Chapter 7 - Death Calls Again
Around the same time Finch was assembling the latest number, Joss decided to head for the library. She could feel that John was currently there and she needed her mate right then. She and Fusco had spent another fruitless morning running down leads and shaking down their CIs for information, and she was no closer to solving the case than she had been when she first saw Bert Gore strung up like a side of beef. Tiredly she turned her steps in that direction.
A cold wind was blowing down the street, made worse by the tall buildings on either side. Joss stuck her hands in her pockets and leaned into the wind. She was only a couple of blocks from the library when it happened.
Suddenly a wave of pure emotion slammed into to her, nearly forcing her to drop to her knees. She felt anger, pain, loneliness, and hopelessness all rolled into one package of misery that bludgeoned her Wolf senses like a baseball bat. She looked up in a daze and her eyes locked with the eyes of a skinny, almost emaciated teenager, younger than Taylor even, across the busy avenue staring wide-eyed at her in surprise.
But it wasn't the teen's youth or frail appearance that caused her to gasp in sickening recognition, it was his eyes. They were the same silvery blue as John's so he was probably a born Wolf from one of the Old Bloodlines. But the similarities with John didn't end there; the teen's eyes held the same pained, haunted look that John's eyes had the first night she saw him in the precinct after he took out those punks on the subway. This child had seen and done some horrible things in his life and it was slowly destroying him the same way John had nearly been destroyed by the CIA. No child should have that look in their eyes.
The teenager obviously realized that Joss had recognized him as another Wolf and he gaped at her. For a few minutes, they stared at each across the busy street, each oblivious to the crowds that passed around them. Joss opened herself up to the teen, allowing herself to feel the full force of his feelings. She realized he could feel hers too, even though four full lanes of traffic separated them.
Suddenly the teen broke eye contact and bolted like a frightened rabbit. Joss took a step to follow him, but the intensity of what had just passed between them coupled with her pregnancy, lack of sleep, and the fact she had skipped breakfast that morning proved too much, even for her, and she wobbled badly. She had to lean against a building for support while the world spun around her.
A few minutes later, John, having sensed her distress through their mating bond, was by her side.
"Baby, are you alright, what's wrong?" He asked tenderly as he held her to him.
"Dizzy, need to lie down." She gasped out.
John slipped an arm around her waist and she leaned against his side while he mostly carried her the last few blocks to the Library. Once they got there, Finch helped John take off her coat, suit jacket, and shoes and tuck her into bed in the makeshift bedroom she and John shared on nights when it wasn't convenient or safe to return home.
Once Joss was safely in bed, John sat down next to her while Finch hovered worriedly. "What happened?" John asked gently while he softly stroked her hand.
Joss told them about the troubled teenager she had seen. "John, he was in so much pain," Joss sobbed, curling into a ball. "No one, especially a child that age, should be that full of self-loathing."
"This must the poor child the Wolf Hunters are using to find their victims," Finch said sadly his eyes watering.
John continued to stroke Joss's arm and hand while he spoke, "According to Cohen, the Nazis would grab the Wolf children when they were small and raise them to believe that Wolves were bad while using their abilities to hunt other Wolves. The Wolf Hunters must have raised this one just like that, to think Wolves were bad, and the only way to redemption was to help them find and kill other Wolves." John's eyes were hard and cold. He didn't like it when anyone hurt children, and the thought that this child had been emotionally tortured his whole life by being he told he was something unholy and evil brought out the CIA assassin in Reese.
Joss continued to sob while she struggled for control. Finch quietly exited the room to the give the Wolf mates some privacy.
"Shhhh," John soothed Joss, gently caressing her back. "Get some rest; we can go out looking for him later. They won't hurt him, he's too valuable to them."
He lay down and curled protectively around her, holding her and soothing her until she was finally able to doze off.
John lay quietly, holding Joss, listening to her soft breathing. His hand traveled down to her belly and he felt the baby move, as if she was settling into a more comfortable position.
Silently, John cursed fate for bringing Wolf Hunters to the city just when his beloved mate was at her most vulnerable. This late in her pregnancy, she was unwieldy and off balance. Normally Joss moved with grace and sass, now she waddled slowly and carefully. Her small frame was being overwhelmed by the life growing inside her and it made her uncharacteristically graceless. It also made her an inviting target to those who sought to destroy his family in their misguided zeal to cleanse to the world of an enemy that wasn't an enemy at all.
