Chapter 12

After the incidentwith the swans, I didn't make it online to game that night. I wondered if Aidan thought I'd ghosted him. But there wasn't a thing I could do.

The police and bureau required briefing. Reports had to be written. The crime scene processed. A search conducted in the area to find the sniper—which failed. Whoever shot the swans had done so from the rooftop of a nearby building and fled well before any of the Knights arrived.

By the time I dragged my ass to my apartment, I just wanted to go to bed. But Hannah insisted on hearing the whole story since she'd remained behind, making sure the wolf didn't gain access to my place in my absence. At least with Hannah on duty, I knew no nasty surprises waited in my apartment.

Once I gave her the rundown, and she cursed her team for being fooled by the false report, I went to bed but didn't immediately sleep.

The taunting message bothered, as it just proved that not only did the wolf think this whole thing was a game. A sick and deadly one.

Shifting my thoughts away from the case led to me thinking of Aidan. He'd been a good sport about being held at knifepoint. Did he think I'd ditched him? Would he be pissed? I couldn't exactly call, as we'd not exchanged numbers, just Call of Duty gamer handles. Oh well, if I ran into him, I'd explain something came up with work. Either he'd be understanding and we'd play at a later date, or he'd be an ass, in which case he could take a flying leap. I kind of hoped for the former. It had been a while since any guy had caught my interest and held it.

The next day, I went to work, only to find a basket waiting for me at reception with Luanne.

"Someone's got a secret admirer," she crowed, pushing the plastic-wrapped gift toward me.

My pulse raced. The wrapping crinkled as I pried it open to see what lay inside. My stomach tightened at the sight of a chocolate-shaped swan. Nestled in the paper confetti at the bottom, a note, typewritten, no identifying marks. To read it, I grabbed it by a corner so as to not ruin any possible prints.

Dear Blanche, or should I say Red Riding Hood?

It won't be long until we meet. But until then, I hope you enjoyed my living art. Or would that be dead? I've almost perfected the final tableaux, the one you will feature in. You should be honored to know you will be my crowning opus. I know you're impatient to meet, and that will happen soon. I promise. Fear not or, even better, shake in your biker boots because no amount of Knights or anyone else for that matter will stand in my way when I come for you.

The Wolf

"Bad news?" Luanne asked, probably noticing how I turned pale.

"Who dropped this off?" I asked rather than reply.

"Some courier guy about a half-hour ago. Why?"

"It's a message from the killer," my somber response.

Luanne gasped. "Oh goodness."

Goodness indeed. Although I would have used a stronger word like fucking hell.

Despite doubting we'd get any DNA or prints, I fetched some gloves before carting the basket and its contents upstairs. I dumped it on Hilda's desk.

"What's this?" she asked.

"The killer sent me a present."

No surprise, the fact it had been delivered to the bureau caused quite the stir. As the basket got taken away to be dissected for evidence, we gathered in the briefing room to discuss it, a group that included, me, the boss, Cinder, Belle, and Levi.

Hilda led the meeting but had me stand up first to tell everyone about the events the night before, plus the taunt I'd received that morning.

Predictably, Cinder snapped, "How the heck did a sniper manage to get past the Knights?"

"They can't be everywhere at once," a more diplomatic Belle interjected.

"No, the agent is right. This is on me and my team. We allowed ourselves to be fooled by a diversion." Levi took responsibility.

"Someone needs to talk to the place that put together the basket and see if they can give a description," I noted. I doubted the delivery fellow would have seen the client.

Cinder spoke without lifting her head from her computer. "I'm texting the owner right now. He's the one who took the call and put it together. Says it was paid by credit card. A pay-as-you-go version so forget tracing it back to someone." Meaning the basket wouldn't give us any clues since the killer never touched it.

We moved on from my incident to other news. Turns out I wasn't the only one who had to deal with dead bodies the night before. We'd had another murder.

"The killer is getting brazen. Last night's attack"—which once more occurred inside someone's home—"involved three victims. A man dressed in plaid and given an axe. His daughter, laid out like she'd gone skipping with her goodies, and a grandmother, once more placed in a kerchief and gown."

Hilda let it sink in before barking, "Do we know how he got in?"

Cinder raised her hand. "The attacker used acid to burn the lock and entered while they slept. It's thought he drugged the father first, as the biggest threat. While the autopsy isn't complete, they did find a needle mark, indicating a possible injection of a sleeping agent. We're checking the other victims for similar marks."

I shook my head. "I don't think you'll find any. He thrives on fear."

Belle backed me up. "He's an attention-seeking whore. I think he likes the struggle before he overpowers them."

It was Levi who pointed out, "Are they struggling? From what I've read in the reports, they've yet to see any signs of a fight from any of the crime scenes."

"He's right. Nothing's been found under the fingernails," Cinder reminded.

"Which makes no sense," Belle interjected. "People are wired to fight if in danger. I'm thinking that they most likely knew the killer and never saw it coming."

"Even knowing them, they'd fight the minute he transformed," Levi argued. "No one is going to just stand there and get gutted by a wolf."

"Unless they're afraid," Cinder whispered. At the silence that fell, Cinder ducked her head before adding, "It is possible to be so afraid you freeze. Even as you fear the outcome, your muscles are paralyzed, your voice stolen."

