Smut alert! Noticed I changed the rating to M. Somehow I don't think any of you mind.
Chapter 3 - Bess
The next morning found Joss and Fusco canvasing the neighborhood where Yoshida's body was found, looking for any possible witnesses when Joss's phone rang. Seeing that it was a call from a blocked number she smiled and answered it.
"Hello, Detective." John's soft voice sent a pleasant shiver down her spine. Fusco glanced over at her, rolled his eyes, and walked off to give her some privacy.
"Hello," she purred back, hoping she had the same effect on him (She did.) "What's up?"
"I've tracked down Peter Yoshida's pack."
"That was fast."
"Some things are just better handled Alpha to Alpha." Joss could hear the shrug in John's voice. She had to giggle at Wolf culture, but he was right, being an Alpha opened doors.
"Yoshida ran with the pack out of little Japan in the East Village," John continued. "His parents had been members and his sister is still a member. He missed the last Pack Night, but no one thought anything of it since he was a janitor at the Cineplex. They figured he'd had to work."
"That's helpful to know. Given the mummified state of the body, CeCe is having trouble pinning down how long he's been dead. The last full moon was about two and half weeks ago, so we now know he's been dead at least that long."
"His Alpha gave me his sister's name and number I'll text them to you."
"Thanks babe. You've been a big help."
"You're welcome, Detective." John's voice caressed the word "Detective" like Joss hoped he would caress various part of her body later. Joss wondered if he knew how his voice affected her; she suspected that he did.
Unfortunately Yoshida's sister was unable to help. He had no enemies that she knew of and since being arrested for some petty crimes several years prior, he had led a very quiet life. Joss and Fusco were stymied.
Over the next couple of weeks, three more bodies were discovered in various locations around New York. One washed up the on banks of the East River, one was found in another empty lot in another sketchy part of the city and one was found in a forested area on Long Island. The first two victims were Wolf, but just when Joss, Fusco and Moreno were all convinced they were tracking a serial killer who targeted Wolves, the killer threw them a curve ball.
"He's not Wolf?" Joss stared at Coroner CeCe Wallace incredulously.
CeCe shook her head. "Sorry girl. I ran the test twice to be sure, unlike your other vics, he wasn't a Wolf."
"Do we have an ID on him at least?" Fusco asked.
CeCe nodded. "Finger prints were intact enough for that. He's Siad Barre, he's a Somali immigrant who had been working as a hot dog vendor since he entered the country. Never in any trouble with the law, no record." CeCe handed over a picture that looked like it had been taken off his Green Card.
Joss and Fusco left the morgue pondering this new development. "Barre has to be supernatural somehow," Joss mused.
Fusco nodded. "My gut tells me you're right, but until we know what he was, we don't know how he fits in."
"I know someone who does extensive volunteer work with Somali refugees who might be able to tell us something."
"Who might that be?"
"The Crosses."
"Then let's go. You're driving," Fusco grinned.
The Parking Gods were smiling on them that day, Joss found a parking spot right in front of the Crosses' building. Joss took a second after she turned off the car to take a few deep breaths.
"She's not still mad at you?" Fusco asked.
After Bill Cross had been hurt in a fight with the Headless Horseman**, Bess had blamed John and Joss for her mate's injuries. They had asked him for his help, and while he had freely given it to them, Bess had still been furious at them "for dragging him into that mess." Bill had tried to reason with his mate, but Bess was having none of it. By contrast Bill held John and Joss completely blameless and remained friends with them. They met occasionally for lunch under the guise of "Alpha business," but Bess had shown no sign of forgiveness. "Give her time, she'll come around," Bill would say.
Joss mourned the loss of the friendship, Bess had taken her under her wing and helped the new Alpha understand her responsibilities and the new culture she had been thrust into with no prior knowledge or preparation. Joss had had a rocky start with her pack after John, in his typical fashion, had brought her in without observing the usual protocols for introducing a new Alpha and pack member, and that had naturally generated some resentment. A former lover of John's had used that resentment against Joss and nearly killed her****. Bess's advice to the newly turned Wolf had been invaluable in helping Joss assume her new position and integrate into the pack. The loss of her friend and mentor had hurt Joss deeply and she was dreading having to face her former friend again.
