Seth gracefully ducked under the tape and loped toward Mia, already catching the smell of death.
The police had erected a large, white tent over a shockingly clean-looking blue dumpster at the back of the brick building. Lost Asylum stood about three stories high, solid, and weathered from the years. The rear of the building led to rolling grassland and then a darkened forest. While they’d enjoyed a late blast of summer, autumn had come roaring in with freezing rain and dying pine needles. Seth smelled them all, but the scent of terror and death prevailed.
He reached Mia, and she placed a hand on his arm as if in warning. “Detective Fulcrum, this is Seth Volk. He owns all the property on the other side of the county.”
The detective reached out and briefly shook his hand. “Why is he at my crime scene?”
Mia cleared her throat. “Seth was helpful in solving the last murders in Lost Lake.”
The detective shrugged. “Lost Lake is at least an hour away. I don’t really care who helped with what. And if I remember right, considering it was only a few weeks ago, the sheriff of Lost Lake was killed in some sort of accident, right?”
“That’s correct,” Mia said, paling.
Irritation clawed at Seth’s back, but he kept his gaze veiled. “I actually own property on both sides of the county, and you’ll require my permission to search much of it. You want to play nice, Detective, or do you not?” He didn’t have time for this crap, and he didn’t like Mia being bothered. The guilt from Pete’s death was eating at her, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Mia jolted next to him, but she didn’t say anything.
The detective eyed him up and down. She held herself like she could handle any problem. “We both know I could get a warrant to see anything I want.”
Seth shrugged. “My lawyers are pretty good. Like I said, do you want my assistance or not?” He let a hint of the wolf inside him show.
The detective swallowed.
Mia cleared her throat. “Listen, the body was removed, and the scene was cleared more than an hour or two ago.” She glanced under the tent to where the dumpster lay open. “Right?”
The detective nodded. “That’s true. I was just finishing up interviewing people.” Then she looked at Mia, her gaze calculating. “From my understanding, there’s no longer a sheriff at Lost Lake. So how are you still a deputy?”
Mia nodded. “I guess I’m still a deputy for today, until I begin a new job with the Seattle PD as a psychologist tomorrow. Although, my former team from the FBI contacted me lately about consulting on a case similar to this one, so there’s potential that I’ll work for the FBI again.”
“As an agent?” the detective asked.
“Not at this time,” Mia said, paling even further.
“Ah.” The detective nodded. “Well, while I sure appreciate your help here, I think maybe it’s time we moved on.”
Seth would love to move on, but he knew Mia. She needed answers. “Who found the body?”
The detective motioned for the nearest officer. “That’s irrelevant. While I provided Miss Stone here with answers due to professional courtesy, I don’t intend to share additional details about the case, especially since she’s neither an officer nor an agent any longer. This is a state police matter. If we need your help, we’ll ask for it.”
The hair at Seth’s nape rose.
Quickly catching his mood, Mia tugged on his arm. “That’s fine. We’ll be going. There’s really nothing here to see, Seth.”
No, but he could smell terror and blood and death. “Did she die like the others?”
Mia shrugged. “I can’t get any facts. I don’t know.”
He could get details. Just then, his gaze caught on TJ Bankston, who lounged against the brick wall near the front of the building beneath the eaves. Bankston was a shrink at the asylum, which just didn’t make a lick of sense. Not really. “All right,” Seth said, stalking quickly toward his old friend with Mia at his side. Well, they’d once almost been friends. That was a long time ago. “TJ, want to tell me what’s going on?”
“What are you doing here?” TJ stood to almost Seth’s height at six foot four, and his blond hair was slick from the rain. Shockingly, he smoked a cigarette that he dropped and ground out with a weathered cowboy boot. His jeans and shirt were wet, but his white lab coat looked dry as if he’d put it on after being in the rain. The smell of death clung to him.
“You found the body. Didn’t you?” Seth asked quietly.
TJ glanced at Mia. “Deputy Stone, it’s nice to see you again. I’m surprised you’re still in town after the sheriff was so unfortunately killed somehow.” He glanced at Seth.
“He died in a hunting accident,” Mia corrected. “The poor man edged too close to a cliff, and it gave way.”
“Sure, he did,” TJ said, his gaze hardening. “My people will discover the truth there.”