Her explanation led to Levi frowning. "A temporary thing. Most people will snap out of it and try to save themselves."

"Unless the curse is amplifying their emotions." Cinder boldly eyed him for a moment before blushing and turning her head.

"That's bullshit," I huffed. "Bad enough we have no control over being placed in a story, now you're saying it's actively suppressing natural instinct?"

"Hasn't that already been the case? Look at the men who suddenly leave their families to go on quests. The stepparents who suddenly vilify their stepchildren," Hilda reminded. "But those at least follow a predictable pattern. In this case, it seems as if the Grimm Effect wants this killer to sow chaos and misery."

"Which stops when we find the wolf." A simple answer from me and yet one we couldn't seem to achieve.

"I take it you've seen no one suspicious?" Hilda asked while knowing the reply.

Levi gave a shake of his head. "No one out of the ordinary. Just the residents or people who have business in the area."

"We need a clue," Hilda exclaimed, losing her legendary cool for a moment. "Surely he's made a mistake somewhere."

A few actually. We had claw marks. We had hair. We had a possible rusty truck with a skull sticker. No actual sightings or fingerprints. Nothing to actually recognize the perp. It didn't help that the wolf could be anyone. The wolf only transformed when he hunted. In his human body, he wouldn't look, sound, or smell anything but human.

The meeting broke up with us no further ahead, but according to Luanne, I had a visitor. Walden stood by the reception desk waiting for me.

I emerged with a frown. "Was there something wrong, Mr. Walden?"

"Alistair, remember?" he chided with a smile.

"Of course. Sorry, Alistair. How can I help you?"

"Rambo ran off into those darned woods again and found something. I wasn't sure if it might be important, so I thought I'd bring it in."

He pulled a plastic baggie from his jacket pocket, which he handed over. I eyed the keys within.

"These could belong to anyone," I remarked.

"Indeed, but given the current situation—"

I interrupted. "You were right to bring these to us. Never know. Maybe the killer got sloppy and dropped them. Thank you." I didn't mention the fact that the keys would be almost impossible to trace.

Despite me dismissing him, Walden didn't budge.

"Was there something else?" I tried to stem my impatience.

"I think I saw that truck drive by last night on the way back from my walk. It went too fast for me to grab my phone, but I managed to remember the last three letters on the license. F. M. J."

That was more promising than the keys. "Hold on, let me write that down."

Luanne handed me a pen and paper without asking. Alistair repeated the letters, and I jotted them down.

"Hope that helps, Agent Hood."

"Every bit does. Have a good day, Alistair."

"Stay safe, Agent."

He left, and I rolled my eyes.

"What's wrong?" Luanne leaned over her counter.

"I already know this is useless." I waved the sheet I'd torn off.

"Why?"

"All letters, no numbers."

"Unless it's a vanity plate," she reminded.

"Duh. I should have known that." Blame the stress of the last few days for my mind farting. "Good thinking."

Only, I couldn't check on it because the database was down for some emergency maintenance. The tech working on it spewed some gobbledygook that essentially amounted to the computer glitching. I took it as a sign to get out of the office.

I visited the newest crime scene, a nice house situated in midtown, so not cheap. The cops on site let me wander through, and I didn't notice much of interest until I was leaving. A can of paint sat by the front door, along with other supplies.

It made me think of something. I called Cinder once I exited the victim's house.

"Hey, do me a favor and pull up the crime scene photos from the first home invasion."

"Okay. What am I looking for?"

"Were there renovation supplies by any chance?"

"Hold on." Cinder hummed before exclaiming, "Yes there were."

"Not sure if it's a pattern yet, but this place also had work about to be done. I don't suppose you can dig to see if there was a contractor or handyman involved?"

"I'll see what I can find."

With Cinder hot on that trail, and me out of fresh ones, I headed home. As I parked, Aidan, who'd arrived seconds before me, exited his truck, and I waved.

He strutted for me, loose-hipped in snug jeans. "Hey, Red. I didn't see you online last night."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Work stuff came up."

"No worries. Everything okay?" he said and then shook his head. "What am I saying? Of course it's not. I heard the killer struck again."

"It was pretty ugly, and it's going to keep happening if we don't crack this case. Thus far, it has us baffled. All kinds of tiny clues but nothing we can put together."

"Sounds like you need a break."

"I do," I sighed.

"Why not pop up later for a movie?" he offered.

I almost said no. After all, despite the note from the wolf indicating he knew we baited, Levi wanted me to do another after-dark walk to the store. "I'd like that, but I can't come over until about nine. Is that too late?"

"It's fine."

"What can I bring?"

"Sweets? I've got chips and popcorn, but if you've got a sugar craving, you're out of luck."

"I think I can cover that."

We'd reached the building, but he didn't go inside. "I've got to hit the basement and check on the water heater. 1D is complaining she's not getting any again."

"A plumber and a gigolo, a man of many talents."

He pursed his lips before shaking his head. "Guess I walked into that one."

"In my defense, yes you did. Guess, I'll see you later then." We hit that awkward moment where we had to split up, but neither of us moved.

Until I did. I leaned up on tiptoe to buss his cheek and murmur, "Don't choose something good to watch."

Then I sauntered off, hoping he got the hint because I needed the stress relief. And more than that, wanted to get him out of my head and dreams and into my bed.

Or should I say pussy?