The baby moved against his hand again and he could not help but smile at the miracle his mate nurtured inside her. There was no child on the planet that was more wanted and anticipated than this one. He began stroking Joss's stomach and talking softly to his child.
"Hey baby, don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you or your mom...You both mean too much to me...I will protect you both with every fiber of my being...I've had some very dark times in my life...and then your Uncle Harold and your mom lead me out into the light...I won't let the dark back in...I won't let the dark have you or your mom."
The baby, seemed reassured, settled down and was quiet.
John lay quietly for several more minutes, just enjoying holding his mate and child. Then he carefully slid off the bed and joined Finch in the computer room.
"How is Joss?" Finch looked up from his computer.
John walked over to Finch and looked over his shoulder at the screen. "She'll be fine after some rest. That teenager really threw her; he must have abilities like hers. I just wish she would sit this one out before she really gets hurt."
Finch turned his chair from his computer so he could face John. "Warriors are those who choose to stand between their enemy and all that he loves or holds sacred," he quoted. "That's you and Detective Carter in a nutshell, Mr. Reese. That's why you picked her, even before you two bonded; you understood each other on a level that the rest of us simply cannot comprehend."
John gave his friend a tiny smile. "I know that, Finch. It's just that it's tough when she and the baby are the things I hold sacred and she won't let me stand between her and the dark." John decided to change the topic. "Have you figured out why the Machine only gave you eight digits this time?"
Finch shook his head and turned back to his computer, "I know it's not a Social Security number this time, the difficult part is figuring out what kind of number it is."
John crossed his arms. "Why wouldn't it just give us a Social Security number?" he asked irritably. Sometimes the Machine drive him insane with it's riddles, and with his mate and child on the front lines, John was even less patient.
"My working hypothesis is that the person in question does not have a Social Security number for some reason, so the Machine has given us a different number that will identify the person, once we figure out what the number is."
John growled in frustration. "Can it be a driver's license number?"
"That is a very likely candidate, but New York driver's license numbers are nine digits. However there are several states that use an eight digit format, the closest state being Pennsylvania. I am currently hacking into their database to see if there is a match."
"Hack fast, Finch. I don't think we have much time before they strike again."
John was right, as John usually was about these things. That night another Wolf was murdered.
Fusco and Carter got the call first thing in the morning, before they even had time to boot their computers and get their morning coffee.
This time the officer who called in the murder was a highly experienced patrolman that Fusco was familiar with by the name of Cray. With a sickening feeling, they realized they recognized the address.
"Detectives," the middle aged patrolman greeted them as soon as they arrived. "Looks like we've got another one of those Wolf murders for you." Joss felt her stomach do a somersault and she was glad she hadn't had time for breakfast that morning; it had been a long time since she had thrown up at a crime scene.
As they walked down the hallway, they heard screaming and crying coming from one of the apartments. Fusco and Carter looked questioningly at Officer Cray. "Victim's roommate. She found the body and she's pretty hysterical. Neighbor is trying to calm her but has her hands full."
Carter jerked her head in the direction of the apartment, "Fusco, go see if you can help. I'll check out the murder scene."
Fusco nodded and entered the apartment where the screams originated from while Joss followed Cray to the scene of the crime.
They entered the apartment and found the scene identical to the others except this time the victim was a young woman. Joss stood and looked at the victim sadly and bowed her head while she fought back tears.
Cray stood next to her, "Her name was Patty Dryer. She was a legal secretary at Bean, Weathers and Brittney. Her roommate found her like this when she came home from spending the night at her boyfriend's. She had only graduated and gotten her job seven months ago. She was twenty three years old." Cray spoke quietly and sadly. He was not Wolf, but he had a daughter not much younger than this victim.
"I know," Joss said just as softly. "She was a member of my pack."
Joss walked slowly out of the apartment, her head spinning. She leaned against the wall in the hallway just outside the door and gathered herself. She took a few deep breaths and blinked back tears. She and Patty Dryer had gotten off to a bad start the night John had presented Joss to his pack as his new mate; Patty and her roommate had been part of a small group of she Wolves who had glared at Joss during the presentation, angry that their handsome and highly desirable Alpha was no longer available. They had done their best to make her feel uncomfortable until John had slapped them down.
