Allan helped her out of the car, and she was boneless. He noticed she’d left her purse on the seat and seized it. But she managed to walk on her own. “Are you going to be all right tonight?”
“Yeah, sure. Long day. Missed lunch and breakfast—meant to have both, but never got around to either. I had some hot chocolate at your sister’s house to tide me over, but I think the beer got to me. A little.”
Allan smiled and held the door to her duplex for her. She didn’t move out of the doorway, but waited for him to hand over her purse. “Thanks. I had a lovely time. Next time, I’ll have water. It would be safer that way.” She waved at Rowdy, who was standing beside Allan’s hatchback. “Night. That was fun. We’ll have to do it again sometime.”
“Next Friday?” Rowdy asked in a hurry.
She glanced up at Allan, her dark-brown eyes wide with expectation.
“Sure.” What the hell. If the three of them were going to have pizza, maybe on a regular Friday-night basis, no one would get the notion he was dating Debbie. Himself included.
“Night, Debbie. See you tomorrow.” Even though it was Saturday, they were diving to Van Lake again to see if they could find more clues.
Rowdy waved good-bye. “Night, Debbie.”
“Night, all.” She closed her door and Allan waited until he heard the lock snick closed.
“I sure admire you for the work you do,” Rowdy said as they climbed into Allan’s car. “I wanted to be a police diver. I thought it sounded really glamorous and more fun than regular police work. Then Debbie’s retired partner told me about diving in murky waters, with swift moving currents, under ice, in frigid water, and at night or other times when there is zero visibility. The worst was the idea of diving in intake pipes and sewer water. So I decided I liked my job just fine. I guess with your SEAL training, diving suits you. Still can’t figure out why Debbie would want a job like that.”
Allan nodded. He wasn’t about to explain what she had told him if she hadn’t mentioned it to Rowdy.
“So sorry about your kinfolk seeing that murder scene today. I can imagine how horrified they must have been. With both being pregnant, I worried about miscarriages.”
“They were shook up, sure. After witnessing such a thing, they’re wary now, of course. Until we catch the murderer, it’s a big concern for everyone.”
“I agree. I hope that I didn’t mess things up by butting in on your pizza night with Debbie. She was just so adamant, I couldn’t say no.”
Allan shook his head. “Like Debbie said, it was nice getting to know a little more about each other off duty. After such a harrowing day, the evening went well, I thought.”
“It did, but I can bow out next time. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Debbie, but I can make excuses.”
“I don’t have any problem with you having pizza with us.”
“She said you weren’t on a date.”
“No, we weren’t.”
“Then you wouldn’t have any objection if I ask her out sometime?” Rowdy asked.
“Not at all.” Allan told himself she should go out with other guys. They could be work colleagues and maybe even friends, but nothing serious could happen between them. And if she were dating a police officer, that might deter any lunatic wanting to kill werewolves.
So why was he so annoyed with the idea?
He dropped Rowdy off at the pizzeria so he could get his car and then headed back to the site of the woman’s murder. The location was two miles from Paul and Lori’s cabin, but he didn’t intend to disturb them tonight. Not unless he found something important related to the case.
When he arrived as close to the scene as he could get, he parked on the logging trail and hiked to the killing site. He sniffed around the area in the dark, though he could see somewhat. He was mostly relying on his sense of smell. To his surprise, he smelled another wolf.
Maybe a real wolf attracted to the blood? If it was a lupus garou, it was a male and unknown to Allan. And it was recent. The male hadn’t scent-marked the area, but his wolf scent was in the air. Allan would have shifted to see if the wolf had left a scent from his paw pads, but he couldn’t do it if the wolf killer was watching.
Allan texted Paul with the news.
Paul texted him right back: You’re at the site now?
Yeah, just got here.
Drop by the cabin when you’re through.
Allan hadn’t wanted to alarm Lori, but he texted back: Sure.
Lori was the pack leader too. She had to know everything going on with regard to the pack.
Allan tracked the wolf’s scent trail for two miles into the wilderness. Snow covered the tracks, so Allan couldn’t tell if the wolf had been in human form or was a wolf. He thought if it had been a lupus garou, he would have headed for a vehicle parked on the logging road. But he hadn’t. He tracked it for another four miles and got another text. He checked it out.
Paul had texted him: Where are you?
Just tracking the wolf trail. I’m coming in. Be there in about two hours.
I’m coming for you if you’re not back in two.