by JF Holland
“Fuck you.”
“Nope, no fucking for you full stop pretty boy.”
“Arse.”
“Yes, I am,” Jaden smirked. “Enjoy the blue balls,” he laughed as he pushed off, slapping Leonard on the shoulder as Sam and Helena pulled up beside them on Sam’s Harley.
“Maya says there’s been another death, are you sure it’s a shifter?” Helena asked as she pulled off her helmet and Sam took it from her.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Bollocks,” Sam muttered as he hung both his and Helena’s helmets from the handle bars.
“I take it you need a clean-up?”
“Yes,” Jaden sighed.
“Is it not going to cause a few problems if yet another human just disappears?”
“I shouldn’t think so…” Jaden began, but Sam swore interrupting him.
“We can’t torch the body,” Sam replied after Leonard had shown him the guys wallet that Jaden had handed to him.
“What?”
“Look,” he said, opening the wallet, so they could see the pictures.
“Oh no,” Helena said, hand over her mouth. “His poor fiancé, he was due to be married on Friday.” The guy had written on the bottom of the photograph, marrying this gorgeous woman, my life, my love and the date.
“It’s worse,” Leonard replied, a tick in his jaw all his usual aloofness nowhere to be found. “She’s 6-months pregnant and they have an 18-month old too.” He informed them looking from his phone. He’d done a quick check on the guy’s social media after gaining the information in his wallet.
“Oh, dear god.” Helena murmured, eyes turning to Sam. “What are we going to do, this can’t be put down to a man that’s simply moved away.”
“No, it can’t.”
“So how do you want to handle this?” she asked looking between Jaden and Sam.
“I’ve not a clue, but there is evidence that we need to dispose of.”
“Evidence, you mean the poor man?” Helena asked, shocked at how he could talk so callously about a human being.
“No, there are footprints.”
“Footprints?” Sam asked, perplexed.
“Come with me. You’ll see what I mean,” Jaden said, heading off towards the tree line. They all followed on his heels. He took them to where a set of paw prints were first visible in the soft ground, just outside the tree line. Then he followed their progress, pointing out when they changed from paw to shoe print.
“Hell, this is going to cause some major problems.”
“Tell me about it,” Jaden replied, running his hand over the back of his neck. Sam wandered back towards the treeline, then disappeared.
“What’s he doing?” Helena asked.
“Probably trying to figure out how far back – or -from which direction they came,” Leonard replied. “Have you noticed anything else?” he queried, brow furrowed.
“Apart from that poor man?” Helena asked sadly.
“I mean, have you noticed that there is something missing in the air?” Leonard prodded.
“Missing in the air, what do you mean?” Helena asked, but Jaden shut his eyes and swore. “What is it?” she asked, head swinging his way.
“There’s no scent, not a trace. Well, apart from the overpowering scent of blood, and diesel,” Jaden replied, his features grim.
“And?”
“Helena, there should be some kind of scent here, but there is nothing apart from diesel fumes from the van, the blood and that poor bastards fear.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Whether this was a rogue - a human - or the frickin Easter Bunny himself - there should be some kind of scent. Body odour, aftershave, unwashed body, anything that would tell us another living soul had been here, but there’s not. The only other time this happened was when…”
“Maisie?” Helena growled, eyes slitting as they swept over the area suspiciously. “But, if it’s Maisie, that would mean that the killer could be… Oh god, Davion.” Her hand covered her mouth, eyes going wide.
“Exactly. I knew something was off when I spotted the paw prints.” Jaden gritted out, moving back, eyes sweeping the area, until the shoe print was replaced by the paw prints. Then hunkering down, he examined the print. “Look here. Do you see the back, right print, it’s lighter than the others?” He looked towards them, then back down again once they were all seeing what he was. “It’s smudged,” he pointed out, “not as deeply imbedded. It’s as if not as much weight had been put on that side.”
“It’s as if he’s dragging the back leg,” Helena replied, head turning this way and that as she stared at the prints.
“Davion was injured,” he sighed, pushing back to his feet. “It’s the only explanation, that makes sense.”
“Look it’s the same with the boot prints, so it was definitely him that came to the van in human form,” Helena sighed.
They all looked around them, as if waiting for the evil bitch to appear.
“Hey, over here,” Sam shouted from just inside the treeline. They moved quickly, and found him stood, hands on hips, staring at a spot, just beneath a large Oak.
“Oh god, Davion. Is he still breathing?” Helena asked, moving closer, but Jaden took hold of her arm, holding her back.
“He’s in bad shape,” Sam said, hunkering down beside the man lay in a heap on the floor, half hidden beneath a bush at the base of the large tree.
“Oh, my god, what’s wrong with his neck?” Helena shuddered. The front of his throat was torn, the skin ragged and covered in blood. Blood that still wasn’t dry, so again they looked around them, trying to see if Maisie was nearby.
“I think the necklace was torn from him. The bitch probably realised he’s no good to her anymore, and has left him for dead.”
“Do you really think Davion did this?” Helena asked, looking from his prone, completely silent form, and back towards the van; which was still hidden behind the bush further to their right.
