by Terry Spear
Jenna studied the picture while everyone was quiet in the room, waiting for her to share the photo.
“The suspense is killing me,” Sarandon said, sounding annoyed. “Either he looks like me, or he doesn’t.”
“He’s wearing a beard, so that makes him look different. He’s got the same eye and hair color as you.”
Sarandon got up from his chair and came over to look at the picture on her phone. “Well, hell, of course that’s not me. My beard comes in red. And I’m a lot hotter than this guy. And I’m a wolf. I bet he’s not.”
Jenna fought chuckling at Sarandon. He was right. He was hot. And completely self-assured. The mug shot was too similar to dismiss though. The shape of the suspect’s eyes and nose were similar, and the beard hid his jawline.
“Okay, have you got any pictures of yourself when you have a beard?” She wasn’t going to take Sarandon’s word that he had a red beard when it grew in. The rest of his hair wasn’t red.
“He’s right,” CJ said, moving in to look at the mug shot. “This isn’t him. And yeah, he has a red beard.”
Darien took a look at the mug shot and agreed with them. “Similar, but not Sarandon.”
Jake moved in to get a closer look. “I agree with everyone else.”
“That he looks similar?” Jenna said, which was making her think of other possibilities. Was the man related to Sarandon? One of the men in the wolf pack living here even? That would be good news. The pack could help her take him in, if they would.
Lelandi looked at the mug shot. Her eyes widened. “He’s a wolf.”
“You know him?” Darien asked, sounding shocked.
“Well, not his name. I saw him in the tavern once. At first glance, I thought he was Sarandon. I didn’t recognize the man he was with or him, once I really studied him. They are wolves because the tavern is only open to wolves,” she added for Jenna’s benefit.
“Great. More wolves.” None of her family had had to deal with wolves in going after a bail jumper. She’d assumed that if Sarandon wasn’t the suspect, the guy who was wouldn’t be a wolf, unless he was related. It was good that she had a new possible suspect. Bad that no one seemed to know who he was.
“I’ll get with Peter to see if we can learn anything about this man. If you can send the mug shot to me, I’ll print up flyers and spread them around to the pack,” CJ said.
“That would be great. Thank you.” Jenna couldn’t believe he’d want to help, but then again, if it got his brother off the hook, she guessed he would.
“In the meantime, you can stay with us until we get this straightened out,” Lelandi offered, motioning to her and Darien’s house.
“I’m sticking with Sarandon. He’s the one I need to take back to Colorado Springs.” When everyone looked growly because she was still sticking to the plan, Jenna added, “To prove he’s a victim in this case.” She had to agree the man in the mug shot didn’t look enough like Sarandon to be him, as far as she could tell. But the police had been convinced enough to make a case against Sarandon. She still wanted to see a picture of him wearing a beard, but his fingerprints should eliminate him as the thief.
“I might have some photos at my house. I’m not big into picture taking, but as a professional photographer, Jake is, and he took some of me with my brothers.”
“If your pictures look way different from the mug shot, we can use that to help prove your innocence,” Jenna said. Though pictures could be touched up, so she wasn’t sure the police would buy that.
“I can’t believe a wolf would come to our town and steal the identity of one of our people,” Jake said. “We need to catch him, but what do we do after that? If the guy who really did this is a wolf, we’ll have to take care of him ourselves. We can’t turn him over to the police.”
“But we need to turn him over so he can clear Sarandon’s name,” CJ said.
“If he’s not newly turned.” Sarandon looked at Lelandi. “When did you see him?”
“Six months ago.”
“Do you recall when exactly?”
“Around the first of the month. It was a Monday, because Sam was having a special on his fabulous roast beef sandwiches, but that’s all I recall for sure.”
“We could check out the moon phases for that date. It wouldn’t tell us anything unless someone recognized his scent and saw him running as a wolf during the new moon,” CJ said. Since only royals could run as wolves then, they’d know he wouldn’t have any trouble being jailed in a human jail.
“We’d have to know what he looked like as a wolf first,” Lelandi said.
“True,” CJ conceded.
“My fingerprints can prove I’m not him,” Sarandon reminded them.
Chapter 4
Once Jenna had shared all she knew, CJ and the rest of the men talked and handed out jobs to clear Sarandon. They wanted more evidence than just the suspect’s fingerprints though, so they could get the bastard who had done this.
Alicia and Lelandi talked with Jenna. “The last I knew, you were trying to run down that mob boss. I can’t believe you didn’t get yourself killed,” Jenna said, sounding impressed.
“Yeah, we took him and his cohorts down. He was a wolf.”
“You’re kidding.”
Alicia shook her head. “No, newly turned too. He turned me by force. We had to take him down permanently.”
“Okay, I understand.” Jenna couldn’t believe poor Alicia had been turned against her will. She’d thought Jake and Alicia had fallen in love and he’d turned her. Jenna could understand why Alicia wasn’t still serving as a bounty hunter. It would be hard enough while raising kids, but ten times worse being newly turned and having to deal with young kids who shifted when their mother did.
