“Ok,” Huw tried not to look annoyed, “where did the wolf come from? Indeed, can we confirm that it is a wolf?”
“Yes, more than forty witnesses all said it was a wolf. There are very few theories as to where it came from, but I think the most likely one is that an irresponsible person bought the wolf as a pup and has released it into the wild.”
“I thought that wolves were scared of humans?”
“Yes, in places like America and Canada, wolves have learnt to be scared of humans – they tend to shoot them – but if, indeed this wolf was brought up in a human household it would not have that fear.”
“But wolf attacks on humans are very rare?”
“Yes, indeed they are, Huw. That is the reason some think it was a pack, rather than a lone wolf.”
“What have the police said?”
“Nothing official yet, Huw. Several officers are believed to have been witnesses to their colleagues’ deaths and are being interviewed as we speak. We expect an official announcement soon, but it might not happen until morning.”
“Thank you very much, James, we will hear more from this story I’m sure.”
“Yes, indeed we will. Thank you Huw. Thank you.”
4
“He had the same name as you.”
“Huh?”
“The reporter. Same name as you.”
Wilson looked at Katie, bewildered. Of all the things in that report, why fix on that?
“He said ‘indeed’ a lot. Do you do that?”
He didn’t reply, just watched as tears rolled down her cheeks. She wasn’t sobbing, just crying. Silent tears, his mother had always called it, when you’re just too tired to cry properly.
“Jack’s dead isn’t he?”
“You don’t know that Katie.”
“Yes he is and yes I do. He’s dead.”
“A body hasn’t been found yet.” He hated the words as soon as they came out, it just sounded so cold. A body. That was her husband.
“No.”
“Until they find a body there is hope.”
“You don’t really believe that do you?”
Back at training, all those years ago, they had always advised stretching the truth if it kept witnesses or victims on side. Not lying, stretching the truth.
“No. I’m sorry, Mrs Stadler.”
She nodded once, the motion splashing tears onto her sleeping son. “I think you should go now.”
Wilson also nodded once and without another word he left. He stepped into the street, relishing the fresh air. The house had felt like a morgue. Fine misty rain fell, changing the street, making it look like it was in soft focus in a bad film. A car drove slowly past, two pale men looking at him as they passed. There was something familiar about both men, but he couldn’t place them for a second. The car stopped a few doors down.
“Back to Barnstaple,” he muttered and started to trudge back to his car. He had the keys in the ignition when he realised where he’d seen the men before. Coincidence? Not many police believed in coincidences. He got out of his car and walked back down the street.
Chapter 19
1
“He’s not dead,” Alex said. The Pack fell silent so they could hear him speak. Steve regarded him with cool eyes.
“I saw it with my own eyes Alex.”
Anton stayed quiet: grief had rendered the big man almost incapable of rational thought. Almost.
“Then you are mistaken.”
Steve gritted his teeth. “He was hit by over thirty bullets. Nothing-”
“He’s not dead.”
Steve sighed. This was going to be difficult. Alex, as befitted his alpha status, was the largest of the men in the pack. He had dark shoulder length hair and Mediterranean olive skin. Steve thought he looked like the hero on the cover of an awful romantic novel, a look Alex had cultivated without irony.
Alex stood now and surveyed the clearing. Steve and Anton stood to one side, with the others sat on either the ground or a fallen tree trunk. Three women: Sophie, Alex’s mate, glowered at the other two as if they were responsible for Lucy’s death. Her long dark hair matched Alex’s and her blue eyes shone with intelligence. She was the oldest of the female wolves and the most beautiful. Steve had to admit they looked good together. He had tried with her a long time ago, and he sometimes still heard her shrill laughter. Such hatred with such beauty. Not uncommon.
The other two were twin sisters, both turned at the same time. Amy was the slightly shorter and prettier, Louise the more fun. Steve had tried with both of them too and failed. Amy now had her arm around Anton. She didn’t waste any time. The remaining two were recent additions but Steve hadn’t made his mind up about them yet. He hadn’t bothered to learn their names either.
