Page 3 of Midnight Whispers (Forbidden Entanglements #1)
Chapter Three
C ass sat in the passenger seat while his boss and best friend drove to a domestic violence call. Iven had a way of staying silent when he had something on his mind. Cass could guess it had something to do with his youngest son. He’d always had a problem with their relationship, mostly because it was hard fought on Iven’s part. Iven blamed himself. Maybe the blame lay with Iven. Cass didn’t know. What he did know was it had something to do with the youngest son.
Cass had been Iven’s best friend for four years and had yet to meet the youngest son. He’d only listened while Iven had talked about him. So, Cass didn’t know whose fault it was or even if placing blame was necessary.
“Are you going to tell me now or wait until after the domestic violence?” Cass would rather not have a deep conversation after the call because they might have a body in the back, listening to the entire conversation. Fortune Falls was a small town, even with Dinsmore College’s student body taking over the town. But it was Iven’s dirty laundry. He had to decide if he wanted to be the next gossip topic.
Iven sighed. “Guess it wouldn’t do for everyone in town to know the sheriff screwed up his son.”
“It was his mother who screwed him up, right?” Cass didn’t know enough to say whether that was true. All he knew was the kid’s mother had been a drunk, and the kid took care of her his entire life, even when he was a child. But she’d died not that long ago.
“I let it happen. I should have fought for custody when he was small.” Iven tapped on the wheel and shook his head. “Instead, I let myself believe Riley was safe with her.”
Cass stiffened. “Did something happen?”
“Other than he’s had to clean up after his mother’s vomit and probably pick up her empty liquor bottles his whole life. And for the last few years that kid has been the sole breadwinner.”
Cass relaxed. “So, he grew up too fast. It could be a lot worse.”
“There’s no evidence that he’s abusing drugs or alcohol. I don’t think he even smokes cigarettes or marijuana recreationally. But that’s the thing. I don’t know for sure.” Iven sighed again. “I don’t know my own son. Hell, the last time he visited, he was seventeen and worried about his mother the entire week.”
Cass couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Iven’s guilt was spot on. Still, it sounded as though his kid was more responsible than most. “He seems like a good kid.”
“He is. No thanks to me and his mother.”
“Does her being gone make it easier for you to get to know him?”
“It should, shouldn’t it? But Riley is grieving. And he’s never needed me to save him.”
“He’s needed you, Iven. He just hasn’t let you in. There’s a difference.”
“I did offer to send him to college.” Iven shrugged. “Griffin didn’t want to go. But I’m hoping Riley does.”
Cass smiled. “Griffin can’t sit still long enough to learn in a classroom setting.”
Iven smiled, too, as if he were proud of his oldest son. “That boy is all about everything mechanical.”
“He’s a fucking genius with all that shit.” Cass had asked Griffin for help on more than one occasion.
“Just like his mother.” Iven and Zinnie’s relationship might have gone south after only a few years, but they had a great friendship. Iven respected the hell out of Griffin’s mom.
“Zinnie’s great.” She owned Fortune Falls Inn which was just off Main Street. Griffin maintained everything for her.
“I got lucky. Not so much with Vivianne.”
“Do you think Riley will take you up on the offer?”
“I hope so. He’s all alone down there. He needs his family.” Sounded more like Iven needed to be a dad to his kid. It was his way of making amends, but was the kid resisting help? Was he just so used to being on his own that he didn’t know how to ask for help? If the latter was the case, then Iven was in for heartbreak. Iven was the sheriff of Fortune Falls. The whole damn town needed him. He excelled at being needed.
They pulled up to the address. The house was out of town, surrounded by fields of what used to be corn, but the farmers had harvested the corn months ago. They’d tilled the ground, preparing for winter. The house was a white farmhouse that sat on top of a hill. It was a pretty setting.
As soon as Cass exited the SUV, he smelled three wolves and a hell of a lot of blood.
Cass put his hand over his gun, ready to pull it free from the holster if necessary. “Someone’s injured.”
