"We all smell dead." When he didn't laugh, I sighed. "It's complicated."
"And I've got all night."
"My, how forward of you."
I sighed and stepped back, knowing this guy wasn't about to go anywhere without some answers, and I wanted some myself. Particularly why he hadn't made contact with the coven or the pack before now; lone wolves were dangerous. I led him to the study and closed the door.
"Can I offer you a drink?"
"Beer?"
"The one thing I don't keep in here." I picked up the phone and dialed the extension for the kitchen, asking for a six-pack to be sent down. When I hung up, I looked up to see him admiring the books on the shelf. "Make yourself comfortable, Detective."
"Nice place."
"A little stuffy sometimes, but it's home." I made myself comfortable on one of the couches and Detective Brooks sat in a chair across from me. "So. You were there?"
He nodded. "Imagine my confusion when I go down to the morgue to get the official autopsy report this morning, and not only is there no report, there's no record of the body even being brought in."
"Maybe the driver got lost?"
"Did you feed from him?"
"The driver?"
"No, the victim."
"Oh," I said simply. After a moment of contemplating how I could play this, I finally shrugged. "I did."
"Kill him?"
"No."
"Steal his body?"
"Uhh&"
"Why in hell would you take the body when there were so many witnesses to the scene?"
"One, rumor of vampire killers would not go over well. Two, I fed from him and that makes me responsible for him by default." I met his eyes. "And three, one of the bites was Lycan."
"That's not possible."
I just stared at him.
There was a knock at the door before it opened. Adam carried in a tray with beers and set it on the table. I caught his hand before he walked away. "Thank you, Adam. Can you do me a favor and send Cecil up here?"
"Right away, sir."
Detective Brooks fidgeted, but waited until Adam left to speak. "Can I see the body?"
"I'm afraid that's not possible. There was some&disagreement last night about the safety of the house with the body in it. It has been disposed of."
"Shit," he murmured.
"My sentiments exactly." I handed him a beer and grabbed one for myself. "So tell me, Detective, how long have you worked for the police department?"
"I was transferred about two weeks ago." He took a sip of his beer and looked up, but didn't meet my eyes. "I would have come sooner, but I've been busy at work."
"Did you have intentions of joining the pack here?"
He nodded.
"Fortunately for both of us, I have no idea where your future pack leader might be, so."
"Excuse me? Aren't you&?"
"No."
"But."
"I'm afraid that's a long, complicated story, too."
Cecil walked in and Detective Brooks stood. Cecil eyed him warily, then turned his attention to me. "Everything okay, Peter?"
"Why don't you give Detective Brooks here a rundown of what you found with the body last night?"
"It would be much easier if I just showed him," Cecil said. The beginnings of a smile tugged at his lips. "I record all autopsies for my records."
"Oh, Cecil, I think I love you." There was that damned word again. "Figuratively speaking, of course."
"Of course," he chuckled.
I stood and gestured to Detective Brooks. "After you, Detective."
He smiled. "Call me Tanner, please."
* * *
Tanner stared at the computer screen in Cecil's office. "I don't get it."
"You're not the only one," I said. "But if an official autopsy were to show canine bites in conjunction with vampire bites, it would be a very, very bad thing."
"I agree."
"I assume that your superiors want to know where the body is. What are you going to tell them?"
"Not much I really can tell them. There's no body and most of the evidence is missing, therefore it would be considered tainted. The only thing I can come up with is that it was an interrupted turning and that the offending vampire wasn't a local."
"I'm pretty sure that last bit is true. None of our vampires would be so stupid. Turning anyone is strictly forbidden without Lucien's permission, and the penalty for doing so is death, ninety-five percent of the time."