Bear's Claim (Bear Heat Book 3) (4 page)

Thor heard a soft gasp from
Paige but other than that, the room remained still and silent. But
their unspoken thoughts were loud and clear. Who could have done
this and why? Could the Mob have done this?

“It is possible that
this gruesome killing was ordered by the Mob,” Thor began
slowly, voicing his thoughts aloud. “Ray Shapez has been
caught but there are still other mob bosses at large. Most of them
are not as powerful and influential as Ray, but they are just as
ambitious and ruthless. But, if the body was eaten...”

“Cannibals!”
Baxter exclaimed with a shudder.

Paige rolled her eyes. “Oh
please, don't sensationalize this, Bax. You're such a drama queen.”

“I'm not!”
Baxter huffed. “Haven't you heard? There's a rumor going
round that...”

“We don't listen to
rumors. Rumors are not facts,” Paige scoffed.

Ethan held up a hand to stop
an argument from erupting.

“We need to get down to
the crime scene. The police haven't moved the body. They want us to
take a look and track any evidence they might have missed. This has
to be done very discreetly so only two of you will be assigned to the
case. The higher-ups don't want to cause widespread panic so they're
trying to keep this from the press, but...” Ethan blew out a
breath.

“The press are like
bloodhounds,” Baxter finished with a grimace. “Fresh
meat, dead meat, decomposed, disemboweled meat, they'll sniff it out.
It's just a matter of time.”

“Exactly. So you'll
have to work fast.” Ethan closed the file and began to snap
out orders. “Everyone, get back to work. Tell your team
members to be extra careful and vigilant, but don't leak the details
of the murder to them...yet.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Thor, you're the lead
investigator on this case. You know the Mob's methods better than
anyone. Work quickly and quietly with the police to find out if the
Mob is involved in this. But be careful. There are crooked cops who
are waiting to shoot you in the back.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Ethan had said earlier that
he would be assigning two Black Bears to the case. Thor already knew
who he would be working with. He quirked a lopsided smile as Baxter
started to rock his chair back on two legs again. The big guy
twiddled his thumbs as he chewed on a pencil, swaying and rolling
from side to side as though he were on a boat.

For all his smart-assery and
wisecracks, Baxter was a top-notch investigator. Bax was the lead
tracker in the Black Bears Group, with the sharpest sense of smell.
He could sniff out and trace even the most obscure, overlooked shred
of evidence.

“Baxter!” Ethan
barked out his order. “Go with Thor. Do what you have to do.”

This time, the chair toppled
as Baxter lurched to his feet.

“Yes, Alpha!”

CHAPTER
SEVEN

Aubrey was writing up a
report at the nurses' station when she looked up to see a white coat
walk past. She glanced at the clock. It was just after one o'clock
in the afternoon. Most of the other nurses were taking their lunch
breaks.
The patients had all just finished their mid-day meals and were
dozing peacefully in their beds. It was usually very quiet around
the ward this time of day.

Aubrey put down her pen and
stood up. The other nurse on duty, Vanessa, had just stepped out to
deliver a patient's file to the doctor. Aubrey was the only one
holding the fort, but there was nothing much to do at this time so
she used the downtime to catch up on her paperwork.

Aubrey poked her head past
the pillar and caught sight of the doctor's back. She recognized the
doctor. Dr. Faizel worked in the hospital's research department.
She had only seen him once or twice in his lab when she had been
asked to deliver some files to him. Dr. Faizel worked with test
tubes and microscopes. His work was in research, discovering new
strains of viruses and bacteria and coming up with vaccines and
antidotes for diseases and venoms.

Dr. Faizel didn't see
patients. He didn't have to make his rounds, and he was always
stationed in his lab.

Just what was he doing in her
ward? There were no patients on this floor that needed any cutting
edge vaccine to battle some mysterious, unheard of affliction.

Aubrey's ward housed patients
who were simply recuperating from small, minor surgeries. They
usually went home after a day or two. Her patients were usually
cheerful and alert, and she liked chatting and joking with them as
she gave them their pain medication and antibiotic injections. Their
stay in her ward was usually short and uneventful, and they would go
home on time and without incident.

Aubrey moved soundlessly and
peeked down the corridor. Dr. Faizel was looking furtively over his
shoulder as he hurried into one of the rooms.

Aubrey's frown deepened.

She knew who was in that
room. Luke Keller was just here to fix a fractured leg. The young
police officer had broken his leg during a game of basketball with
his buddies. The good-natured, good-looking twenty-nine-year-old was
a hit with all the nurses. He was cheerful and witty, and he flirted
shamelessly with all the ladies. Except for his broken leg, the guy
was in the pink of health and he would very likely be going home
tomorrow.

Dr. Faizel disappeared into
Luke's room and Aubrey tiptoed after him. After a few steps, she
straightened up and walked normally. Why was she tiptoeing and
sneaking around her own ward? Unconsciously, she was mimicking Dr.
Faizel's stealthy, shifty manner.

Nevertheless, she kept her
footsteps light and silent as she quickened her pace. She just had a
feeling that something was going to happen if she didn't move fast
enough. Something bad.

Quietly, she sneaked into
Luke's room and saw that the curtains had been drawn around his bed,
shielding him off from her view. There was no reason for the
curtains to be drawn. The patient wasn't being cleaned and changed,
and the doctor wasn't examining the patient's wound.

And Dr. Faizel wasn't even
his doctor! He had no business here at all.

Something was going on.

Aubrey clenched her fists.
She wouldn't let anything untoward happen to her patients. Not on
her watch.

Aubrey stepped forward and
drew the curtains back sharply.

She gasped and demanded,
“W-what...are you doing, doctor?”

