Lunacy (Blood Trails Book 13), page 9
“You better go alone,” Edwin said. “There’s bound to be a few lone wolves here, and they won’t talk if I’m with you.”
“How do you know there are lone wolves here?” I asked.
Edwin shrugged. “Lone wolves usually choose that life because their human half doesn’t like everything that comes with being part of a pack. But their wolves will always crave the closeness of their own kind. You’d be surprised how many lone wolves end up living in apartment complexes full of other lone wolves.”
“How would they know you’re not a lone wolf too?” Peasblossom asked.
“They might not. But a lot of wolves can tell. Pack wolves have a security that lone wolves don’t, and it shows. It’s sort of like being able to tell what kind of neighborhood someone grew up in based on their body language when they walk down the street at night, or whether or not they always lock their car.”
I filed that information away and left Edwin to keep looking around Tom’s apartment while I went to knock on his neighbor’s door. Scath padded after me, and when I moved to the first door next to Tom’s, she snorted and shook her head. I raised my eyebrows as she walked down two doors and stopped. Waiting.
“Oh.” I abandoned the first door and moved to the one where Scath was sitting. “You can smell which apartments have someone in them, can’t you?”
Scath just stared at me.
I ignored her judgment and, with Bizbee’s help, retrieved a picture of Howard from the file in my waist pouch so I’d have it ready when the first neighbor answered.
I spoke to two neighbors before I found a shifter. Even without Scath’s huffed warning, I would have known he was a shifter as soon as he opened the door. Warm energy flowed over me, snapping against my skin here and there. I remembered what Kristine had told me, about that energy meaning the shifter was unmated. I still didn’t know why I could feel it, since I wasn’t a shifter, but as long as the large brunet in front of me didn’t know I could feel it, there was no reason things had to get awkward…
“Hi, my name is Shade Renard, and I’m looking for Tom Morton. He lives in 6D? Have you seen him, Mr…?”
The man in front of me leaned forward, his nostrils flaring. “Why are you looking for him?”
Scath’s tail lashed from side to side. She was wearing her dog glamour, but that didn’t stop me from feeling the weight of that sinewy black tail thwacking against my leg. The lone wolf looked down at her and leaned farther forward, drawing in her scent with a deep breath. Not a subtle man, this one.
“Feline?” he asked.
“I’m looking for Tom because I have to ask him a few questions.” I held up Howard’s picture. “I’m hoping Tom can help me find this man. Howard Tudor. Mr…?”
“Reeves.” He frowned at the picture. “Haven’t seen him. Or Tom. But I haven’t been home long.” He narrowed his eyes. “You’re not a shifter.” He nodded down at Scath. “And she’s no wolf. But you smell like one of those New Moon wolves.”
“I’ve talked to a lot of people today, trying to find Tom,” I said easily. I paused. “How do you know what New Moon wolves smell like?”
Reeves snorted. “You’re not going to get any information on Tom from pack wolves. Tom hated pack wolves.”
He didn’t answer my question about how he knew what New Moon wolves smelled like.
“Don’t all lone wolves hate pack wolves?” Peasblossom asked.
Reeves jerked back, head swiveling side to side as he searched for the source of Peasblossom’s voice.
I wiggled the picture of Howard at him. “This man was attacked by a shifter. A lone wolf. I have reason to believe he’s seeking revenge, and I need to find him. Tom knows him, and I’m really hoping he can help me. If you have any idea where Tom might be…?”
Reeves considered me for a long moment, then shrugged his beefy shoulders, making the worn grey tank top straining to hold in his upper body rise and fall with the motion. “I haven’t seen him. Sorry.”
“Thanks for talking to me.”
I could feel Reeves’ eyes follow me as I walked down the hallway to the next door, but when I stopped to knock, I glanced over and found he’d vanished back inside his apartment.
This time, I used my Cinderella spells before I knocked, cleaning off any trace of Edwin or New Moon. I wasn’t sure if smelling like them had made Reeves more reticent to speak to me, but there was no sense taking the risk.
Unfortunately, it didn’t do me any good. Only four other neighbors in the entire hallway answered their doors, and only two of them were shifters.