A wolf came around the corner. It limped and then shifted into a man when he saw them. The man was slight and thin to the point of emaciation. He was bleeding from his cheek and clutched his side as if something hurt. He had blonde hair that seemed as if it hadn’t been washed in days. Maybe even longer. His feet must be frozen. He’d die of hypothermia within a few minutes if he didn’t either shift back into his wolf or put clothes on.
He stopped walking right before his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Cass caught him before he fell.
Iven pulled his gun, holding it as he approached the house.
“There’s one more wolf shifter on the property. This one isn’t pack, but the other one is.” The third wolf was also pack, but his scent was weaker, as if he’d only come and gone once or twice and hadn’t returned. All other scents were days older, if not longer. Cass couldn’t glean any more information.
Cass called in the scene, requesting an ambulance and backup, after he carried the man to their SUV. The cab was still warm, and they had blankets in the back.
Cass laid him on the seat and grabbed three blankets. Tucking them around him.
Iven came out of the house, shaking his head. Cass had worked for Iven long enough to know his expression meant they had a dead body. “It’s a crime scene.”
Cass nodded. “This one’s alive, but in a bad way.”
“The boy in the house is a wolf shifter. He’s younger than this one. There are…rooms in the basement. It looks like jail cells down there.” Iven shook his head.
“Got anything on the third wolf?”
“His scent isn’t as strong. He might have left the area hours ago.”
“He might be our perp.”
“Probably. And he’s pack.”
“Do you recognize who he is?”
Cass shook his head. It was hard to distinguish one person from the next when they weren’t close by. “Scent trail is too old.”
“So much for our domestic violence call.” It sometimes happened when the caller gave them the wrong information. They’d learned to expect anything.
Sirens wailed, growing closer. An ambulance followed two police cars. As soon as the paramedics arrived and took over the victim's care, Cass followed Iven into the house.
As they went through the crime scene, Iven created a spell, wiping away their presence. The dead boy had succumbed to a series of beatings, by the look of him. He lay on his back with one of his legs twisted under him in the middle of the living room floor. A coffee table had been broken, showing there was a struggle. Magazines and a mug were strewn about. The dead guy’s eyes were open and lifeless. “He hasn’t been dead very long.”
Iven made a sound of agreement. “I think our victims escaped.”
Cass made his way to the open door of the basement.
“No one reported a pack member missing.” Cass would have been the first person to know about it. They’d have a report at the station if that was the case.
Cass took the stairs down. There was blood on the handrail and wall. “The blood belongs to our two victims. Not the perp. If he is our perp.”
“Can you tell anything more about him?”
“He smells like grilled meat and greasy food. Like he’s eaten in a restaurant before coming and going.”
“The diner.” It was worth checking out.
“Yeah. Maybe. We’ll check with Darlene and find out if she noticed any pack acting strange lately.”
Cass shook his head. “I can already tell you the answer to that. Every pack member is acting strange, including me.”
“Besides the new alpha taking the reins. I know that leaves a bunch of wolf shifters on edge. It would us warlocks too, if we weren’t such solo creatures.”
“So solo you’ve never told your youngest son what he really is.” Cass had some harsh judgements about that, not that he’d ever voiced them beyond the little he’d just said. Iven beat himself up enough. He didn’t need Cass’s help with making him feel even more guilty.
“Can we focus on the crime scene?”
“It’s more than just the alpha being new. It’s the policies he’s trying to implement.”
“Like what?”
“Like taking us back to the 19 fucking 50s. Like making sure everyone of mating age mates. And paying a higher tithe to the pack. People want to keep their freedom and their money.”
“I had no idea.”
Cass shrugged. “It’s pack business, mostly. Not worth mentioning.”
“Except it might have something to do with our dead body and victim.”
“It might.” Cass liked to keep pack business separate from his job as a deputy for the Fortune Falls sheriff’s department. But it seemed their case was related to pack business. “Let’s hope the third wolf escaped.”
Iven raised his eyebrows. “Do you honestly think that’s the case?”
“No. I think our guy is a Fortune Falls pack member.” But he didn’t have evidence to support it. He hoped he found something to prove him wrong. The pack had enough problems without having a murderer amongst them.