Blue Moon ns-1 Page 5

  Yes, my mother would be mortified at my behavior. This time I would have agreed with her. There was no cause for rudeness, beyond my own sense of inadequacy and a tiny kernel of fear that lodged hard and cool beneath my breastbone.

  William Cadotte scared the hell out of me, and I didn’t like it one bit. So I lashed out.

  The need had been born in me long ago to hurt before I could be hurt, reject before I could be rejected, walk away before I could be walked away from. I couldn’t change who I was inside, or out for that matter, suddenly become well adjusted, pretty, and proud of it. Don’t psychoanalyze me; I’ve been doing it myself for years.

  I’d had friends, but I never let any get too close. I was always waiting for them to turn on me as everyone else had. I’d been in love once, right out of high school. The relationship had ended badly. Probably because I’d been expecting it to.

  I knew who I was. A good cop. A decent person. But a loner. I wasn’t scared of much, because I had so little to lose. Which was just the way I liked it.

  I’d been telling myself this for years, believing it, too. So why did I suddenly feel lonely and sad in the middle of the day?

  I left the university and returned to the station, hoping Dr. Bozeman might have left a message, or even the report. I’d have had better luck hoping the sun would rise in the west.

  I filed my own report, then logged the evidence and placed it in the evidence room, leaving the paper Cadotte had signed with the rest.

  Since my shift didn’t start for several hours and I hadn’t eaten anything lately, I returned to my apartment, where I made a small pizza, watched sitcoms, and tried not to think of the case for a while.

  When it was time for work, I changed into my uniform and returned to the station. I was barely in the door before Zee started shouting. "Hell and tarnation, what were you doing at that school today, girl?"

  "Hello, Zee. Nice to see you, too."

  "Fuck that. You could have been killed."

  "I wasn’t. Get over it."

  She blinked. I was usually more deferential to her moods—or rather mood: she only had one and it was bad. I knew she meant well. Zee might cuss like a construction worker, but her old-time upbringing made her reserve the F-word for serious concerns. She’d been worried about me.

  I softened, leaned over the counter, and got a faceful of smoke for my trouble as Zee finished lighting her next cigarette off the stub of the last one.

  "Don’t you have somewhere to be?" she asked.

  I stared at her. She scowled back, not in the spirit to be mollified—by words, at any rate. I’d bring her a doughnut and coffee in an hour. Nothing said "I’m sorry" like fried dough and caffeine.

  "Any messages for me?"

  "Did I give you any?"

  "Uh, no."

  "Unless First and Second Shift screwed up again, what does that mean?"

  Zee never referred to the other dispatchers by name. Until they’d worked here as long as she had—and no one ever would, or could—they hadn’t earned the right to a name.

  "I guess that means I have no messages."

  Damn, I’d have to dog Bozeman’s every step tomorrow.

  "Sometimes you are too bright for your own good, princess." Zee turned her back on me.

  I left thinking I’d better bring back two doughnuts and coffee with half-and-half if I wanted to ever get into Zee’s good graces again.

  The night was uneventful—a nice change from the one before. I remembered that Clyde had asked me to talk to Brad and Zee, which I did.

  After eating both the doughnuts and drinking all of the coffee, Zee agreed to the wisdom of keeping her mouth shut about Miniwa’s little problem. Brad didn’t need bribery, just a threat, which had always been my specialty.

  I went home on time for a change, slept until two, and headed for the ME’s office. Dr. Bozeman should have had time to examine at least one of his bodies, if not both.

  Should have. Would have. If he’d had any bodies.

  "What is going on here?" I shouted over the amazing din created by Clyde, Dr. Bozeman, and his itty-bitty secretary.

  My boss shoved the other two out of his way. "The bodies are gone."

  "What?"

  "That’s what I said. When Bozeman got here this morning, no bodies. They could have been gone since yesterday for all we know." He rubbed his eyes. "This just makes my day."

  "They couldn’t get up and run off." I glanced at the secretary. "Right?"

  She ignored me. I couldn’t say that I blamed her. I returned my attention to Clyde. "What happened?"

