Chapter Twenty-Six

"We've been doing so well. Several months without a body connected to this investigation, and now this. The one time I wanted Genny to be full of shit…" Leah grumbled as she got out of the police-issued car. It was early in the morning, just an hour before, the Voldemort Unit had received a call from Homicide about their newest findings.

"Don't you hate when that happens?"

The scene of the crime was within an abandoned plot of grass, right next to a dilapidated parking lot near Midway Airport. The victims, after further inspection, were discovered inside a well-dug up ditch near a badly-maintained road leading off to abandoned tracks. It was public land, nothing Leah could think valuable except for the police department and the coroner's office.

"At least, our victims aren't inside walls," Jacob remarked as he walked along the perimeter of the large hole.

Leah wasn't going to lie; the lack of gore was a pleasant surprise. "Small victories."

The state of the unfortunate souls, all nine of them (maybe), was far more visually appealing than Leah had dealt with in the past year. Just nothing but bones. No skin, no trace of hair (at least, not discovered at the moment), and no clothes. After breathing in the air for a good minute, both Leah and Jacob decided that no one, minus some local animals, had been in this area for weeks.

"We gotta wait for Bella and the crew," Jacob stated the obvious, then he let out a dry laugh. "Just like old times, huh? Wasn't she complaining about our lack of presence just last week?"

"I think she wanted to see us in a less morbid capacity," Leah pointed out, zeroing her focus on the state of the dug-out land. Judging on the growing weeds sprouting from the sides, the hole wasn't newly-made. "Remember, we're going out for drinks this weekend."

"Hah, at this rate, none of us are gonna have a weekend."

Leah sighed. "Yeah…"

Jacob took a step closer to the edge and peered over. "Well," he started, removing his sunglasses. He cleaned off the lens with a suit jacket sleeve before putting the shades back on. "This isn't from lye."

"Not strong enough?"

Jacob shook his head. "Or it could've been diluted." He scrunched up his nose. "I don't know. If this was done weeks ago, that meant the bodies went through rapid decomposition before the bones were bleached white."

"Lye can do that."

"Lye turns bodies into sludge."

"Like Breaking Bad."

"Like Breaking Bad," Jacob echoed. He knelt along the edge of the hole and shook his head. "They did a horrible job hiding the bodies."

"Do you that was intentional?"

"Maybe. But then again, if these homicides are connected to the coven drama… every murder we've covered so far was out in the open."

"Except for Gianna."

"They could've dumped her in a large body of water just how they did with Thomas." Jacob looked up his partner. "This is different, though. Just bones? Nothing but bones…"

Leah pointed at one of the skulls. She noticed a jagged hole in the rear. "Shot execution-style," she concluded. "You can tell by the puncture that it was close-range."

"Wonderful."

Leah knelt along the mound's edge, tilting her head to the side as she further examined the skull from afar. "See the angle? The victim was level with the killer. Either the same height or was crouched down. Laying down..." She shifted her focus to the front of the skull. "No exit wound," she pointed out.

"Bullet must've been lodged in the brain," Jacob suggested. "

Leah looked up. "Think these were humans?"

Jacob ran a hand down his face. "Fuck, I hope not."

"Rather be one of us?"

"I hate to admit that, but..."

The law, the Deal, could be a bitch.

Leah stood up and shoved her hands in her pockets. "Yeah, I know," and then, "Vampires?"

"Underneath this sun?" Jacob pointed at the sky above. The sun shone bright, just like yesterday and the week before. "Nah. We'll just see what the Examiner Office says—Oh, look who finally decided to show up?"

Leah turned around to see Bella and Eric walking briskly towards them with supplies in their hands, both looking absolutely thrilled to be at the scene. She waved at them before apologizing for Jacob's lack of a proper greeting. Both coroners brushed Leah's concern off before giving Jacob the finger.

It was good-natured, something desperately needed at the time.

"You know, Leah, when I mentioned something about meeting up more, this wasn't what I meant," Bella said. "I was referring to a simple lunch or even a girls' night out…"

Jacob stood up and shook both coroner's hands when they approached him. "Ready for your life to get more interesting?"

Eric grimaced. "I don't like the sound of that."

