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Chapter 20

“How come Ike is here?” Maisie asked William as she went with him to the house and found them on the patio out back where Anne and several male wolves were watching out for her.

“He received word from Stuart about his brother and wanted to speak with both of you. My brother told him you and Anne were here and that you had gone out with Gus the night he disappeared,” William said.

Then they saw Ike, who looked so much like Gus that, without seeing them together, Maisie really thought it was Gus. Maisie quickly introduced herself. “I’m so sorry that I didn’t know you weren’t Gus at Heather’s pie shop. I just thought you were him and I couldn’t understand why you didn’t remember me.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about it. Though at that point, I didn’t believe his disappearance had anything to do with foul play,” Ike said. “He could be rather inconsiderate at times about leaving me hanging concerning where he was going and why. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of nothing and sound like an alarmist. I have done that before—twice. Gus wouldtake hikes into the wilderness and never tell me or any of our friends, and we wouldn’t have a clue where he’d ended up. Twice, he got himself into trouble doing that, getting lost, then running out of food and water, so he had to turn into his wolf to find his way back. So when it happened this time, I just figured he was doing his usual thing. Except we had an important meeting to buy a piece of property in Glasgow, and he was really excited about the prospect. I knew he wouldn’t ditch the opportunity. I’d tracked him to this area, and because I hadn’t eaten all day, I stopped by Heather’s pie shop and ordered one to go. I was shocked when you approached me and said my brother had lost his driver’s license at your inn.”

“Yeah, I was gardening and found that, Lady’s collar, and a guy named Jude Springer’s cell phone.”

“Lady? Bruce’s Westie?”

“Yeah, he and his wife were out hiking with the dog when she ran off. Do you know if Gus was supposed to be meeting anyone? When he and I were having dinner out, he was watching the clock most of the time. It made me wonder if he was meeting with someone. He seemed really nervous about it. When we checked the security video, we saw Gus return with a woman to his guest room later.”

Ike’s eyes widened.

“But then he left with the woman again. On the security video, we thought we observed him return to the inn. What we witnessed was a man wearing a hoodie, black boots, and a wrist splint. Your brother wasn’t wearing the same clothes; plus, he didn’t have a splint. We believe the man we saw was Jude Springer, but he’s going by Jack Wolfson now.”

“Crap, I knew it.” Ike’s eyes filled with tears, and he sounded defeated that he hadn’t found him before he got himself into trouble.

“Your brother was strangled. Someone—who was wearing a splint on his wrist, because it was either broken or sprained—couldn’t manually strangle a full-grown man, I wouldn’t think.”

“Hell.”

“Do you know if Jack was wearing a splint recently? We know he had a grudge against your brother. Stuart mentioned Jack was angry with Gus because they liked the same she-wolf named Chelsea Bowers.”

“Yeah, they got into a bit of a row at a club over her. I don’t have anything to do with Jack, so I don’t know if he has been wearing a splint or not. Can I see the video of the man wearing the splint?” Ike asked.

“Aye. We have it back at the inn. Why didn’t you talk to Anne about the license and your missing brother when you picked it up at the inn?” Maisie asked.

“As I told your sister, I just didn’t know what to think. I teach art at an elementary school. Gus’s car wasn’t at the inn, so I assumed he’d left. I was also impatient. I was going to have to make the decision to buy the property without him, and I was running out of time. Your sister was busy with guests. I didn’t want to wait or intrude. I left and began searching the area for him. But I couldn’t find any scent of him. Just of Robert, you, and your sister as you headed for Eilean Tioram. And Lady, which confused the whole issue. Anne said you found my brother in the ocean.”

“Right,” Maisie said.

“Can I see the room where Gus stayed?” Ike asked.

“If we don’t have a guest in there any longer, absolutely. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until after they check out,” Maisie said.

“Where is my brother’s body?” Ike asked.

“He’s in refrigeration at the vet clinic. Robert is the vet there, and he’s delivering wolf-shifter pups right now,” Maisie said.

“I can take you to see your brother,” William said. “Maisie already identified him, but everyone wanted to get ahold of you so you could see him. Robert has done the autopsy, so you can talk to him about releasing your brother’s body so you can take care of his remains, if the doc can spare a moment.”

Anne said, “If you want to return to the inn with William and me afterward, we’ll show you the video and see about the room, Ike. I need to check the reservations first though.”

“Yeah, I would like that,” Ike said. “I’m sorry for not talking to either of you ladies further when I first saw you. I just really didn’t believe anything bad had happened to my brother.”

“That’s no problem. I just hope we get this resolved soon,” Maisie said. “If we learn anything more or you do, we’ll need to share the information so we can catch this guy.”

“Certainly.”

William escorted Ike to the clinic, while Anne waited for their return so they could go to the inn. Maisie saw their parents visiting with some wolves, and she hurried over to seethem. She gave them each a hug. “I’ve got to return to the delivery room in case I’m needed. It shouldn’t be too much longer.” She hoped. “I feel guilty for not being here for you though.”

“Don’t be. We’re having a great time, and we are so proud of you,” her mother said.

“Robert and the moms are doing all the work, truly.”