by Carmen Fox
I dabbed at my face, which felt moist despite my grease-proof foundation. Since I didn’t have a mother or a slew of girlfriends to guide me, growing up surrounded by men had left me trailing in many respects. Making the best of my looks was only one example.
“How are you holding up?” I asked once the server had taken our order. “I’m sorry I couldn’t bring Raven back alive.”
Sable considered me through clear, blue eyes. “From what I hear, she died months ago. There’s nothing you could have done.”
She was consoling me. Yeah, Sable was a class act.
“But it’s hard,” she said. “We’d always meet up when I visited. To think I’ll never see her again, yeah, that stings.”
“I can imagine.” I waited a second to let a mother calm her noisy child. “What can you tell me about Cody, Raven’s boyfriend?”
“Nothing.” Sable leaned back and lifted her hands off the table while her food was placed in front of her. “Raven and I were close once, but after school, we lost each other a little bit. I got to pursue my dreams, whereas she...”
“She wasn’t allowed to.” I picked up my greasy double-bacon burger and bit off a huge chunk.
My usually disciplined diet had taken a severe knock since I arrived. In the absence of regular meals, my diet had largely consisted of cookies, fast food and caffeine.
Sable removed the top bun from her burger and picked at the remains with a fork. “You’ve met her parents then?”
“Yeah. Good people but strict.”
“Exactly. All of Raven’s dreams ended the day her father told her she was going to work in the bakery with him.” She put down her fork and gave me a wide-eyed look. “I gotta wonder, would she still be alive if she’d attended music school?”
“How do you feel about Raven dating a human?”
“Cody?” She shrugged. “I’m surprised. From what I remember, he wasn’t her type. To be honest, I thought she was only into werewolves.”
“What was her type?” I raised my voice to make myself heard over a discussion in the booth behind us.
Sable cocked her head for a second and licked her ruby lips. “Earthen. Basic. Cody had always been a poser, but maybe he’d changed.”
I frowned. “Do you know if Raven and Buck ever hit it off?”
She dropped her fork and covered her mouth with her hand. “You’re kidding. Right?”
I lifted my eyebrows. “Not a bit. I’m wondering if she could have been seeing anyone else.”
“On the side? Definitely not Buck. Don’t get me wrong. He’s helpful, but you always get the feeling he’s looking at your breasts from behind those sunglasses. You know?”
She hadn’t dismissed the idea of Raven two-timing Cody.
As I suspected, Sable knew a different side to Raven. “You don’t like him?”
“I don’t know. Jonah relies on him, so you don’t want to speak out of turn, but between us, no.” She lightly touched her napkin to the corner of her mouth. “Creepy Crawley Bug, is what Raven called him. When her brother was still alive, Buck was always hanging around our group. Hanging out, but never belonging.”
Somehow, that made me sad for Buck. Trying so hard to find friends, only for two clueless teenage girls to ridicule him.
Then again, he probably killed Raven, so I wasn’t going to waste a lot of time feeling sorry for the man.
“If Buck wasn’t Raven’s type, who might have been?” I nudged the plate away and patted my bulging stomach.
“As I said, she liked reliable guys. Solid.” Sable used her napkin to collect the crumbs from the table. “Someone who wouldn’t hurt her. Mister Perfect, if you believe in such a thing.”
“Does anyone?” I coughed the second I said it, because what used to be true now sounded hollow.
“Don’t tell anyone, but when we were younger, we crushed on Drake and Leo.” Sable laughed, her head tilted back. “We spent hours devising plans to ensnare them into our happy endings. Who can blame us? Protectors are strong and hulky, and of course influential. Who wouldn’t get with that?”
There she was, the flirtatious Sable Leo had talked about. She owned every syllable of her words, without a hint of helpless woman I so often saw in my own kind.
I grinned. “I hear ya.”
