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  “And what if in the meantime Sam happens upon another helpless woman having car trouble, and while we’re waiting here too scared to jump on him, the murderer is handed his seventh victim on a silver platter?”

  Anna bit her lip and tried to come up with a solution other than the one that immediately came to mind. The Sheriff, apparently, had the same idea because as his face lit up with epiphany, he said, “What about Noah?”

  “What about him?”

  “I mean, he’s working on the case as well, albeit from a slightly different angle. But maybe he could give us one of his guy, and we have him trail Sam for the next few days, make sure he doesn’t go after someone else.”

  “But I just told you I don’t trust Noah, I think he might be somehow involved as well.”

  “Do you think everyone who works for him is involved too?” The Sheriff smiled. “Because that would make this a much larger operation.”

  “Why can’t you tail Sam?”

  “Because I have leads of my own I’m working on!” The Sheriff laughed. “What the hell do you think I was doing before you got here? Sitting on my ass and flirting with Stella?”

  Anna gave him a look.

  “Okay,” he said. “I was doing that sometimes, but most of the time I was working.”

  “Fine,” she said. “You’re busy, I’m busy… what about Stella? She doesn’t have to tail him alone, that would be too dangerous, but she could go with one of Noah’s men, make sure everything goes as it should and report back to us.”

  Wells gawked at her and Anna felt the need to clarify that she was joking, even though when she initially suggested it, she was at least half serious.

  “Stella stays out of this,” said the Sheriff, his voice taking on the resolute tone of a man who was not open to further discussion.

  “Alright,” said Anna. “I get it. I won’t bring Stella into this, I promise, but we’re starting to run out of options, so unless you find some money in the budget to hire a second deputy—”

  “We are going to use one of Noah’s guys,” he said. Anna could tell he was trying to retain his earlier tone, but he was wavering slightly, threatening to slip back into his classic wishy-washy, unsure demeanor. “I trust Noah and he has access to resources we simply cannot afford. It would be stupid to not use his help.”

  “But you can’t just decide—”

  “Actually I can,” he said, sounding as if he had only just come to the realization himself. “I’m the Sheriff, and what I say goes.”

  “Don’t you know what he is?” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she even had time to process what she was saying. “He’s a wolf! And even though we aren’t saying it, and the files don’t have it reported, you and I both know these murders have been done by one of his kind.”

  The Sheriff held her gaze for a moment and then broke it. “I thought you of all people would be more understanding than that.” He shook his head. “The rest of this town may be bigoted as all hell, but I brought you on not just because your Intuit but because I was sick of working with people who jump to conclusions and point the finger at any old person who’s different.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that,” said Anna. “I’m not saying I don’t trust him because he’s a werewolf, I’m saying I don’t think we should ignore this inherent connection between him and the killers.”

  “We’re working with Noah, that’s final.”

  Anna frowned and crossed her arms, but now that Wells had pulled rank, there was really not much she could do. Anna sat at her desk and turned her back on him without another word.

  “I will bring you those files,” he said as he walked back into his office. “And since Noah already said he wanted to have a talk with you, I think you should be the one to call him and let him know the good news.”

  Anna spun her head around to argue, but the Sheriff closed the door to his office before she could speak.

  Along with the files she requested, Wells had also given her a slip of paper with Noah’s phone number on it. She hesitated before calling, picking up the receiver twice, only to slam it back down again without dialing. It wasn’t just that she didn’t trust Noah, it was also that she didn’t appreciate the situation she was being placed in by having to make this call. Noah had most likely saved her life the night before, which made her, regardless of her distrust towards him, somewhat indebted to the werewolf. She already owed him and now she was calling to cash in a second favor. It was embarrassing. She must appear to be the most incompetent detective in the state, maybe even in the country!

  Stella entered the station just as Anna was picking up the phone for the third time.

  “Good morning!” she said. “It’s a lovely day out. The snow looks beautiful!”

  “I didn’t really notice,” said Anna. “It was still pretty dark when I drove over this morning.”

  “Well, you should try to get outside at some point today, it’s a winter wonderland out there!”

  Anna smiled. “I’ll try, thanks.”

  “How’s your first morning on the job been so far?”

  Anna shrugged and in way of answering she pointed to the half empty box of donuts and said, “there’s treats if you want one.”

  Stella glanced at the box and then down at her waistline. “I really shouldn’t,” she said. “I been trying to watch what I eat. Winter can be so difficult sometimes, with all the heavy foods and the holidays. I’m worried I put on a few.”

  Sheriff Wells walked out of his office and gave Stella a big grin. “Good morning Stella, did you get yourself a donut yet?”

  Suddenly a little flustered and flushed, Stella hurried over to the box. “Not yet,” she said. “I was just about to pick one out. Did you bring these in Sheriff?”

  “Not me,” he said, picking up what Anna thought was either his third or fourth donut of the day. “Noah Fillmore dropped by this morning.”

  “The same Noah who saved you last night?” Stella asked, looking to Anna.

  The Sheriff nodded. “The very same. I’ve been trying all morning to convince Anna here that Noah is a good man and that we should be working with him, but she still has her doubts.”

