“It would be good to have a cop in our census,” Titus said.
“Agreed.” What went unspoken between us was that Austin would never join the Pride if we failed to get justice for Yvette.
“What’s your gut, regarding this Blake guy?”
“Nolan’s not a murderer. He’d defend himself, if he were threatened—”
“Any shifter would.”
“—but it doesn’t sound like Yvette was much of a threat, and it doesn’t sound like her bite was the result of a struggle. Obviously, I didn’t see the wound, but Bishop and Austin said it was clean. No tears in the flesh. No sign of a struggle.”
“Any reason to believe they’re lying?”
“They’re angry and hurting, of course, but I heard no unusual elevations in their pulse.” Shifters can’t smell a lie, exactly. But those of us who are trained can hear the signs, at least when circumstances are favorable. “And I don’t see any obvious reason for them to lie.”
“So, you think she was unconscious when she was bitten? Asleep? Or restrained?”
“That’s the only thing I’ve come up with so far.”
A heavy silence settled over the line. “It’s not him, Charley.”
“I know.”
“Silas is dead. We buried him.”
“Iknow.” And Titus meant that “we” literally. He’d personally helped me bury the bastard who bit me. That was the only time I’d ever seen him get his suit dirty. “But it doesn’t sound like whoever bit Yvette Graham-Mattheson was working alone. And if that was the case when I was bitten…”
“Then we missed something.” Another sigh. “We missed someone.”
“Exactly. And if that’s true, then he’s at it again. Whoever he is.”
“It’s beenyears, Charley. You think Silas’s partner—if there evenwasa partner—just started up again, after all this time? Why? Whynow?”
“I don’t know. And I don’t know that that’s the case. Maybe he moved. Or got better at hiding what he was doing.”
“You think he never stopped.”
“I don’t know. But that’s why I’m calling.”
“Okay.” Titus’s chair creaked as he leaned back. “Dig into it. Look for other cases that went unreported. Unnoticed. And keep me updated.”
“I will. And like I said, Vance is sending you the report. But…do I need to spell out the complication inherent in that?”
“You’ll need information from the other territories, but you can’t actually ask for it without telling them why you need it.”
“Exactly.” And we damn well knew better than to tell the Territorial Council that there may be a stray on the loose infecting and killing human women.
“I’ll call Faythe. She’ll help without sounding the alarm, though she’ll probably only have access to information from the South-Central Pride.” Faythe Sanders was the world’s only female Alpha, and Titus’s closest political ally. I’d never met her, but he had assured me that someday, I would.
“Thanks. And we’ll see what we can find out elsewhere, without drawing attention.”
“What do you need from me?”
“Nothing, at the moment,” I said. “We still have funds in the budget, and with Austin and Bishop, we have two extra sets of hands.”
“No, what doyouneed? Personally? How are you doing with this?”
“I’m fine.”