“I crushed on Leo big time.” She raised her right hand to show off a sparkly ring. “But I married a protector of another pack. Major, he’s called. It was love at first sight. We nearly took the Moon Promise, mainly because his parents advised us that we should, but in the end we opted for a modern wedding. We wanted to celebrate with friends and family, not sneak off into the woods by ourselves.”
“Good for you.” I eyed her ring. Expensive cars I understood. Also a nice pair of boots or a condo with a killer view, but jewelry had never been my thing. “So, um, you were into Leo, but not Drake?”
I balled my hand around a grease-covered napkin. If she gave the wrong answer, how could I still look Drake in the eyes? As long as I remained in the Triangle, he was supposed to be my fling.
“You find it’s usually an either or with Leo and Drake.” She patted her chest. “I was camp Leo.”
The breath I’d been holding broke free, and a smile returned to my face.
“Oh, I must go. Sorry.” She snapped her fingers for the check. “By the way, Raven was into Drake.”
My heart stopped for a moment. “She was?”
“Yes.” She looked at me with knowing eyes. “But if you’re thinking he was her mystery man, no way.”
She shook her head with determination, and each motion dialed back my panic level. Raven and I had had a lot in common, and a similar taste in men shouldn’t have been a surprise.
“Okay,” I said. “Good to know.”
Sable held out her credit card to the server, then leaned toward me. “Raven wasn’t stupid. She and Drake were completely mismatched. That became crystal clear when they dated. Total car crash.”
The rattle of the diner and the punters’ voices closed around me into a ball of noise. Drake and Raven. Could Sable be right? But he would have told me. Someone would have mentioned it. Her parents. Or Jonah. Leo would have said something for sure.
While I went through the motions of thanking Sable, I felt the tremble in my hand, heard the jitter in my voice, yet was unable to get a grip. Despite my years of talking to people with secrets, this one had slipped through undetected. Why not tell me, though? To get me into bed?
Outside the diner, I found a bench and sat, because my legs refused to operate. The town blurred before my eyes. For Drake’s sake I wished that sex was his only reason for pulling the wool over my eyes. Because if it wasn’t, if he had a different motive, I might have just uncovered another suspect in Raven’s killing.
Twenty-one
“Jonah’s asking to see you,” Leo said over the phone. “Where are you?”
I blinked to clear my vision, letting the parked vehicles and hedges form a picture. “Joe’s BBQ.”
“I know the place. Be right there.”
For a while I continued to stare at my cell phone. If Jonah wanted to speak to me, something was up. Had Drake found Buck? If so, my job here may be done. Right now, I’d be okay with that outcome. I’d been looking for a way to disconnect from Drake, and Sable had delivered it.
He’d withheld vital information from me. If Buck hadn’t messaged Jonah and confessed to talking to the cops, Drake would be my prime suspect. But Buck had known where the body was buried. What’s more, Drake wasn’t the murdering type. He certainly wouldn’t harm his best friend’s sister.
Leo rolled into the parking lot ten minutes later. I climbed into the sedan and gave him a sad smile. The energy for more enthusiasm simply wasn’t in me right now.
“What’s so urgent?” I pressed deep into the seat. “Everything okay?”
“Jonah is going to tell you himself, but everything isn’t okay.” His voice sounded strangled.
In my self-absorption, I hadn’
t even noticed his hunched shoulders and tense jaw. A fine investigator I made.
“You can tell me.” I lifted my smile a little.
He exhaled sharply. “Jonah’s world is falling apart, so please, let me be the one person he can still rely on.”
“I assume Drake hasn’t been much help with this whole Buck situation. Have you heard from him?”
Because I hadn’t.
“You could say that again.” He gave a bitter laugh, quickly wiped away by a somber expression. “And no, he hasn’t been in touch.”
I stared at the pretty buildings that made up the Triangle. Hadn’t I predicted eerie secrets lurked behind that perfect appearance?
“I talked to Sable today.” I fumbled with the map holder inside the door. “She told me that Drake and Raven once dated. Did you know that?”
Even with my gaze averted I felt his sideways glance.
“No. Wow.” He shook his head. “When?”