But now Joss had to put her personal feelings aside. She had a case to solve and she suspected that the Crosses had information they needed.
Looking up, Joss saw the curtains in the window of the Crosses front room flutter as if someone had moved them to look out. She reached out with her Wolf sense, feeling for Bess. She sensed Bess's confusion as to why the detectives would be there. Unfortunately still plenty of animosity there as well; Bess was not going to make this easy for her.
"Yup she's still mad at me," Joss sighed. "Let's get this over with."
They got out of the car and climbed the stairs to the second floor apartment. Just as Joss raised her hand to knock Bess ripped open the door. "An Alpha always brings their mate, not a Beta, when calling on another Alpha, you know that," she snapped.
Joss glared right back, "I'm not here as an Alpha, I'm here as a cop and Lionel is my partner."
Bill came up behind Bess and firmly pulled the door open. "Come in Joss. Lionel, it's good to see you again."
"Likewise, Mr. Cross," Lionel replied politely as they entered the apartment. "You're all healed up."
"It was clean break, hardly took any time to mend," Bill said pointedly while looking at his mate. Bess merely made a small, barely audible rude noise and went to sit in her favorite armchair, obviously sulking.
Bill sat in the well-worn chair next to hers while Joss and Lionel took seats on the couch across from them. "How can we help you, detectives?" He asked, emphasizing their titles.
Joss handed Bill the picture of Barre. "Do you know this man? I understand you do a lot of work with Somali refugees."
Bill looked at the photo. "Siad Barre. A good man, never in any trouble. What did he do?"
"I'm sorry, Bill, he's dead." Joss handed over the picture of Barre's mummified corpse.
Bess had been pretending she wasn't paying attention to the conversation, but she could not resist a peek at the picture and gasped in horror when she looked at the photo. "What happened to him?"
"We're not sure yet, But he's the fourth victim to turn up like this. The other three were Wolves." Lionel explained. "We were hoping you could tell us more about this guy. He wasn't Wolf so we don't know how he fits in with the killer's M.O."
Bill handed the photos back to Joss and leaned back in his chair. "You're right he wasn't Wolf, but he wasn't a regular human either. He was a shaman, a very strong one at that."
"You mean he was like a priest?" Lionel asked, unable to hide his surprise.
Bess nodded, her sulk forgotten. "More like a wizard. He had strong supernatural powers, much like your Mr. Crane. We could feel it as soon as we got near him."
"Did he have any enemies?"
Bill shook his head. "He'd kept a very low profile since coming to this country. Not many of us knew he was a shaman. We only knew because he sensed we were Wolf, and he wanted to talk to us." Bill paused. "He was lonely, he lost his family and friends in the civil war. He needed someone to talk to, someone who understood him."
"Bill have you seen anything like this before?" Joss asked, tapping the picture of Barre's mummified corpse. "John hasn't, and the coroner can't find any evidence of what killed him or the other victims."
Bill shook his head. "Babe, I'm sixty eight years old and I ain't never seen nothing like this before. But then again, I avoid the dark stuff." He glanced over at Bess and she shook her head, indicating she'd never seen anything like this before either.
Joss and Lionel stood up. "Thanks, you've been a huge help," Lionel said as they headed for the door.
Just as Joss was about to walk out the door when Bess called out, "Joss!"
Joss turned and looked at Bess, a question in her eyes.
Bess looked squarely at her friend. "Be careful. Whoever did this to Siad is powerful, very powerful. He was a strong man. If they got to him…" She didn't finish her sentence but she didn't need to.
"Thank you Bess," Joss said. She walked out the apartment with big smile on her face.
Bill reached over and patted Bess's hand.
"That went better than I expected," Fusco commented as he and Joss climbed back in their car. "It's about time that old battle axe thawed out."
"Be respectful, Fusco," Joss chided gently. "We did almost get her mate killed."
Fusco snorted. "No you didn't and you know it. Can the guilt trip. Bill helped you because that's who he is. She got a scare, but she had no right no take it out on you and John."
Joss shot him a look but didn't say anything.
That night, John walked in the door, kissed his mate and asked, "How did things go with Bess?"
Joss sighed. "Finch has been tracking me again?"
John smirked. "It's how he shows affection."