And none of them had any information about Tom.
I returned to Edwin and he read my results on my face.
“No luck?”
“No.” I brushed my hair behind one ear and sighed. “You were right about there being a lot of lone wolves here, though. The first one was friendly enough, but the last two wouldn’t say a word. Which is odd, because after the first one, I made sure they couldn’t smell you or New Moon on me, so you’d think they’d be more likely to talk, not less.”
“Lone wolves aren’t trusting, it’s the nature of the beast,” Edwin said, shrugging.
“Was that a dad joke?” Peasblossom demanded.
I pulled out my cell phone and called Liam. “No luck here,” I said as soon as he answered. “Has Sonar found Howard yet?”
“No,” Liam said. “And we haven’t had any luck searching traffic cameras. Either he’s somewhere without cameras, or he’s putting more effort into going unseen.”
His voice was tight, and I could imagine what his energy would feel like if I were there. Hot and biting, like too much electricity. I winced.
“We’re going to head to the Rusty Cuffs again,” I told Liam. “Tom hung out there a lot, I want to talk to the bartender. There’s a chance Tom might have let something slip about other friends who might help him.”
“Help him what?” Liam asked, his voice distracted as if someone were trying to get his attention.
“Well, you said he might be putting more effort into going unseen. Maybe he borrowed someone else’s vehicle.”
“Maybe. I have to go, let me know if you find anything.”
Edwin’s face didn’t give away much in the way of his emotions, but I knew he’d heard Liam. And I was equally certain the stress in the alpha’s voice had been as clear to him as it had to me.
“We should hurry,” Edwin said softly.
Chapter 8
“I think it would be better if you wait in the car,” I told Edwin, feeling my pulse pick up as I pulled the keys out of the ignition.
The dark-skinned werewolf rubbed the scarred skin around his eye as he stared ahead at the Rusty Cuffs. The bar looked slightly more ominous than it had earlier, now that the sun was setting, and the shadows were getting longer. I watched the shifter scan the crowded parking lot before moving on to the mill of bodies inside that could be seen through the front window.
“Bars are like apartment buildings when it comes to lone wolves—they congregate whether they intend to or not. Things can get violent real quick.” He eyed the sign over the door. “Is this a cop bar?”
“I don’t know.” I gestured toward the backseat with my head. “But Scath is coming with me, so you don’t need to worry.”
“You think she’s enough muscle for a bar full of wolves?”
I did, actually, but mostly because Scath wasn’t just any shifter—she was sidhe. But despite Edwin’s unbelievably cooperative attitude, I didn’t fool myself into thinking he’d forgotten the incident a few months ago when Scath bit Liam and took him out for the better part of a day. And in that light, I didn’t think discussing Scath’s more powerful aspects was a great idea.
“Scath can shadow walk,” I said instead. “If things get bad, she can get me out of there.”
“If things get dangerous, will you run?” Edwin asked.
He was looking at me now, giving me his undivided attention. I had the unsettling impression this was an “establish threat level” question.
“I never hurt people if there’s another option,” I said, opting for brutal honesty. “There’s a balance to be had in maintaining a reputation strong enough to discourage people from attacking me or my loved ones, and not using violence when a nonviolent alternative is available.” I frowned. “It’s a point of contention between me and Mr. Valencia.”
Edwin’s eyebrows twitched up at my mention of the leannan sidhe. Before he could voice the question I could feel coming, I held up a hand.
“Edwin, you’ve been cooperative and kind. And I believe you have the best interests of the Rocky River pack at heart. Liam’s best interests. If you’d like to ask me questions, I’ll answer them as best I can. Perhaps on the drive back to New Moon?”
Edwin took the hint. “Okay. I’ll give you thirty minutes. If you don’t check in, I’ll come inside. Stay by the window as much as you can.”
I agreed and got out of the car. I turned to open the backseat door for Scath, but the feline sidhe didn’t turn to face the door. I blinked in shock as she rose to all fours, then lowered her head to the seat. A shudder ran through her furred body as she shifted to human form, her change the sort of nightmare-fuel that would have kept me up for a week if I hadn’t seen it so many times already. Edwin watched her violent transformation with an unreadable expression on his face, making him eligible for a Poker Face of the Year award.
