Chapter 6 - Stakeout
As John walked towards the hotel, a car pulled up next to him. He looked over to see Joss in their rental. "Need a ride, soldier?" she asked coyly. John grinned and climbed in.
"How did it go with the Sheriff?" John asked as he took her hand and lifted it to his lips.
Joss smiled as she withdrew her hand so she could drive. "Berke is a good man and a good cop. He was very informative."
"Berke was a good friend to the Wolf community. What did he tell you?"
"He told me to start with our pal Everett's dad, Matt Ellison. He says someone in the pack knows something but he could never get them to talk, he was rather sure though that Matt was involved in the mix somewhere."
John smirked at his mate, "Matt and I just had a little chat; he wasn't too happy to see me."
Joss snorted, "Yeah, I noticed that happens a lot with you. Must be your winning personality."
John put on his puppy dog face. "Now I'm hurt." Then he got serious, "First Janelle, then Sheriff Berke, and my old friend Mags, all wanting us to take a closer look at Matt. I think it's time I called Finch."
John tapped his earpiece. "'Hello Finch, how is New York?"
Finch's familiar voice answered cheerfully. "Everything is fine Mr. Reese. Detective Fusco successfully intervened in a plot to assassinate the Yankee's star second baseman, for which he received an autographed jersey for his son and box seats to Saturday's game. Miss Shaw is currently protecting a dock supervisor from a man he fired last week, but she reports that she should have the case wrapped up in a few hours."
There was some noise in the background, but John could not make out what it was.
"Oh, Taylor says to tell his mother that he aced his Trig mid-term," Finch added with a smile in his voice.
John smiled fondly, "I'll tell her. I need you to hack into a truck's GPS system for me and tell me if the owner was anywhere near the Hunters' place when they were killed."
"I take it you have a strong suspect then?"
"All roads seem to lead back to my old friend's father, Matt Ellison."
John heard Finch tapping on his keyboard. "What's the make and the license plate."
"GMC, and the plate is ELL1S0N."
"GMC, so I'll have to hack the OnStar database. That won't take long." Finch sounded rather smug. "I'll call you back when I have something."
"Thanks, Finch." John ended the call.
Joss looked over her mate, "Does it ever bother you that Finch can hack all these databases so quickly? It's like a casual stroll in park for him to find out anything about anybody."
John shrugged, "No. I'm just glad he is on our side. Besides, I'm dead, remember? I'm not in those databases. "
Joss sighed, "Those of us who are not dead find it rather creepy sometimes. So now what?"
John grinned, "We wait and see what Finch finds. In the meantime, feel like a stakeout?"
Joss answered with her own grin. "Thought you would never ask," she purred.
Later that night, John and Joss were stretched out on their stomachs under a large bush at the edge of Matt Ellison's property. John was using the small scope he normally used for stakeouts while Joss focused her Wolf senses on Ellison.
Matt Ellison was completely unaware that he was being watched. He come home from the shop, showered, changed and microwaved a frozen dinner. He was now relaxing in a recliner in front the of the TV in his t-shirt, jeans and slippers, watching a baseball game. John suspected that this was his normal routine.
"He's just sitting there watching TV," John said softly. He glanced over at his mate. Joss was lying on her stomach with her arms folded in front of her, resting her head on them with her eyes closed so she could focus her all her abilities on Ellison. "Are you picking up anything?" he asked.
"He's lonely John. He's just really lonely and sad," Joss said sadly.
John was alarmed at her melancholy tone of voice and he leaned over to kiss her cheek, "Break contact if it bothers you. You don't need to do this; I have eyes on him."
"No, it's OK," she said as she opened one eye to look at up him and gave him a hint of a smile. "I'll be fine."
John gently stroked Joss's back while he watched Ellison. He had never really stopped to consider how Joss's abilities affected her before now. He'd known almost from the moment he had turned her that his mate was far more sensitive than the average Wolf. Most Wolves could "feel" another Wolf from a few feet away and they could feel their own mates for a block or two, but this ability varied widely between individuals. Some Wolves had a longer range than others, and could feel their mates from several blocks away. Some Wolves weren't very sensitive at all and had to be right next to another Wolf before they felt them.
Joss was extraordinary. She knew where every single Wolf was within a couple of blocks and knew what they were feeling. Because of Joss's abilities, she and John shared the strongest mating bond any Wolf familiar with them had ever known. Joss could feel him all the way across the city and he could feel her from almost as far.
