by Vella Day
“You want to throw in the towel on this murder?” Kalan asked Dalton.
Dalton moved his computer to the side of his desk, so his partner’s face wouldn’t be blocked. “Not yet, but I’m close. You know how Smythe hates it when we have a case go cold.”
They never gave up on a murder case, unless they were positive a Changeling was involved. While they had arrested a few of the slimy bastards in the past, it was difficult to prove their guilt. Wolves didn’t leave human fingerprints.
Dalton’s cell rang, and he checked the caller ID. “It’s Merry Wilson,” he told his partner. Dalton answered. “Hey, Merry.”
“You said I should keep my eyes and ears open for anything strange going on.”
He sat up straighter. “I did. What did you see or hear?”
“I was putting away some books on one of the shelves, when Tom must have had the same idea because he was on the other side. A few seconds later, Linda joined him. I couldn’t see them, but Linda asked Tom out for this weekend.”
That wasn’t all that newsworthy. She’d previously told him that she and Tom were an item despite comments to the contrary. “What did he say?”
“First, I heard Linda grunt in pain, as if Tom had grabbed her. He told her to leave him alone or he’d get a restraining order against her.”
Dalton’s pulse spiked as he scribbled some notes. “Do you mind if I put you on speaker? Kalan Murdoch is sitting next to me.”
“No, I don’t mind.”
“What did Linda do?” Dalton asked.
“She whimpered a bit then asked why he would do something like that after all she’d done for him.”
Dalton wondered what that meant. “And what did Tom say?”
“I couldn’t hear the rest. Either he was whispering or he’d walked off.”
That conversation gave him another reason to continue the surveillance. “Thank you, Merry. That was helpful. Stay safe.”
“I will.”
Once he discontinued, he looked over at Kalan. “What do you think?”
“Isn’t Sam watching Linda?”
“He hasn’t been for the last three days. She didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, so Connor pulled him, saying he had something else for his new recruit to do.”
Kalan tapped the desk and stood. “I guess you have your work cut out for you.”
“What about you? Don’t you think you should watch Tom?”
“He’s the victim here. I’m going to spend my time on the husband. I still think either he, or Julie Dominick is good for it.”
“Suit yourself.”
Because both Tom and Linda would be at work for two more hours, he wanted to take advantage of his free time by checking in on Anna. Tonight would be another long evening, and he wasn’t sure he could keep away from his mate until then.
The Blooms of Hope shop was only a few blocks away, so Dalton decided to take advantage of the warm summer day and walk over. Once he arrived, he looked in the window, not wanting to disturb Anna should she be with a customer. Only Elana was visible. Hopefully, Anna was in the back and not out on some errand. Dalton pushed open the front door, and the intense scent of flowers enveloped him. Even with the rich scent in the air, he could still make out Anna’s delicate signature, and he swallowed a smile.
Elana looked up and grinned. “She’s in the back.”
“Thanks.”
As he stepped through the opening to the back, he debated closing the door, but then figured if they had any privacy, he’d want to make love with her. This visit was about discussing a big step for him, not getting his rocks off—though that would be nice too.
Anna set down her scissors and practically skipped over to him. She threw her arms around his neck, and his tiger roared. “Hello stranger. What brings you here?” she asked.
“Can’t a man just stop by to see his mate?” He whispered the last word even though Elana was one. The customer with her was not.
“He sure can.” Anna stood on her tiptoes, and when she kissed him, his bones cracked and hair sprouted on his face. Damn.
Dalton enjoyed a few more seconds of wondrous kissing before stepping back. “We can’t get started ’cause I won’t be able to stop if we do.”
“Spoilsport.” Anna hopped up on a clean corner of the table and looked cute up there.
“I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo,” he announced, positive she’d be happy with his new revelation. Anna would believe she’d influenced him—and she’d be right. Before meeting her, Dalton never would have considered getting one.
“For real?” Sparks shot off her arms.
“Yes.”
“What will you get? A serpent or maybe a sheriff’s badge?”