After taking a moment to recover her breath, Scath dressed in the simple tunic and leggings I kept in the backseat for her. Her breathing was only slightly labored by the time she climbed out of the car, combing through her messy short hair with one hand while the other smoothed down the tunic.
“What’s happening, why aren’t we moving?” Peasblossom wriggled out from under my coat just enough to peek out. “Why are you human? Are you going to ask questions?” She paused, and I could practically see her pink eyes narrowing. “If she gets to ask questions, I want to ask questions too.”
“Not going in there looking like a police dog,” Scath said, her voice scratchy from being in feline form for so long. “Not when it’s that busy.”
“Makes sense,” I said slowly. It didn’t, not really. Not when she’d been in dog form the last time we’d gone inside. I didn’t see what the place being more crowded had to do with what form she took. But I wanted to encourage Scath to take human form more often anyway, so I didn’t argue.
The smell of musk enveloped me as we entered the bar, confirming that there were a lot of shifters there. I didn’t usually pick up the smell that easily, but when you had a few dozen packed into a poorly ventilated area, it didn’t take a shifter’s senses to register the smell of fur that lingered on a shifter’s skin. Then there was the fact that as soon as we entered, at least a dozen of the people in the room turned to face us, nostrils flaring. Some were more subtle than others, but none of them seemed set on hiding their interest.
There were a few humans, and one or two of them turned to leer at Scath in her form fitting clothes and mussed hair, but one look from her discouraged anything more. I couldn’t feel Scath’s energy the way I could feel Liam’s, but for some reason, it did make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when she stood closer to me.
The shifters met her eyes without looking away, watching us as we approached the bar.
I waited for the bartender to finish with his current customer and come over to me, then held up Tom’s picture. “I was here talking to this man earlier today. When was the last time you saw him in here?”
“Popular guy,” the bartender observed. “Lot of people looking for him. But no one wants to say why.”
“A friend of his was murdered.” I leaned forward. “That’s what I came to tell him earlier.”
The bartender nodded slowly. “I remember. So why are you looking for him again?”
“I’ve learned a few things since then that make me think he might be in danger too,” I lied. “Like you said, there are a lot of people looking for him right now. I need to find him first to warn him.”
“Tom’s a big boy,” the bartender said, grabbing a glass to wipe it down with a ragged but clean towel. “He can take care of himself.”
“The people looking for him are big boys too. And there’s more of them. If you could tell me anything, friends he has, someone who might have given him a ride, or a place to hang out. I’m not sure if he knows people are after him, he could be trying to lay low.”
The bartender turned away like he wasn’t going to answer, then paused. He looked back at me, looking me up and down before giving the same treatment to Scath. I expected Scath to give him the same death-glare she gave most other people, but for once the sidhe woman seemed to attempt nonchalance. Or at least, seem less like she was here to kill someone.
He nodded toward a table in the corner. “I haven’t seen Tom since he was in here when you talked to him. But before he left, he talked to that fellow over there. Green shirt. He’s newish, been in the area a few months. Doesn’t cause trouble. He might talk to you.”
“Thank you.” I pulled out one of my cards. “If you do see Tom, could you give him my card and ask him to contact me? I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”
Another weird look from the bartender, but then another patron called for his attention and he left.
I left my card on the bar and turned to the man he’d indicated, noticing he was already watching me. For all I knew, he’d heard the bartender point him out. He was a good-looking man, in a rough sort of way. He looked like maybe he spent a lot of time in the woods, even when he was in human form. The five o’ clock shadow that traveled down his neck tricked my eyes into thinking his skin was dirty, and as I crossed the room to speak to him, there was something about the way his green eyes watched me from under long, messy brown hair that unsettled me.
“Hi, my name is Shade. I’m looking for Tom.” I held up the picture. “I was told you spoke to him earlier, Mr…?”
“Call me Nate.” He nodded to the two empty chairs at his table. “Sit down.”
He gave the command with the easy air of someone confident that I wanted the information bad enough to do as he said. He was right.