“A while ago. Still, you would have thought he’d mention it.”
“Probably thought Jonah wouldn’t let him near the investigation.” His tone dipped. “Sounds about right.”
The last few minutes of the drive remained silent, made less awkward only by the pensive song of a singer whose name I couldn’t recall.
Once Leo had parked next to the empty spot where Drake usually kept his pickup, we went inside. Jonah’s voice traveled the distance to the entrance—and he was pissed. I didn’t blame him. The mess he was trying to clean up was partly mine. I was the one who’d insisted on keeping Raven’s death a secret. I was the one who’d failed to suspect Buck despite his record.
“You’d better wait here.” Leo raised a warning hand, reflected in the hall mirrors like a bad omen, and stepped away.
“Hang on.” I pulled him back by the hem of his T-shirt. “Is Liza here? I need to speak with her.”
If Jonah was about to kick me out of his town, this might be my last chance to gather first-hand memories about my mother.
“Who?” Leo frowned. “No, Liza’s no longer employed here. Handed in her notice and left just when Jonah needs all the support he can get.”
Leo hurried into Jonah’s office while his alpha was still mid-rant.
I fell against an empty spot of wall and bumped my head against the hard surface. Why had Liza left? What kind of guide deserted her charge before passing on any information? Without her, my so-called personal journey was over, at least as far as this town was concerned. I could check out the rituals Liza had pushed so hard in Wildbach, where the Royal Library held more werewolf-centric books than Natalie’s.
Leo appeared and beckoned me with his hand. Jonah was no longer shouting, which I took as a good sign, yet I steeled myself for a formidable display of dominance.
“Have a seat,” Jonah demanded.
I slowly approached the table, crammed with paper, coffee or tea mugs, and a cell phone. “If this is about—”
“Sit down.” His haggard face hung pale over pulsating jaw bones as he stood in front of me.
Being the alpha was a blast when things were going well, but right now, I didn’t envy him his position.
“Early today, the police found Buck’s body.” Jonah supported his arms on the table and fixed his gaze on me. “Have you heard from Drake?”
“What?” A rush of noise pumped inside my ears. “No. Why?”
“Drake is close to Raven’s family. If he’s on a revenge trip...” He pushed himself up and paced along the length of the table and back again. “I’m supposed to be the alpha and I’ve lost control. One of mine is killed right under my nose by someone I considered loyal, and now one of my protectors has gone rogue.”
“Maybe it was an accident, and Drake didn’t mean to do it.” I straightened, even though my body wanted to shrink and disappear into a hole. “Or more likely, it wasn’t Drake at all.”
“Then where the fuck is he?”
If only I knew. I missed his solid presence. If he were here now, he’d bring order to chaos, calm Jonah the hell down, and start tackling the issues.
Worse, wherever he was hunting, he was alone. Either he was still tracking Buck, or he had Buck’s killer in his sights. Suspects were plentiful.
Raven’s father could have taken revenge. Despite being significantly older than Buck, Pike would have years of experience, his natural werewolf power and the might of his wrath. A lethal combination.
Cody, too, would have been motivated to take Buck out, although a human pitched against a werewolf would have resulted in a different outcome.
Not that Jonah seemed in the right frame of mind to listen to reason, at least not until he settled down.
“If Drake really did kill Buck, didn’t he have good reason?” I tried to overshadow my pleading tone with a confident posture. “I’m not saying he should have undermined your authority, but a slip like that is understandable, right?”
Drake didn’t slip up, and that alone was proof enough he hadn’t taken out Buck.
Leo’s face was shuttered, making it clear I should expect no help from him. No matter what happened, he’d take Jonah’s side, even if it meant throwing Drake out with the trash.
“At this point we know jack.” Jonah ran his hand through his hair, while his eyes darted around the room. “I’m not condemning his actions, but why hasn’t he checked in? Yesterday he messaged me to say he thinks Buck killed Raven, but offered no proof. Today? Not a word from him.”