He hadn’t considered anything like that. “I want it to represent you, so I’m going to get a turquoise rose tattooed right here.” He pointed to the area right below his shoulder.
She jumped down off the table. “That means so much to me. In fact, I’ve been contemplating getting something too.”
“What would that be?”
“Hold on.” She stepped behind the counter to the desk where her purse sat on top and fished out a photograph. “Merry, or I guess I should say Mom, gave me this picture of my father. I thought I’d have his face tattooed on my arm between my roses.”
“Will it fit?”
“I might only have room for a partial face, but I’ll know it’s him. I’m also going to add one more thing, but I’ll show it to you when I get it. When do you want to go?”
He laughed. She was spontaneous. “Can they do a tattoo in two hours? It’s all the time I have.”
“I bet it can be done, but the problem is that there isn’t a tattoo artist in Silver Lake. We’d have to go to Andersonville.”
He cupped her shoulders then drew her to his chest. “Can I take a rain check? I have to work late tonight.”
She leaned back, looked up at him, and stuck out her tongue. “Sure, but you owe me one.”
“Trust me, when I get you alone, I’ll give you all the orgasms you want.”
She punched him in the chest, but he barely felt it. Goddess but he was one lucky man.
After he gave Anna a thorough kissing, he walked back to the station. Because it might be a long evening, he stopped at the Silver Lake Café for a burger to-go along with a large coffee. If Kalan was going to check on Carlton Wedgewood and Julie Dominick, Dalton should be able to touch base with Tom DeLuca and Linda Darnell. Neither would be off work for a while, so it would give him the chance to find a good vantage point in which to study them.
Dalton had already looked up the make, model, and year of the cars they drove, so he would be able to tell if they were home. Merry said they both got off work at five, while she and Ed stayed until seven.
Dalton had already figured out the best spot for watching Linda, but he hadn’t even seen Tom’s place, so that needed to be his first stop. Turns out Tom lived about five miles from the town center in a Craftsman style home. Without a garage, he’d be easy to spot if he’d returned home from work early. Dalton’s plan was to watch Tom for a bit then head over to Linda’s place.
He wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to go out with some girls for the evening to blow off some steam after her less than pleasant interaction with Tom. Jillian had told him that women liked to talk about their men problems when they were together.
Dalton enjoyed his burger in peace but rationed his coffee, anticipating a long night. A few minutes before five, Tom pulled into his drive, catching Dalton off guard since the man’s shift wasn’t up for another few minutes. Perhaps tomorrow he’d call Merry and ask her what happened.
Tom jumped out of his car and raced into his house. Something must be important for him to rush inside like that. Dalton leaned back, ready for a long and boring evening—or would it be? Dalton had the camera ready to snap a photo of Tom should he leave.
Come to think of it, it was always possible that Tom’s rebuff had upset Linda so much that sh
e’d show up to talk with him. That was wishful thinking because Dalton always enjoyed a little action.
Dalton thought back to Ed Santaria’s comment about Tom desiring Crystal. Clearly, it didn’t mattered to him that she was married. If he’d been the killer type though, Tom would have offed Crystal’s husband and not the woman he loved. Then again, he might have been of the mindset that if he couldn’t have Crystal, no one should be able to have her. Shit. This was more complicated than a soap opera—not that he’d ever watched one.
About a half hour into his watch, another car turned down the road that matched the description of Linda’s vehicle. This stakeout suddenly turned more intriguing. She pulled into Tom’s drive, got out, and slammed the car door. Like Tom, she appeared to be in a hurry, striding up the steps and ringing the bell repeatedly. Not even waiting a few seconds for Tom to answer, she pounded on the door then shouted his name. This wasn’t looking good for dear old Tom.
The door opened, but Dalton couldn’t see who answered, though no one else but Tom seemed to be inside. She must have convinced this person to invite her in, because seconds later she stepped inside. Dalton took a few photos of her car parked in the street, but because of the angle of where Dalton was parked, her license plate number wasn’t in view. If he needed proof that Linda had been at Tom’s house, he had to get a shot that included the plate.
