in the library.

Before they could reach the front, a terrible thud emanated from the door, followed by a string of colorful curses from the other side.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Helen shouted, pushing past everyone and opening the door.

On the other side, stood Sheriff Clive Warren, his service pistol drawn.

Mac had known Clive for years, since he sat in Global Studies, drawing football plays and flirting with the young ladies instead of whatever it was Mac had asked him to do. Clive hadn’t been much of a student, but he was a good cop, and one hell of a wolf. His shoulders were also almost as wide as the doorway. Mac was surprised he hadn’t knocked it clean off its hinges.

Clive’s heart thundered in his chest. He seemed way too amped up for such a mundane call. And why on Earth had he drawn his gun?

Clive’s expression wavered between glory and terror.

“I understand there’s been a crime, ma’am,” he said to Dr. Thayer.

“Yes, there has,” she agreed.

Clive’s eye caught the tape outline and his brow furrowed.

“Where’s the body?” he asked.

Everyone looked around in confusion. Then Andrew Farthing, slowly raised his hand.

“What the hell?” Clive asked.

“I’m afraid there’s been a misunderstanding,” Mac explained. “This is a murder mystery dinner party. With a wild west theme.” 

“So why am I here?” Clive growled, holstering his weapon.

“Dr. Thayer’s keys have been stolen,” Mac replied.

“Her car keys?” Clive asked. “Or her house keys? Doesn’t she have a spare?”

He turned to Dr. Thayer.

“Don’t you have a spare?”

“No,” Mac answered for her. “ Not like that. Antique keys. Old keys to different places in Tarker’s Hollow.”

A siren outside announced the arrival of another police car. Clive must have called for back-up.

The sheriff rolled his eyes and pulled out his cell phone.

“Never mind about back-up - it’s not a 1-8-7, it’s a…” Clive broke off, and sighed, then tried again. “It’s whatever the code is for stolen keys… No, no, not car keys, not house keys, just like, like, old OLD keys… Yeah, okay, I’ll explain it later.”

He stuck his phone back in his pocket, then turned to Dr. Thayer.

“Do you want to file a police report?” he asked doubtfully.

“You’re darn skippy I do,” she replied.

“Okay, then, let’s go someplace we can talk,” he said.

He turned to face the group.

“Nobody here can leave. But you can go on and do…” His eyes drifted over the unusually clad dinner guests. “Whatever you were doing before.”

As Clive and Dr. Thayer headed back to her study, Mac worried the keys in his pocket.

Parker approached him and threaded her arm through his.

“Why the long face?” she asked. “This is probably the best thing that could have happened tonight - a real mystery. Or are you just worried you won’t get me alone again?”

Something dreadful occurred to Mac. He was surprised it hadn’t occurred to him sooner.

Only one person could have had access to his person in a manner that would have allowed them to slip the keys into his pocket unnoticed.

And that person was studying him now with cool gray eyes and a half smile.

For the second time in a single evening, Mac found himself dragging Parker Everly out of the room.

10

When they reached the music room, he let go of her hand and spun to face her. Before he could speak, she gave him a welcoming smile.

“Listen, J.D.,” she said, placing a suggestive hand on his chest. “I am totally coming home with you tonight. I’m a sure thing. But the scene out there is starting to get interesting. Can we just, like, hold off on all this, and see what’s going on out there?”

“Nice try, Parker. Why would you steal the keys?” Mac asked.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Don’t be cute. What did you want with them?”

“I hope you’re joking, J.D.,” Parker protested. “You know I wouldn’t steal her keys.”

Her voice was higher now, and Mac could hear her heartbeat speeding up. She was upset, probably because he’d called her out.

“No one else could have done it. I know you like to have fun, Parker, but Helen’s really upset,” he said firmly. “And I could lose my position at the college because of this.”

“Everyone said you’d gotten weird since Michael Connor died,” Parker sighed angrily. “But I always liked you. I only came here tonight because my mom said you were coming. God, I’m an idiot.”

“What do you mean, you came here because I was going to be here?” Mac heard himself ask.

“What do you think I mean?” Parker spat.

“But the keys,” Mac spluttered.

“Oh, screw it!” Parker said, shaking her head.

She slapped him hard across the face.

Mac grabbed his stinging cheek as Parker brushed past him. He wasn’t proud to feel his body reacting with pleasure to her slap.

Someone behind him let out a soft gasp.

“Excuse me,” Parker sobbed from the hall.

Mac heard her shoes clicking away.

“Mr. MacGregor? Are you okay?” asked a familiar soft voice from the doorway.

