“Fine,” Viper huffed petulantly.
“He was shakin' like a leaf in a thunderstorm,” Austin went on. “I brought him inside and poured him a whiskey. He finally told me this story that, honestly, I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't met y'all first.”
“There are more things on Heaven and Earth.” I nodded.
“No shit,” Austin muttered. “He said he was walkin' to his truck after leaving his girlfriend's house and he done heard someone walkin' up behind him. He said there was some'n about the footsteps that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.”
“You mean, besides it being 1 AM and those footsteps coming from behind him?” Azrael asked.
“Yeah, besides that.” Austin grimaced. “He pulled his gun before he spun around to face whoever was following him. But it wasn't a person. He said there was a huge snake right there on the sidewalk—a snake like none he ever seen before.”
“Did it have any markings that he remembers?” I asked.
“Yeah, here's where it gets stranger; he said it was green.” Austin shook his head. “We don't have green snakes in Texas. All kinds of neutral colors, but no green. The brightest snake round here is a kingsnake and it's not venomous.”
“What did the green snake do?” Azrael asked.
“It lifted up, nearly as tall as my buddy, and tried to bite him,” Austin said. “My friend shot the damn thing and here's the kicker. He said he only managed to clip it, but he hit it right below its jaw. The snake let out an awful shriek and fell back onto the sidewalk.Thenit turned into aman—a naked man.”
I leaned back heavily and shared a look with my men. “A snake-shifter.”
Kirill nodded. “Did he kill naked man?”
“I don't know. My friend ran away. After he told me his story, I drove out to where the incident occurred. I didn't find nuttin', not even a bloodstain, and my buddy said the guy was bleeding buckets.”
“Was your friend drunk?” Viper asked.
“Not when he arrived. He got there real fast though.” Austin sighed and ran a hand over his face again. “If his experience was all I had to go on, I might be thinkin' he got slipped somethin' or lost his damn mind. But combined with the other snake attacks, I'm not so sure. I reckoned I oughta call ya.”
“It's good you did. This is sounding god-related,” I agreed. “Is there any particular area of Lexington where the snake attacks have been more prevalent?”
“Nah, but they all happen late at night if that helps.”
“At night?” Azrael asked, frowning.
“What is it?” I cocked my head at him.
“If I'm not mistaken, snakes are diurnal.”
“According to the herpetologist, they—”
“The herpes-what?” Viper asked with a chuckle.
“Viper,” I said in my mommy tone as I shook my head at him. I looked back at Austin to add, “I'm sorry, he's still maturing.”
Austin laughed. “It's all right, most of my friends are the same.” He held up his beer bottle and clicked it to Viper's. “There were all sorts of herpes jokes circling the precinct.”
“Thanks, man.” Viper took a swig.
“Anyhow, the herpetologist—that's the snake expert,” he said to Viper. “Don't worry, I didn't know what it meant either. It kinda makes me feel smart to say it now.”
“The herpetologist said...?” I prompted.
“He said rattlesnakes are mainly active during the day but there are other kinds of snakes who are nocturnal. A lot are active whenever they dang well want to be.”
“So, we've got snake attacks at night and the snakes are not likely from this area,” I surmised. “Have you checked the other towns around here?”
“I called Austin P.D. but they ain't got back to me yet.”