Scath took the chair that gave her the best view of the room, and I took the chair facing the window where I could see Edwin still seated in my car twenty yards away.
“I heard you talking to Leslie,” Nate said. “You think Tom is in danger?”
I filed away the information that the bartender’s name was Leslie. “I do. What was it he wanted to talk to you about earlier?”
Nate reached for his beer, touching the glass with his fingertips without making any move to take a drink. “Who are you?”
Nate was a shifter, and he’d hear my pulse, know I was eager to find out what he knew. There was no point hiding my impatience. “My name is Shade, and I’m a private investigator. I was looking into the murder of a friend of Tom’s, and I have reason to believe Tom is in danger now too. It’s important that I find him as quickly as possible.”
“What are you?” Nate asked, his eyes never leaving mine.
Manners were not Nate's strong suit.
“I’ve answered a lot of questions,” I said evenly. “Our relationship is starting to feel uneven.”
The corner of Nate's mouth quirked up. “Tom was asking about an alpha that was rumored to be visiting New Moon—guy called Cormac. Some people are saying he’s Osbourne’s daddy. I used to live in the town just outside the border of Cormac’s territory and Tom wanted to know what I knew about him.”
My heart pounded. Tom was asking about Liam’s father? Why? “What did he want to know? Specifically?”
Nate pulled his mug of beer closer. “Wanted to know if Cormac had earned his reputation. Osbourne senior is well known for having a zero tolerance policy when it comes to lone wolves in his territory. Tom wondered if maybe he extended that policy to his son’s territory as well.”
I stared at him, my brain furiously putting together the pieces of the puzzle, not liking the image starting to appear. “Tom thought Cormac killed Dustin?”
Tom had known about Howard’s surveillance of New Moon. At least, if that’s what he’d been referring to when he’d told me to check out Howard’s apartment. Maybe Tom wasn’t after Howard for revenge. Maybe he thought Howard was a witness.
I leaned forward. “How did you know Cormac was coming into town?”
Nate snorted. “An alpha like that goes on the move, lone wolves know about it. Hell, everyone knows about it. You can bet your ass every alpha in a fifty mile radius could tell you where he is at any given point in time. Everyone keeps an eye on wolves like Cormac.”
“He’s that bad?”
Nate's face grew serious. “You know how he got his second wife?”
“Magda?” I asked. “I heard it was an arranged marriage. Not very common, but not unheard of. But what I’m really interested in is finding Tom. Do you have any idea where he might have gone? Was he going to talk to Cormac?”
“Magda’s family were mountain folk, very closed community, hunt-for-your-dinner sort of people,” Nate said, ignoring my question. “Not a high tolerance for monsters.” He closed his hand around his beer. “Then Magda was bit. And when she turned, her family turned on her. Almost killed her, but then they decided to use her as bait. Figured a female monster was likely to attract male monsters. They killed four before Cormac found her.”
“Cormac saved her?” That definitely wasn’t where I’d thought the story was going.
“That’s not what I’d call it. The only wolves her family managed to kill were lone wolves. Cormac’s pack didn’t roam alone, and they figured out pretty quick what her family was up to. So Cormac gathers his pack, and they all go to pay Magda’s family a visit in human form.”
“What did they do?” I asked around the sudden lump in my throat.
Nate wrinkled his nose, genuine disgust twisting his face. “Made a deal with them. Said he’d let them live—let them go on killing lone wolves as much as they liked. Cormac could make that call, since technically it was his territory, and as far as the Vanguard is concerned, any lone wolf who trespassed was his to deal with as he saw fit—either himself or by proxy. But in return for his leniency, Cormac told them they had to give him Magda. See, Cormac was fine with her family killing the lone wolves. Saved him the effort. What he wanted was a woman he could control. A wife. I guess Liam’s mother was a little too forward thinking for old Cormac, a little too independent. Left a bad taste in his mouth, even after she died. Apparently, he decided he’d get a proper little submissive wife next time. So he gives Magda an ultimatum. Marry him, and he’ll let her join his pack. Betray him, or piss him off in any way, and she goes back to her family.”