  "No idea. But we’d better find out." Clyde beckoned me away from the others. "Jessie, you aren’t gonna like this, but before you explode, hear me out."

  I didn’t like it already, but I shrugged, so he continued.

  "The DNR is sending someone to kill the wolf."

  I blinked, frowned, shook my head. I could not have heard that right.

  "But didn’t you tell them? I mean, how could anyone from away be better at hunting these forests than—?" I broke off.

  "You?"

  "Well, yeah. You’ve always sent me when we had animal trouble before."

  "I know, and I’m sorry as hell about it, but I have no choice. You know how the DNR is, especially about their wolves. They’re sending a Jdger-Sucher."

  "A what?"

  "That’s hunter-searcher in German." Clyde lifted one broad shoulder. "It’s what he calls himself."

  "Who?"

  "Edward Mandenauer. From what I hear he’s the Special Forces of wolf hunters."

  "I can’t take my rifle and blast this thing into the next county?"

  "I wish. But this is out of my hands. The guy’s hired and here already." He paused and rubbed the back of his neck as if it ached. "I was hoping you’d go to the office, drive him out to the scene. I won’t be able to today."

  "You’re kidding, right?"

  "I rarely kid, Jessie."

  How true. Five minutes later I was at the station. First Shift was at the desk. Hell, I didn’t even know her name anymore. Had I ever?

  I glanced at the tag on her chest, but the word was too long and too Polish to figure out without closer scrutiny and a translator. Her eyebrows lifted in surprise at seeing me in the office two shifts ahead of myself.

  "Clyde wants me to meet and greet his super-elite wolf killer. I can’t wait to get a load of this geek."

  First Shift didn’t answer. Instead she stared over my shoulder with a frozen smile. Ah, hell.

  I turned. I had to force myself not to gape, but I did blink. The man was still there. He was still the most pathetic excuse for a super-elite wolf killer I’d ever seen. Not that I’d seen very many.

  Mandenauer stared at me with eyes so light a blue they were eerie. His white hair had the muted hue of the once blond; his complexion was that of the Aryan brotherhood ventured out in the sun too many times.

  He was tall, cadaverous thin, and at least eighty-five. I couldn’t imagine this man striking terror into the heart of any beast. But then, a gun did wondrous things for the fear factor.

  I decided that the best defense was an offense. I’d pretend I hadn’t said anything rude and maybe he’d let me.

  "Hello. I’m Officer McQuade." I offered my hand. "Sheriff Johnston sent me. He’s… unavoidably detained."

  Mandenauer continued to stare. He did not shake my hand. The silence became awkward. I lowered my arm and gave in. "I apologize for my rudeness."

  He dipped his chin, a courtly, old-world gesture. "No matter, Officer."

  Though I’d been likening him to the master race, his accent still surprised me. He was German, Austrian maybe. The accent was one that never went away no matter how many years the speaker spent in the U.S.—just listen to Schwarzenegger.

  "What has detained the sheriff?"

  "A problem at the ME’s office. The case of the disappearing bodies."

  He straightened to a height of at least six-four. How did he
sneak through the woods without smacking into a tree limb? His gaze became shrewd. "The bodies? Were they bitten?"

  "Yeah."

  He started for the door. I glanced at First Shift. She appeared as confused as I was. I hurried after him, catching up on the front steps.

  "Sir? Mr. Mandenauer. Don’t you want me to take you to the last place the wolf was seen?"

  "Not yet. Escort me to the office of the medical examiner."

  I raised an eyebrow at the order. I didn’t mind being a chauffeur—much—but I didn’t care for being a slave.

  He must have seen mutiny in my eyes, because he touched my arm and murmured, "Please."

  For an instant I almost liked him. Until I remembered why he was here. I pulled my arm out of reach.

  "Sure. Fine. Whatever," I muttered. "But why are you so interested?"

  "Because we may have a bigger problem in your fair town than one mad wolf."

  Chapter 7

  I didn’t like the sound of that. But lately, I hadn’t liked the sound of much.

  "What kind of problem?"