“Our latest member, Jack, is still alive.” Alex grinned at them all, perfect teeth glinting in the moonlight. The soft rain had settled on his hair like dew. All he needs is a billowing white shirt open to his waist.
“Not possible,” Steve said.
“He is special, Steve. He is like the old ones.”
Silence greeted the remark. Steve sighed and Alex glared at him. They’d been here before and it had ended in tears then.
“Why do you always think that?”
“I don’t, but this time I am right.”
“Like Berlin?”
Alex scowled. Sophie hissed at Steve. He smiled at them both.
“Berlin was-” Alex paused, searching for the right word. “-disappointing.”
“We agree on something then.”
Alex punched him, and Steve fell to the floor. Louise gasped and Amy hugged Anton harder. Alex jumped on him and put an arm across his neck.
“Remember your place old man, or we’ll see how you do on your own,” he whispered in Steve’s ear. He stood and let the older man get to his feet. Steve kept his head down as he stood. Give respect now, but your time is coming. Oh yes.
“We will find Jack Stadler now,” Alex said. “He has been taken to Huntleigh. We can be there within an hour if we go now.”
“And we will kill him!” Anton roared.
“No,” Alex said, and gave Anton one of his special smiles. “We will worship him.”
2
Wilson stepped into the shadows as a short man came out of the house and went to the smart looking BMW. He caught a glimpse of something pale as the man shut the boot. His breath caught in his mouth. The man looked up at the sound and stopped for a moment, looking up and down the street. The car beeped twice and amber light filled the street for a moment. Wilson pressed himself further into the shadows. The man went back into the house.
Wilson let out a long breath. He hadn’t seen that man before, but he was with the two soldiers from the hospital. What are you looking for James? He asked himself for the second time that night.
He crept closer to the BMW. Nice. Roughly two years’ salary. If he owned one, he wouldn’t be driving it round country lanes in Devon. He also wouldn’t have a dead body in the boot. And he definitely wouldn’t have a headless woman there.
He took his phone out of his pocket and hit speed dial 1. He had reflected many times on the fact that his work was the first number in his phone. Must get out more.
“It’s James Wilson here. I need back up urgently to Park Place, Huntleigh.”
“That’s not great timing James. Have you seen the news?” The dispatch officer sounded harassed.
“Yeah, that’s my case. I think I have a related thing here.”
“Explain.”
“Two suspects interviewed in the hospital have just left their car in Huntleigh with a body in the boot.”
“Jesus.”
“Yep. How soon for back up?”
“Half hour. Hopefully sooner. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Wilson hung up and then inspected the house: from the outside it looked like the Stadlers’, two downstairs windows facing the street and a front door. He hunched over and walked to the windows. A TV sat agai
nst one wall, with a large fireplace next to it. The room was almost identical to the one he had just sat in. He crept along to the other window and peered around the edge of the wall.
He was just in time to see a man get shot twice in the chest.
3
Knowles opened the boot with a sick feeling in his stomach. Stadler was still unconscious and the woman was still dead. And headless. Knowles felt much calmer on seeing that, even though he knew it was absurd.
Jones appeared next to him. “Can we just get this done?”
They lifted Stadler out of the boot and carried him into the house. They put him on a kitchen chair and Carruthers started to tie him up. Scarlet went outside, locked the car with a nervous look up and down the street. Satisfied no one had seen anything he went back inside.
“Any news on Meyers?” Knowles asked Carruthers.
The big man shook his head. “It didn’t look good.”
“Giant spiders, huh?”
Carruthers nodded this time. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”
“It was fucked up,” Scarlet said.
“Trust us, you ain’t seen shit,” Jones muttered. “Is he tied up?”
Carruthers gave Jones a look. Don’t question me.
“Check him carefully,” Knowles said.
