Page 5 of Wild Wolf

The sheriff pointed to a vampire and a naughty nurse who stood nearby, talking to Deputy Faulkner.

JD and I trudged the sandy path to join them. My badge caught the moonlight as I made introductions.

“Tell me what happened,” I said.

The vampire shifted nervously. "We were, you know, just going to go for a stroll on the beach."

They were going for a little more than a stroll, but I wasn't concerned about the trespassing or what they had planned on doing.

"We came across her on the trail," he continued.

"It's horrible," his girlfriend shrieked, tears still misting her eyes. "I've never seen a dead body before."

"What time was that?"

"Maybe half an hour ago now," the vampire said.

"Did you see anybody in the area?”

They both looked at each other, then shook their heads.

"What about animals?”

"Is that what did this?" the girl asked with round eyes.

I shrugged. "Do you know the victim?”

They both shook their heads.

I took their contact information and gave them a card.

I was about to step back to the sheriff when a bearded man staggered up the trail from the beach. His hand gripped a bottle in a brown bag, and the contents sloshed around. He fought the trail, and for a moment, it looked like the trail might win. For now, he remained standing. "I'll tell you what killed her!” he slurred. “I seen it happen.”

3

The whiskey on his breath, mixed with the strong scent of body odor, didn’t make for a pleasant aroma. There was a hint of urine. The guy had soiled himself at some point. He hadn't had a shower in a long time. His tattered clothes hung on his thin frame, stained with dirt, grime, and God knows what else. His scraggly hair was a rat’s nest. The sun had leathered his skin. He was probably late 30s but looked late 40s.

"I'm listening," I said.

He took another swig, looked at me, and considered the tale he was about to tell. "I'm not sure your tiny mind can comprehend what I'm about to say."

"Try me."

His eyes flicked between me, JD, Sheriff Daniels, and the girl’s remains. “Only one thing can do something like that. It ain't no ordinary animal, that's for sure.”

"Get to it."

Still clutching the bottle, he pointed to the sky, his scraggly finger targeting the glowing orb. “Full moon's approaching," he said in an ominous tone with almost a hint of glee in his voice.

"So?”

"Things get a little crazy around the full moon, wouldn't you say?”

It was a bizarre fact, but emergency rooms did see an uptick in activity around the full moon. There was always a spike in crime.

"Don’t waste my time,” I said.

"If you don't want to hear what I have to say, I’ll just be on my way.”