There were already three units waiting outside of a run down shack of a house when Keegan arrived. Matt had stepped away from the circle of men and over towards her, brandishing a photo of the man in question. He was a scrawny version of Clay Newton. He had the same piercing eyes and a heavy scar across his left eye. “The perps’ name is Ethan Newton, he’s the brother of Clay Newton and he tends towards assault and he’s registered for more than a few guns. We’ve got a warrant for his arrest and to enter the house.”
“That was quick,” Keegan whistled low underneath her breath. Misery courts worked that way though. A small town didn’t want criminals on the street and Judge Rawlins made sure the police had the resources they needed.
“We’re going in hot?” Keegan questioned as she plucked the hold on her gun holster open.
“A quick take down,” Matt nodded. “You ready?”
“Let’s get our guy and see if he had anything to do with any of this.” Keegan had moved in line with the rest of the officers. She was squished between Cassidy and a plain clothes cop she hadn’t met before but she trusted him to have her back if it came down to it.
Her heart jack-hammered in her chest and adrenalin pulsed through her veins as she watched the silent count to enter the house. She took a deep breath and flinched against the sound of the door cracking open and the heavy stutter of footsteps racing into the house and the yells from the occupants inside.
One of the plain clothes cops had a woman already in handcuffs and pulled away from the main scuffle. She searched the room for Ethan and found him as he slung a bony fist towards her face. The hit knocked her off balance and she stumbled to correct her self.
Fury and fire soared through her veins as she pursued him into the kitchen at a run. He darted around the counter and tossed a dirty plate at her. Keegan ducked and slid around the counter to plant a foot at the back of his knee. As soon as he slumped forwards she had her handcuffs out and struggled to get him restrained.
“Ethan Newton you’re under arrest for assaulting a police officer.” Keegan began to rattle off his rights as Detective Hollis moved over to aide her in getting Newton to his feet and out to the back of his police cruiser. As soon as the door was slammed shut he turned around with a grin.
“Want to tell me what’s so funny Hollis?” Keegan grunted out as she tenderly placed a hand on her nose to inspect the damage.
Matt lifted a hand a plucked a noodle from her hair and brushed something off of her shoulders. “If you were that hungry you should have told someone Morne. No need to make a mess of your self.”
“Oh can it,” Keegan rolled her eyes and began to run her hands through her hair for another noodle check and shook out her jacket.
“It’s just not your night is it?” Matt grinned, “First you get run down by a leopard and then had Newton’s dinner hurled at you.”
“You’re lucky I like you Hollis,” Keegan snapped out. “Otherwise you’d be sharing the backseat with him.”
“Awe but if you did that I wouldn’t let you in on the interrogation.” Matt snorted amused with himself as he slipped into his car. He rolled the window down. “As soon as you give your statement about this jack we’ll get started.”
Keegan gave him a mock salute as she sauntered off to her own cruiser. “Sure thing, boss.”
Ethan Newton was the picture of what Keegan imagined a cold blooded killer. At least that was the first thought that crossed her mind as she stepped into interrogation two. His piercing blue eyes stared straight into Matt as if he hadn’t anything to fear from the detective.
“You want to tell us why Elaine Philips had a restraining order against you?” Matt started the questioning off lightly.
“I don’t know,” Ethan shifted back in his chair. “She filed that with your guys not with me. So why don’t you tell me.”
Matt’s eyes hardened in anger. “I’ll tell you why she filed a restraining order against you Newton. She filed it because you’re a no good a*shole who thinks it’s acceptable to beat on someone just because they don’t follow your rules to a tee.”
“Ain’t nothing wrong with a little domestic discipline.” Ethan shrugged and Keegan curled her hands into fist.
“There is when you send her to the hospital twice in as many months.” Matt retorted and waited Ethan out.
“If you knew all that then why did you bring me here? Something happen to the bitch?” Ethan folded his still handcuffed hands on top of each other.