  “I said I would call him,” said Anna. “And I will, but I never agreed to trust him.”

  “She’ll come around,” Wells said, holding his donut up as a farewell, and heading back to his office.

  Stella waited for the Sheriff to close his door, then she stopped pretending to decide on a donut and went back to her desk. “I can call Noah if you’d like.”

  “Really?” asked Anna. “That would be great. I need to set up a meeting with him for today, if he has time.”

  “Sure,” she said. “I would be happy to. It’s my job, and besides, I need something to keep my mind off those donuts.”

  “Oh for god’s sakes Stella, you’re as skinny as a twig!” Anna laughed. “Just have a damn donut. I won’t tell anyone.”

  Stella looked at Anna with her large round eyes like a pleading puppy. Then her face broke out into a smile and she got up and snatched a chocolate glazed. She pulled the pastry in half and brought the other piece to Anna.

  “You have to split it with me,” she said. “That’s the price for me calling Noah.”

  “But you said that it was your job to do these sorts of things!”

  Stella kept her arm outstretched, the donut sitting inches from Anna’s face.

  Anna rolled her eyes, but took the half donut anyway. “Whatever. When you call, see if you can try to squeeze a meeting in when he’s really busy would you? I want this to be short and sweet, got it?”

  Stella, now back at her desk, gave her a thumbs up and said “got it,” through a mouthful of chocolatey goodness.

  “Are you sure you don’t want something to eat?” Noah asked Anna, as the two of them sat in a booth at Sal’s Diner. Despite Stella’s valiant attempt at getting Noah’s assistant to schedule their meeting during the man’s busiest hour, the second Noah heard Depu
ty Arnold’s name, he apparently cleared his afternoon. He called Stella back personally and told her to have Anna meet him at the diner for lunch.

  “Yes,” she said. “I’m sure. I’m not hungry but I am in a hurry, so let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?”

  He sipped from his coffee mug. “Shoot.”

  “Sheriff Wells has asked me to ask you whether or not we could borrow one of your guys to help us tail a suspect.”

  “Who’s the suspect?”

  “It’s not relevant.”

  Noah laughed. “I believe it is quite relevant, seeing as I would be sticking my neck out for you a second time and possibly putting one of my guys in danger.”

  “He won’t be in danger,” said Anna. “And this isn’t me asking for the favor, it’s Sheriff Wells. I told him I wanted nothing to do with you or your company.”

  “Ouch,” he said. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think? You don’t know anything about me.”

  “Which is exactly why I am not happy with this arrangement, but like I said, it wasn’t up to me.”

  The waiter from the night before came around their table, even though he hadn’t been the one who originally took their order.

  “Hey there deputy,” he said smiling at Anna. “I know you’re not a fan of small talk, but I just wanted to welcome you to town. I didn’t know you was the new deputy last night when I served you, and I’m sorry you had to witness such an unpleasant exchange between me and those two men.”

  “That’s quite alright,” said Anna. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry you had to put up with those pricks.”

  Some of the waiters long hair was coming out of his top bun. He tucked his notepad under his arm and tried to push the loose strands back in place. “Oh honey, it’s nothing I ain’t used to and nothing I can’t handle. I’m Vee, by the way.”

  “I’m Deputy Anna Arnold, but feel free to just call me Anna.”

  Vee smiled at her and excused herself to go take the order of a new group who’d just walked in.

  “So, Anna—” Noah started to say.

  “You can call me Deputy, or Detective Arnold.”

  “Last night, you introduced yourself as Anna.”

  “Well last night was… a weird night for me.” Anna looked down at the file on the table in front of her. It was Sam Cottons file. She hadn’t opened it yet, hoping to get Noah to agree to her terms before telling him who the perp was. “Anyway, back to business. The department cannot afford your usual prices for investigators and security officers.”

  “How do you know what my prices are?”

  She gave him a squinted-eyed look. “I may have looked you up, done a little research on your company. I have to say, I was a little shocked when I saw how much you were charging clients for your services.”

  Noah shrugged. “Hey, it’s just business.”

  Anna leaned back in her seat. “Not for me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Anna sipped her coffee, quiet for a moment. “Nevermind.”

  Noah, to his credit, did not keep pushing.

  “You won’t have to pay me,” he said. “I am already paying more men than I need to cover the Oliver case. I can spare one of them for a few days, especially if it leads to more news on the killers.”

  Anna put her mug down and clapped her hands together. “Great. Then it’s settled. If you want to send your guy over to the station later… wait a minute… did you say killers? Like, multiple?”

  Noah nodded. “Yeah, so far that’s my working theory—that there is more than one.”

  “What makes you think that?” said Anna.

  He tilted his head to one side and then the other. “A lot of things.”

  Anna looked down at her coffee cup for a while and thought about the least offensive way to say what was on her mind.

  “So you think there is more than one werewolf out there murdering people?” She decided it was best to just replace the word “killer” with “werewolf” and see what kind of reaction Noah would have. If he responded in anger or shock, she’d know something was up.

  “Yes,” he said, not missing a beat. “Exactly.

  “Explain.”