"I need my job to get less interesting," Bella said, dropping her bag at her feet and crossing her arms. Gone was her patented excitement masked as naivety. Thanks to last year, she was now officially inducted into the life of a government worker. Cynical with a lace of cautious optimism. "I was told this was a multiple-homicide."

"It is," Leah confirmed.

"Tell me this isn't like last time," Eric practically begged.

Leah felt for him. He hadn't been the same since the slaughterhouse incident.

To be honest, no one had.

"Nah," Jacob insisted, waving his hand to downplay the severity of the situation. "Just bodies in a ditch. Come look, you'll love this."

They all did.

"Oh," Eric simply said, taking a step back. "This is new."

"We counted nine skulls," Jacob told him. "Most have bullet holes towards the back."

"Wonderful," Bella remarked, and then after a deep sigh. "No hazmats this time?"

"Not needed," Leah said. "As you can see, there isn't much left."

"What about anywhere else? I mean, the rest of the bodies have to be somewhere." Bella glanced at the ditch and swallowed. "Unless…"

"Looks like some good, ol' potassium hydroxide to me," Eric finished with a nod. He knelt at the edge and studied its content. "Strong enough to corrode the flesh, but not the bone."

"I knew there's a reason you were hired," Jacob remarked with a smirk.

Eric gave the detective the finger.

Jacob grabbed his chest, feigning disappointment while Bella and Leah laughed. It was nice to see the young examiner back to himself even for a brief moment.

"How's everything?" Bella asked Leah as they walked around the abandoned lot, leaving Jacob behind with Eric. Both women made careful steps along the rugged landscape, looking out for any evidence, forensic or otherwise.

Leah shifted her gaze from the ground to the scene behind her; more personnel were arriving, including the blasted media. She could see the news vans out in the distance with reporters and their cameramen jumping up and rushing to the action. Hopefully, they would pay attention to the caution tape this time. "Rather not see a pile of bones in a ditch, but I guess it could've been worse."

"It's not the slaughterhouse."

Leah nodded. "It's not the slaughterhouse."

"I can only imagine what that had been like, seeing everything in person." Bella picked up a piece of fabric, placing it in the evidence bag. Technically, that was the CSI team's job, but they were all currently occupied. "Eric's not a squeamish guy, kinda can't be in our field—but I think he got PTSD from that scene. Not to make light of condition."

"I'm pretty sure we all did in some way..."

Leah stopped in her tracks and checked her surroundings. It was hard to believe that she was within the city limits. Urban areas were associated with crowds and concrete and buildings. Yes, it was South West Chicago, an area less populated than the rest, but nothing? It wasn't like they were in the suburbs or near Sag Valley Forest. She was standing in the middle of acres of open land, littered with overgrown weeds, pockets of cracked pavement. The only sign of infrastructure was the long-abandoned parking lot. Buildings could be seen in the distance. The Hancock Tower and the skyscrapers that distinctly defined downtown could be seen even further.

Finding witnesses or footage was going to be a pain in the ass.

"Yeah," Bella said, now picking up a disregarded cigarette butt. Looked recently used—that was something. A sign of life. A sign that someone had to be here. "Still can't get the Dahlia out of my mind."

"Me neither." Leah closed her eyes and deeply breathed in. She opened them and looked ahead— she could pick up a faint perfume scent. And then, cologne. Something expensive. Cigarette, no, marijuana. Interesting. The scents were getting stronger each step away from the ditch. "ETD?"

"Need more tests," Bella said. "Since KOH— potassium hydroxide— was probably used, time of death could have been recent or even last year... though based on the coloring of the bones, at first glance, it may have been some weeks."

"I'm picking up perfume, cologne, weak..." Leah trailed off and breathed again, deep. "It's not from any of us."

Bella grinned. "Oh, look at you, using your newfound abilities for police work. Do you know how much easier my job would be if I can pick that up? But then again, I've only gotten used to the smell of rotten flesh." Her smile turned into a grimace. "Officially not jealous."

"So, sooner rather than later?"

"Wolves' sense of smell is good, but not good enough to up something from months ago. So yeah, I'm guessing sooner... but I don't think it was poured in this area. It's too dry."

"Unless it was done months ago."

"Yeah, but there's no blood. Even with KOH, something would be leftover. And the bones looked bleached." Bella crossed her arms. "Hey, how did you find out about this anyway?"

"Got a tip."

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Arresting the source of that tip?"