  His gaze scanned the tree line surrounding the town. He held himself as still as a deer who had just heard the footfall of man. A statue poised for flight the instant the scent of danger wafted past a twitching nostril. Except Mandenauer would never be so gauche as to twitch.

  I couldn’t help myself. Even though I knew a wolf would never come this close to town, I followed his gaze. Despite the summer sunshine, the thickness of the forest meant that light did not penetrate past the first few rows of trees. Anything could be hiding in there, during the day as well as the night.

  When I glanced at Mandenauer again, he was watching me. "Rabies spreads like the plague, Officer, which will be quite a problem. Shall we?"

  He stepped onto the sidewalk and waited gallantly for me to join him. I stayed right where I was.

  "This isn’t rabies."

  His frown was quickly suppressed behind a stoic mask. "And you would know that how?"

  "By researching rabies on the Internet. It isn’t hard."

  "Of course not. All the knowledge of the universe is now on the Internet."

  I suspected he was being sarcastic—I ought to know—however, his face revealed nothing of the sort.

  "The medical examiner?" he pressed.

  "Follow me."

  Together we walked through the unusually deserted streets of Miniwa. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. Where was everybody?

  As we passed the Clip and Curl, Tina Wilson stuck out her silky auburn head. "Jessie." She motioned for me to come closer. "What’s this I hear about a mad wolf?"

  Tina had been two years ahead of me at Miniwa High. She’d been popular, pretty, petite. Since I was none of the above, I was surprised she knew my name.

  She owned the Clip and Curl and spent her days making everyone else beautiful—or at least trying. For reasons that should be obvious, I’d never set foot in the place.

  "There isn’t a mad wolf," I soothed.

  What there was I had no idea, but I didn’t need to tell her that. We were supposed to be keeping things quiet. Obviously that wasn’t going so well. In small towns like Miniwa, a secret was damn near impossible to maintain. But I’d hoped we’d have more than a day of peace.

  Tina’s gaze shot to Mandenauer. "Who’s he?"

  Mandenauer bowed. "Madam, I am the hunter-searcher hired by your Department of Natural Resources to kill the wolves."

  "Wolves?" she squeaked. "You mean there’s more than one?"

  "There are plenty of wolves, Tina. You know that. But they don’t come into town. They’re more afraid of us than we are of them."

  "That’s what I always hear after there’s an attack or a mauling. Doesn’t help Karen Larson though, does it?" Tina snapped, and slammed the door in my face.

  I rubbed the back of my neck. I hadn’t done a very good job of calming the populace. I started to have an inkling of how ugly things could get.

  "Rabid wolves are aggressive," Mandenauer murmured. "They will come into town. They will attack people. They will attack anything."

  "I thought we’d established that this wasn’t rabies?"

  "You established that, Officer, but if we aren’t dealing with rabies, then what are we dealing with?"

  I had no answer for that.

  Mandenauer gave a sharp nod and allowed me to precede him around the corner, down the street, and into the office of the medical examiner. Clyde, Bozeman, and his secretary were still there. When we walked in, every single one of them frowned.

  For whatever reason, Clyde no longer had his chew, which explained why he was crankier than usual. "I thought I told you to take him to the scene."

  "And he told me to bring him here."

  Clyde’s eyes narrowed. "Who’s your boss, Officer?"

  That tore it.

  "You know what?" I threw up my hands and headed for the door. "Take it up with Lurch. I’ve got work to do."

  Mandenauer placed his hand on my arm again, the second time he’d done so in less than half an hour. I’m not big on touching. It makes me uncomfortable. Am I supposed to touch back? Let it happen? Move away?

  "Stay, Miss McQuade. Please. I have much to ask you."

  "Miss?" The itty-bitty secretary snorted.

  Well, that just made me want to stay.

  "All right." I shrugged and his hand slipped off my arm. "Sure."

  Mandenauer’s lips twitched. Had that been a smile? Nah, probably just gas.

  "Now, Sheriff." He turned to Clyde. "I hear there are no bodies for me to look over."

  Clyde frowned. "Why do you need to see them? Go shoot the wolf."

  "All in good time. I like to know every little thing about my quarry."

