by Geonn Cannon
“It’s okay, Milo,” Ari said softly. “You went into the park, and you found Marin Cardoso?”
“I guess. I remember running. The drug was messing me up. And the wolf. You know how it can be. Gwen was in trouble. I had a clear line to keep her safe. All I had to do was find another wolf.” Her lips curled into a sly smile. “To be totally honest, I was kind of hoping to run into you.”
Ari smiled sadly. “You have no idea how much I wish I’d gone for a run that night, believe me.”
“Kinda glad you were with Dale.” Milo rubbed a hand over her face. “So I find Marin. Got her to follow me to the van. When she realized I was trapping her, she panicked. And I had a moment of clarity where I realized what I was doing to this poor girl and fought back. They got us into the van and headed back. On the drive, I was conscious enough to know Gwen would never forgive me if I put another wolf in danger just to save her. Hell, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself. So even with the drug making me loopy, I made one last effort to get us both free.
“Marin and I hatched a plan. We communicated, the way we do, and I told her to go for the door. When she made her move, I attacked the goons. Marin got the door open and jumped. One of the goons got his hands on the drugs and gave me a dose. A huge, drop-you-in-a-second dose. Pushed me out onto the road and went after Marin. Shit. I really thought she’d gotten away.”
“The drug,” Ari said. “Is that what made you so rattled?”
Milo nodded. “I guess. I still don’t really remember anything about that morning. Makes sense if I was high as a kite and my brain was cracked. I don’t even know how I had the presence of mind to find clothes, but thank goodness for small favors. Still, I think... yeah. I think my body and brain weren’t talking to each other right. They still might not be. I only transformed because you scared the bejesus out of me. Thanks for that, by the way.”
“My pleasure.”
“And... thanks for getting me out of the hospital before Hayden got there. And getting me to Dr. Frost.” Her eyes shimmered with tears. “Thank you, Ariadne.”
Ari got up and put her arms around Milo, hugging her tightly. “We’re family,” she said into Milo’s hair. “I’d burn down the world for you. Always.”
Milo hugged her back. “I love you, Ari.”
“I love you, too.” She kissed the crown of Milo’s head and leaned back. She brushed the hair out of Milo’s face and looked into her eyes. “The building. You don’t remember anything about it?”
Milo sniffled, shook her head. “Like I said, we were never taken outside unless we were masked or drugged. Inside it was just... blank. Bare drywall, concrete floors, no carpeting. Lots of windows covered by plastic. Loud, loud construction noises.”
Ari said, “The viaduct demolition. You were found wandering down there. Could you have been trying to get back to Mom?”
“Maybe,” Milo said.
Ari stood up and retrieved her phone. She opened the map as she went back to sit next to Milo on the couch. She reverse-pinched the screen to zoom in on the proper area.
“Marin was taken from the arboretum. You were found wandering by CenturyLink Field. We can work with that. How loud was the noise?”
“Loud,” Milo said. “A lot of times, the hunters had to shout to be heard over all the noise.”
“We can work with that,” Ari said. “You were being held for months. Was the noise of demolition louder when you first arrived or did it get louder over time?”
Milo closed her eyes again. “Worse over time. It was bearable when we first got there, I think, but it kept getting worse and worse every day.”
“It was getting closer.” Ari looked up a timeline of the demolition. “Okay, we can--” Her phone interrupted her by ringing, blocking the map. She was about to dismiss the call when she saw it was from Diana. She swiped to answer, putting it on speaker for Milo’s benefit. “Diana?”
“We’re starting to take it seriously.” Diana’s voice was a whisper, and there was the unmistakable echo that told Ari she was calling from a bathroom.
“Who is taking what seriously?”
“Seattle PD,” Diana said. “The video has gotten enough attention, and enough people have said that it looks authentic, that we’re officially opening an investigation on it.”
Ari said, “Well, that’s good news, isn’t it? The more people looking for Marin, the better.”
Diana said, “Sure. But it also lends credence to the claims. If the police are actually looking into the werewolf video...”
“Oh, come on,” Ari said. “It doesn’t matter what some idiot in a mask claims. The bottom line is that a woman appears to be in danger. The cops would be interested in that even if the kidnappers said she was a space alien.”
“Be that as it may,” Diana said, “the internet has gone into overdrive. It looks like we’re legitimizing their story by believing any part of it.”
Ari groaned. “I hate the internet. Okay. Thanks for the heads up. I think I’m making progress, but I can’t promise anything.”
“The best thing for you would be if the whole thing looked like a hoax,” Diana said.
“That’s the goal. I’ll call you back when I have something for you.” She disconnected the call and looked at Milo. “Any bright ideas?”
Milo raised an eyebrow. “Actually, yeah. Pretty simple one, actually.”
“I’m all ears.”
***
Dale insisted on Hayden following her when they left the park, grateful for the solitude of her car. What she really wanted to do was drive home and take a scalding shower to get the dirty feeling off her skin. She didn’t know where she would lead Hayden so at first she just drove aimlessly through downtown while she got her thoughts in order. She realized she had driven to the Space Needle when she saw the Science Center and decided that was as good a place as any to have a conversation with Hayden.