Leah shook her head. "Nah, he got nothing to with it," and then amended, "I'm ninety-nine percent sure."

Bella scoffed. "Can't be a hundred percent in this business."

"Ain't that the truth." Leah turned around and headed back to the direction of the growing crowd. "Apparently, there's been another war happening right under our noses for months. Ever since the Volturi bailed."

"Oh wonderful," Bella mumbled, sounding entirely not surprised. "So, I suppose we'll be seeing more of each other in this capacity?"

Leah sighed. "Looks like it."

"Anything?"

Leah reached her partner's side and shoved her hands into her pockets. "Besides cigarette butts and catching a whiff of weed and perfume? Nothing."

"Weed and perfume, huh?"

"Right over there." Leah pointed to the area where she and Bella had been minutes earlier. "It's nothing, but it's something."

"This must've been recent," Jacob concluded, rubbing his chin. He dropped his arm. "Our noses are good, but not that good."

"That was exactly what Bella said," Leah said, looking beyond Jacob to where Bella and Eric stood. Inside of the ditch, taking pictures and performing visual examinations. They had their work cut out for them, she thought. They all did. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss the gore. Gore means evidence."

Jacob nodded. "But why a ditch full of bleached bones?" he wondered. "Out in the open? Someone was bound to discover it."

"Maybe that was the point," Leah suggested. She shrugged. "Seems like people no longer believe in dumping bodies into Lake Michigan." She looked beyond her partner to ask, "See anything, Dr. Yorkie?"

"Well, we're not exactly working with much," Eric said. He slapped his thighs a couple of times and stood up. "So, here's the thing, we can find out the sex, age, and whatnot from the bones. Not a problem. May take a forever, but it's doable…"

"The issue," Bella followed. "Is the determining the species. Given the fact this is most likely linked to your supernatural problem, normal tests aren't going to determine whether those poor people were humans, vampires—"

"Those weren't vampires," Jacob interrupted. "The sun's been shining bright for the past couple of weeks."

"Or other supernatural beings," Bella revised. "The tests will only say homo sapiens."

Leah pinched the bridge of her nose. Bella's words made sense, perfect sense, but they didn't make the situation less frustrating. "So, what happens next?"

"We have to talk to the boss," Eric said. "See how we can approach this."

"You've dealt with the supernatural before."

"Yes, with other evidence. Blood. Guts. The whole shebang," Bella pointed out. "Not with just bleached bones. And conveniently, no teeth." She shook her head. "If these aren't human, we're going to have to outsource them to experts who, according to the law, aren't accredited."

"For obvious reasons," Eric added.

"Do what you gotta do," Jacob said. "If Gennaro is really telling the truth about this war, then we have our work cut out for us. More than we already do."

Leah rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. "Joy."

A couple of hours later, during the ride back to the station, Jacob received a call from Bella.

"Hey, so we found something that you'll like, considering the circumstances," the coroner said in place of a greeting. From the sounds of it, she was still outside. "A piece of skin attached to the bone. It was pretty hidden, so you wouldn't have been able to see it at first glance."

Leah let out a sigh of relief as she made a right turn onto a major street. A piece of skin was something. Thank goodness.

"Details?" Jacob asked.

"Tan, a couple of shades lighter than yours. Shaved but not enough to be void of hair—"

"DNA!" Leah could hear Eric shout in the background. "Finally!"

"Anyway," Bella said, feigning annoyance from the interruption. "Interestingly enough, it contained the same brand found within the Dahlia's wrist. Just half the size."

Leah and Jacob shared a look of surprise. It had been months, practically more than a year since they had seen the tattoo.

"DC?" Jacob asked as he adjusted the telephone between the side of his face and shoulder. "Denali-Cullen."

"Yep."

"Holy shit," Leah breathed, bringing a hand to her mouth. This was big. This had so many connotations that she didn't even know where to start. "It can be a vampire," she then whispered to Jacob. "The skin would have to be obscured from the sun…"

Which could mean that the bodies had been placed within the ditch not too long ago.

Jacob rubbed his chin, and then, "Thanks, Bella. We'll stop by today."

"See you then."

Jacob hung up the phone. "Nine fucking bodies," he said, shaking his head. "One maybe-confirmed vampire."

"It never ends, does it?"