Being in his civilian clothes, Dalton felt at ease walking down the street. As long as he didn’t move too close to the house and kept his face averted, he doubted they’d even notice him. He eased out of his SUV and casually walked down the street. When he reached her car from across the street, he zoomed in and snapped a few pictures.
Just as he turned back around, shouts sounded from inside the house and Dalton’s animal clawed at him, begging for release. The last thing anyone needed was for someone to see a white tiger to be running loose in a suburban neighborhood. Had it not been for his shifter abilities, he doubted he’d have heard their voices. Too bad he couldn’t understand what was being said.
Stay hidden, he commanded his tiger. Ever since those last two fights, his tiger had been antsy to run free. The white moon would occur in a few days, and Dalton had promised him his freedom then.
What sounded like a gunshot suddenly rang out, jerking him out of his musings. The front door to Tom’s house slammed opened and Linda rushed out, heading straight for her car.
“Hey, Linda!” Dalton called, trying to pretend he just happened to be in the area.
She froze. Her eyes widened and then her body stiffened. Sticking her hand in her purse, she withdrew a weapon. Well shit. “Don’t come any closer,” she warned.
Well, that wasn’t going to happen. Dalton was a little pissed that his spare piece was snug in his glove compartment, but he could handle her without it. Shifting, however, wasn’t an option for many reasons. Primarily, he didn’t think he needed to. According to Anna, she’d watched Linda practice at the range, and while she had good form, Linda’s aim wasn’t all that precise. Secondly, he didn’t want to be the one to break the news to the world about his kind.
Dalton watched her body language as he eased closer. His mind spun with possibilities. Had Linda just shot Tom? Dalton wasn’t one to jump to conclusions, as it was equally possible, Tom had shot at her but missed.
The best way to find out was to ask her. “Did Tom just threaten you?” he asked holding up his hands.
“Threaten me? No.” She glanced over her shoulder then returned her gaze to him.
“Interesting. I thought I heard a gunshot. Did you shoot Tom?”
She lifted her weapon and aimed it at him. Dalton could disarm her before she blinked, but he wasn’t willing to chance anyone might be watching. “Linda, you don’t want to do this. Put down the gun.” With his hands still raised, he moved closer, noting the increase in her respiration. Her arms shook and her gaze turned wild. Please don’t do anything else stupid, like shoot a cop.
“I can’t do that. You don’t understand. Don’t come any closer.” She waved the gun at him. Like that would help?
Dalton stopped. “Try me. I’m a good listener.”
He glanced at the picture window, hoping Tom was watching and not dead.
“Is that so? You want to listen to my tale of woe?”
“I do.” Dalton wasn’t sure if keeping her talking was a good idea. He hadn’t called for backup and he needed to check on Tom, but if by telling her story she’d let down her guard, he’d listen.
“All right I’ll tell you what that SOB did to me. He promised me we’d live in a cabin in the woods, so I moved to Silver Lake to be with him. I even gave up a good career as an office manager. Working at a bookstore as a flunky sure as hell was not my dream job, but I took it—for him. And what did Tom do? He dumped me for Crystal. A fucking married woman!”
It didn’t matter if she had a valid reason for being angry. Shooting someone was never the answer. “Not all relationships work out.” What am I doing? He’d been trained to agree with her. “But to lure you here and then dismiss you is terrible.”
She looked back at the house. “You got that right.”
“It didn’t matter to him that Crystal was married?” Dalton asked, sounding outraged. That question wasn’t an act.
“I know, right? I told him it was wrong, but did he listen? No.”
The puzzle pieces were falling into place. “You were right to leave him.” Not that she said she had; quite the opposite. From what Merry had told him, it appeared as if Linda wanted to get back with Tom, only he didn’t want to be with her.
“Damn straight. Even after that bitch died, did Tom come back? No.” Tears were streaming down her cheek, and Dalton doubted Linda could see straight enough to shoot him.