  “Haven’t you looked over Valerie Oliver’s case? According to the timeline given to me by her parents, it should be in your file, they last saw Valerie at around 7:30, when they left to go out to dinner, Valerie stayed home to—”

  “Watch her younger siblings, yeah I know,” said Anna. “Get to the part about more than one killer.”

  “Well, you know the Olivers got a call at the restaurant around 8:15 from a neighbor of theirs who said she thought she heard screaming from their house. They called home, no one picked up. They drove back and found the house in complete disarray and the Valerie’s body on the floor of the kitchen. In her hand was a bloody kitchen knife.”

  “Yes, yes I know all that!”

  “Did you know that Valerie's little brother and sister were dropped off at her aunt’s house, across town, no later than 7:50?”

  Anna frowned. She couldn’t remember whether or not that was written down in the case file. She hadn’t had much time to review every file on each victim, and she likely stopped reading once she got to the part about finding Valerie’s body, at which point, her impatient self, would have skipped ahead to the pictures from the scene and the autopsy report.

  “She dropped her siblings off at her aunt’s house?”

  “Not her,” said Noah. “The kids just showed up on the porch, alone, ringing the doorbell.”

  Anna shook her head. “Not to sound thick, but I’m having trouble filling in the blanks here. Just tell me what you are thinking, please, I’m an Intuit not a mind reader.”

  “First of all, the complexity of this plan alone insists that there be more than one person involved. I mean, somebody had to be staking out the house, waiting until it was just the kids at home. Mr. Oliver is an ex-marine you know and he owns a lot of guns. They wouldn’t want him anywhere near when they went after his kids.”

  “Couldn’t the same person be responsible for staking the place out and for killing Valerie though? Doesn’t seem that difficult to accomplish.”

  “Yes, but I don’t believe the person who killed Valerie is the same person who killed the rest of them. If you look at the M.O. of the murderer, based on the other victims, you see a ruthless animal who drags his victims into the woods and rips them to shreds. With Valerie, that wasn’t the case. She was found in the kitchen with a broken neck, and it looked like there had been a struggle.”

  Noah put his elbows on the table and gesturing with his hands as he outlined his thoughts. “I think there was someone else who was staking out the house, someone who usually goes with the killer on these jobs. This time around however, the lookout notices that the victims are much younger— Valerie was only eighteen and her siblings were thirteen and eight. What I think happened is the lookout tried to warn Valerie. I think he broke in and tried to get her to run. She grabbed the knife and stabbed at him, at which point they fought, something went terribly wrong, maybe he threw her or maybe she just fell and broke her neck. Next thing you know, Valerie’s siblings are walking into the kitchen and this guy has to figure out what to do.”

  “He grabs the kids,” Anna jumped in. “Rushes them to their aunt’s house, but how would he know where she lived?”

  “I’ve been working with the Olivers for some time now, I’ve gotten to know their schedule. One Wednesdays and Fridays, Valierie drives the younger siblings to their aunt’s for math tutoring after school. If the murderers were watching Valerie for even a few days, they would have known that much.”

  “Has anyone talked to the younger siblings?”

  Noah let out a frustrated huff. “Yeah, plenty of people, myself included. They can’t seem to remember anything from that night. They know their parents left them to go to dinner, and the next thing they know they were sitting in their Aunt’s living room watching TV.”

&n
bsp; “Well that’s… not helpful.” Anna rubbed her temples. “So you think Valerie’s murder was an accident then?”

  “A tragic accident,” he said. “Yes.”

  Anna took a deep breath in and rubbed her temples. The waitress who had taken Noah’s order arrived at their table with his clam chowder and side salad. As she turned to leave, Anna called out to her.

  “Actually, I would like to order something if that’s okay?”

  The waitress took out her pad and pen. “What can I get you?”

  “A hamburger please,” she said. “With extra cheese and extra fries.”

  “You got it.”

  “What’s with the change of heart?” Noah asked after the waitress was gone.

  “This theory of yours is nuts,” said Anna. “But my gut is telling me you’re onto something, which means we have a lot more we need to talk about.” She opened her briefcase sitting next to her in the booth and took out a stack of files. “So, where do you want to start?”

  Stakeout

  It was nearing six o’clock and there still was no sign of Noah’s guy.

  “This is so unprofessional,” said Anna.

  Stella was waiting up with her, making sure everything went smoothly before she headed home for the night. The Sheriff had gotten a call earlier that afternoon about some people shooting off illegal fireworks and he went to look into it. Usually, that sort of low-stakes work was reserved for the deputy, but seeing as Anna was still getting used to her new position, Wells told her to stay behind and wait for Noah’s man.

  “Are you sure you said 5:30?” Stella asked.

  “Positive.”

  Just then, a black SUV drove up, this one with a different license plate. A tall, muscular black woman stepped out. She was wearing a bulletproof vest and packing heat. She had her hair pulled back in a tight bun and her expression was halfway between determination and fury.

  She walked right into the station and started her introduction off with an apology.

  “I’m sorry I’m late Deputy Arnold. I was not expecting there to be so much traffic.” She kept her head down as she spoke. “My name is Sue Hendricks, Noah sent me here to get further instructions.”