Jacob tossed his head back and groaned, "Paul's gonna lose his shit."

"What else is new?"

"Thank you for jinxing us, Saint Pierre."

Aisha swiveled around in her chair, expression confused as Jacob and Leah headed towards her desk. "Don't you think it's too early to be blaming something on me, Black?" She moved some papers aside, so Leah leaned on the desk of the table. "What happened now?"

"First of all, it's almost lunch," Jacob said with a crooked smile, then, in a more serious tone, "Nine bodies found in a ditch, next to Midway."

"It was nine-bodies worth of bones discovered in a ditch," Leah corrected. "And it wasn't next to Midway. It was relatively nearby in West Lawn."

Jacob's wave was dismissive.

"What the hell are you two talking about—" Aisha stopped when Jacob held up a picture of the crime to her face. Her eyes widened. "Oh." She pulled the photo from Jacob's grasped and scrutinized it. She glanced up. "All human?"

"We don't know," Jacob said. "We're waiting for unofficial confirmation from Bella and the crew."

Aisha's gaze dropped to the crime scene photo. "Does our fearless leader know about this?"

"He will soon." Leah jerked her head in the direction of Paul's office. "Wanna attend the fallout? He's going to love this."

He was going to lose his fucking mind.

"And bring Embry and Martinez along," Jacob added. "I have a bad feeling that they're gonna get dragged into the this."

"Why?"

"Victoria's people used to patrol this area," Leah explained, hoping and praying that what was left of the gang wasn't involved. "It's currently up for grabs."

"How the fuck did we not know about this?"

"I thought we only cared about humans from downtown and up?" Embry replied, cheeky. But he dropped his act when he realized that this was not the time to joke around. He wisely added upon being the receiving end of Paul's glare. "Not to say that you do."

Jacob gave the younger cop a look of disapproval while everyone else just rolled their eyes.

"How many we have so far?"

"Nine," Leah said.

"All found in a ditch," Jacob followed. "Mass grave near the shipping yards—"

"Midway," Leah corrected. "Next to an abandoned parking lot."

"Why didn't they just drop them in the Lake?" Martinez asked. "Do you know there is still wreckage in there that we still haven't discovered?"

"It's not called a great lake for nothing," Aisha said, and then to Paul, "You think they're trying to send a message, boss?"

"Of course, they're sending a message," Paul said with quiet intensity, making eye contact with as many people in the room as he could.

"But who's they?" Martinez asked.

Paul threw up his hands. "How the fuck should I know?" He shook his head. "We need to find out who the victims are before we starting auditioning for suspects. At this moment, the perps could be anybody."

"We do know that one of the victims was a vampire. Maybe." Leah spoke up. "Possibly associated with the Olympic coven. A piece of skin was found in the crime scene area, marked with the same tattoo found inside Jessica Stanley's wrist. D.C."

"Denali-Cullen," Aisha mumbled. "Oh, they're not going to be happy…"

"Saint Pierre and Call, check with your contacts to see if there's been any action on the Olympic front. I know they've been making a concerted effort to be legit, but murder can change that," Paul ordered. "Martinez, deal with the Fangs; I know they've been wanting to move into Victoria's old territory. Clearwater and Black, see if our favorite ATF agent knows anything and see if Gennaro's willing to spill more beans. And give me an update on the autopsy."

"We're still looking for a match on that piece of skin," Bella informed the detectives the following morning as she led them to her lab. "But I think we've found something even more interesting. This off the books, of course." Once inside, she directed Eric to hand over some reports. After scanning them, she gave them to Jacob. "There's something about those bones."

Jacob skimmed through the reports, stopping at one hand-written one, before handing them to her partner. "None are humans. Only one was a vampire—"

"And the rest are possibly shapeshifters," Bella concluded. "The bones, what we found are consistent with the findings from the slaughterhouse killings. One vampire and the rest werewolves."

"Fuck," Jacob bit out.

"You were right, Leah," Bella said. "All shot execution-style, possibly while kneeling. Except for two. They were shot through the temples, including the one vampire. Who, by the way, was hit by a UV. You can tell by the perimeter of the entrance and exit wounds; they were burned through.

"Yep, UV, alright," Jacob said, then repeated, "Fuck."

"We're not detectives, but this smells like a gang hit," Eric said. "They were found in Victoria's former territory, right? Aren't people fighting for control of it?"