“Yeah, you could say something happened to her.” Keegan cut in and she tossed one of the photos across the table of her mauled body at Ethan. “She was murdered.”
“Looks like one of her own kind did her in. So why are you even bothering with me?” Ethan licked his lips and glanced back down at the photo. He couldn’t seem to pull away from the image of his ex-girlfriend covered in blood and her flesh gnarled and ripped.
Keegan shifted to mirror Ethan’s posture, “Detective Hollis might not know much about you besides the fact that you beat your girlfriends but I’m not a homicide detective Ethan.”
“Yeah?” Ethan sat up a little bit straighter. “If you’re not a homicide detective then why are you even in here?”
Keegan smirked as she dropped her own portfolio on the table and slowly flipped through it. “When you get arrested and sentenced in Misery you also have to submit to blood tests to see where to put you. You do remember going through that don’t you Ethan?”
Ethan’s mask began to chip away in anger. “Those records are supposed to be sealed. That is my right to disclose that information.”
Keegan nodded in agreement, “It is but the fine print also states, any criminal record of a supernatural will remain open to one law division in Misery for the further safety of the community. As an officer in the SIU division I have access to those records Ethan.”
“So you just open which ever files you want and know everyone’s secrets? How is that right? It’s not.” Ethan spat out. “You’re just like Elaine, a no good bitch who doesn’t know when to keep your nose out of someone’s business.”
Keegan shared a look with Matt saying if she weren’t a cop and anyone spoke to her the way Ethan was she would have popped him one good by now. Keegan did the one thing that pissed known felons off. She went back to the law and shoved it right under their noses.
“That same law specifies if you are an active suspect in an investigation I have the right to pull that file,” Keegan shrugged. “It is all part of running background on a suspect Ethan. You should know that by now.”
“Plus we have to know which handcuffs to use,” Matt thought out loud with a smirk in place, “The iron ones, the silver ones, wooden ones.”
“F*ck you!” Ethan jerked up out of his seat but the restraints held him in place. “That is all bullshit and you know it. Tell him none of those f*cking fairy tales are true.”
Keegan rolled her eyes. “So we know that you are a supernatural who could have committed this crime. You had the means and a motive to get rid of Elaine. What we want to know is why did you have to kill her?”
“What’s my motive?” Ethan snapped out. “She already got what she wanted! I can’t go near her unless I want to go back to jail. You and I both know that maximum security isn’t the best joint to be in even if I am a shifter.”
“See that’s the thing,” Matt tapped his fingers against the table top. “She got what she wanted. You didn’t. That probably pissed you off. Not that I can say I blame you. Girl like Elaine blew me off?” Matt shrugged and then dramatically smacked a fist on the table, “I’d have to show her a thing or two my self.”
“So where were you tonight Ethan?” Keegan slipped the question in hoping to catch him off guard.
“Doesn’t matter even if I did tell you,” Ethan kicked at the table leg. “You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Try us?” Keegan offered.
“I’m going home to be alone.” Ethan smarmily answered. “How you like that hot shot?”
“Okay,” Matt jotted that down. “Where were you last Wednesday night?”
“Last Wednesday night?” Ethan looked at them in confusion. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
Both Keegan and Matt stayed quiet wondering when it would dawn on the man what they were referring to. It took a moment before understanding spread across his face. “Oh, I see. As much as I’m glad someone had the guts to do them in, I ain’t had nothing to do with that family’s death. I might have it in me to kill a person but I’m not a baby killer.”
“So where were you? You tell us that maybe we can clear everything up and let you get back to being at home alone and stop bothering you.” Matt suggested.
“I was at home,” Ethan ground out from between his teeth, “alone.”
“Well,” Matt snorted as he stood up and gathered the pictures and papers that had started to cover the table in front of him. “That cleared matters up right as rain. I’ll send your paperwork down to booking and maybe you’ll get your bail hearing first thing in the morning. Otherwise you’ll be back in solitary until they get you to the big house.”
