LustUndone (22 page)

“And yet two hospital technicians are murdered with
twenty-four hours. You don’t think that’s odd?”

“I think this maniac is choosing his victims at random.
These two don’t appear to have any connection to Franklin.”

“My point exactly.” She clenched her fists. “Why are you
being so stubborn about this? You’re a good detective. You usually look at
every angle.”

“But I don’t usually have killings this vicious,” he
snapped. “I just don’t believe anyone around here would do this. I know these
people.”

“Do you mind if I do a little digging myself?” She wasn’t
about to let this go. Her gut instinct was telling her there was more to be
found here.

“You aren’t on the force anymore,” he pointed out. “You have
no official status.”

“Then let me have Rebecca. We always worked well together.
Please, Bobby. Half a day. That’s all I ask. Have someone pull the background
on Warren and Howard for me so I can review everything and Bec and I will go
ask some questions. What can you lose except half a day? And what if we’re
right?”

“Jesus.” He blew out a breath. “You’re as much of a pain in
the ass as you always were. All right. I’m sure you’ll give me no peace
otherwise. I’ll call the barracks and have someone get the info together for
you. And I’ll send Bec to you as soon as we’re done here.”

“Thank you.”

“Does this mean no snowmobiles?” he asked.

“Not at the moment. But Logan and I still need to do what’s
necessary before the devil beast attacks someone else. If it follows its usual
pattern we can expect two more kills in a short period of time.”

“We could use your help in that area, too, Bobby,” Logan
interjected.

“Yeah?” Bobby cocked an eyebrow. “Like how?”

“It would be a really big help if you ask the sheriff to
have his deputies patrol some of the areas I’ll show you on the map. We could
use eyes at night.”

“And what am I supposed to tell them? To look for some
mythical evil creature?”

“Just tell them to report anything unusual they see. If
you’re right and we’re wrong, then it gives you extra eyes looking for a raving
maniac who’s hacking up the population of Aroostook County.”

“Logan and I always have our cell phones on,” Sophia added.
“If they find anything we can be there very quickly.”

Maybe Clint will run at night with Logan again. We’ll use
the little radios the guys hang around their necks when they run as wolves, so
we can communicate with them.

Bobby turned up his jacket collar. “That’s not a bad idea.
I’d already planned to talk to the sheriff about this, anyway. He ought to be
able to help us out. Except for our sudden spate of dead bodies the crime rate
here is pretty low.”

“Thank you.” Sophia dredged up a smile. “I’ll have Logan
take me back to the barracks. If you could have someone get me the background
information on the Warrens and Bradley Howard I’d appreciate it. Friends,
relatives, all that stuff. We’ll start at the hospital with their coworkers.”
She paused. “And at the end of the day when everyone’s back, you let me put up
the comparison pictures on the big screen in the conference room.”

“Shit. Anything else? Want me to assign the whole team to
you?”

Sophia bit back her retort. “I truly appreciate everything
you’ve done, Bobby.”

Rebecca walked back to the car with them.

“I don’t know why Bobby’s being so stubborn,” she said.
“Except I think he’s having a hard time with the fact that someone he knows
might be killing in this fashion.”

“If he can get the deputies to patrol at night for us it
will be a big help. Cut down the territory we have to cover.”

Rebecca looked at Logan. “Will you be helping with the
questioning, too?”

He looked at Sophia. “I think I have some other things to
do.”

Bec frowned. “Like what? Are you going out on the snowmobile
by yourself?”

“Not exactly.” He looked at Sophia again.

“I’ll tell you what, Bec,” she told her sister. “Bobby said
you could meet me back at the barracks when you’re through here.”

“To work on this with you.”

“Then come find me wherever I am. Before I get out and start
talking to people, we’ll go catch a cup of coffee somewhere and have a little
discussion.”

“About what?” She looked from one to the other with a
puzzled expression.

“About…stuff. Okay? But right now I want to get going.”

She hugged her sister deliberately to end the conversation
and climbed into the SUV with Logan.

“You planning to tell her about me?” he asked as soon as
they pulled out onto the highway.