Leah and Jacob shared a look.

Those shapeshifters could have been members of the Fangs, or at least, allies; rival gangs were trying to push them of prime territory, including the Volturi, including Maria—shit, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Victoria was gone, leaving the area up for grabs.

But Leah had been under the assumption that the Fangs were avoiding Chicago like the plague until they regrouped, and the drama calmed down.

"Well?" Bella wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"Thank you for this," Jacob said, glancing at Leah again. "We appreciate it and will follow up on the shapeshifters." He threaded a hand through his short hair. "Keep up posted on that piece of skin."

"You have got to be kidding me," was Paul's response after being told of the Office of the Medical Examiner's findings. "One vampire. The rest shapeshifters. Anyone has any insight into this BS?"

All of the captain's office occupants turned their attention to Jacob, who, in turn, informed everyone that, "Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a shapeshifter-gangster expert." He crossed his arms, ready to defend himself even more until he caught sight of Paul's disapproving expression. "I'll ask around."

"Do that," Paul said, nodding. "This points to the victims being with the Fangs. Martinez, I thought they were trying to be smart for once by staying out of Chicago?"

Martinez shrugged. "Evidently not." He looked at Jacob. "Got anything?"

"I don't exactly have access to their team meetings," Jacob grumbled, then, "Look, I see what I can do. It's not gonna be easy, though. They don't believe in talking to cops."

"Not even you?" Martinez asked.

"Especially not me," Jacob insisted. He tried to sound casual about it, but he wasn't fooling anyone. "It's complicated."

"You sure you want me to come along?" Leah asked Jacob a couple of days later as she exited the car and slammed the door behind her. She looked across the street at the familiar second-band bookstore. It was almost closing time, around 7:00 pm. From the looks of it, the only person in sight was Jacob's favorite, Manny. This was good, she decided. The fewer people, the better.

Jacob locked the car and pocketed the keys. "You're my partner," he stated the obvious, staring at Leah with a bewildered expression. "Why wouldn't I? Anyway, Wilson likes you."

Leah scoffed as she followed Jacob across the street and into the bookstore. "You call that 'like'? I think he only tolerates me because you're there."

Jacob stopped and turned to his partner. "Leah," and then turned around and greeted the only person employed by Wilson. "Hey, Manny. We're heading up."

Manny gave the detectives a dirty look but didn't move from his post behind the store counter. Chuckling, Jacob led Leah up the stairs to Wilson's office. "Trust me, you'd know if he hated your guts," he continued, glancing at his partner, walking behind him. "He isn't always the nicest man."

Leah figured one involved in the underworld couldn't be. Niceness wasn't entirely appreciated, easily exploitable. "If you say so…"

"I can't say I'm too surprised to see your faces," Wilson greeted the detectives sometime later as he leaned against his office door frame, arms crossed.

"Good morning to you, too, old man," Jacob said when he reached the shopkeeper. After Leah and Wilson exchanged the usual pleasantries, he said in a grave voice, "We gotta talk."

Wilson stepped aside and jerked his head inside the room. "Come on in."

As the detectives took a seat at the table, Wilson headed towards the office pantry. He pulled out a few glasses from the cabinet and a flask of liquor. Laced with wolfbane, Leah observed.

Eyeing the flask with some amusement, Jacob asked the older man, "Wolfbane on the job?"

Wilson snorted as he removed the cork and poured the liquid into a mug. "I'm retired, and the occasion calls for some WB, doesn't it?" He glanced at Leah, lifting the flash. "You?"

Leah put up a hand, and politely shook her head. "No, thank you."

"And you?" he asked Jacob.

"Nah."

Wilson shrugged and sat the table with the detectives. "Your loss."

"What occasion are you referring to?" Leah carefully asked though she had a good feeling that Wilson knew about the new bodies (bones).

"You're here, aren't you?" was Wilson's rhetoric response. "I figure you want to talk about your most recent finding in West Lawn."

Damn, that man was good, Leah couldn't help but think. Despite being a retiree, he truly had eyes all over the city. It was like nothing went past him.

"What do you know about it?" Jacob asked, crossing his arms. He wasn't too surprised that Wilson wasn't too surprised about the purpose behind their visit.