Slowly, the front door opened an inch, but Dalton kept his focus on Linda. “Did you kill Crystal? I mean if you did, you had every right. She stole your man.” That was a crock of shit, but in Linda’s frame of mind, it was what she wanted to hear.
“Damn straight. She wasn’t even sorry she was a cheater and stole Tom from me.”
The front door opened another foot and Tom appeared on his knees with one hand on his stomach. He was bleeding profusely. “You bitch,” he growled.
Linda spun around, lifted her weapon, and got off a shot. Before Dalton could talk either of them down, Tom raised a gun and fired, hitting Linda squarely in the chest. Her weapon clattered to the ground, and then she dropped to her knees. Tom groaned, let go of his gun, and slumped against the door. From the way his eyes were closed and his arms dangled by his side, he’d passed out.
With the threats neutralized, Dalton called 911 for two ambulances. He rushed to Tom to assess his damage. As he passed Linda, he kicked her gun into the grass. “Don’t even think about touching it.”
She didn’t respond. In fact, from the way her eyes were rolling back in her head and how she was swaying, she had no intention or ability to move. “Help me,” she whispered, blood dripping from her mouth.
“Tom first.”
Once at the man’s side, Dalton lifted his shirt off his back, bent down and rolled Tom over. He then pressed his shirt against the wound to stem the blood flow. Tom opened his eyes. “She shot me.”
“I can see that,” Dalton said. “Did she say why?”
His face turned even whiter. That wasn’t good. “She was jealous of me and Crystal. Bitch killed her too.”
“Save your energy. The ambulance is on its way.”
Tom grunted and passed out again. Damn. Needing to check on Linda, Dalton rolled Tom onto his side, hoping that position would help keep pressure on the wound.
Dalton then rushed to Linda whose face was on the cement with her eyes open. He placed two fingers on her carotid artery and felt for a pulse but detected nothing.
Sirens sounded in the background, and relief rushed through him. He could only hope Tom made it. He might be immoral, but at least he wasn’t a killer.
Chapter Twenty-Four
‡
Anna was nervous. The white moon shone brightly in the clear, dark sky, which meant tonight would be the night she would become a tiger, and she couldn’t wait. Dalton claimed it was rather easy to shift, but she wasn’t as convinced. Elana had told her how her brother, Brian, had tried a ton of times and had failed. Apparently, Anna had seen him shift for the first time when he’d rushed in to save Jillian. From what she’d learned, it was only because his mate had been injured that his protective instincts had allowed him to enact the change the first time.
“Don’t worry,” Dalton said. “You’ll do fine.” He picked up his car keys and led her outside.
“Elana said it was fun and easy, but her brother really struggled.”
Dalton cupped her shoulders, and his delicious scent helped calm her. “You’re a free spirit. You have no mental barricades. Besides, you believe in shifters while Brian didn’t think he was one, so he blocked out his abilities.”
“I was lucky. I was able to watch you and Jillian in your tiger forms.”
“Ready?”
“I guess.” The first shift had to be on a white moon, so it wasn’t as if she could ask to try tomorrow.
“I have the perfect place,” Dalton said with more excitement than he’d shown since he’d found out Linda Darnell had killed Crystal out of jealousy.
Anna hopped in his SUV and rolled down the windows. She loved this time of year. The days were warm but the nights cool. “Do you think we’ll be alone? I don’t want to run into any other animals.”
He smiled. “Even if you did, where we’re going, they will be friendly shifters.”
She’d take his word for it. When he headed toward Elana’s house, she became confused. “Why are we going here? I thought this area was only for the Clan members.”
He grinned. “That’s true, but I am a Clan member now.”
Even though he was driving, she grabbed his arm. “What do you mean? I thought you shied away from any group.”
“That was before I outed myself as a tiger—or rather before I had to shift to keep those wolves from killing you and the others. I always believed that the wolves and bears wouldn’t accept me for being different, but I was wrong. Rye personally invited me to join them. He said that a shifter was a shifter. It never mattered to them what kind of animal I was.”
