that up before. I
gave it a lot of thought, even tried thinking back to my childhood but I don’t
ever remember seeing them or hearing about them here. Just the grays. Why?”
“Last night and the night before, when I went for my run, I
could swear I caught sight of one in the woods.”
“Last night?” Sophia chewed her lower lip. “Are you sure it
wasn’t just some other animal you mistook for a wolf?”
Logan grunted. “I think I’m in a good position to know what
a wolf looks like, don’t you think?”
She exhaled slowly. “I guess you’re right. But it’s such an
anomaly. Oh. Wait. Do you think there’s a shifter living up here somewhere? And
that’s what you saw?”
“I think it’s a good possibility. But if that’s the case, it
would be nice to find him.”
“Or her,” Sophia added.
“I think it might be too big for a female.” He scratched his
chin. “But then again we’ve come across some mighty good-sized she-wolves.”
“It also could be the Chupacabra,” she pointed out. “All
signs point to it being a shifter of some kind.”
“No, I don’t think so. The very faint scent I caught wasn’t
like that detected at past crime scenes. I could swear it had a human essence.”
Sophia stared at him. “If it is a shifter we need to find
out who it is and which side of the line it stands on. We don’t need to be
doing battles on yet another front.”
“Agreed. He’s got to be from around here. He wouldn’t be
traveling all the way up from Penobscot County. I’m going to do my best to make
sure my radar is on full alert.”
They drove in silence for a few more moment. They were
almost at the barracks when Logan spoke again.
“Soph, you okay with us splitting off from the detectives
today? Going out on the Sno-Cats, letting them focus on looking for some
deranged individual with some kind of bizarre instrument. That’s what they
really want to believe, anyway.”
“I know, I know.” She sighed. “It’s always so friggin’ hard,
you know? When my nephews were killed they spent months trying to track down
pedophiles, even though there wasn’t any sexual molestation. And despite the
fact there were two other killings exactly like it.”
“So you’re okay with this?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She gave a short laugh. “I think
they’ll be damn glad to be shut of us. Let the ‘real’ detectives get on with
their work.”
He waited a second before adding, “But I think Rebecca
should stick with us. You know, since she knows the area so well.”
Sophia laughed. “And of course, the others don’t.”
“She buys into our theory,” he said defensively.
“It’s okay, Logan. I’m sure we couldn’t beat her off with a
stick.” Then she sobered. “Are you, you know, feeling…”
“Anything for her?” he finished. “I like her. A lot. But
there are a lot of things she’d have to accept about me if we moved forward at
all, assuming she felt the same way. Besides, she has a job here and I’d never
play fast and loose with your sister.”
“Of course not,” she said with confidence. “You know I’d
roast your balls.”
The scenario with the detectives played out even better than
they hoped. Bobby was waiting for them alone when they walked into the
barracks.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he began, “but no meeting this
morning. I thought it might be more productive if I sent the team out to
canvass again today. Try again to see if they can find someone who might have
had a grudge against Franklin.”
“Someone really crazy?” Sophia cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Okay,” he agreed, “crazy. Or not. And Scott’s running down
people who popped up when we ran Franklin’s name through the database. They’ll
also meet with Fish and Game and see what the latest wild animals reports are
for around here. You know. Things like that.” He paused. “You guys okay with
that? I figured you had plans when Rebecca signed out the snowmobiles.”
“We’re
gave it a lot of thought, even tried thinking back to my childhood but I don’t
ever remember seeing them or hearing about them here. Just the grays. Why?”
“Last night and the night before, when I went for my run, I
could swear I caught sight of one in the woods.”
“Last night?” Sophia chewed her lower lip. “Are you sure it
wasn’t just some other animal you mistook for a wolf?”
Logan grunted. “I think I’m in a good position to know what
a wolf looks like, don’t you think?”
She exhaled slowly. “I guess you’re right. But it’s such an
anomaly. Oh. Wait. Do you think there’s a shifter living up here somewhere? And
that’s what you saw?”
“I think it’s a good possibility. But if that’s the case, it
would be nice to find him.”
“Or her,” Sophia added.
“I think it might be too big for a female.” He scratched his
chin. “But then again we’ve come across some mighty good-sized she-wolves.”
“It also could be the Chupacabra,” she pointed out. “All
signs point to it being a shifter of some kind.”
“No, I don’t think so. The very faint scent I caught wasn’t
like that detected at past crime scenes. I could swear it had a human essence.”
Sophia stared at him. “If it is a shifter we need to find
out who it is and which side of the line it stands on. We don’t need to be
doing battles on yet another front.”
“Agreed. He’s got to be from around here. He wouldn’t be
traveling all the way up from Penobscot County. I’m going to do my best to make
sure my radar is on full alert.”
They drove in silence for a few more moment. They were
almost at the barracks when Logan spoke again.
“Soph, you okay with us splitting off from the detectives
today? Going out on the Sno-Cats, letting them focus on looking for some
deranged individual with some kind of bizarre instrument. That’s what they
really want to believe, anyway.”
“I know, I know.” She sighed. “It’s always so friggin’ hard,
you know? When my nephews were killed they spent months trying to track down
pedophiles, even though there wasn’t any sexual molestation. And despite the
fact there were two other killings exactly like it.”
“So you’re okay with this?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She gave a short laugh. “I think
they’ll be damn glad to be shut of us. Let the ‘real’ detectives get on with
their work.”
He waited a second before adding, “But I think Rebecca
should stick with us. You know, since she knows the area so well.”
Sophia laughed. “And of course, the others don’t.”
“She buys into our theory,” he said defensively.
“It’s okay, Logan. I’m sure we couldn’t beat her off with a
stick.” Then she sobered. “Are you, you know, feeling…”
“Anything for her?” he finished. “I like her. A lot. But
there are a lot of things she’d have to accept about me if we moved forward at
all, assuming she felt the same way. Besides, she has a job here and I’d never
play fast and loose with your sister.”
“Of course not,” she said with confidence. “You know I’d
roast your balls.”
The scenario with the detectives played out even better than
they hoped. Bobby was waiting for them alone when they walked into the
barracks.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he began, “but no meeting this
morning. I thought it might be more productive if I sent the team out to
canvass again today. Try again to see if they can find someone who might have
had a grudge against Franklin.”
“Someone really crazy?” Sophia cocked an eyebrow at him.
“Okay,” he agreed, “crazy. Or not. And Scott’s running down
people who popped up when we ran Franklin’s name through the database. They’ll
also meet with Fish and Game and see what the latest wild animals reports are
for around here. You know. Things like that.” He paused. “You guys okay with
that? I figured you had plans when Rebecca signed out the snowmobiles.”
“We’re
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