Nick calls me as soon as Oliver is out the door.
“I’m going to kill you the next time I see you,” I warn.
“Now, sir, do you know threatening an officer of law is a criminal offence?” he says, amused.
“Prison will be worth this.”
“Dude, if you’re gonna pretend like you’re not thanking me every minute of the day for giving you an excuse to spend time with Oliver, go ahead. But we both know the truth. So, let me get to better topics.”
“Like what?” I ask, too tired to think of a comeback.
“Like Marcus called. The two people we found in your building were pumped up on a lot of drugs. The weird thing is, they weren’t sedatives or tranquilizers, and they didn’t kill them. Affected their bodies, though. Shut down some organs.”
“Why would Dalton give drugs to humans and keep them in his home?” I think out loud. “Did you identify the bodies? Were they abducted?”
“Yes, both lived in the city. And no, there’s no missing persons report or anything. I called one of the victim’s sisters, and she said he asked her not to contact him for a while. Said he was going to some sort of camp?”
“What kind of camp does a grown man go to?” I ask, confused.
Nick sighs. “She didn’t know. Said he was being cagey about it. He even ended his lease three months ago.”
“So, he was expecting to be there for a long time.”
“Yup. There’s more. Marcus found surgery marks on the bodies, not professionally done. The skin below their fingernails was opened at some point. It wasn’t healed properly on both bodies,” he says, his voice grim.
A jolt runs down my spine at the implication. “What are you saying, Nick?”
“It looked like they were trying to insert claws into them.”
“Didthey succeed?”
“No. And hopefully they stopped after one failed attempt.”
“But your gut says they didn’t?” I guess.
“I’m hopingI’m wrong. Very wrong.”
Chapter Six
Oliver
I rush out of the studio after work, happy to resume my newly acquired interest in investigation. And absolutely not because Matt agreed to come with me.
I contemplate having dinner before knocking on Matt's door, but the excitement wins out. I quickly drop my bag off and put cupcakes on a disposable plate before I’m standing across the hall. He opens as soon as I knock, this time wearing a T-shirt.
I thank all the gods up there for small mercies. But the mercy is small, indeed, because his grey T-shirt clings to his muscles for dear life. It highlights the sharp cut of his abs, leaving nothing to the imagination.
His smile now looks natural, considering he started doling them out to me so generously only a few days ago.
“Ready, detective?” he asks.
“When am I ever not, big guy?”
He snorts and closes his door behind him. “Does that mean you’re the lead on this case?”
“You know it! Now, be a nice assistant and follow my lead,” I wink.
We walk to the elevator. He tries to take a sharp right for the stairs. I give him the stink eye, and he follows me silently to the elevator.