John never was quite sure why Joss was so sensitive. She had not been born a Wolf; John had been forced to turn her to save her life from a gunshot wound. According to Wolf lore, in order to turn another person, the Wolf doing the turning was supposed to clear their mind and enter a calm, relaxed state before attempting to perform the turn, or the effect on the person being turned could be unpredictable. With Joss dying in his arms, John had not had time clear his mind; he had been frantic to save her and his mind had been in complete turmoil. John theorized that his chaotic state of mind during her turning gave her native intuition, which was already quite strong, a massive boost, resulting in her extraordinary senses. However it had happened, his beloved mate was one of most powerful Wolves John had ever encountered.
They had used Joss's abilities for cases many times, but John hadn't considered the possibility that her abilities could adversely affect her. It never occurred to him before now that the moods of the Wolves around her could negatively impact her own mood and feelings. Right now she seemed to be absorbing Ellison's loneliness and melancholia and it worried him.
"I never asked you what it was like to be able to do what you do. To feel what people around you were feeling," he said tenderly as he continued to stroke her back while he kept eyes on Ellison.
"Most of the time, it's not bad at all since I don't usually focus on someone like this. You know how you walk down the street and her hear bits of conversations? Normally that's what I get except its bits of feelings."
John glanced down at her. "Doesn't that get tiring?"
"Not often. Even in a city like New York, only about ten percent of the population is Wolf, and since I can only feel Wolves, it's not too bad. Even if we have an intense case involving Wolves, all I usually need is a hot bath and good night's sleep and I'm over it. It's actually getting better as I learn to control this ability."
John realized that Joss's world was never completely quiet; as long as there was another Wolf around there was going to be, for lack of a better term, noise. Mentally, he gave himself a good swift kick for not realizing this earlier. He also resolved to buy her a nice quiet cabin in the woods away from everyone, including himself, that she could escape to, if that's what she needed.
"Stop it, John," Joss murmured.
John blinked in surprise, "Stop what?"
Joss turned her head and glared up at him. "Stop beating yourself up. I'm fine, really. You'd know if I wasn't," she said in what Taylor would recognize as her Mom Voice.
John sighed. He couldn't hide anything from her. "I'll try. What about now? Feeling Ellison's loneliness, is it affecting you?"
"Naw, it's just sad, thinking about how he has driven so many people away. He's Wolf, he's pack, and he shouldn't be lonely, but because he has pushed everyone away, including his eldest son, it's just him and the TV. I know he has no one but himself to blame, but still…" and her voice trailed off.
She looked up at John, "How could anyone push their own child away?" John knew she was thinking of Taylor. He shrugged.
John's voice was soft. "I don't know, honey. I guess life just handed Matt more than he could handle and it's twisted him. Are you sure you're OK?"
"I'm fine. I'm not going to throw myself off the nearest cliff, if that's what you're worried about," she smiled and arched an eyebrow at him.
"That's exactly what I'm worried about," John growled. "Looks like we are done here for the night anyway, Ellison is getting ready for bed."
Joss shook her head, "Early to bed type of guy. Just a lonely, sad old man."
John leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Let's go back to the hotel and I'll cheer you up."
Joss smiled up at him, and John could see her large, lovely eyes shining despite the low light. She rolled over on her back and reached up to touch his face. "Mmmmm, sounds like a good way to spend an evening," she purred seductively.
John lowered his head and kissed her tenderly while running his hand down her side. "Let's go," he said.
As they were driving back to the hotel, Finch called. "According to the OnStar database, the truck in question was nowhere near the Hunters home when they were murdered."
John frowned, "We can't rule Matt out yet. He could have gotten a ride or just walked out there. It's not a long run for a Wolf."
"Very true," Finch said. "However I did notice something very interesting in the GPS data. That truck was driven regularly to an area that I can only describe as the middle of nowhere. According to the best map data I can find, it has regularly been driven out on old logging roads in the back country, where there are no homes or businesses. and has been parked there for hours at a time late at night."
John frowned. "That sounds suspicious alright. Give us the directions, we'll check out tomorrow when it's light."
"Texting you the coordinates now, Mr. Reese."
Unbeknownst to them, as John and Joss talked with Finch, a shadowy figure opened the driver's door to Matt's truck. The person took a key out of their pocket and started the vehicle, driving it off down the road as its owner slept.