"I know that Collin knows, and he's not too happy," Wilson said. Based on what Leah knew about Collin, "not happy" seemed to be an understatement. "Eight of his own people. Sent to Chicago to survey Victoria's land and tie up some loose ends. It was supposed to be a damn day trip, maybe two."

Jacob shook his head and sighed. "I told them to keep their asses outta Chicago…" he mumbled under his breath.

Dealing with family—a blessing and a curse. It was tough being in Jacob's spot. He obviously still had love for his cousin and some members of the Fangs. She placed a sympathetic hand on his knee, tapped it a couple of times, and then asked Wilson, "When was this?"

"About two weeks ago," Wilson said, giving Jacob a quick, concerned look. He sucked his teeth and carried on, "Personally, I didn't think much of it. The Fangs are known for taking their sweet time when it comes to the news." He took a sip of his drink. "I assume you're on the case."

Jacob didn't deny it. "They were found in Chicago," he said, rolling his eyes. "They were shapeshifters. Of course, we're on the damn job."

Wilson raised both eyebrows and drained the rest of his drink.

"How does Collin know the victims were his associates?" Leah wondered. "They're not the only shapeshifters around."

Jacob waited for an answer.

Wilson poured more liquor into his mug. "The Fangs have been working on improving their image with the other gangs. After the slaughterhouse drama, people started losing some faith in them. So, in efforts to prove that they are willing to work with others for the love of the money, they've made, I suppose one can call it: an agreement with the Olympic. The ninth body belonged to a vampire, yes?"

"Do you know how this vampire was?" Jacob asked, arms crossed.

"No." Wilson shook his head. "Couldn't be anyone too important. Esme wouldn't be that foolish."

"What kind of agreement?" Leah asked. "Share the territory?"

"A vampire and a shapeshifter sharing land?" Wilson snorted. "Of course, not. They're probably banding together to take out a common enemy."

"The Volturi," Jacob concluded.

"They're in Moldova, but doesn't mean their stench has gone away," Wilson said. "I'd watch out for your cousin, though. He's very protective of family, and in his eyes, he believes the Volturi killed his cousin."

Leah turned to Jacob, alarmed.

This was bad.

This was very bad.

"Which one?"

"Eric."

"You've gotta be shitting me," Jacob spat, delivering a hard slap on the table. "Why would he send him here? Everyone knows the Volturi has it out for him after that last stunt he pulled. I thought Collin sent him out west."

"Maybe Collin thought the incident was water under the bridge," Wilson suggested with a shrug. Leah had a feeling that he agreed with Jacob's sentiment. "Maybe he thought after giving them the money and their services that the Volturi would forget." He took a drink. "Though, something tells me that this grudge wasn't the reason behind the killings."

"Was it really about the land?" Leah asked. "I know everyone's fighting over it."

Wilson shrugged.

"People are going to know about this conversation," Jacob told Wilson, being completely honest and realistic. "You're fine with that?"

"They're not my concern," Wilson replied coolly. "My concern is your cousin raising Hell. The West Side's been plagued enough with gang violence. We don't need any more. Especially with the most important members of the Volturi on another continent."

"Black and Clearwater! Nice to see you two, as always," Martinez greeted with a wide smile and a wave as he leaned back in his office chair, hands behind his head. Judging on the Candy Crush game displayed on his unlocked phone, the detective was in the middle of a break. "What do you have?"

Jacob pulled out two chairs from adjacent desks, one for him and the other for Leah. "The Fangs, they're pissed," he replied, frank. "They think the bodies belonged to their friends."

"Except for the vampire," Leah added. "Of course."

Martinez wasn't surprised. "Well, finding several of your people in a ditch would make anyone mad," he remarked, sitting up, then asked, "How pissed?"

"Like Collin's ready to come out of hiding and declare war-pissed," Jacob said, giving the detective a pointed look. Martinez had been working on the Fangs for quite a while, he knew how they operated. "Apparently, his cousin, not related to me, has been missing for a bit. Was sent to Chicago to do some re-con."

Martinez's eyes widened. "Oh, snap."

"Collin's suspecting this is the work of the Volturi. I don't think they were too happy about the handling of the slaughterhouse killings. Among other things," Leah continued. "Victoria's out of the picture. The Olympic, under Esme, is trying to re-invent themselves, so…."

"The Volturi probably had a hand in it," Jacob finished. "Or Maria."