“Buck had no way of knowing where the body was buried.” I kept my chin up, keeping my shakes under lock and key. “Only the three of us and the murderer were familiar with the precise location. Not even you knew enough, except that she was buried in the woods by Lake Marvin.”
“Okay. That makes sense.” He looked at me. “Why did Drake go after him by himself? Leo could have helped him bring Buck in safely.”
“For once, his swift departure had nothing to do with a lack of confidence in Leo’s skills.” I smiled at Leo. “Drake figured Buck would have gone into hiding. After all, no one had seen him for a while. Drake’s training as a hunter just kicked in. We agreed I’d work above ground, talk to Sable, interview the people who knew Buck, while Drake would work underground.”
Of course we’d also decided to keep in touch, which Drake had so far failed to do.
“What’s the point?” Leo asked. “You just said, Buck had to be the killer. Why would you still be working the case?”
“Because legally, we have nothing. A well-founded suspicion is circumstantial at best.” I tapped the table. “I don’t close a case unless I have proof.”
“Buck would have never seen the inside of a court room.” Leo’s grim expression shadowed his face. “Jonah would have passed judgement, and Drake or I would have executed it.”
“No, Kensi is right.” Jonah fell into his chair, as if his legs could no longer carry their burden. “I’d have asked for proof before sentencing one of my own to death. I still can’t believe Buck killed Raven. Why?”
“I spent a lot of time pondering that.” I crossed my legs at the ankles and leaned forward to place a comforting hand on Jonah’s arm. An impudence at any other time, but it simply wasn’t in me to ignore his emotional struggle. “Did you know the cops have received a couple of complaints about Buck’s behavior toward young women?”
“Human women who led Buck on and then cried assault when he showed interest.” Jonah’s brows furrowed. “We looked into that. These women made up the whole thing just to get him into trouble.”
I scratched my temple. “What if—”
“I’m not saying this because they are human and Buck is a werewolf. They’d planned the whole thing. Drake found evidence to that effect, presented it to me, and we threatened to go public unless they withdrew their allegations. They would have been in serious trouble, but Buck just wanted the sorry affair kept quiet.”
Once again, Buck was revealed as a victim. The taunts, the cruelty he had to endure, the pain would have scarr
ed him. Too many times I’d been teased with an offer of friendship, only to end up locked in a closet or left stranded on a highway. Why did people have nothing better to do than punish others only so they could feel better about themselves?
“Creepy Crawley Bug is what Raven used to call Buck.” I covered my mouth, overcome by a sense of kinship with the man I’d hardly known. “Do you think he could have killed Raven in a fit of rage? It would explain a lot. He’d have thought he could outrun his mistake, but when I turned up and started digging—at the exact spot where he’d left her—he knew the game was up. Feeling guilty, he disappeared. At least Raven would find peace now. She’d get a funeral, and her friends and family could finally mourn her.”
Jonah crossed his arms and chewed his bottom lip.
Leo stepped forward. “And when we didn’t announce our discovery, Buck forced the issue and called the police himself.”
Jonah slowly rose from his chair. “It’s possible. Hell, I don’t know if I should feel sorry for the guy or hate him for what he’s done.”
The cell phone on his desk rang, the vibrations running up my arms and giving me goosebumps.
He raised a finger and answered. “Yes.”
Leo and I exchanged glances, but neither of us was willing to give voice to our thoughts. Not that I’d be able anyway. My investigations were usually clear-cut. Someone had gone missing—I tracked them down. A company was hacked—I kept a nerd squad on retainer for exactly that purpose.
I should have known that throwing werewolves into the mix would ruin my success rate. Had my presence in town even been a positive thing? Raven was no longer missing thanks to me, but my sleuthing had led to a second death. Drake had disappeared, and so had Liza, and I had no clue how Jonah rated my performance.
“Christ, are you sure?” Jonah once again sagged into his chair, his face grayer than before. “Fuck.”
I leaned forward. It looked like the crap fest wasn’t over yet.
