Full Wolf Moon

by K. L. Nappier

The youth wore the trappings of his age and American culture, rebellious in a white tee-shirt, one sleeve rolled even though it held only a match box instead of a pack of Lucky's. Baggy, dark blue dungarees, cuffs folded a good three inches wide, brown loafers over white socks. He was worrying a match stick at the corner of his mouth to prove he was "hep," as the young people liked to say and, for the same reason, he wore his hair long enough to slick at the sides and comb into greased waves on the top. A perfectly normal teenager in a perfectly bizarre situation.

  The jailer brought two stiff, wooden chairs into the cell for them before returning to his desk, obviously trying to mind his own business.

  Mrs. Tebbe said without preamble, "Andrew, this is Captain Pierce. He's the commanding officer of Lakeside and, under certain circumstances, the final authority here at Tulenar as well. Captain, this is Andrew Takei."

  How old was Andrew, sixteen? He had the constant, unsure expression of most boys his age, in spite of trying to seem self-possessed. The smoothness at his jaw line sprouted a few, long downy hairs that weren't quite whiskers yet. Sixteen.

  The boy's eyes darted from Mrs. Tebbe to Max, his tough-guy posture frozen and betraying his fear. His voice betrayed him, too, nervous and unsure, though he did his best to seem in control. "I don't have to say anything until my mom gets here."

  "You don't have to say anything, then, either," Mrs. Tebbe replied quickly, glancing at Max as if she thought he might have told the boy differently. Then she said directly to Max, "His father won't be transferred here for another week."

  So I should go easy on the boy? he thought. Was that what she was implying? Again it stung to know she saw him as the military heavy.

  He heard the door of the jail's office open, and the scent of blue violets wafted in. Perfume, tastefully applied. It was followed by the staccato of a woman's shoes on the wooden floor and, by the time Max had stood to turn, Andrew Takei's mother was at the cell. Andrew's rigid pose dissolved a moment and he sat at the edge of his bunk, his eyes riveted on his mother.

  Mrs. Tebbe stood, too. "Mrs. Takei, this is Captain Pierce."

  Mrs. Takei looked from her son, her eyes pained, to Max and her gaze grew cool. When she spoke, her smooth, educated voice held the faintest trace of her native tongue.

  "This is ludicrous, penning Andrew up like a criminal. He is just a boy."

  "Mrs. Takei," Max replied, "if the young man had bullied a neighbor or defaced property back in Sacramento, he would have had to answer for it in juvenile court."

  "But he would not be thrown in jail like some hoodlum!"

  "Madame, he is a hoodlum, if he's a member of the Inu Hunters."

  "But he is not!" Mrs. Takei looked to her son for confirmation. Andrew was speechless, all pretense of rebellion evaporating as the adults argued around him.

  Max turned to the boy. "Are you, Andrew?"

  The youth hesitated and Max barked, "Answer me, son."

  "I didn't do anything!" Andrew looked up at Max, fear clearly in his face, then his attention latched back onto his mother. "Ma, I swear to... I swear to God. Just some paint, is all."

  Mrs. Takei strode to her son and clasped him against her hip. "This is madness," she said, her voice unsteady. "A prison inside a prison. For the love of Heaven, where do you people think he is going?"

  "Mrs. Takei, please. Please." Maxwell approached her. "Sit with your son."

  After a moment's hesitation, she did so slowly. She looked up at Max and Mrs. Tebbe, as if she were the jailed, defiant one instead of Andrew. Max pulled his chair a little closer to her and sat. Mrs. Tebbe did likewise.

  "Your son," he began calmly, "was caught -red-handed- by the residents' own police, scrawling obscenities on the walls of Block Eleven. That alone is inexcusable, but that's not why he's in jail. He's in jail because he was seen earlier with a band of teenagers hurling rocks at one of the residents of Block Eight, a gentleman who has just begun working at one of the warehouses. He's become a favorite victim of the Inu Hunters."

  Mrs. Takei looked at her son. Andrew fidgeted, but didn't reply. Mrs. Takei regarded Max again, clearly wondering if she could trust what he said.

  "Mrs. Takei," he ventured in answer to her silent question, "why would I come all the way out here just to punish a boy for some graffiti?"

  "In fact the Army may not, Captain. I know that is not within your jurisdiction. Likewise, I understand, neither are thrown stones."

  The lady had been studying. But she didn't have him stymied.

  "But the Army may," he replied, "if our assistance is requested by the WRA."

  He waited for Mrs. Takei's rebuttal. It didn't come, and he knew why. Andrew's mother had to be aware that Max was really here to find a murderer. The connection between the Inu Hunters and Mr. Ataki's death was still tenuous and, therefore, classified. But who could doubt that the internees had long figured out the connection themselves. As they sat across from each other, Max watched Mrs. Takei's expression as the puzzle pieces began to fit together. She looked at her son again and basically changed the subject.

  "Is this true? Did you throw rocks at someone?"

  "No..." Andrew insisted, but his voice carried a qualifier in it.

  "But you were there," Max prompted.

  "It wasn't my idea."

  "Whose was it?"

