by Sasha Winter
“Yes!”
“What’s that?” Tom asked, not quite interpreting her intonation.
“I said “Yes”, I’ll move in with you for a while,” Erin said, to his relief (she hadn’t been giving much away). “You don’t need to explain the ins and outs of police operations. You trust me in the kitchen; I trust you with the law.”
“You think you can put up with me, then?” he said, offering her a wide grin.
“Only if you promise to take complete advantage of my…vulnerability,” she replied with a naughty smile. “When you’re not out chasing bear tracks, I mean.”
“Sounds a little unprofessional, going about it that way,” he replied. “Of course, there’s nothing to stop you seducing me. I can be the victim too, you know.”
“After your performance in the kitchen,” she replied, “I don’t think I’m going to let you get away with such a feeble excuse.”
And so it was decided. A shared yearning had brought them together, but recent events now meant they were taking a very serious next step. In any other circumstances, and with any other people, the whole thing would scream ‘too soon!’…but to Tom, it felt just right.
Erin would always be the right choice.
11
Temporarily moving in with Tom wasn’t a major operation. Erin packed a few bags of clothes and bathroom paraphernalia, as well as a copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in case she got locked in all day and bored. She didn’t think this would be the case as secretly she couldn’t get on with Mark Twain or past the second chapter, but there was something un-American about never having read a book of his, and so she persisted with the delusion that she would actually sit down and read it one day.
If she was honest, Erin only brought the book along because she thought a strange twist of fate might cause her to regret not doing so. Her hopes were more along the lines of more blissful lovemaking and carrying on as usual—as much as was possible given the circumstances—at the bakery. It would be sad to see the actions of one psychopath ruling the lives of an entire community, and Erin had always been one for getting on with life rather than hiding from the evils of the world, though she had promised to accept Tom’s guidance on this matter.
On the question of moving in with Tom, Erin had been as surprised by the suggestion as he had expected, though there was also a lingering unease about the circumstances. Despite not having thought about the matter before then, Erin was the kind of girl who knew her own mind and made it up easily. She knew she liked Tom and, when he asked the question, rather than being faced with the dilemma of ‘Am I ready for this yet?’ instead she found herself realizing that she actually wanted to move in with him, even if it was just a temporary thing. Once the idea was out in the open, it sounded great to her, only she wished it had not been for circumstances other than their feelings for each other. That he was pleased to have her under his roof showed that she was more than just a fuckbuddy to him, but there might come a difficult conversation when it came to catching this killer if Tom was under the presumption that Erin would be eager to restore the previous distance.
They were together now and taking a backward step would feel like a let-down, even if it had been made prematurely. For a new couple it was always hard to judge when difficult conversations could be endured.
The change of routine was not without its complications, either. Erin’s initial confusion at his request might have soon turned into enthusiasm, but it soon became clear that they were not quite ready for the change. For the first time there was some slight awkwardness between them. While being crazy about each other, they didn’t quite know each other well enough to understand how to best to approach life under the same roof. Deciphering a partner’s quirks and routines can be a complicated business, and Erin found that she was having to hold in any number of observations concerning basic rules of house maintenance which, for some reason, Tom had never picked up.
Not that Tom wasn’t clean or fairly tidy, but he failed to fulfil a number of disciplines her parents wouldn’t have let her out of school if she had failed in. For example, unless urged to do so, Tom was completely oblivious to notice that he had the curtains drawn in the middle of the day. For Erin, curtains should be opened as soon it was light outside and closed as soon as it was dark. Sitting in shade for half of the day for no apparent reason was excruciating, as was watching TV with the lights on when outside was all dark and any passer-by could stop to gawp at you. After one day of suffering in this way, Erin took it upon herself to open and close the curtains herself, something Tom hardly seemed to notice and so—if their relationship was to be a long-term arrangement—she supposed would become her sole task for life. Then there were those issues that demanded mutual regard, like making sure the shower curtain wasn’t left scrunched up after use, or that the toothpaste was not squeezed from the middle. There was a perilous time ahead during which Erin would either be challenging her will to hide her intolerance of such peculiar habits, or else her need for change would see them burst forth and so risk having Tom feel like he was some kind of mutt in training.
There was another observation that was not so much of an issue as a disbelief. During their first few evenings together, Tom had shown a healthy appetite for sure—as well as in her bakery, of course—but it wasn’t until living with him for forty-eight hours that Erin noticed exactly how much he really ate. At first she tried to dismiss the curiosity. After all, he was six and a half feet and built with a frame most sportsmen would envy. All the same, a hearty breakfast that Erin thought had gone overboard in order to impress her was completely consumed, accompanied by a wish that he had more pancakes. Later in the day they had hot dogs, but not your average sausage; instead, monster sausages that made her think they were having company—only they weren’t. Struggling to get her lips around the beast, Erin had failed to eat just one of them, but Tom managed four and then continued to look around for pie.