“He’s tied up,” Carruthers said, with more than a little impatience.
“I gave you an order.”
Carruthers muttered something that neither Knowles nor Jones caught, but he checked the binding all the same. It was tight enough to be digging into Stadler’s wrists.
“How much of that sleep drug have you got left?”
“Enough to stop a herd of stampeding elephants.”
“Go get it.”
“How much?”
Knowles looked at him like it was obvious: “All of it.”
Carruthers left to get it. Scarlet clapped his hands together, the sudden noise making everyone jump.
“I need a beer after all that.” He took three bottles out of the fridge and opened them all. He handed them out and then took a long sip from his. He opened a fourth when he heard Carruthers footsteps on the stairs.
“Sit down, lads.” Knowles pointed at the sofas. He waited until they were all seated. He stood next to Stadler, the spray sleeping drug in his hand.
“Ok, gentlemen, we’ve all been through a lot together, so you need to trust me here. Jonesey can back me up too.” It was his turn to take a long drag on the beer. “We saw Stadler turn into a wolf tonight.”
“Fuck off!” Scarlet exclaimed. Jones and Knowles just stared at him. “Ah, shit.”
“We knew something was off about this op from the start, lads, and we’ve just discovered it. We don’t know if brass knew this, but no matter, we now have to get him back to base. Suggestions?”
“Sarge, seriously, come on,” Scarlet said.
“It’s true, mate,” Jones whispered. “I saw it too.”
“So the other body in the boot?”
“He ate her head.”
Scarlet went very pale. “You are fucking kidding? Oh, you’re not. Oh shit.”
“She was one of them too.”
“One of what?” Carruthers demanded. “What are you talking about? You taken crack?”
Knowles laughed, but it lacked mirth. “I wish. Seriously.”
Silence settled on them until it was broken by Scarlet. “This is too much, I’m off to bed. For fuck’s sake you two, this is a really bad joke. There’s a woman in the boot of that car without a fucking head and all you can do is wind us up.”
“We’re not joking.”
“I saw him didn’t I?” Carruthers said, his calm voice filling the room. “When I planted the bugs, the dog that chased me. It wasn’t a dog, it was him.”
“Yeah,” Knowles answered.
“I knew I recognised the smell.”
They all jumped and turned. Jones had his gun out before he even realised what he was doing. Stadler was looking at them with cold eyes. Given the circumstances, he looked very calm. Jones took a fresh ammo clip from the table and slid it into place, then took aim at Stadler.
“In the pub. I said I recognised you.” He looked straight at Carruthers. “It was because I knew how you smelled.” He started crying. “What is happening to me? How can I recognise you by smell?”
“You don’t know?” Knowles asked, surprise creasing his forehead.
“Put the gun down, Jonesey,” Carruthers said.
“I’m a wolf aren’t I?”
Knowles and Jones exchanged nervous looks.
“Please. I just want to see my wife and son.”
“You’ve killed many people, Stadler.” The pleading in his voice is possibly the most pathetic thing I’ve ever heard. “We can’t let you see them.”
“Who are you people?” This voice was deeper, no hint of a plea. The tears had stopped, like someone had turned off the tap.
“We’re the army. We were sent to watch you.”
“Did you do this to me?” Again, very deep.
“Jonesey, your gun. Put it away.”
Knowles shook his head once. “We didn’t know anything about you a week ago.”
“How do you do that with your voice?” Scarlet asked.
“This started a couple of days ago.” Stadler started crying again. “Jesus, only a couple of days ago. I have a son.” His voice was high pitched now, broken by sobs.
“You’ve killed people you sick fuck,” Jones snarled.
“What? I-”
“You bit a fucking woman’s head off,” Jones shouted. “And she wasn’t a fucking woman, she was like you, all fucking wrong”.
Before he really knew what he was doing, he fired his gun twice. Two bullets hit Jack square in the chest.
4
“What did you do that for?” Carruthers roared.