  Suddenly Andrew seemed to find a steadying force within. He was still afraid, but his eyes took on a sense of purpose as he tugged on his tough guy posture again.

  His mother prompted, "Andrew..."

  He shook his head. "No, Ma."

  Mrs. Tebbe spoke up, her voice full of worry for the boy. "Andrew, do you realize how much trouble you're in?"

  Andrew looked at her a moment before his gaze swept about the jail cell. The sarcasm was thick in his reply. "I've noticed, yeah."

  Max screwed up his tone to intimidate the boy. "Then you'll also notice you're going through it without your friends. Do you see any of them walking through that door, showing you the same loyalty you're giving them?"

  "You can't sound off there, 'general.' They'd do exactly what I'm doing."

  By the minute, Andrew was finding a courage that Max would have admired under other circumstances. But this wasn't a mere boy protecting his companions. This was a murder suspect.

  The silence drew on as that thought seeped deeper into Max's mind. God in Heaven, the kid really was a suspect, their only suspect. This skinny, sixteen-year-old clutching his attitude like a life preserver; he was Tulenar's only link to the murder.

  No. Not this kid, surely not. Max couldn't begin to imagine this boy crushing Ataki's head with a rock, couldn't imagine him scooping out the brain. Had Andrew done it with his own hands? Jesus. No. There would have to be something in Andrew's eyes, surely. Something psychotic. For a sixteen-year-old boy to act that horrifically, there needed to be something visibly odd in his behavior and Max couldn't see it.

  His began to buzz again.

  But...the kid might know who the psychotic one was. Yeah. The kid very likely knew. And wouldn't Andrew be terrified to betray someone as dangerous as that? If he knew the killer. Or maybe Andrew knew someone who did know. Perhaps start there, an easier confession for the boy-a safer confession- by far.

  "Andrew," Max said, "you have before you two options. You can refuse to cooperate. You can protect these false friends, who have caused serious injury to a lot of people. People, Andrew, who are just like the Inu Hunters. Not stooges, not sympathizers. People who have no more choice in all this than you or your parents. But, in refusing to do the right thing, in refusing to tell us who the Inu Hunters are, you are in for a long, long stay right here in this jail cell --"

  "Captain..." Mrs. Tebbe began, even as Mrs. Takei gasped out an outraged "No!" and drew her arm around her son. Max lifted his hand, a blunt order for them to keep quiet, though his eyes never left Andrew.

  "The court will not hesitate to throw the book at you. Why shouldn't they deal harshly with a delinquent who has
molested so many innocent people? We're talking assault and battery, Andrew. Those aren't misdemeanors, they're felonies."

  "Captain..." Mrs. Tebbe tried again.

  "But if you give this careful thought, if you dig deep inside, you're going to know what's right. Don't let anyone else get hurt, Andrew. The law will want to balance the good you do today against the bad you've done in the past."

  Mrs. Takei was shaken. Andrew hardly had color in his face and he turned miserably to his mother. Max could almost feel the cold edge of Mrs. Takei's glare slicing into his forehead.

  "My son is a citizen of your nation, Captain, and there is absolutely nothing, nothing more he is going to say without an attorney present."

  "That's certainly his right, Mrs. Takei."

  The woman almost sneered at the word. Max rose and Mrs. Tebbe did so as well, though not as quickly. Mrs. Takei was still clutching her son when she asked, barely controlling her voice, "With whom do I speak regarding bail?"

  Max looked back at her. "There will be no bail for Andrew."

  He expected attack from both sides, Mrs. Tebbe on his right, Mrs. Takei on his left. But only Mrs. Takei reacted, rising in disbelief and outrage.

  "You cannot do this!"

  "Mrs. Takei, it's already done."

  / / / /

  Max was beginning to find Mrs. Tebbe's office soothing. He was beginning to think of it as a sanctuary, away from his own office at Lakeside. They were sitting silently together, though Mrs. Tebbe's desk barricaded her from him as usual. They had their standard cups of coffee between them. Something for Max's hands.

  In his estimation, the interview with Andrew had gone very well, whether Mrs. Tebbe share that opinion or not. For the first time in several weeks, Max felt as if he was back in form. Why had it taken him so long to settle in, he wondered. When he thought about it, it had taken him just as long to move comfortably into his duties in Arizona. Before that, he had always been able to slip so easily into whatever tour of duty was his.

  He shrugged. Maybe he was just getting older. No doubt much of it was due to Annie's death. Then again, first the Arizona tour and, now, this one had begun on very odd footing...

  "Captain, you're thinking awfully hard."

  Max looked at Mrs. Tebbe blankly for a moment. "What's that?"

  "I said smoke's coming out of your ears. Thinking of the interview?"

  "Yes and no. It went well, didn't it?" Mrs. Tebbe's expression forewarned him, so he said, "You know what I mean. Did you think we'd be able to send Mrs. Takei and Andrew off, waving and smiling, to their block?"

  Mrs. Tebbe relented to reason. "No. Of course not. Really...you're right, Captain. It went as well as it could. We need to do something to shake the Inu Hunters up."

