Kelly and Hannah packed their kids up and headed home. After describing the handprint to the other pack members present, Adam and I also headed out. Sitting in the passenger's seat of his truck, I mulled over what little we knew.
"Our best lead is the boy's job," I said, tapping my knee. "There's a finite number of burger places in the Tri-cities. And we can save the chain restaurants for later. I bet he would have said if he'd gotten a job at McDonald's." I frowned, remember the genuine fear of both kids. "They looked about high school age."
"The girl certainly did."
Looked being the operative word. We both knew a lot of people, Adam included, who looked far younger than they were. But these two had also acted very young. "Everything about them screamed scared kids." I watched Adam to see if he followed my line of thinking.
"Which means either that's exactly what they are, or it was a very good act."
I couldn't help laughing. "We've gotten paranoid, you know."
He returned my grin. "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you."
I sighed. "Every one of my senses was telling me these were two scared kids. I guess it's possible it was all an act, but …"
"You'll drive yourself crazy going down that road." Adam guided the truck onto the interstate, heading to our house. "Scared kids or not, those two were powerful. Whatever spell that girl did, it worked on a lot of people. We need to get a handle on this."
"Which is worse; that they're evil masterminds who did all this to gauge our response, or a couple of terrified kids who might go nuclear if someone says boo at them."
A moment of silence passed.
"I'll take nuclear kids any day," Adam said.
"Yeah." We'd definitely had our fill of evil masterminds.
Other than speculate, there wasn't much we'd be able to accomplish in the next twenty-four hours, beyond alerting the rest of the pack. Kelly, Warren and Mary Jo would be on the lookout. Adam called Darryl and described the kids and their scent. Darryl would send out the message to the rest of the pack to be on the alert. We agreed that tomorrow we'd start checking local restaurants, but keep it subtle.
Upon arriving home, we found the house empty. Jesse had gone to the movies with her friends, Joel and Lucia were spending the day out, and Zee had taken Aidan for his biweekly visit to Underhill. It took a minute of wondering where everyone else had gone for me to remember that those were actually the only people who lived in our house.
I gave Adam a sly grin. "Hey, nudge?" I bolted up the stairs, delighted to hear him racing up behind me.
I took a breath of fresh air to clear the stink of grease and stale fries from my nose. "If I see one more burger in my lifetime, it will be too soon."
Warren chuckled, settling his cowboy hat back on his head. "Can't say I disagree. Grilled meat used to smell different. Fewer preservatives back then."
"The good old days." Days I had never experienced, given that Warren was a couple hundred years older than me. As we climbed into the car, I glared at the building we'd just left. We had one more stop on our list and it was a long shot. A vegetarian Americana restaurant didn't really fit with burger joint, but they did have meatless burgers on their menu.
"Cheer up, Mercy." Warren rested his hat on his knee, because it didn't fit in my new-to-me Jetta. "We've still got all of Pasco and Kennewick to search."
I shot him a look as I backed the car out of the space, and pulled on to the road.
Warren remained easy going. "We'll find 'em. Like Adam said, this ain't high priority."
"Until it is." Very often low priority tended to become high priority, and I wasn't as relaxed about it as I'd been a couple of weeks earlier. I'd been thinking more and more about what the girl had done. How powerful she would have to be to prevent that many people from moving for several minutes? What else could someone like that do?
Our last stop at least gave some relief from the overpowering smell of charred beef and greasy fries. Walking through the door, I smelled coconut oil and grilled vegetables.
A host in a bright green shirt greeted us with a smile. "Good afternoon. Table for two."
He seated us at a booth in the main room. I scanned the area, noting the kitchen and planning how I could wander back there and see if I could catch a scent.
The waitress arrived to take our drink orders. "Have you been here before?" At our shaking heads she grinned. "Well welcome. How'd you hear about us?"
Inspiration struck. "A friend of ours, who works here, recommended it. Michael."
Her eyebrows shot up, and her grin widened to genuine pleasure. "Our new line cook. He's so quiet, but he seems real sweet. I'll let him know you stopped in when he starts his shift."