“That I don’t know. However, he’s the only one around and the boot prints match his shoes,” Sam replied with a shrug. “But there are also drag marks in the soil leading in here, as if someone dragged and dumped him here.”
“Maisie?” Jaden growled, again looking around him.
“I think so, but as well as hiding her scent, she’s also left no footprints either,” Sam informed them, frowning.
“How the hell is that possible?” Jaden asked incredulously.
Mouth grim, Leonard took off towards the van to take a closer look at the deceased driver.
“Sam, come, look,” Leonard shouted, voice muffled as his head was still inside the van.
“What is it?” Jaden asked as he arrived first, and again looked at the dead man.
“Take a closer look at his wounds,” Leonard said, grimly. Frowning, Jaden again examined the man, and once again swore.
“What’s going on?” Sam asked, stepping up beside them.
“Human,” Jaden said.
“What’s human?” Sam asked, taking a closer look at the body himself.
“Jesus Christ. What kind of human could do that kind of damage?”
“A psychotic one,” Leonard replied.
“Maisie!” Helena replied, hand covering her mouth, eyes horrified. “Jaden, contact Maya. Ask her to get hold of the twins. We’re going to need their land cruiser to transport Davion in. Tell her not to let Lara know what’s going on.”
“Already on it,” he replied, head shaking as he moved away from the van.
“What are we going to do about this poor soul?” Helena asked Sam.
“Well, as it’s not a rogue kill, I say we leave him for the authorities to find. We just need to remove any trace of our presence,” Sam said. Then turning, he looked at the ground around them, noticing all the marks their feet had left behind in the damp soil. There was also Davion’s paw, boot and drag prints to cover, his blood wasn’t an issue as she could burn that evidence.
“Jaden m
oved his body, so he could move the van into cover,” Leonard informed them.
“Okay, we need to put him back as he was, and ring the authorities once we have Davion moved.”
“Sam, what about all our footprints, and the paw prints?” Helena asked.
“Jaden, ask Maya to give Douglas a shout, we need a wolf or two out here.”
“A wol… Oh, you, clever man,” Helena smiled, before kissing his cheek.
“What?” Leonard asked, frowning as he looked between them.
“He’s going to say a few of you were out walking the dogs. That’ll then account for how you came across the van, and the paw prints.”
“Brilliant idea. But, do you really think Douglas is going to go for playing a dog?” Leonard asked sceptically, eyebrows nearly disappearing off his forehead.
“Not a chance in hell,” Sam grinned.
“But?” Leonard began, frowning now.
“He’ll send a couple from his pack. I mean, he’s alpha. Why have a dog and bark yourself?” Sam replied with a grin. Leonard blinked, then his frown cleared as he burst began laughing.
“Well, you do call him a mutt,” he managed as his laughter died down to a chuckle.
“Yes, we do. Only this time, I must say I’m rather relieved we have him,” Sam grinned as Jaden moved back towards them.
“On their way. Oh, and no chance of keeping Lara away from this. She became aware of Davion being back as soon as he set foot on this side. Maya said she’s known for a while, or so she’s just informed her.”
“Why didn’t she warn you?” Sam asked.
“Because she knew he was back, but had no idea where he was. She couldn’t connect with his mind. All she could feel was his confusion and pain.” Jaden’s jaw tightened as he looked back into the tree line at the silent, and unmoving man who lay crumpled there.
“Going to be fireworks,” Leonard said dryly, referencing the phoenix’s talent.
“He can’t go back to the house,” Jaden said. “We need to take him elsewhere.” Leonards brow rose in query. “We don’t know if he’s going to be safe to have around the others. We have no idea how stable he is. Plus, Balin is still recovering.”
“We can take him to Balin’s as his house is a little further out from town. We’ll also need to make sure a few of the others are on hand,” Sam informed him.
“Good idea, if he comes around we need to make sure there’s enough muscle power to control him. I’m going to have to call of my date,” Leonard replied, pulling his phone out of his jacket pocket.
“Now son, don’t be so hasty,” Sam replied with a grin.
“But, I’m going to be needed,” Leonard replied, hopefully.
“I’d say keeping your word to Luc is more important in this instance. Plus, your misery will cheer my boy up no end.” Sam grinned and Helena turned her head, so Leonard couldn’t see her amusement. Although his eyes slit as he watched her shoulders shaking with her mirth.
Chapter Eleven
J aden and Douglas stood by the kerb, rope in hand – made into a makeshift lead - with a wolf a piece on the other end. Before them, stood Norman Holden; the local police officer, notebook in hand as he stared warily at the wolves.
“So, you brought your dogs out for a run, and you came across the van?” The middle-aged man asked them, eyes suspiciously dropping to the wolves. “Are you sure they are safe?” he asked, eyes once again on the large animals.
“They’re perfectly safe, well trained too,” Douglas informed the police officer, mouth twitching as one of the wolves huffed.
“What breed are they, because they sure don’t look like any Alsatian I’ve seen before?”
“That’s because they’re not.”
“What are they then?”
“Czechoslovakian Wolfdog’s,” Douglas informed him, straight-faced.
“Wolves, I’m not sure they are even legal.”