  "Mrs. Tebbe, we gave that young man a lot to think about. Even if he doesn't know the real reason he's sweating it out in jail, his mother does. Somebody's going to come up with the name of the Inu Hunters' pack leader. When that happens, I think we'll make some real progress."

  "It's just a pity we have to put the screws on somebody like Andrew."

  Max took a long drink of coffee. "I know. Before they came here, I doubt any of those kids had done anything worse than soap a few windows on Halloween. But that isn't the case now."

  "But the way Ataki died. I just can't believe a group of boys, no matter how angry--"

  "The coroner's report isn't in yet. There's still the chance that the grisly details were secondary. Maybe the boys had only meant to intimidate the old man. Maybe they had him cornered and his fear triggered their mob instinct. Somebody went too far. A blow to the head with a blunt object. Panic. They drag his body through the barbed wire and haul ass. If you'll excuse my French."

  "And they make it on foot, lugging dead weight, all the way to the hills, making sure they're just outside the government property line, then hoof it back without the guards seeing them?"

  "They stow the body a little closer to camp, but not well enough to keep it from animals. You do have coyotes around here. Even cougars, I'm told. One of the search parties mentioned finding a couple of large animal prints the morning after Ataki's disappearance, remember?"

  Max watched Mrs. Tebbe as she weighed the merits of his theory, and he felt a pang of resentment. Why did she always feel the need to second guess him?

  "You've really thought this through, haven't you?" she asked, but her voice wasn't cynical.

  "It's a viable scenario."

  "What about that splinter group of K.A.F.A. in Disjunction Lake?"

  Max opened his hands amiably. "I don't want to cross them off the list, either."

  The C.A. sighed and retreated to her coffee. ax leaned toward her as best he could from across the desk.

  "Mrs. Tebbe, do you think I want the murderer to be one of those boys?" Did she? Could she think him so cold?

  Mrs. Tebbe looked at him. She seemed impressed by his question, her face softening more than Max had ever noticed before.

  "No," she replied. "Of course not. I'm sorry, Captain. I treat you like an adversary, don't I?"

  "Yes, you do."

  She actually smiled. It wasn't the type of bright, full smile Annie was always so eager to give, but it was an honest one.

  "I'll try to change that. I have enough adversaries already. I could use an ally."

  Chapter 13

  Tulenar Internment Camp

  First Night. Full Moon.

  Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death...

  Nancy Tamura prayed those words over and over in her mind, afraid to call on the Virgin aloud, afraid the slightest sound might provoke it further. Her nurse's training told her that she was critically wounded. She knew it was blood loss and shock that blunted her pain. And yet, she could feel the blood everywhere, thin tendrils of warmth cast across her head like a net.

  She knew her back was raw meat from being dragged such a distance. As she clawed along the ground, pushing against the earth with arms and legs, chest and belly, she felt the cold air where flesh was scraped away, exposing muscles and nerves.

  But none of this, none of this mattered. Somehow, some way, she must get back to the camp, back to the twins. Her sons, dear God, her sons! Who would take care of them until their father was released?

  A wave of vertigo almost stopped her in her tracks, but her will was strong enough to keep her pushing relentlessly forward. Which way is Tulenar, which way? The full moon gave no hint of direction. How long had she been crawling now, surely she was almost there. Shock blinded her to distance. Her struggle had covered only eight feet.

  Long canines sank into her ankle and she was yanked backward, as she had been time and time again. She screamed with pain and despair. My God, she wanted to shriek at the thing, why don't you just kill me, damn you! Just kill me and get it over with!

  But every time fear threatened, the image of the twins, the image of her husband sprang before her fading sight. She would pray to the Virgin again, begin crawling again, aware somewhere in the back of her mind that the creature walked by her side, watching every agonized move. No, don't dwell on that, think of your boys, think of them...

  But the thought of that thing so near was beginning to overwhelm her. She couldn't see it any longer, it kept just out of view. But she could hear it. Hear its deep, barrel panting, its low growls. She saw it brilliantly in her memory, saw the silver fur glowing in the moonlight, its frame preternaturally huge. Saw its muzzle contorted in a snarl, its teeth gnashing. She could see the eyes. The eyes as human as her own.

  And she could not keep the terror at bay any longer. She wept uncontrollably now, her arms stretched to their limit upon the barren ground. The terror of her own death coiled around the dread she held for her family as the beast stepped on one of her flayed shoulders and flipped her onto her back.

  She reached for her scapular. She was a good Catholic and wanted to grasp the little relic-filled pouch against her heart at the moment of her death
. She didn't realize it had been torn away, along with so much of her flesh, as the beast had dragged her relentlessly onward. Its silken cord, its two square velvet pouches -protecting her heart front and back- were lost in the wasteland.

  Reach for the scapular. But her fingers thudded instead against the beast's snout as its great jaws stretched across her breastbone and started cracking.

  Chapter 14

  Tulenar Internment Camp

  First Night. Full Moon.

  The night was so sharp against Doris's senses, it was as if it would draw blood. She stood on the small front porch of her house, her terry robe cinched around her like a tourniquet, watching the search beams of the towers lance into Tulenar's lanes. The buildings dotted with light as internees roused to the commotion. At the far western perimeters, the rays of military torches pierced the dark.