Her lover had just come out of a busy few days chasing around after bear tracks and, in his downtime, jumping her bones, so perhaps there was an argument that a generous quantity of sustenance was needed to revitalize him, but even with this in mind she thought the amount ridiculous. Tom must have used up a lot of energy while on the beat.
“How on earth do you eat so damn much?” she asked, aghast as he chowed down on his tenth piece of toast for the morning. The two of them had been living together for three days now, and Erin still couldn’t get over how much he managed to pack away.
“I’m a growing boy,” he joked, causing Erin to roll her eyes with good-natured humor. “Anyway, how is it living with me? Aside from all the food.”
She grinned. “Hmm….I suppose it’s not horrible.”
“Not horrible, eh? What a compliment,” he said, his grin growing wider.
Erin gave him a kiss on the cheek. It really was great being around him so often, though she was still feeling cautious enough about the unplanned attempt at living together. But of course, all of this was going on against the backdrop of a community in panic and the possibility of one of them becoming a target.
Initially, during the first forty-eight hours especially, Tom had been poised for leads and, quite probably, further attacks. The twenty-four hours that had seen Nana attacked and paw prints outside of both Erin and Jake’s houses had suggested to him a bloodlust out of control, but as a couple of days passed with no more reports he was forced to reconsider his perspective. A whole cluster of towns were on the alert now, and Tom pitied any wild bears unfortunate enough to be sighted anywhere near them. As he had predicted, the FBI were also involved now and, having been interviewed by them, he had no doubt that Tom Ackerman was a name they all knew—as level-headed as they had seemed, he was nevertheless the only bear shifter identified as being anywhere near the case, and he was fortunate to have Jake vouch for his good standing to be able to remain active in the investigation. If not, they might have asked him to make himself scarce just for the sake of avoiding becoming a su
spect.
In mulling over all the developments, Tom admitted to Erin, with whom he was now more open about discussing the case, that he was beginning to suspect the last attack had not been bloodlust after all, but was instead opportunistic. In taking on the local police, the killer may have been taking the chance to harm operations by taking out key players when their efforts to get organized were still green, and therefore vulnerable.
Perhaps it wasn’t even farfetched to suppose that targeting Erin was an attempt to turn him into more of a potential suspect. Whoever it was must’ve known how to play with and twist the shifter card and, as time went on, the more Tom thought that they might be dealing with a sharp as well as a crazed mind, meaning they would have to be extra careful about letting their guard down. If this was true, then they had actually been very lucky that the three attempts to upset their work, made upon Nana, Erin and any number of Jake’s family, hadn’t actually resulted in anything worse than the one hospitalization.
Still, Tom had a feeling this killer wasn’t done yet…not by a long shot.
12
The days turned into a week before anything else was heard of the killer. When it happened, Tom was left wishing he had been there, because it resulted in a close call in terms of catching the man, or at least making an identification of him. However, the circumstances failed to offer any relief for what the shifter’s intentions were in that he had renewed his attempt on Nana’s life.
Either after a quiet week he had taken the chance that the hospital guard might have been relaxed, or else the burning sensation from the silver was enough for him to take his failure personally and seek out revenge (Tom never planned on finding out but he had heard that quality silver caused genuine agony for a shifter—and Nana was just the type of person to have quality silver). Whatever the reason, it was poor Nana yet again who would have to be told she had survived a second attempt on her life. The killer’s twisted heart could really not have been choosing any more popular members of the community to threaten if he tried.
Tom had been on the way from Erin’s bakery when the call over the radio had come, from none other than Jake himself. The sheriff told him that a man matching the attacker’s description had been intercepted trying to access Nana’s secure hospital room but foiled. A hurried attempt to keep him in the building had been unsuccessful, though the direction of the man’s escape had been clocked and, as both he and Jake had been less than ten minutes away at the time, sirens were in action and an attempt to make a speculative search of his whereabouts was underway.
Tom had never felt so intent on catching a criminal, but ten minutes felt like an age when time was of the essence and, after a further twenty minutes of driving around—occasionally crossing routes with Jake in the process—they had to reach the disappointing conclusion that the chance was missed. Despite having a description, they knew nothing about whether the man was walking, using a vehicle or public transport—or else heading straight to the undergrowth and speeding off in bear form. Should they seek him on the sidewalk or plunge into the nearest woodland? It was impossible to tell for certain. This was Montana and there was plenty of it, regardless of how many restrictions were placed on footpaths.
With no other choice but to retreat and gather their wits again, Tom met up with Jake at the hospital and found him already there talking with Nana. He had visited her briefly a couple of times during the week but was pleased this time to see her on her feet. Her sharp mind was back to usual, in fact, and paid little attention to the bruises she was still sporting, meaning that both of them had to compete a little to be in charge of her. Nana was too used to being the brains of their operations and so, predictably, she was arguing with Jake about returning to work.