“This is bullshit!” Ethan slammed a closed fist down on the table and both Keegan and Matt flinched as the metal creaked then buckled underneath the force of his hand.
Matt backed up a step and gestured for the officers positioned outside the room to come in and take Ethan out of homicide and into booking. “You might want to tone that done Newton. You act too crazy they’ll skip bail and send you straight back to your favorite place.”
“F*ck you!” Ethan hawked a loogie and spat it right out on Matt’s shoe. “And your bitch too. Don’t think I can’t smell the two of you all over each other. It’s sickening. A human and whatever she is. F*cking disgusting.”
Keegan stepped up close to Ethan as the uniforms held him back. “You want to know what’s really disgusting? Supernaturals like you. Giving the rest of us a shit name and killing those who see that there is more to life than what blood runs through a person’s veins.”
Keegan slid back way from Ethan when she felt Matt rest his hand on the crook of her elbow and gently tug her back. They both stood still in the interrogation room until Ethan and the uniforms disappeared around the corner.
“You think he’s our guy?” Matt whispered.
“If he isn’t our guy then he knows who our guy is.” Keegan answered and glanced over her shoulder at Matt. “He’s hiding something.”
“What makes you think that?” Matt nudged her out of the interrogation room.
“There aren’t that many shifters that spend their time alone. Unless they’ve been exiled or lost their mate they typically don’t stay alone. It’s not part of their nature.” Keegan shrugged. “I don’t think he’s the one killing the leopards though. I think he’s covering for someone. We just need to figure out who he’s taking the heat for.”
Matt checked his watch and let out a sigh. “It’s almost three in the morning. Are you going to head home and catch a few hours of sleep? Or are you going to rough it out until day light hours?”
Keegan hesitated to answer. She didn’t really want to go home but she needed the sleep. She didn’t want to be alone after everything that had happened today. “I think I might see if I can stay a few hours with my Ma or something.”
“Really?” Matt rolled his eyes. “I’ve got a spare bag in the trunk of my car. If you have a couch I don’t mind keeping you company until the morning.”
“You really don’t have to.” Keegan ducked her head down in shame. She didn’t do well admitting when she needed help or wanted someone just to be near her so she wouldn’t be so afraid.
“I know,” Matt shrugged a shoulder. “But after tonight I really don’t care to be alone. F*cking cat scared the shit out of me. I’ve never heard anything like those growls before.”
“All right,” Keegan rolled her lips together understanding that he was taking the focus off of her and making it seem like he was the one who didn’t want to be alone for the night. “But you don’t have to take the couch. I do have a spare bedroom you can call yours for a few hours.”
Keegan waited in the front seat of her car until a set of headlights pulled in behind her and flickered off before Matt slipped out of the front seat of his truck. Taking a deep breath Keegan got out of her car and clutched her keys tight enough to dig into her palm as she led him up the creaky front porch steps and into her house.
She could feel him looking at everything as he walked behind her. When she stopped hearing his shoes pad against the wooden floors she stopped to see what made him pause. He was staring at one of the only pictures that had her entire family together. The birthday before she told everyone what she could do and what it meant.
“Who are they?” Matt tapped against the silver frame.
“Well,” Keegan pointed towards her mother and began there. “This is my mom. Next to her is Sybil, we call her Cy. Then there, the one with long brown hair, that’s Elsie. Joan is next to her. I don’t ever think she has had a normal hair color in her life. Last but not least, Gordon the one unlucky boy of the group.”
“You guys looked happy,” Matt absently commented and Keegan felt her heart clench at the comment.
“Looked,” Keegan repeated softly to herself. “I haven’t really spoken with any of them since that was taken, except my Ma. She was the only one who accepted the things I can do and she didn’t care about what people thought about me for it.”
Matt rested a hand on her shoulder, “I’m sorry.”