Jones stayed quiet for a moment. “Just watch.” All trace of anger had dissipated now.
“We don’t shoot our prisoners,” Carruthers said. “Put your gun away.”
“No,” Jones said and stared at the bigger man. His lips were a thin line of defiance. “I’m never putting a gun down again.”
A huge crash rang through the house before anything else could happen.
“Armed police! Drop your weapons!” a man shouted. He ran into the room, holding a dark shape before him. Knowles caught his arm as he came through the door and spun him quickly. The man cried out and fell to his knees. Knowles kept hold of his arm as he fell and used it to lever the man fully to the floor. He let go of the dark shape and it rolled to a stop by Scarlet’s feet.
“Torch,” he said, picking it up.
“Who are you?” Knowles growled, and then got a good look at the man’s face. “Oh, shit.” He let him go and stepped back. The other man jumped to his feet and drew his fist back.
“Don’t,” Knowles said. “Lads, this is Detective Wilson.”
Wilson turned to Jones. His eyes flicked to the gun. “You are under arrest for the murder of this man. You have-”
“He’s not dead.”
Wilson, Carruthers and Scarlet all looked at Jones with disbelief on their faces.
“Detective, this is Jack Stadler. I believe you are looking for him,” Knowles said, gesturing at the man in the chair. Blood had dripped and splattered onto the lino underneath the chair.
“And you shot him.” Wilson said, still alternating between the gun and Jones but his voice was stronger this time. “I have backup on the way. You won’t get away with this – I saw you shoot him.”
He heard a sound a little like the dull thud when coins drop onto lino. He turned to the noise – it had come from near Jack. He saw something glinting under the chair and it hadn’t been there a moment before. A movement drew his eyes to Jack. As he watched, the holes in his stomach seemed to shrink until they weren’t there anymore. No scars, no marks at all.
Jack opened his eyes. He threw back his head
and screamed. Sweat poured out of every pore and his muscles strained against the bindings. He started rocking the chair back and forth, screaming all the while.
Knowles reacted first. He grabbed Wilson and pushed him back to the front door. Scarlet stood immobile, open mouthed, just staring blankly at the revived man. Jones raised his gun, but seemed to take forever to do it. Carruthers raised his fist, but that too seemed to be in slow motion.
“What-” Wilson shouted, only just audible above the screaming.
Carruthers’ fist connected with Jones’ jaw. Jones spun from the impact, loosing off a shot that blew a hole in the plaster of the kitchen wall. Carruthers followed up with another punch to Jones’ cheek and the smaller man hit the floor, eyes closed.
“We don’t shoot prisoners.”
“Shit!” Scarlet yelled.
“Oh my God,” Wilson said. It was almost whispered, but Knowles got the gist even if he didn’t hear every word. He spun to face Stadler.
Stadler’s muscles were rippling and black fur was sprouting along his arms and legs. His teeth appeared to be growing, and his eyes were turning yellow. He looked at Knowles, recognition clear in the horrifying glare.
“Help me.”
Knowles jumped forward as Stadler turned into a huge black wolf. The ropes broke at the same time that the chair gave way under the sudden increase in weight. The wolf opened its mouth wide, large white teeth just millimetres away from Knowles head. He had time to think about Grandma from Little Red Riding Hood and then he sprayed the wolf’s head with the sleeping drug. He emptied the entire supply in one go.
The wolf howled, even managing to top Stadler’s scream for volume and turned and ran for the back door. It ploughed head first into it, breaking its hinges and causing the door to buckle, but not break. It convulsed once, then collapsed.
Silence.
Carruthers helped Knowles to his feet. “Thank you.”
“You didn’t have to knock him out.”
“I didn’t need to take a dump this morning neither.”
Knowles shook his head and went to Scarlet. “You ok?”
Scarlet didn’t seem to recognise him. “You ok?” he repeated.
The Original's Return (Book 1) Page 15