  "It’s a wolf. What’s to know?"

  Mandenauer ignored him and turned to Bozeman. "What did you find when you examined the bodies?"

  Bozeman colored. "I, uh, well—"

  "He didn’t." The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them. Honest.

  Mandenauer turned. "Did not find anything?"

  "Didn’t examine them. It was his day off."

  Bozeman glared at me behind Mandenauer’s back. Nothing I hadn’t seen before.

  "I see," Mandenauer said, though I could tell that he didn’t. Laziness was no doubt as abhorrent to him as it was to the rest of the population raised during the Great Depression. "If the bodies are found, they should be burned without further ado."

  "Burned?" Clyde asked at the same time Bozeman said, "What about the autopsy?"

  "The autopsy would be useless with the decay that will no doubt have taken place in the summer heat."

  Everyone winced at the thought.

  "It is best to bum them before the disease spreads."

  "Since when does rabies spread through the air?" Clyde demanded.

  "Who is talking about rabies?"

  Clyde blinked. "Us?"

  Mandenauer shook his head and stared at Bozeman with exaggerated disappointment. "Doctor, haven’t you told the good sheriff what our dear Officer McQuade already knows?"

  The ME spread his hands and shrugged. Everyone looked at me.

  "Jessie?" Clyde’s voice held a note of warning. "What the hell is he talking about?"

  I hadn’t had a chance to tell Clyde everything I’d discovered—about rabies and totems and manitous. I’d left the theories out of my report.

  "Rabies has an incubation period of one to three months in humans."

  "What?" Clyde shouted.

  Bozeman flinched. To be honest, so did I.

  "What kind of idiot are you?" Thankfully he was talking to Bozeman and not to me. "Here I am thinking we’ve got rabies on the loose and it can’t be, can it? You’re a goddamned doctor. You should know this."

  "In my defense, Sheriff, rabies isn’t a common occurrence in humans these days. And when it does occur, the virus rarely results in death any longer."

  "Tell it to Karen Larson," I muttered.
r />   Bozeman’s glare was a replica of the first one. The man had no originality.

  "What are we dealing with then?" Clyde asked.

  "Kind of hard to tell without the bodies." I batted my eyelashes at Bozeman and his itty-bitty secretary.

  She seemed to have nothing to say at last. In fact, she appeared a bit guilty. I guess I would, too, if dead bodies had gone missing on my watch.

  Bozeman shrugged. Clyde made a disgusted sound.

  Mandenauer cleared his throat. "I have an idea."

  "Let’s hear it."

  "Rabies."

  Everyone in the room gaped. I wondered if Manden-auer had all his eggs in the carton, his beans in a bag, his wheels going round and round.

  "Sir—" I began.

  He held up one pale, slim hand and I shut my mouth.

  "It would be better if there were bodies. For proof. But based on what you’ve told me, I will make an educated guess on what we have here."

  "Educated?" Bozeman sneered. "What kind of education do you have?"

  "Shut the hell up, Prescott." Clyde rounded on him and the ME stumbled back, knocking into his secretary and sending her skinny ass flying about two feet. While the two of them got untangled, Clyde and I listened to Mandenauer.

  "I do not have the education of the good doctor."

  "Lucky for us," I said.

  This time Mandenauer smiled. I was sure of it. However, Clyde didn’t, so I zipped my lip. Again.

  "This is not for public knowledge, you understand. There would be a panic."

  "Something I’d like to avoid," Clyde mumbled.

  "Therefore, what I am about to say must stay in this room until we have the problem under control."

  Mandenauer glanced at each of us in turn, and we nodded.

  "There is a new strain of rabies that matches what you seem to have here. The incubation period is hours instead of months. The level of aggression is intense, and the spread of the infection is beyond anything we have ever known."

  "I’ve never heard of this," Bozeman interjected.

  "Why am I not surprised?" I murmured; then a sud-den chill rode my spine. "Was this genetically engineered?"

  Mandenauer turned to me and in his usually distant gaze I saw a spark of interest. "Perhaps."

  Clyde cursed. He was spending way too much time with Zee. Weren’t we all?