“It’s out of the question, Nana,” he heard Jake saying as he entered. “In fact… oh, look, here’s Tom; Tom do me a favor and talk some sense into this willful creature here, will you?”
“We’ve had her out of our hair for seven days and didn’t know how lucky we were,” Tom joked. “Now is she back causing trouble again?”
“She’s going on about returning to work,” Jake replied.
“I’m fine,” Nana insisted.
“And I’m here,” Jake added, “to break it to her that, not only can she not return to work—what an absurd suggestion—but just like my dear wife and kids she’s going to have to be moved out of town; into protective custody in fact.”
“Listen to him, Nana,” Tom said, interrupting her before she could respond, “this good old boy is treating you like family…and he’s right anyway.”
“Damn sure, I’m right,” Jake went on, grateful for the support in combating Nana’s assertiveness. “We want you safe, not a target.”
“But can’t I just have an armed officer at the house?” Nana pleaded. “I’ve been in here a week already and there’s so much that needs doing.”
“Nothing is that important. Don’t worry, I’ll fix it so you can take your fiancé with you and this thing isn’t going on much longer, take it from me.”
“That’s what they kept saying about the First World War,” Nana responded, trying to be as insolent as she could about the fact that she was having to back down.
“I’d forgotten how much you love history,” said Tom, trying to cheer her up. “It’s your own fault, though, for being too valuable, otherwise we’d let you take your chances.”
He winked as he made the joke, and Nana almost smiled.
“Exactly,” Jake agreed, nodding his head, “but we need you out of the picture on this one. Let him come after someone with a gun if he wants to hurt the police; he’s a big grizzly after all.”
“You could give me a gun,” Nana suggested, sulkily.
“Coming from the person who insisted I buy a humane mouse trap for the workplace when I found that one had been chewing on my sandwiches, I don’t imagine that’s the best suggestion. No, we like you just as you are, Nana. Alive and with a heart of gold that wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
So it was settled. Jake had already been in correspondence with the relevant departments anyway—the discussion had only taken place to make matters seem more amicable, but Nana knew she had no choice. There were some picturesque valleys in South Dakota that Jake promised Nana would not want to leave after a week, though Tom thought this a bit farfetched, knowing that she would be waiting for news on when she could return every day that passed. She was a control freak; the pleasant kind for sure, but she wouldn’t relish any getaway that she didn’t have a say in.
Bidding her farewell, the two of them left Nana still under armed guard and now awaiting a pick-up that would take her far away. Up until then, Tom had found it hard to tell what Jake was thinking, managing a storm as he was that was coming at him from all angles. After they left Nana, however, Tom thought he recognized the same determined expression that he had been sporting in looking to bring this hell to an end. Never had a case divided their forces so much; Jake’s own family were in Oregon, and now he had sent an invaluable colleague almost as far in the other direction. His service was relying on backup staff and all the communities under his remit needed this killer caught in order for life to return to normal.
Until then their home was invaded and in peril.
The two of them had spoken a lot on the phone over the last week, but usually fast and blunt conversations, and so now felt like a good time to seize the opportunity for a real catch up. Jake suggested they get a coffee somewhere and they took a walk to a nearby diner.
“How’s that new gal of yours?” Jake asked as they were on their way.
“She’s good, actually. Thanks for the extra deputies to watch over her when I’m not there,” Tom replied. “She’s pretty resilient, in fact, and I’m relieved she doesn’t seem to be blaming me for any of this.”
“Why would she?”
“If we hadn’t hooked up, she would never have become a target.”
“You sure about that? Has it not occurred to you that she was j
ust another means of being vindictive towards the force in general? As far as I’m aware no one knew about you and Erin, so it would be a strange coincidence if the killer did.”
“But then why go for her?”
“Because of the bakery, of course; a haunt for the local cops. He didn’t go after anyone with a gun; he went after office staff, a popular food provider and loved ones—my wife can handle a gun, of course, but he wouldn’t know that.”
“Maybe you’re right, although…”
“Although what?”
“I guess I’ve been reading too much into the bear shifter thing,” Tom said. “I know this might sound self-centered, but ever since we started finding the bodies I’ve been under the impression that this bastard knows who I am. He’s obviously enjoying the notoriety and getting a sick kick out of the attention; why wouldn’t finding out there is a bear shifter cop on the case cause him further amusement?”
“Hmm! I can see why you might think that,” Jake agreed.
“I hadn’t told anyone about Erin until you, but if he had his eye on me then he could have seen us together. Plus his other main targets have been my ex-girlfriend and the family of the guy who I work most closely with—he probably thinks we’re friends or something.”
‘As if I’d be friends with you!” Jake joked. “But yeah, we should keep it in mind. If that’s the case, I’ll have extra backup keeping an eye on your street. Could be he’s watching you discreetly. I’m still not sure about the theory, but we have to be as thorough as possible. Today’s little incident will help us keep much of the outside backup, but if he goes back to being cautious again it will eventually ebb away.”