Keegan shrugged, “It’s not a big deal. I’ve got my Ma. Let me show you where the room is and then I’ll give you the tour of the rest of the house just in case you get hungry or you can’t sleep.”
There was only one hallway that branched off from the kitchen and living room. Keegan pointed out her room and right across from it was the spare room, “You’ve got your own bathroom and it’s stocked with extras of nearly everything so you don’t really have to worry about any of those things. Uh, the room all the way at the end of the hall is my office. The living room and kitchen, you saw that on your way in. I’ve got an X-Box and a shit ton of zombie games if you can’t sleep. I try to keep food and stuff in the house so you’re welcome to any of it if you get hungry.”
Matt let a soft laugh escape from his lips before he grabbed Keegan’s arm to stop her nervous flittering. “Thank you Keegan. If I need anything I know where to find you. Just go get some rest okay? We both are going to need as much sleep as we can get for tomorrow.”
“I just,” Keegan shook her head, “I’m going to shower and hit the sack. I’ll try not to use up all the hot water.”
“You’re so kind,” Matt did something Keegan hadn’t expected of him. He paused before he turned and wrapped her up in a tight hug. She could feel how deeply he was breathing and she couldn’t help but hold him back just as tightly. “You scared the shit out of me today Morne.”
Keegan wasn’t sure what to say so she just went with the first thing that came to mind and spoke warmly into his shirt. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t do it again,” Matt rubbed slow circles into her back before he finally stepped back and cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Get some sleep?”
“You too,” Keegan nodded before she disappeared behind the door to her room. She leaned against it for a moment and took a deep breath. She was slipping further into the attraction she had for Matt and she was afraid that it would cause more trouble then it would be worth.
Even in sleep fear did funny things to a person. The sound of growls filled Keegan’s ears, the warmth of a leopard’s hiss misted across her face. Her body reacted before she woke. A surge of energy coiled through her. She jolted from sleep with a gasp and she stared at her hands in shock. They had begun to glow an eerie blue. The door to her room burst open and Matt stood shocked in a pair of sweat pants.
“Keegan,” His voice sounded like the voice he used when he encountered someone who had witness a crime. “Keegan, look at me.”
“F*ck,” Keegan whispered more to her self before she shook her hands out and the glow slowly dissipated. “Dreams should not feel that real.”
Matt broke down in hysterical laughter. He was clutching as his bare stomach and trying to catch his breath. Keegan stared at him in confusion before she realized that he was laughing at her. She grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him. “I had a nightmare and all you do is laugh at me? What kind of man does that?”
Matt’s smile was wide and bright. “You’re okay though?”
“No thanks to you.” Keegan gestured angrily at him before she couldn’t help but laugh at the moment her self.
“I was a bit worried there for a moment, you just kind of yelled and I panicked.” Matt toed at the floor.
Keegan rubbed the heel of her palms against her eyes and looked at the clock and groaned, “An hour of sleep and I feel like a zombie.”
“Look at it this way Morne,” Matt tapped a hand on the door frame as he turned to head to his room, “Another two hours and you’ll be back at the precinct working your ass off preferring that you were sleeping nightmares or no.”
Flopping back down across her pillows Keegan grunted out. “Please don’t remind me.”
The morning dawned far too brightly for Keegan’s tastes. She didn’t waste time getting ready for work despite the fact she felt as though she had been run over by a Mac truck. With her gun and badge clipped in place on her belt Keegan tramped through the house and was taken aback at the sight of Matt sitting at the bar sipping on a cup of coffee looking like he belonged in her house.
“Coffee’s on the counter.” Matt pointed at the mug he had already prepared for her.
“Thanks,” Keegan poured to coffee in a to-go mug and slipped her feet into her boots. “We should get going.”
“Raring and ready to go already,” Matt let out a sigh as he scooped up his bag and followed Keegan down the hall and out the front door. “Damn it’s cold.”