“What about you? You were working on a murder case where the suspect cut off his ankle monitor and fled. I couldn’t believe the judge gave him a $200,000 bond and then released him on bail.”
“I told my mother not to take the case. But she was getting $20,000 for the fee, and she really didn’t think the guy would run. He’d never committed a crime, which had prompted the judge to give him bail. What a mistake that was! The suspect’s family had put up the money, so they were out the twenty thousand. And he’s free. The bastard. Everyone knows he got mad at his girlfriend and strangled her.”
“You never caught him?”
“Nope. We suspect he hid out in Mexico. We had to pay the bond. The collateral was some of the family’s land, but it will take some time to sell. It was an expensive lesson in accepting risky cases. Worse than that, the guy got away with murder, and he’s never paid for his crime. And might never, if no one ever takes him into custody. The victim’s family was devastated. We had a more recent case where the suspect had been in and out of jail for years for kidnapping, sexual molestation, indecent exposure, you name it. The judge released him on a bail bond, and he ran. While he and the police were in a high-speed chase, he totaled another car and now is charged with felony hit-and-run. Luckily, the two women in the car weren’t killed. We have to apprehend these guys the best we can. I feel sorry for the victims and their families and the police who work hard to put these suspects behind bars, only to have them be released on bond.”
“Yet that’s the way you earn a living,” Alicia said.
“Sure. It’s good for the ones who really aren’t a risk. That way, they don’t have to be incarcerated in jails that are already overcrowded. And for those who are innocent of the charges. In some cases though, the suspects should never have received bail.” Jenna drank some of her ice water. “Have you ever missed the work?” she asked Alicia. Jenna didn’t think she’d ever want to settle down with a wolf and give this up. She loved apprehending bail jumpers and felt she helped society by putting those guys where they belonged.
“Nah. I love being home with the kids. I have thought of doing it when they are
older though.”
Both Jake and Sarandon glanced at Alicia. She smiled at them.
“Looks like you haven’t discussed it with the pack.” Jenna wouldn’t like it if she wanted to do something and the pack, or her mate, didn’t agree.
“I’ve talked to Jake about it, sure. He said whenever I want to do it, it’s fine with him. He’s going with me.”
“What about taking the training?” It was one thing for Jake to say he’d help out, quite another to take it seriously. Jenna had never considered having a wolf partner in this business. Oh sure, she’d fantasized about meeting a man like her mother had met her dad, but she’d never seriously considered working with a mate who was also a bounty hunter.
“Oh, Jake has already taken the training. He’s all set to go when I decide it’s time to work again.”
Jenna smiled. He was a wolf mate to love.
“What are your plans?” Lelandi asked Jenna.
She had wondered when Lelandi would jump into the conversation. She would want to feel Jenna out to see if they were dealing with an alpha or beta wolf. Someone they could easily influence or not.
The men were talking about who had been at the tavern the day Lelandi was there. They were trying to come up with a list of suspects. Jenna felt she should be listening in on their conversation instead of chatting about nothing of importance with Alicia and Lelandi. Still, Jenna wanted everyone’s cooperation, and she knew it was better to handle the situation like this. Particularly when a whole pack was united behind Sarandon. Maybe they could actually help her apprehend the right guy, if Sarandon was innocent.
“I’ll stay with Sarandon and see if he can prove he didn’t commit the crimes. It’s the only way we can clear his name and get the police to look for the right man,” Jenna said.
“We will have as many witnesses as you need to get him off the hook,” Lelandi said, sounding dead serious.
Lie if they had to? “You don’t think that will look a little suspicious?” Jenna asked.
“Not if what our pack members have to say is true and it clears Sarandon’s name. He didn’t do what the police claim he did, and we will find the man who did this,” Lelandi assured her.
“I’m sorry. I’ve taken up so much of your time when I’m certain you need to see to your patients.” And Jenna needed to get out of here and do her job.
“This is just as important, and I wasn’t handling any critical cases.” Lelandi turned to Darien. “Why don’t we have a cookout before Sarandon takes Jenna to his house to gather whatever evidence she needs to help prove his innocence?”
“All right. Could you tell Peter everything you remember about the man you saw so he can make up a police sketch?” Darien asked his mate.
“We have the guy’s mug shot,” Jenna said.
“He wasn’t wearing a beard when he was at the tavern.” Lelandi set her empty teacup down on the coffee table. “I still say the guy I saw looks very much like this man, without the beard. And he did look like Sarandon. I was about to say hello when I realized he wasn’t Sarandon.”
“All right,” Darien said.
“You don’t have any look-alike relations you rarely see, do you?” Jenna asked.
The Silver men shared glances.
“None that we know of,” Darien said.
“That doesn’t mean there aren’t any.” Sarandon sounded bitter about it.
Jenna wondered what that was all about. “If there is someone, how would he be related to you?”
“Maybe Sheridan, my dad, was seeing someone after our mother died.”
Jenna didn’t press for details. Something about the tension in the air told her their dad was a troublesome wolf. She would ask Sarandon when they were alone.