He smiled at her when they parked, tilting his head back to look up. “You know I never actually made it here on my last trip.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you were busy,” Dale said as she crossed the street. “Come on.”
“We’re going up?”
Dale answered him by not stopping, and he was forced to follow. They rode the elevator up with a group of students and their laser-focused teacher. Hayden watched out the glass like any other tourist as they ascended. When they reached the top, the field trip went one way and Dale went the other. Hayden followed again, seemingly willing to go wherever she wanted. She wondered how long his obedience would last.
She went out onto the observation deck, which was shockingly uncrowded, and looked out over the city. Hayden stood next to her, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited patiently. They were looking out over the Sound, a gorgeous view under any circumstances, even if her present company was pushing the limits of that beauty.
“You need to tell me everything,” she said at last.
Hayden looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” she said, turning to face him, “you claim that you want to expose wolves, not kill them. But you killed a lot of them in Germany to get your hands on those essays. I mean that you were involved in kidnapping Milo and Gwyneth Willow and letting Roemer do god-knows-what to them. You were fine with Marin Cardoso being kidnapped as well. So I need to know exactly what you did and why you did it, or I’m walking away. I don’t need your help to be done with canidae.”
“Oh, you don’t?” Hayden said, his mood suddenly darkening. “Unemployed and homeless? Cut off from all your pals? You need me more than anyone needs you right now.”
Dale clenched her jaw and stared at him. Finally he forced a smile.
“But I suppose,” he said in a measured tone, “in the interest of full disclosure, you do deserve to know the whole story. Yes, I killed the wolves who were guarding the book. It was the only way I could leave with it. The wolves who told me about its location are still alive, I can assure you. I paid them. I paid them ver
y well because I’d convinced them the book was just an artifact that couldn’t hurt anyone. I could have tortured the information out of them, but I didn’t. But the pack guarding it... they were more relentless. They wouldn’t even listen to me. My intention was to wound them, but they were relentless. I had to take fatal action to ensure my own survival.”
“Self-defense,” Dale said, her voice flat.
Hayden nodded. “Yes. Exactly. As for the Willows, my intention with their imprisonment is entirely academic. As far as I can tell, there are no legitimate physicians capable of tending to wolves who might need medical help. Ariadne and her ilk are forced to find back-alley clinics when they require treatment. If we can better understand their physiology, we can better serve them as patients in the future.”
“Right,” Dale said. “Saint Hayden.”
“You don’t have to believe me,” he said. “My motives remain the same. I admit that I lost my cool with Ariadne in the hospital. She... she has been a pain in my side ever since we met.”
Dale bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling proudly, looking away before he could see it in her eyes.
“Roemer was putting this together long before I came to him with the book. There are other methods we could have taken, but this is the most expedient.”
“And all it costs is the safety of four women,” Dale said. “What a bargain.”
“In the long run, yes! I despise my part in what’s happened to the Willows, to Valerie and Marin. I’m going to do everything I can to ensure they come out of this in one piece.”
Dale laughed. “Roemer’s going to let Marin transform live on the internet, and then he’s going to put a bullet in her head.”
Hayden grunted and looked down. “That’s his plan. He hasn’t said in so many words, but yes. He has no intention of letting her leave that building. I’m doing everything in my power to ensure all three of them get away just like Millicent did.”
“She got away in spite of you.”
Hayden leaned closer. “She got away because of me. Roemer and his goons gave her a drug that made her susceptible to their orders. I watered it down. She still followed their orders enough that they wouldn’t become suspicious, but it gave her just enough freedom that she could do something like, I don’t know, escape from their custody.”
Dale looked into his eyes, trying to find any sign of deception. It would explain how Milo managed to escape. And futzing with a mind-altering drug might also explain why the wolf brain had still been in control even after Milo transformed back into her human form.
“I went to the hospital on my own, to take Millicent somewhere safe, away from Roemer. Why do you think it was just me and two men? Roemer had no idea she had been picked up. I had a very small window in which I could spirit her away. When Ariadne and that detective got in my way, I was frustrated. I wasn’t thinking straight. Of course it’s better for her to be at home, with friends. You know I could have taken her prisoner at any point over the past few days. You haven’t exactly surrounded her with armed guards.”
Dale had to admit that was true. “Okay. Prove you really want the best for everybody.”
“Name it.”
“Free Gwen.”
Hayden laughed. “There’s no way I can do that.”
“Of course there is,” Dale said. It nauseated her to be negotiating like this when actual lives were on the line, but if she could keep playing the part while also saving one of the hostages, she had to power through. “Roemer would never let you free Marin, so she’s not an option. And Valerie needs to stay there in case of a medical emergency. Gwen isn’t necessary to the plan anymore. You said you wanted to save Milo, and you did that. Now you can prove to me that your intentions are pure by getting Gwen out as well.”