"Isn't she stuck in Mexico?"

"She is, but not her entire operation," Jacob said. "Plus, there are rumors that she's trying to make a comeback in Chicago, particularly in the blood market. And for some dumb reason, the Fangs are trying to take a stab at it, as well." He shook his head. "That's all we have right now. I know some people who aren't willing to testify, for obvious reasons, but are willing to spill some beans. A lot of shit's going down."

Martinez nodded slowly, appreciative of the information. He glanced Leah's way and asked with a smile, "Leah, can I steal your partner?"

Leah narrowed her eyes. "No," she replied without leaving any room for discussion. Jacob was the best partner she ever had, literally; he wasn't going to get taken away from her that easily. "Plus, don't you have a partner already?"

"There's nothing wrong with having two partners," Martinez argued with a smirk. "It's 2019, Clearwater. Be more open-minded."

Jacob gave her a pointed look.

"How polyamorous of you," Leah replied, deadpanned.

"I'm honored by your request, really," Jacob told Martinez, dramatically placing a hand over his heart. "But the boss says no." He shrugged with a lopsided grin. "What can I do with that? I'm only a one-woman man."

Leah snorted.

Martinez feigned disappointment. "Damn," and then, all joking aside, "Collin's cousin, really?"

"We haven't been able to positively ID anyone," Jacob said. "But we know all of the victims except one were shapeshifters. Wolves."

"None of them phased?"

"Two were about to," Leah said. "You remember that wolf from the slaughterhouse? The one shot mid-transformation? Someone fast had to have made that shot."

"You mean a vamp?"

"I don't know." Leah shrugged. "Maybe?"

"Most likely," Jacob added.

"When are they gonna make their move?"

"I'm trying to make sure that doesn't happen," Jacob said. "Wilson says he and some elders are trying to make peace. There's not much they can do with the Volturi oversees."

"And they're sure the Volturi did it?"

"That's what they believe," Leah said.

"Did you talk to your cousin face-to-face?"

"We don't talk," Jacob gritted out, crossing his arms.

Leah didn't say anything. Martinez's suggestion made sense. Jacob had the easiest access to the Fangs, to Collin, but that whole thing was always a touchy subject for him. Sometimes, Leah wondered if he wished he was never related to the important members of the motorcycle club—She sent Martinez a warning look.

Martinez got the point, but he wasn't backing off. "Is there a possibility that there can be a possibility that you two have a conversation?" he asked calmly. "I know you two don't have the best relationship, and naturally, he's not fond of us. But some of his guys were killed, and we're looking into it. Hell, you never know, maybe he could, sort of, provide something?"

Jacob dropped his arms. "I'll see what I can do," he grumbled. "But I'm not promising anything. As you said, we're not the best of friends—"

"Let's see what Paul says," Leah suggested. "We don't want to do anything stupid. Want to make sure that conflict of interest won't be an issue." She looked up at Jacob, who was still frowning. "Fine with you?"

"Yeah."

About an hour after the detectives informed their captain of yet another shocking update, Jenks stopped by the station at Paul's request for a meeting. A meeting like this would usually be closed doors, but Paul, always interested in integrating his folks into all aspects of an investigation, decided otherwise.

The conversation currently happening was technically between the captain and the assistant state attorney with the detectives, Leah and Jacob, being the silent witnesses.

"It would've been nice if they'd disposed the bodies outside of Chicago. For the sake of my workload," Jenks said with a scoff. But beneath his joking manner was frustration. "Are you sure this within the city limits?"

"Yes," Paul confirmed.

Jenks grumbled and tossed the photos onto the conference table. "I think I've been cursed."

"This damn city's been cursed," Paul said. "Give me something, Jenks. We have reason to believe that those bodies are linked to the Olympic and the Fangs. You know what that means."

Jenks glanced at the photos, grave, and nodded. "Of course, I do."

"We don't exactly have the manpower to tackle this coven problem," Paul carried on, heated. "I don't even think the feds do. They don't exactly have a division dedicated to supernatural crimes."

Leah wouldn't be surprised if they ended up creating one. Once, the cat was officially out of the bag, of course.

"We have to do something."

Paul rolled his eyes at the apparent course of action. "Then what do you suggest, Counselor?"

"Think outside of the box, Captain."