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Dr. Faizel was bending over a
sleeping Luke and he smiled at her as he straightened up. The
doctor's hand moved swiftly to his coat pocket, but Aubrey thought
she saw an empty syringe in his palm.

“Dr. Faizel.”
Aubrey cleared her throat and said in a stronger voice, “What
are you doing with the patient, doctor? May I help you?”

Dr. Faizel merely gave her a
thin smile as he squinted at her name tag. “No, I do not
require your assistance, Nurse Williams.”

With a nod, he began to brush
past her.

Aubrey spun round. “What
do you have in your pocket?”

It wasn't her place to
question a doctor. It could cost her her job, but to heck with it.
She had a duty to her patients. They trusted her. She wouldn't just
keep quiet and let this strange, suspicious-looking doctor waltz in
and out of her patient's room. She stood her ground and waited for
his answer.

Dr. Faizel raised a brow at
her. “Is it any of your concern, nurse?”

“Yes. Yes it is.”
She swallowed then blurted out, “I saw you stick a syringe
into my patient.”

“A syringe,” Dr.
Faizel said slowly. “Ah yes.”

So he wasn't going to deny
it.

“I carry a lot of
syringes. I need to collect samples for my research.” He put
his hand into his pocket and withdrew a handful of empty syringes.
“I have the hospital's authority and permission. The patients
have all signed their consent in their admission forms.”

Aubrey bit her lip. Despite
his cool explanation, she still felt that something wasn't quite
right.

“If...if what you said
is true,” she persisted. “Then why are all the syringes
empty? You didn't collect any samples, did you, doctor?”

His smile twisted into a
scowl. “I was about to when you came barging into the room.
You startled me, and I almost broke the needle in the patient's arm,”
he said accusingly.

Aubrey opened her mouth to
argue, but the doctor pushed past her impatiently. “I need to
get back to the lab. Don't you have work to do, Nurse Williams?”

She whirled round but Dr.
Faizel was gone.

Rubbing down the goose
pimples on her arms, she hurried over to Luke's bedside to check on
him. The young man appeared to be sleeping soundly. He hadn't been
disturbed by their raised voices.

She thought of shaking him
awake, just to make sure he really was okay, but decided against it.
The man hadn't been sleeping well the past few nights. Hospitals
weren't the most comfortable places and everyone slept best in their
own beds.

If Luke could finally catch
some sleep, she should let him rest.

Aubrey turned back to look at
Luke Keller one last time before leaving his room.

As she walked slowly back to
the counter, she debated whether or not to go track down Dr. Faizel
and confront him.

Did he do something to Luke?

Should she go and tell
another doctor what she had seen?

But what had she seen
exactly?

Dr. Faizel bending over a
patient. That's all.

Would she accuse him of some
wrongdoing when she had no proof? Who would believe her? It was her
word against his, and...she could be mistaken.

Luke looked so peaceful and
comfortable. He didn't look like he had been disturbed at all. He
was snoring gently, his breathing soft and steady.

Her colleague, Vanessa, came
strolling back into the ward with a grin. “Guess what I
heard?”

“Huh?”

“You'd never guess who
Dr. Yong is dating!”

Even as Vanessa began to ply
her with the latest gossip that was circulating round the hospital,
Aubrey couldn't help worrying about Luke Keller.

“Can you go check on
Luke?” Aubrey asked suddenly, cutting Vanessa off mid-sentence.

“Why?” Vanessa
looked confused. “He was sleeping the last time I checked on
him, which was just...” She glanced at her watch. “...not
twenty minutes ago.”

“Please.”

Vanessa gave Aubrey a curious
look but obliged. Vanessa emerged from Luke's room with a shrug.

“I told you he's
sleeping. Still is. What's the matter with you, Aubrey? Did that
playboy say something to you?”

Aubrey's eyes rounded but
Vanessa continued, “Luke hits on all the nurses. He's a pretty
face, charming, cheeky, a real heartbreaker. Some of the foolish,
young nurses have developed mega crushes on him.” Vanessa
harrumphed loudly. “Don't tell me you're one of them, Aubrey.
You're not smitten with a pretty boy, are you?”

Aubrey shook her head mutely.
No, she wasn't smitten.

Not with Luke anyway.

She had given her body and
heart to another man. She had tried hard not to think about Thor the
whole day, and she'd almost succeeded. Almost.

Aubrey shook her head again
and wrenched her focus back to the situation at hand.

This wasn't about her.

There was something else at
play here. She didn't know what Dr. Faizel had done to Luke.

A shiver slithered down her
spine.

She felt afraid...for Luke.

The young man was in danger.
But what kind of danger?

Aubrey grabbed Vanessa's
hands and whispered, “Please, help me keep an eye on Luke.
Something's going to happen to him.”

“Aubrey...”
Vanessa stared at her in bewilderment and concern. “What are
you talking about? What's gotten into you? Are you all right? You
don't look too...”

Aubrey squeezed her friend's
hand and said fervently, “Just...watch over him. Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay. Of
course.” Vanessa eyed her worriedly. “You haven't had
your lunch, right? Why don't you go get yourself a cup of coffee and
something to eat at the canteen? Go!” Vanessa shooed her off,
hustling her towards the lift lobby. “Tsk! You need to
refuel. A hungry, cranky nurse never did anyone any good.”

“I'm not cranky...”
Aubrey protested as Vanessa pushed her into the lift.

As the lift door closed, she
heard Vanessa's retort. “Paranoid then.”

CHAPTER
NINE

Thor removed his shades and
saw the plainclothes policewoman start when she saw his strange,
mismatched blue and green eyes. He'd heard some people describe his
eyes as eerie and freakish.