11

MacGregor turned and looked into the doe eyes of Ava Gray.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

Ava’s face filled with concern. She took a step toward him and placed her small hand on his forearm.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Just an argument, I think this incident with the keys has everyone on edge,” Mac told her, rubbing his cheek and trying not to look at her breasts. It was like trying not to think about a purple elephant.

Ava nodded seriously.

“Yes,” she said. “I was heading back to Dr. Thayer’s study to see if the keys could have been dropped on the floor somehow. Then I heard that lady yelling at you, and…”

“Some night, huh?” Mac smiled down at her.

Ava looked away modestly, unable to meet his gaze.

Mac nearly growled. His inner wolf smelled prey. She was such a delicious little thing. She must be responding to his alpha.

He almost felt bad about Parker, but then he had to remind himself that Parker was the kind of person who would steal Helen’s keys, apparently on a whim.

Ava, on the other hand, was a darling girl. He’d always thought she was a bit on the serious side, but after Parker’s wild behavior, serious sounded good.

“I never really liked the idea of this party,” Ava admitted, “but Dr. Thayer thought it was important to do something to uplift the community. I asked what she meant and she said ‘just in general.’ And she’s right. There’s a weird vibe with everyone right now, it’s more than just the Connors’ car accident.”

The pack had been in total disarray since the loss of its beloved alpha. It didn’t surprise Mac that Ava noticed something amiss.

“Did you ever feel like there was a secret?” she asked. “Like, a big secret, that everyone was in on, except you?”

Poor thing. There
was
a big secret, of course. But Mac couldn’t tell her about it. He’d often wondered how the non-wolf population of Tarker’s Hollow could fail to suspect what was happening under their noses every full moon. Maybe they weren’t as oblivious as he thought.

Ava looked so forlorn that he reached out and put a hand on her elbow. He even ignored the spark of heat the touch ignited.

“Hey, don’t look so down,” he said. “Let’s go look for those keys. I’ll help you.”

Maybe he could slip the keys into the study while they searched. Then Ava could find them and have the glory of returning them to Dr. Thayer. Win, win, win. There was no point making things worse for Parker.

He worried the keys in his pocket again. They were heavy, ponderous things, except one. That one felt like it had a little design on it - a funny little swirl. He hadn’t been alone yet to look at them.

Suddenly, Ava was in his arms.

“Oh, Mr. MacGregor, you’re so kind and you’re so handsome,” she whispered hotly against his neck. “That woman was very stupid to slap you.”

Mac froze.

Ava was all over him. Her lush breasts pressed against him, feeling warmer and firmer than in his wildest fantasies. Her breath smelled like peaches. And she thought he was handsome.

Before he knew it, his arms were around her. Ava melted in his embrace, like she had been born to mold her curves to his muscles.

Instantly, his cock swelled so hard it hurt. Every cell of his body was determined to possess her.

There were footsteps in the hallway.

Fuck.

Ava didn’t pull away.

But Mac wasn’t going to manhandle her in front of everyone. As a matter of fact, he was starting to think he would be very happy if no other man ever looked at her again.

“Let’s get out of here,” he growled in her ear.

“But we’re not allowed to leave,” she breathed.

“You know the house. Where can we be alone?” he asked, pulling back to look into her eyes.

She colored prettily.

“Upstairs,” she replied. “I have a room here, for when Dr. Thayer needs me to be on call.”

“Perfect,” he said.

She blushed again at the praise, and he was struck with an inhuman wave of lust.

They headed out, passing a group of guests heading to the study.

“Did you check the library?” Carol asked in her quavery voice, looking suspiciously from Mac to Ava and back.

“Yes, all clear,” he replied too brightly. “Just heading to find something to drink. This is thirsty work.”

Carol scowled, but continued with her little group toward the study.

Ava had gone on without him, and Mac had to walk quickly to catch up. Her pert little bottom was making sensuous figure eights in the snug gray dress as she walked.

They crossed the center hall and continued through the kitchen to a small den. It must have been the place where servants sat in the old days. There was even a bell box with buttons and labels corresponding to each room: front parlor, back parlor, front hall, dining, kitchen, etc., so that servants could be summoned to any room in the house. It was all very high tech for its time.

At the back of the servants’ lounge, there was a backstair. Such was the grandeur of the Thayer mansion, that even this servant’s staircase was lustrous carved chestnut.

As Ava gathered her skirts and ascended the stair, Mac tried not to think about looking up her dress. But the sweet smell of her and the milky skin of her dimpled thighs called to him.

They climbed past the second floor and on up to the third. At last, Ava arrived on a landing, and used a key in her pocket to open a door.