Page 68 of Wild Wolf

Oren feigned surprise. "Oh really, I hadn't heard about that.”

"Last night, you mentioned a costume you built for a client.”

"Yeah.”

"Where do you get supplies for something like that?”

Oren shrugged. "Um, lots of places, really. Specialty shops. Costume and prop shops. Theatrical supply. The Internet.”

"You purchased items from Hollywood Magic FX Unlimited, right?"

"I purchased materials from lots of places.”

"Your LLC is on their client list."

That fact made him a little uncomfortable. "Yeah, sure.”

"You recently purchased a custom batch of brown fur from them."

Oren swallowed hard. "Like I said, I purchase a lot of things from a lot of places.”

"It was for the werewolf build,” I said.

"I bought a lot of different things. I wanted to experiment and see what would work best.”

“For your client.”

“Yes.”

"A synthetic fiber from the same batch as the one you purchased was found on one of the victims.”

Oren froze for a second. A momentary glitch as his system rebooted. He swallowed hard again, then said, "I can't be the only person in the world who bought synthetic fur from Hollywood Magic FX.”

"True, but it seems like an odd coincidence, don't you think?”

Oren shifted uncomfortably. "I can’t be responsible for what someone does with a costume after I sell it to them.”

“Of course. That’s why I need to know who you sold it to?”

Oren hesitated. “That’s confidential information. I can’t divulge it. I signed an NDA. Unless you have a warrant, I’m afraid I can’t help. I’d like to, but my hands are tied.”

“There is no client, is there?”

“What are you getting at?”

“We’re going to dig into everything, Oren. Bank transactions, credit card receipts, phone calls. If someone commissioned a werewolf suit, we’ll find evidence. But we’re not going to find anything to corroborate your story, are we?”

He stammered, “I don’t know what to tell you.” His throat grew dry. "Listen, I'm going to be late for class. I need to run."

"Sure thing. Just a few more questions. Where were you last night around midnight?”

"I, uh… I was at Sand Bar for the rest of the contest, then walked down the street to Turtles and had a drink, then came home."

"Can anyone else verify that?"

"Well, you saw me last night. So did Mrs. Crowe.”

"That was well before the attempted murder last night.”