She had envisioned taking a confined human to Colorado Springs as soon as she could nab him—certainly nothing like having a cookout with a pack of wolves, then accommodating the suspect while he tried to prove his innocence.
CJ was on the phone to someone. “Okay, Peter. Thanks.” When he ended the call, he said, “Peter should be here in a couple of minutes so you can give him the details of what the guy looked like, Lelandi.”
“Okay. It’s been six months, but I’ll do what I can.”
“Steaks and shrimp sound okay to everyone?” Darien asked.
“Yeah, that’ll hit the spot.” CJ headed out with Darien.
“Coming?” Jake asked Sarandon.
Sarandon’s arms were folded across his broad chest, his dark eyes taking Jenna in. He finally nodded to Jake and left with him.
“Do we need to do anything?” Jenna wanted to finish this business and get on her way, as much as she was trying to be cordial so the pack would help her and not hinder her.
“No, the guys love to grill, and any excuse works for them,” Alicia said.
The front door opened, and Lelandi said, “Jenna St. James, this is our sheriff, Peter Jorgenson.” He was fairer than the rest of the men, his eyes amber, cool, sheriff-like.
Peter shook her hand, breathed in her scent, and was all business. “Jenna.” He didn’t tell her he was glad to meet her, but she didn’t blame him.
She realized at once that if she’d gone to the sheriff’s office for help in taking Sarandon down, she would have had a rude awakening. Pack members looked out for one another, and Sarandon was obviously someone everyone liked.
“Do you want to tell me what the suspect looked like?” Peter asked Lelandi, pencil and art pad in hand as he took a seat next to her.
“Sure.” Lelandi gave him the mug shot of the guy they’d taken into custody.
Peter was frowning hard as he studied it.
“The man I saw wasn’t wearing a beard. He did look similar to Sarandon, and I had to take a second look to make sure it wasn’t him. The man had a pointy chin and a narrower face, and he was wearing a billed cap that shaded his eyes.”
“The man in the mug shot might not be the same one you saw at the tavern,” Peter said.
“Maybe not, but the shape of his eyes and his nose were the same. And similar to Sarandon’s.”
Peter was studying the photo. “Sarandon’s beard is red. This guy’s beard matches his hair, same dark brown, not red. Does anyone know if Sarandon’s father had any other offspring?”
“Not that they know of,” Lelandi said. “The guys mentioned it was possible.”
Peter sketched the man’s eyes and nose, copying the nose in the mug shot because Lelandi said it was so similar.
“Can you add a billed cap?” Lelandi said.
“Describe it.”
“Just a regular baseball-style cap with a long bill that shaded his eyes a bit. It was denim, had a marlin caught on a fishing line embroidered on it.”
Peter added the hat, then worked on the shape of the face.
“He had a pointier chin. Oh, and a cleft in it. That was a real giveaway when I saw that. Sarandon doesn’t have one.”
That meant if the pack could get ahold of this guy, they’d need to shave off his beard to see if he matched the man Lelandi had seen. Still, his fingerprints would match the ones the police department had taken, if he was the real suspect. They would need to determine who he was, if he had been here before, and how he’d come by Sarandon’s ID.
“What about his physical build? Not for the sketch, but to have some idea how big he is to add to the flyer.”
“He’s about Sarandon’s size, six foot, broad-shouldered, muscular, as far as I could tell. He was wearing jeans, steel-toed workman’s boots, and a gray wool sweater.”
Once Peter had the sketch the way Lelandi thought it should be, he told her he’d send it to everyone in the pack.
“Have lunch with us first, Peter. The guys are all out back grilling, if you’d like to join them.”
“Sure. I’ll show them the picture and see if anyo
ne else recognizes him. I’ll have to check with Sam too, because he most likely served him. Unless this guy dropped by at night and Silva was also there serving the meals and drinks.”
“She was.”
“Okay, I’ll show it to both of them. You never go there alone. Were you meeting Darien or anyone else?”
Lelandi said, “Darien. He hadn’t arrived by the time the two men left.”
“Two men.”
“Uh, yeah. I guess I should have mentioned there was another one too.”
Peter took his seat on the couch again. “Okay, what did he look like?”
“His hair was blond. He had a reddish-blond beard and gray eyes. His face was much squarer, more angular. He was wearing black sweats and sneakers. Since the two of them were quiet and didn’t cause any trouble or seem to behave suspiciously in any way, I didn’t check what vehicle they’d come in or where they went after that. Or alert anyone.”
“Did they talk to anyone?”
“Not that I noticed. They were already at the tavern and had ordered food before I arrived. They seemed to keep to themselves. Not like wolves who wanted to join the pack. Not beta exactly, but they kept their heads down in conversation. Alphas who were interested in joining the pack would have been talking to everyone. Betas would have been more introverted but would still have tried to talk to the others in the tavern. These guys were looking around. So they weren’t totally ignoring everyone. But they weren’t catching anyone’s eye either…you know, to nod in greeting. They just appeared to be passing through.”