As she walked away, I gave Warren a satisfied nod. "It's always the last place you look."
He nodded, studying the menu with high skepticism. "Please tell me this means we can leave and I don't have to choke down a helping of beet and avocado ceviche."
"You don't have to order, but we'll have to get the pack watching this place. As soon as this kid figures out we're on to him, I have a feeling they'll be in the wind." My phone rang, and Tony's name flashed on the screen. I answered with an internal sigh. "I hope this is a social call."
"I wish it could be." Though his tone was mild, I sensed the strain in Tony's voice. "I have a crime scene I'd like you and your wolves to take a look at."
"Right now?"
"If that's possible."
"On our way." We said our goodbyes and hung up. "You up for one last stop today."
"Yes ma'am." Warren set aside the menu, and we stood in time to meet the waitress, who gave us a distraught look.
"We got an emergency call," I said apologetically. "So we'll need to rain check."
Her frown deepened, then understanding dawned. "I thought you looked familiar. You're Mercy Hauptman."
Before she could voice the first of likely a hundred questions, Warren gave her his most charming smile. "Indeed she is. You tell our friend Michael we'll catch up with him another time."
Awestruck, she simply nodded as Warren and I walked out.
"You know he'll probably run as soon as she tells him that?"
"Of course. And then whoever is here watching can tail him straight home, while he's too panicked to notice."
I smiled. Warren liked to play dumb cowboy, but he was sharp. "See if Kelly or Mary Jo can make it. They'll recognize him."
While Warren played phone tag with various pack members, I drove us to the address Tony had texted me. We ended up in a spot in Kennewick, just across the river from Pasco. Tony waited for us on Canal Drive along with two other officers. Both looked pretty green around the gills, and as soon as I opened the door, I knew why.
Death, along with all the unfortunate realities that accompany it, hit me like a wall.
"Sorry to drag you out here, but you'll understand why." Tony tilted his head towards a nearby alley, which had been roped off with police tape. Warren and I followed him.
It had been a woman, though identifying her would not be easy. Body parts and gore were scattered from one side of the alley to the other. Her shredded clothes lay in a bloody heap in the center of the mess.
"Third body in three days. Different alleyways, but all around this area. We've been keeping this out of the news, but I have to tell them something. You know what this looks like."
A human torn to shreds, and, from the look of it, partially eaten. The public would think either werewolf or fae, and neither of those groups needed bad press right now.
"I'm hoping you can help us resolve this quickly," Tony went on. "Any insight into who or what could have done this, and whether or not your pack can help us out would be appreciated."
I fingered the police tape. "Can we cross over."
Tony gave a brisk nod. Warren and I stepped over the barrier and approached the body. I inhaled, sifting through the overwhelming scents of blood, gore and organs. And found another, familiar, scent. Warren caught it at the same time I did, and gave me a sharp look. That odd mix of bland soap and ozone, but different from the two kids at the river. This one had no hint of human scent to it. A metallic tang mingled with a scent that reminded me of snakes.
I stepped back over the tape. "I think we can get a lead on this." I didn't want to give Tony too much hope, but I doubted those kids sharing a scent with our mystery monster was a coincidence. "How long can you keep this under wraps."
"I have to give a statement today." He grimaced. "But I can be stingy with the details. Let me know what you find out."
I glanced back at the remains, which Warren still studied, arms crossed. "Be careful."
Tony laughed without humor. "I do my best. You do the same."
Back in the car, Warren very deliberately fastened his seatbelt. "Waitress or a bartender, coming home late from a shift." He shrugged. "Or maybe walking the streets. Someone alone and helpless."
I nodded. "Odd choice for two kids who saved a child from drowning."
Warren shook his head. "They don't seem right for having done this. But I'll bet every damn cent I have to my name that they have answers."
I agreed with that, but we weren't going to find those answers until we found those kids. As I headed back to Adam's, where Warren's truck waited, he texted Mary Jo. She was in place, but the boy had not shown up yet. She promised to text us the second he did.
