Besides, that’s not very Elliot. He likes the front row seats to breaking hearts and egos.
Maybe I’ll swing by his place tomorrow before work. Haven’t done that in a while, but Elliot has a unique charm of bringing out my inner stalker. And probably a kidnapper,because he’s not getting rid of me that easily.
I faceplant right on my bed as soon as I reach its vicinity, internally thanking Bree for kidnapping Mickey. She was pissed when she realized Oliver had successfully pulled it off. Then there was no stopping her. Cami gave up after three long lectures about laws and prison sentences.
Sleep takes me over before I can even undress properly.
I wake up to my phone buzzing early in the morning. Way too early for someone who didn’t go to bed before four am.
Meena sounds chirpy on the other side. “Nicholas, how are you?”
I diminish the urge to say something snide. Elliot is really rubbing on me. “Good, good. You?” I ask. Of course, the one time someone from the Bureau starts a call with actual courtesy instead of diving straight into work like a heathen is when I’d give anything to skip it and go back to sleep.
“Good. Now, what’s happening with the cases? I’ve not heard any update on the Vigilante Wolf Killer for weeks,” she complains.
I force my brain to come back online and try to remember the last update on the case. Right. “Dom said he’s almost done with getting the buyer names from the suppliers. We’ve been shortlisting buyers who ordered suspicious quantities of drugs. I’ve been making a list of the people who might have had access to them.”
“Great. So how much more time will this take?”
“Dom said he only needs to check with two more suppliers. In fact…” I open my email, remembering he was supposed to send me the list from the second-to-last supplier the other night. I was too busy to check it yesterday.
I open the sheet he’s been updating with the suspicious buyers and scroll down to see if the number has increased. It hasn’t.
Weird. He said he’d have it ready two days ago.
I open the master sheet that has all the data from the suppliers.There, the data from the new supplier is already here. He might not have had the chance to sort through it yet.
“I ha—”
My thumb freezes at one of the first names on the list.
Pawsitive Care Veterinary Clinic
“Meena, I’ll have to call you back,” I say, barely hearing myself over the static in my ears and the loud noise of my world crumbling to the ground.
ChapterTwenty Seven
Delusional Friends and Dangerous Nostalgia
Nick
I stare at the name, something nagging at the back of my head. This doesn't make sense. Wait, he has a pet store, and veterinarians use these drugs to put down animals in extreme cases. There are other vet clinics on this list, too.
Then why is the same noise that made me follow Elliot all those months ago blaring in my head again?
I rush to my office and open the file on my laptop. I slide to the other columns on the sheet.
Both drugs ordered by Elliot’s clinic. The quantities are almost consistent except when they’re not. Except when they are way higher than the other months.
Maybe Elliot occasionally gets more business than normal? Therehasto be an explanation. There are over two hundred other names here. They’re all suspicious. Why should I be giving this one any more attention than the others?
My non-Bureau-issued phone buzzes with a call. I look at the screen and see a number that’s not saved on my phone. I try to look away fromPawsitive Care Veterinary Clinicon my laptop screen long enough to focus on the number, but I can't.
Then the screen goes black again.
What the fuck does this mean? It doesn't make any sense.
Why not?A vicious voice in my head says.Elliot knew about werewolves. That's why it all started, didn't it?
