“Mind if I take a look?”
“Actually,” Lamar closed the laptop and rose, tucking it under his arm along with the file folder it sat on. “The conference room is empty. We can spread out better in there.”
With the twelve-foot oblong table covered in scattered pictures, Trask stared thoughtfully at the frozen image of the Aeren look alike clinging to the bricks, halfway up the motel wall. He whistled and shook his head. “That’s why you asked me if the kid is a shifter?”
Lamar nodded. “And now would be a good time to tell me that you’re sure.”
Trask chuckled. “I knew there was something up with you two.” When Lamar narrowed his eyes, Trask relented. “I’m absolutely positive. Aaron is not a shifter.”
“Aeren,” Lamar corrected automatically. “You’d be able to tell even if he was in a shift?”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Trask explained. “Shapeshifters take on the appearance of their target, but they don’t actually become it.” When Lamar cocked his head, Trask sighed. “Okay, werewolves can infect humans by biting them, right?”
Lamar nodded.
“Okay, a shifter can look like a werewolf, but it doesn’t actually become one. If it shifts to look like a werewolf and bites someone, they’ll have a bite, yes, but they can’t be turned. Shapeshifters don’t take on the powers of their target, just their appearance, understand?”
“I think so,” Lamar said slowly. “So, if a shifter took dragon form, could it breathe fire? Or fly?”
Trask shrugged. “Yes and no. Yes, it could fly, but probably not very well, because that is a physical ability that has to be honed and not a paranormal trait. Breathing fire? That’s a no because it’s an ability that’s more than skin deep.”
“So, ultimately it’s just a creature wearing a costume?”
“Bingo.” Trask reached for the laptop and tapped the mouse pad, enlarging the screen. “Now what we really need to figure out is what kind of shapeshifter is doing this. Once we know that, we should know why.”
Lamar pulled a sheet of hand-scribbled notes from the folder and handed it to Vic. “I begged a favor from Brenda in the lab, so she compared some samples for me.”
“Okay.”
“Both the victim at the motel and the one at the club had a mouth full of semen. The initial tests show that it's theirs, but there is another minor contributor mixed in. The minor contributor is a strong match to a fifty percent contributor from a toothbrush that the first victim is using.”
“Is?”
Lamar nodded. “Woman claims her husband is still coming home every night.”
“So at least you know where to find the creep, huh? That’s fucked up.”
Lamar nodded. “I’ve got a car sitting on the house right now while we wait for the arrest warrant. We’ll pick him up as soon as it comes through. The only thing that the sample didn’t match are the samples from the two beings that we saw commit the crimes.”
“Got it.” Trask read through the notes, stopping and stabbing one blunt finger about midway down. “Does this say that there was no gender marker?”
“Yes.”
Trask turned to the other image on the split screen and sighed. “Damn, I wish I could see what is under that dress.”
Lamar snorted. “You and Genov both.”
Trask barked out a laugh and elbowed him. “Perv, that wasn’t what I meant. While a shapeshifter can change its appearance, only a few species can swap genders.”
“So, whatever is under their clothes is the real gender or will narrow it down.”
“Precisely.” Lamar read a little further in the notes and looked up with a questioning glance. “Does this say what I think it says?”
Lamar groaned. “Sadly, yes.”
“Uh huh.” Trask leaned back in his seat, looking up at Lamar expectantly. “So how did you happen to have a baggie full of mostly dried cum from your temporary partner?”
Lamar sighed and reached for his coffee cup, frowning when he realized he’d forgotten to grab it.
“It’s a long fucking story, Vic.”