“Could be worse,” Keegan threw over her shoulder. “And I like to think of it this way, the sooner we get done with the case the sooner we get a monster off the streets and the sooner I can get a full night of sleep.”
“Always some ulterior motive to solving crime,” Matt chuckled to himself. “Getting a full night of rest, how unusual? I haven’t had one of those in a long time.”
“So you see the appeal.” Keegan threw her bag across the car to land on the passenger seat.
“If only the myth of a full night’s rest were true.” Matt let out an overly dramatic sigh. “My guys are going to be canvassing the neighborhood. I’ll give you a call if we run across anything.”
“I’m going to be paying Bryton another visit and I’ll probably get Leeroy or Gary to see if they can finagle any more information out of Newton. Having a Djinn and a dragon around might scare him into giving something up.” Keegan shrugged. “Check in with you later.”
“Dr. Biggerson might have the autopsy done,” Matt added as an after thought, “If there wasn’t a backlog of bodies. Hopefully this afternoon she’ll have finished up with Elaine.”
“If I hear anything I’ll let you know.” Keegan tipped her head to Matt and slipped into her car waiting for him to lead the way to Misery PD.
Bryton was sitting in his usual seat in The Jumping Bean. If Keegan didn’t know any better she would say he looked smug and entirely too pleased with him self as she approached. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence Detective?”
Keegan took the chair across from him and smiled back at him. “I may be young but I wasn’t born yesterday. We arrested Ethan Newton.”
“Only Ethan?” Bryton clucked his tongue and shook his head. “That’s a shame because we both know he didn’t have anything to do with the murders you are investigating.”
“Yeah,” Keegan agreed without hesitation, “But the thing is, I’ve got a list of known associates of Ethan’s. He’s covering for one of them and as soon as I figure out who you told to get out of town after my first visit it is going to be that much easier to catch the monster that is murdering people.”
Bryton leaned forwards in his seat and his breath tickled Keegan’s nose as he spoke. “And we both know despite all your threats you don’t have any clue as to where you could start. So why did you come here this beautiful morning Detective.”
Keegan internally counted to ten. She gave up before she reached three and shook her head and stood so she was leaning into Bryton’s space. She felt energy coil around her wrists. “You are treading on a fine line Bryton. A line so fine if you aren’t careful you’ll find out what the inside of a solitary confinement cell looks like.”
Bryton’s nostrils flared in fury, “You might want to watch yourself. Just because you think you are more powerful than the rest of us that doesn’t mean that you are.”
Keegan grinned, “Was that a threat?”
“I don’t do threats,” Bryton leaned further back in his seat with his arms stretched out behind his head. “If something needs to be taken care of I take care of it. It is as simple as that.”
“The SIU isn’t like Misery PD Bryton, you’d do well to remember that.” Keegan threatened as she started towards the exit.
“And what exactly are you implying detective?” Bryton’s voice carried across the room.
Keegan smirked, “That when something needs to be taken care of, one way or another, we get it taken care of.”
“We’ll see about that Detective Morne.”
Keegan called Melinda as soon as she was buckled into her car. She barely gave the wolf anytime to answer before she was speaking. “Packs do their own internal investigations. Have you heard anything, even if it was just gossip, about what has been going on with Anderson’s prowl?”
“Bryton Anderson is definitely not going to be winning any Alpha of the year awards if that’s what you are asking because the word is the prowl isn’t happy with how he’s been handling the murders.” Melinda answered.
“What exactly are you saying?” Keegan prompted for more.
“I’m saying that while my alpha would have been tearing the pack apart trying to find out who is killing the other members off, especially a family with a baby, Bryton isn’t doing much of anything besides hanging out in the coffee house of his.” Melinda explained. “This is going to cause a lot of trouble if we don’t get this figured out and figured out soon.”
Keegan pursed her lips together nodding to herself, “I’m already starting to see how much trouble these cases are causing. I want you to keep an ear out for any rumbles about the Anderson prowl.”
“You got it boss.”