“I think it’s best. Don’t you?” When he didn’t answer, she
added, “Don’t worry. She won’t freak.”

He snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“
I
didn’t, did I? Plus, she totally believes in the
Chupacabra and that’s an even bigger stretch.” When he was silent she added,
“Logan, I see the way you look at her. If you ever plan to move further with
her she has to know all about you.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Just…do it carefully. Okay?”

Sophia laughed. “Trust me on this, okay? I know my sister.”

Logan dropped her at the barracks. “I’m going back to the
motel.”

“You going to shift and scout the territory?”

He nodded. “We’re missing something but I’m damned if I know
what. I’m also going to call Ric and ask him to send the helicopter up here.
We’ve needed it the last couple of times and I’m sure this will be no
exception. I’d like to have it here by tonight.”

“Wear your radio when you run, in case I need to contact
you.”

“Will do.”

“Good luck.”

Greg Flannery was waiting for her in the lobby.

“Bobby called and told me what’s going on. And that he’s
loaning Rebecca to you.”

“You’re good with that, right?”

He looked at her carefully. “I usually don’t get involved
with my lead detectives unless I think it’s necessary, but your instincts
always made you a top investigator when you were in the CID. So I’m good with
this. Maybe you’ll pick up on something that will help us. Come on, I’ve got
you set up in the conference room.” He walked her down the hall. “I saw your
partner drop you off. If you need a vehicle just holler.”

“Actually, I’m hoping to steal Rebecca when she gets back
here, if that’s all right with you. We sort of share the same abilities and can
blend with each other.”

“No problem. Remember, she’s assigned to you as long as
you’re here.” He paused. “I guess your partner’s off working on your particular
dog and pony show. And we’re going to ask the deputies to keep an eye out for
whatever it is you think you’re looking for?”

They were at the conference room now. Sophia hung her jacket
over the back of a chair and dropped her purse on the table.

“I know you think it’s a bunch of woo-woo stuff, but I have
a lot of stuff to back it up. Plus, I think if I can show your detectives the
comparisons of the bodies they’ll understand what I mean about the
differences.”

“As long as we catch whoever this is, you can bring in
witch-hunters for all I care.” When she opened her mouth to argue he held up a
hand. “The room’s yours. There’s a folder with all the information you asked
for and a phone if you don’t want to use your cell. I’ll leave you to it.”

For the next hour Sophia poured over the printouts in the
folder in front of her. Whoever had put it together had been very thorough.
There were pages of information on the Warrens and Bradley Howard—families,
friends, jobs. There was also information on Darrell Franklin which gave Sophia
a small chuckle. Bobby wasn’t giving up so easily. Twice someone came by to
bring her fresh coffee and she smiled at them gratefully.

By the time Rebecca arrived she’d read everything twice and
made notes. An idea was forming in the back of her head but she wanted to
interview some people before she spouted it to anyone but her sister.

“Ready for some coffee besides that foul stuff they brew
here?”

Sophia closed the folder. “Actually I think I’d like a nice
sticky bun with it, too. We missed breakfast this morning.”

“And I have just the place. There’s a new coffee shop that
opened up last year. Cool Beans. They have all kinds of imported coffees as
well as pastries to die for.”

Sophia lifted an eyebrow. “And the owners are making a go of
it here?”

Bec laughed. “We’re actually not as backwoods as we used to
be,” she told her sister. “We even use silverware and napkins sometimes.”

Sophia gave her a light pinch on the arm, slid her arms into
her jacket and picked up her purse and the folder. “Then let’s go.”

Cool Beans was a stand-alone building at the corner of the
parking lot in a big shopping mall. It was built like a log cabin but with wide
picture windows on three sides. Inside Sophia inhaled the heady fragrance of
freshly ground coffee beans and pastries right out of the oven. She ordered her
favorite, a mocha latte, but when she saw the huge chocolate-chip, banana-nut
muffins she ditched the sticky bun for one of those.

The booths were arranged along the window walls and they
were lucky enough to find one in a corner. When they were settled with their
drinks and food, Rebecca look across the table and said, “Okay. Give.”