“They are not wild wolves; they are a specialist breed.”
“So, what are they exactly?” the officer asked him suspiciously. His eyes once again dropped to the grey wolf like dogs with their yellow lupine eyes.
“They originally came about after the Czechoslovakian special forces did a few experiments in 1955. They were looking for a breed of attack dog, but when they bred Alsatians with Carpathian wolves. Once born they found they had a breed that had the Alsatians temperament, but the wolves pack mentality and tracking capabilities. They are work horses, and have been used in search and rescue as well as obedience,” Douglas informed him with a tug on Daniels lead. “Sit,” Douglas told the wolf at the end of his lead. Head turning, lip lifting over his teeth; in what looked like a sneer, the wolf sat on his hind quarters with a harrumph.
Douglas again turned his attention to the officer. “See, they are very intelligent and faithful animals.
They just require a strong alpha to lead them, and of course a lot of exercise.”
Jaden had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself laughing. It seemed Douglas was enjoying tormenting his pack members, and it was obvious that James and Daniel were not too impressed with him. Unfortunately, unless they wanted challenge Douglas, and fight for their right to be alpha, they had little choice but to obey. Although, they would surely give him hell later.
Douglas, had ran in with the men in wolf form after they’d rang him earlier. Sam had explained their problem with the body and then Douglas, Daniel and James had spent half an hour trampling up the ground to cover any of the previous tracks and paw prints.
Adam and Nathan; the grizzlies, had turned up with Sophia and Lara in tow. They’d left their land cruiser parked by the side of the road, and then came in on foot to help carry Davion to their vehicle. Once they’d left, with Leonard and Sam keeping an eye out, Jaden had then rung the local police department, which consisted of Norman Holden and a couple of special constables; whom volunteered their time. With it being a small area, nothing much normally went on; well that they knew of. If anything occurred that Norman and his constables couldn’t handle, back up was sent from Upper Lunaton. That was where the main Police Station was based with it being a bigger town.
Douglas, Daniel, and James had then run around again. Jaden and Sam keeping up with them on foot to cover the new prints while Helena helped Leonard keep watch. Once they’d covered everything in new tracks, Sam had taken Helena back home on the back of the bike and Leonard had headed home on foot; which to be honest, being a vampire, the man could move when he wanted. He’d needed to leave to get ready for his date - much to everyone amusement. He’d left after serving them the birdie over his shoulder and laughter on their part.
Now, the man before them seemed to be at a loss as what to do, and to be honest Jaden couldn’t blame him. It was such a quiet area usually, that this wasn’t something he’d probably ever dealt with before.
“Obviously, if I need anything further I’ll be in touch,” he informed them, closing his notebook. “Did you touch the body?” he asked, stopping and turning back to them.
“I did, I’m sorry. You’ll probably find my finger prints on the steering wheel and the keys in the ignition too,” Jaden informed him. Then sheepishly added. “The engine was still running, and I had to move the driver slightly to be able to switch it off. Unfortunately, Shep here, nudged me, and I fell forward, grabbing the wheel to right myself.” He informed the officer, going for a ‘I’m so sorry to have messed up your crime scene’ look.
“We’ll need your finger prints too then,” he told Jaden, grimly, shaking his head as he made his way over to the van.
“Shep?” Douglas whispered out of the side of his mouth.
“I couldn’t very well have used James’s real name now could I,” Jaden told him dryly.
A car pulled up by the side of the road, and Phillip James; the local coroner, alighted. He spotted them, and headed in their direction - black bag and camera in hand.
“Phillip,” Douglas said, holding out a hand.
“Doug
las,” what have we got? He asked stepping back after shaking his hand. His eyes then dropped and widened as he spotted the wolves on leads. “Is that James and Daniel?” he grinned, bending to scratch Daniel behind the ears, who in turn flashed him his teeth and snapped at him. Phillip laughed, straightening up and turning his attention back to Douglas, brow raised.
“Do you think it’s wise for a kitty to play with a wolf?” Douglas asked dryly, chin dipping towards Daniel.
“I’m a lynx not a kitty,” Phillip sniffed. “Plus, I’m not the one on a lead,” he grinned. “What the hell is going on?”
“We needed to cover a few tracks,” Jaden informed him to which he nodded his understanding.
“Argh, okay, I better go see what I can do to help, anything else I should know?”
“It would probably be better if I called into the office either later this evening or in the morning,” Douglas informed him.
“Is this to do with what’s been going on lately, Michaels death?” he asked.
“It is,” Jaden replied, swallowing at the mention of the young lad who’d lost his life by getting too close to the bitch’s hide-out.
“Damn shame about the boy,” he shook his head. “His funeral is on Thursday,” Phillip informed them, mouth grim, then he moved off and headed over to the van, joining Norman as who stood scratching his head and shuffling from foot to foot. The man seemed completely out of his depth.
“Come on,” Douglas murmured. “Let’s get out of here while the going is good. “Did Helena clear up any traces of the jaguar?”
“Yes, she did her party trick. Not a trace of his blood or DNA left behind.”
“Useful skill,” Douglas replied, tugging on the end of the rope and getting the wolves to their feet.
Chapter Twelve