Hayden sighed heavily and rocked on his heels. Dale watched him and hoped she wasn’t betraying her eagerness.
“If I prove myself to you,” he finally said, “you’ll agree to work with me to expose the wolves, protect the girl, and stop Roemer from committing mass murder.”
“Absolutely, I will,” Dale said, never breaking eye contact with him.
Hayden chewed on his lip and considered the proposal. Finally he turned to face her.
“Okay, Miss Frye. I’ll go back and help Gwyneth Willow escape to prove you can trust me. I’m confident I can get her out tonight, barring any unforeseen complications. But I want quid pro quo. I need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can trust you as well.”
Dale sighed. “What do you want me to do?”
He took his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen a few times. When he found what he was looking for, he held it out to her. Dale took it and saw a picture of a handwritten page. She tried to cover the panic in her eyes as she looked up at him.
“I want you to read the essays.”
“You know I’ve already read them.”
His smile didn’t waver. He shrugged. “Then reading them again should only strengthen your resolve. There’s no real reason not to refresh your memory, right? I can’t think of a good reason you shouldn’t read them again.”
The hell of it was that Dale couldn’t think of one, either.
Chapter Fourteen
They moved quickly to implement Milo’s plan. When they called Eva, she was immediately on-board with what she had to do in order to protect her sister. The press conference was scheduled so it could be aired live on the local news, and they arrived at the police station just before the fleet of trucks carrying reporters and camera equipment filled up the street. Ari and Milo escorted Eva into the building, found Diana, and were taken to a briefing room on the second floor.
A blonde woman whose name Ari didn’t catch took command of their group. She was wearing the fanciest uniform in the room, so it seemed like it was safe to follow her instructions. Ari remained at the very back of the room, next to the exit, while Diana and Eva went to the front with the boss lady cop. When the reporters seemed to have settled, the blonde cop stepped up to the podium and quietly cleared her throat. The room snapped to attention.
“Good evening,” she said. “Thank you all for coming. We wanted to address this, ah, viral video that’s going around on social media. Obviously a lot of people seem to think it’s a joke or a hoax, but we take this sort of thing very seriously. I’d like to hand this over right now to someone who can express just how serious this situation is. Eva?”
She stepped aside and let Eva come forward. She had a prepared statement, which she laid down on the podium.
“My name is Evangeline Cardoso. The woman in the video is my sister, Marin Cardoso. I don’t know why these men chose her, or why they’re making such ridiculous claims on their video. My sister is...” Her voice broke and she ducked her chin to compose herself. “My sister is just a normal girl. She goes to the University of Washington. She wants to work at the aquarium. She loves fish.” She laughed quietly, though her eyes were about to overflow with tears. “What is happening isn’t a joke or a hoax. I’m grateful to the Seattle Police and Chief Collins for taking this seriously despite how it’s been portrayed online. These men are delusional and they’re dangerous, and I’m terrified of what will happen to my sister at the end of their deadline. Please stop sharing this sick video. Stop giving them a platform to make my sister’s horrible ordeal into some kind of joke. Thank you.”
She stepped back and the blonde woman, apparently Chief Collins, stepped forward. “We will not justify the, uh, ridiculous claims made by the men who made the video by referring to them here. The only pertinent information is that we have reasonable evidence that the kidnapping of Marin Cardoso is, in fact, real. We believe she’s being held here in Seattle, and as of now, our top priority is getting her home safely. Thank you.”
Collins left the podium without taking questions and ushered Eva out of the room so she wouldn’t get swarmed. In the hallway outside, she looked at Diana and Ari.
“I want to make one thing clear, Miss Willow.
The police are in charge of this investigation. Your input will be welcomed, but if I get any indication you’re interfering with our work--”
Diana cleared her throat. “With all due respect, Chief, Ariadne was working this case long before any of us even knew Ms. Cardoso had been abducted. I don’t think we should be blocking her from continuing her momentum as long as she promises to keep us in the loop with anything she finds. I’m willing to be her liaison with the department so we can share progress going both ways. I’d take full responsibility for her until the matter is resolved.”
Collins considered the request. “You have a reputation, Miss Willow.”
“Good.”
“I didn’t say if it was good or not.”
Ari shrugged. “Either way, a reputation means I’m not sitting on my ass.”
Collins looked at Diana. “She’s your responsibility. She keeps you in the loop, and you report everything directly to me.”
“Understood.” Collins left, and Diana turned to Ari. “Don’t get me fired.”
“If I do, I’ll hire you at Bitches. I’ve missed having Shae around to help out.”
Diana scoffed and guided Ari and Eva to the elevators. “It would look great if you could give me something immediately.”
“Milo’s memory is coming back,” Ari said. “We think we have a location narrowed down. Somewhere by the south end of the viaduct demolition.”
“That’s not a big area,” Diana said.
“Especially not for a wolf. I was going to go check it out tonight.”
“Keep me updated.” To Eva, she said, “Thank you for coming today. That couldn’t have been easy.”
