But he already knows the answer. He’s seen the pictures on my murder boards countless times.
“When was the last time you saw Elliot?” His voice is barely above a breathless whisper.
“Yesterday morning,” I tell him just as quietly. Hollow. “Listen, I’m going to shift and see if I can find something. There's nothing physical here, and I need to segregate the smells.”
Matt nods.
I undress so quickly, I hear a rip. I ignore it and shift. Everything comes into focus. The scent gets better and worse at the same time. It’s still strong, but they are separate enough not to grate against my senses.
I pad around the living room, following different scents to their sources. I nose around every nook and cranny. I trace the familiar scent of Elliot in the bedroom. I want to bury myself in bed.
No. No time. I smell the clothes lying around. Some Elliotts, some not.
I get another familiar whiff from the direction of the side table. I focus on the scent, getting closer to the broken glass pieces. Suddenly, I remember where I smelled it before. The werewolf victim. Mickey's previous owner.
I run up to Matt, who is still in the living room, now wearing a mask of his own. “You found something?” he asks.
I nod and walk him over to the shattered glasses. He carefully picks them up in his gloved hand and puts them into a plastic bag.
I continue my investigation. The fake flowers under thetelevision have a distinct smell, too. It immediately hits me as the third werewolf victim we found dead in his apartment.
I don't ask Matt to collect the evidence this time.
Instead, I shift and dress up again.
“You get anything?” Matt asks, looking around the house, trying not to disturb anything.
I did, but I am not ready to tell Matt just yet. The killer left a message for me.
He’s going to punish Elliot for every werewolf he murdered. And he wants everyone to know it.
Chapter Twenty Eight
High Tension, Hidden Enemies, and Hard Truths
Nick
“We need to bring in the team,” Matt says.
I’m madly pacing Elliot’s driveway, my wolf itching to take over again. I need to find Elliot. He couldn’t have been gone long.
I take a long breath, trying to calm the wolf down. We have time. He’s fine, none of the victims were killed right away. He’s going to be fine. We’ll find him.
I could talk to the neighbors. They may have seen something. Elliot is a suspicious bastard, he won’t leave with just anyone. But none of the neighbors saw anything in the other two scenes. I can may—
“Nick.” Matt blocks my way and grabs my shoulder, shaking me. “We need to get everyone involved. We’re running out of time.”
I nod. He’s right. “Yes, we need everyone,” I say. “I’ll call Serena. You call Meena. We need the forceandthe Bureau on this.” I take out my phone and walk a little distance away without waiting for Matt to answer.
Serena picks up after one ring. “C’mon, man. We still have two hours to—”
“I need help. Elliot’s missing,” I say urgently.
I can feel her straighten up. “Missing meaning he left you?” she hesitates.
“Missing meaning no one has heard from him since yesterday morning, and I came to check his place, and it’s… ransacked,” my voice breaks.
“Maybe he left in a hurry. Was he planning to go somewhere, and you forgot?” Serena rambles. “Because you can’t be saying what I think you’re saying, Nick.” Her voice is desperate.