But Patty was pack, and after that night, she had been a good pack member. Joss had actually been coming around to liking the young woman.
Joss pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed John. The pack needed to know.
"I hope you have good news for me," John answered.
Joss choked back more tears. "No, love. It's bad. There's been another murder."
John sucked his breath, this one was different, he could feel it in Joss's grief. "Tell me," he commanded softly but forcefully.
"John, it's Patty, she's dead."
Joss felt her mate's shock, grief and pain through their mating bond. She closed her eyes and tried to send as much love and comfort through their bond as she could. But deep inside, she knew nothing could console an Alpha who had lost a pack member in such a horrific manner.
"Was it the Wolf Hunters?" John voice was flat and emotionless. He had retreated into what Joss called Operative Mode, as he often did when a case touched him in an overly emotionally manner.
"Yes, it was. Kelsey wasn't home last night; Patty was alone."
"Kelsey's OK?" Joss felt John's relief. The whole pack knew Kelsey and Patty were roommates.
"Yeah, Lionel is with her now then he's going to take her to Stephanie's."
"Good, Steph will take good care of her." Stephanie Mayer was the unofficial pack grandma. Stephanie had the kind of cheerful soothing presence Joss would want around if she were in Kelsey's position.
Joss rested her forehead against the wall, "How is Finch coming on that number?"
"It's a not a Pennsylvania or Vermont driver's license number. He's hacking a couple of other states."
CeCe and her partner wheeled a gurney past Joss. "I have to go. The ME is here."
"Be careful," John said softly.
Joss smiled, "I'd say you too, but I know you won't."
John felt her smile through their bond and returned it. "That's OK, I know you won't be either."
Joss hung up and took a couple of deep breaths to steel herself to return to the apartment where her pack mate still hung from the light fixture.
CeCe looked over at Carter as she entered the living room. "Officer Cray said you knew the vic. I'm sorry, Joss."
Carter positioned herself so that her back was to the body. "Thanks CeCe. What can you tell me?"
"Not much that you haven't already heard. Looks like the victim died around 1am. Same signs of torture as the other two, same slit throat. The difference is the bruising on the upper thighs…"
Carter closed her eyes and beat back a wave of nausea; she knew what bruising in that area usually meant. "Be sure you get a rape kit."
CeCe nodded, "It's not my first time at this particular rodeo, hon. If the perp was stupid enough not to use precautions, I'll get you a DNA sample."
"Thanks." Joss kept looking everywhere but at the body of her pack mate.
CeCe laid a kind hand on her arm. "Why don't you go talk to the neighbors while we process the victim? You don't need to see this."
Joss nodded went to check on Lionel and Patty's roommate. Kelsey was no longer hysterical, but still sobbed uncontrollably. As soon as Kelsey saw Joss, she threw herself in her Alpha's arms. "Why? Why Patty?" she kept repeating over and over again. Joss had no answers, all she could do was hug the sobbing young woman and swear to her that they would catch the person responsible.
Lionel left soon after, taking Kelsey to Stephanie's and Carter joined Officer Cray in questioning the neighbors. Once again, no one had heard or seen anything. Patty Dyer was last seen alive coming home from work around 6:30.
Joss's phone buzzed as she was wrapping up questioning, It was Lionel. "You going to be OK for a while? Kelsey is really freaking out and I think I should stay with her and Stephanie until Rulon and Layla get here." Rulon was Stephanie's son, six feet tall, six feet wide and as gentle as a kitten. Layla was Rulon's mate; Carter had extracted her from an abusive relationship during a case the previous year and she and Rulon had fallen in love shortly after.
"Yeah, do what you need to. I have a lead I'm going to follow up on."
Fusco made a low growling noise in the back of his throat the Joss knew meant he was unhappy. That did not fit with his orders from his Alpha. "Don't go trotting around by yourself Joss. Alpha says…"
Joss cut him off irritably, "I know what he says, Lionel. I'll be fine; I promise." She hung up, knowing that Fusco was already dialing John to alert him that Joss was about to defy his orders. She had very little time until her fiercely protective mate came charging over here to watch over her. What she needed to do, she needed to do alone.
"Hey, Cray, I need ride. Fusco is going to be tied up for a while."
Officer Cray nodded affably, "Sure, no problem, detective. My car is right downstairs." Joss followed him down the stairs and out into the sunlight.