Sophia took her time organizing her thoughts, stirring her
coffee with the plastic stick they’d stuck in it. Trying to find the right
words. The right opening.

“What can be so bad you can’t just blurt it out?” Bec asked.
“We’re sisters. We’ve always told each other everything.”

“Well.” Sophia took a small sip of the hot liquid. “There
are actually a few things I
haven’t
been quite up front about.”

“Like what? Come on. Give.”

“I know you’re a very accepting person,” she began. “You
didn’t even balk when I discovered the information about the Chupacabra, which
surprised me. You can’t imagine how difficult it is to convince people there’s
actually a creature out there that’s a hybrid of many animals and who knows
what. And that it might be breeding and reproducing.”

“If you’re not from the southwestern part of the country and
haven’t had firsthand experience with it, it’s a stretch. I agree. But you know
I’ve always had a fascination with the supernatural, anyway.”

Sophia took another sip. “And a good thing. Because that’s
part of what I have to tell you.” She looked at her sister. “I’ve told you a
lot about this group I’m part of, the Night Seekers, whose only purpose is to
hunt and destroy this devil beast.”

Rebecca nodded.

Sophia bit off a piece of muffin and chewed it slowly. “What
I didn’t tell you is that all of them except for Dante Martello and me are shapeshifters.
They’re part wolf.”

Bec’s eyes widened. “Are you shitting me? For real?” She
laughed. “Ohmigod! I must own half the books written about them.”

“Get out of here. You do?”

“Uh-huh.” Rebecca leaned across the table. “When the twins
were killed I began studying all the legends I could find about people and
animals who could assume other forms. I actually took a couple of courses
online about that particular paranormal aspect.”

Sophia laughed. “I told Logan you wouldn’t freak. I didn’t
realize how excited you’d actually be. Wait until I tell him. He’ll never
believe it.”

“If you accepted it why would it bother me? We think a lot
alike. Look at the world in very similar fashions.”

“I know, I know. It’s just…” Sophia spread out her hands.
“It’s not something that comes up in everyday conversation. But I should have
just trusted my instincts.”

She stared at Sophia. “So, you discussed this with Logan?
Wait. You said only you and Dante were pure human. So this means that Logan is
a shifter.”

“Yes. It does. Like I said, he was very uneasy about me
telling you.”

“I can imagine.” She bit into the flaky pastry on her plate
and chewed slowly. “Mmm. They do make the very best goodies in here. Okay. So
what color is he?”

“Color?”

“As a wolf. Everything I read said the genetic code for the
human part of the shifter determines the color of his or her coat.”

“Oh.” Sophia was still trying to assimilate the fact that
Rebecca was taking this all so calmly. “Dark brown. Almost a sable color.”

“Have you ever, you know, seen any of them actually shift?”

“Yes. But the men are actually a little reticent about it
because they have to get naked to do it.”

Rebecca’s eyes sparkled. “You think Logan would let me see
him get naked and shift?”

“Maybe after we’re finished here. I see the way the two of
you look at each other.”

Bec’s face sobered. “Not that it could go anywhere. I’m here
and he’s going back to Texas.”

“Let’s worry about that when the time comes. The reason I
told you now is because he’s going to head for the woods behind the motel and
shift so he can try to track the devil beast. He can cover a lot of territory
when he runs as wolf. Shifters have incredible speed.”

“I still want to see him, but okay. Let’s get down to the
business at hand.” She pointed to the folder. “What did you come up with?”

“If Bobby and the others hadn’t been so fixated on the
serial killer angle they’d have locked onto it themselves.” She opened the
folder. “Elaine Warren and Bradley Howard both work at the hospital. She’s in
the pharmacy, he works in X-ray. How farfetched is it to think the two of them
hooked up and Harland Warren discovered it?”

“And killed them?”

“What better place than to bury two murders than in the
rumors of a homicidal maniac? I want to know a little more about him. His
personality. And I want to talk to Elaine’s and Bradley’s coworkers at the
hospital.”

“Then let’s get going. If you’re right and these are human
kills, it means the Chupacabra still has to feed its lust and is about to hit
prey number two.”