Joss had to laugh at that, then she grew serious. "Fusco and I had a new vic on the collar case who was a Somali refugee, so we paid the Crosses a professional visit to ask them about their work with the refugee community."
"I'm guessing Bess was thrilled to see you," John deadpanned.
Joss winced. "About as happy as she would have been if I were an IRS auditor. Matter of fact, I think she would have preferred the auditor."
The corner of John mouth quirked up slightly. "Did they at least help?"
"Yup. They told us Siad Barre was a powerful shaman, so we're still certain the perp is targeting supernaturally powerful individuals." Joss paused and smiled a small smile. "After she saw the pictures, she asked me to be careful as we were leaving."
"So you do rank above an IRS auditor," John grinned as he kissed her.
Joss kissed him back and a rather intense make out session followed.
"Where's Cali?" John gasped when he finally broke contact.
"In bed. You know her, she'll sleep like the dead until morning," Joss purred.
John grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the Master Suite. "I need a shower and I want someone to scrub my back."
A laughing Joss allowed herself to be pulled into the bedroom. John pulled her shirt off over her head and lightly ran his hands over her chest. "You're so beautiful," he whispered as his lips dipped down the kiss her tenderly.
Joss returned his kiss as she pushed his jacket off his shoulders and began unbuttoning his shirt. The pace of their kisses increased as each piece of clothing was removed and more of their bodies were available for touching and stroking.
John knelt in front of Joss and carefully removed her shoes. He kissed her stomach and undid her jeans, sliding them down her smooth legs, kissing her thighs. He looked up at her and met her eyes. Joss was touched by the tenderness she saw there. She ran her hands through his hair, hoping he saw the love reflected in her own eyes.
Joss tugged on John so that he would stand up. Once he was standing, Joss took her turn to kneel and take off his shoes and socks while John lovingly stroked her hair. Joss undid the buckle on his belt and pulled his pants and boxer down in one motion, freeing his cock. Her eyes locked with his as she slowly took his length into her mouth and slowly let it out. With a growl, John yanked her to her feet and attached her mouth with his.
They moved together into the bathroom, neither one willing to let the other go. John got the water running and they stumbled into the shower together, still making out like teenagers on prom night.
As the warm water ran down their bodies, their mouths continued to attack each other's and their hands roamed over the other. John's hand moved up to Joss's breast and tweaked her nipple, causing her to moan into his mouth. She reached down and took his length into her hand and began stroking it. John groaned and rested his forehead against Joss's, panting heavily.
John's hand moved down her body to touch her clit, gently rubbing in circles. Joss gasped and squeezed her eyes tightly shut as waves of pleasure crashed over her. John smiled down at her as he watched her expressive face contort in a mask of pure bliss.
Joss opened her eyes and she locked her gaze on her mate. "John, please…" she moaned.
John knew exactly what she wanted. He pulled Joss's leg up to his waist and pinned her against the wall. With a coy smile, she brought her other leg up and locked her ankles together behind his back, his throbbing member poised against her entrance. Slowly, he pushed his way into her and they began moving together, quickly establishing their familiar rhythm.
Joss clung to her mate, reveling in the feeling of his strong arms around her and his mouth on hers. Her fingers dug in his shoulders as he powerfully thrust into her and she pushed back against him.
Joss came first; her head fell against John's chest and she went limp into his arms. He came a few thrusts later, resting his cheek on her head. Carefully, she lowered one leg then the other, reluctant to break contact, but she knew they needed to get into bed and get some sleep.
They exited the shower and began drying each other, with some tender kisses thrown in for good measure. John held Joss tightly for moment, until he felt her shiver. "Come on, let's get you into bed," he smiled.
They hastily performed their bed time rituals. They climbed into their pajamas, John in the pants while Joss stole the tops. They brushed their teeth, Joss put on her head scarf, and they climbed into bed. Joss snuggled up to John's side and promptly fell asleep.
John watched his mate sleep. Once again he thanks the universe for bringing him to her that night on the subway. He had no idea where he would be now without her in his life, but he was sure it would not be good place. She was his anchor to the world, he would be lost without her.
**The battle with the Headless Horseman from Sleepy Hollow was detailed in my prior story The Wolf and the Headless Horseman.
****Joss's fight with John's former lover is in my story A Wolf After My Own Heart
