I’m glad he was feeling something, because I wasn’t. And really, that was beginning to bug me. Four murders, and not one soul left hanging about afterward? Granted, the woman I’d found yesterday had been dead for so long her soul was unlikely to be still here, but with the other three, I should have sensed something. Hell, I might have wished more than once to go to a murder scene and not sense the dead, but the reality of its happening was prickling my radar. Something was very off-kilter.And, at least with these cat killings, it really did suggest that we were dealing with some sort of soul-sucker.
Goose bumps fled across my skin. I resisted the urge to rub my arms and said, “So our murderer is somehow gaining power every time she kills?”
“That would be my guess, yes.” His gaze met mine. “Which means we have to catch her soon, before she grows too powerful.”
“If we can bring down a god of death, we can bring down this thing. Whatever she is.” But I wished I sounded a little more confident. “What I don’t get is why she’s marking her victims first. I mean, why bother with three tiny slashes if she’s going to cut them up so badly or rip off an arm? And why would she do that to this woman and the shoe guy, and not to James and the first female victim?”
“Maybe it was some sort of test that developed into something more violent.” His gaze raked the woman’s body, and distaste flicked through his warm eyes. “And she didn’t only claw here. She’s nibbled.”
My stomach did an odd sort of flip-flop. “What?”
“Here.” He pointed to a small area near the woman’s left breast. The skin had been torn open, and globules of fat and flesh were evident. “Those aren’t claw marks around the wound. That’s teeth.”
“Why on earth would she be eating the flesh now when she didn’t before?”
“What better way to induce fear than to actually eat bits of your victim?” He shrugged. “She seems to be getting more violent with each murder, so perhaps this is all part of the escalation.”
I shuddered at the thought. I didn’t want to think about the mess her victims would be in if we didn’t stop her soon. “If that is a bite wound, then she was wearing a smaller form. And no one—not even a human—is going to stand around and let a cat nibble on their flesh. Besides, the woman was in the process of dressing—it would have been hard for the cat to sneak in a bite before the woman reacted.”
“We don’t know what other skills she has, besides her ability to shift her shape and size.”
That was true. I glanced at my watch and swore softly. I was late for my coffee appointment with Ben. “Look, I have to go chat to a man about another murdering psycho. You want to call in a cleanup team on this one?”
He nodded. “I’ll go talk to James’s secretary after that, see if he was the connection to the two women.”
“Even if he was, how would they all be connected to the shoe guy?” It was easy enough imagining the women buying shoes there, but I highly doubt James was the type to be running around in high heels.
“With politicians you never really know.” He reached across and flicked my nose lightly. “It’s nice working with you, even if we can’t have sex.”
I grinned. “Ditto. Just be careful that cat doesn’t come back and decide to make a meal out of you, too.”
His warm brown eyes twinkled with sudden mischief. “Wouldn’t be the first time a woman has decided to eat me.”
“Yeah, but this one is taking more than a pound of flesh with her. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that.”
“No, and neither would my mares.”
“I don’t know,” I said, trying for a reflective tone rather than amused, but missing horribly. “I bet Sable is so far into her pregnancy she’s now cursing your pound or two of flesh and hoping it’ll disappear for quite a while.”
“No doubt about it,” he said with a smile. “But when she comes into heat again, it’ll be a different story.”
“She’s not a baby machine, you know.”
“She’s a mare. That’s what they do.”
So much for the enlightened world of horse-shifters. I shook my head and left.
Thanks to morning traffic, it took me close to thirty minutes to get to Lygon Street. Parking was as difficult to find as ever, so by the time I entered Chiquita’s, I was a good fifteen minutes late. The café was cozy rather than flashy in design, full of intimate tables and seating that wrapped around you and lent a feeling of privacy. Down at the far end of the room was one of those fire-places that looked like logs but was actually gas, and the air was warm enough to almost instantly snatch the chill from my skin.
I didn’t see Ben straightaway, but a moment later he stood and waved. I couldn’t help the smile that touched my lips. Damn he looked good.
He’d dressed in blue jeans that molded around his strong legs and highlighted the sharp definition of muscles. The sleeves of his red shirt had been casually rolled to his elbows, and emphasized not only the width of his shoulders but the rich blackness of his skin.
He smiled when our gazes met, his white teeth flashing brightly in the gloom. My hormones did several excited skips. I might have been off the casual bandwagon for several months now, but this man had me reconsidering my options.
Or maybe I was simply ready to get back into the hunt again. I might not be over the hurt of watching Kellen walk away, but the break had at least given my bruised heart time to mend a little.
Maybe I was ready to play again, even if I had no intention of taking it further than that for a while.
Of course, knowing fate’s sick sense of humor, she’d probably consider that now would be the perfect time to fling my soul mate into the equation.
If he hadn’t already walked away, a little voice whispered.
I shoved that thought back into the box where it belonged, and let a smile of appreciation play about my lips.
“You’re looking nice this morning,” I said, dropping my purse onto the seat before rising onto tiptoes to kiss the side of his cheek. His skin felt good under my lips—warm and slightly roughened with whisker growth—and the taste of him was musky. It was tempting, so tempting, to keep on kissing and tasting, but that wasn’t what I’d come here for. No matter what my hormones were suddenly thinking.
“And you’re looking a little ragged around the edges.” With his warm hands on either shoulder, he stood back a little and studied me critically. “Had a rough morning, huh?”
“Yeah, and the bitch got away.” I pulled back from his light grip and slid down onto the bench. The skin still tingled from the heat of his touch, and part of me wished that I could feel that warmth elsewhere.
I crossed my arms on the table and tried to remain businesslike. “So, is Jilli working today?”He nodded. “She’ll come out and talk to us during her morning tea break.” He paused and glanced at his watch. “Which is in another ten minutes.”
“Then we’d better order some coffee.” I picked up the menu and scanned through it, though I’d made up my mind before I even walked through the door. “And I hope your pockets stretch to cake. Chasing crazy bad people always makes me hungry.”
“Anything the lady wants, the lady can have.”
I looked up from the menu, saw the cheeky twinkle in his blue eyes, and smiled. “I thought you didn’t do sex on the first date?”
“I don’t. But if I take you out to dinner tonight, that would be a second date. Therefore, all bets are off.”
I raised an eyebrow as the smile teasing my lips grew stronger. “And who said anything about wanting to have dinner with you? We haven’t even experienced coffee together yet. It might all end disastrously.”
He laughed. It was a warm, rich sound that overran the babble of noise and had those nearest to us briefly looking our way. “Wolf, you want me as much as I want you.”
“Doesn’t mean I’ll take you.”
He studied me for a moment, his smile fading just a little. Then he leaned across the table, took the menu out of my grasp, and wrapped his large hands around mine. “Someone has really hurt you, haven’t they?”
Tears stung my eyes. I looked away, blinking furiously. After all this time, it shouldn’t still hurt this much, should it? “We hurt each other. In the end, he chose the best option for him. I can’t say I blame him.”
“He couldn’t have been a soul mate, then.”
I met his gaze again. His dark features were full of a compassion that was surprising considering he was basically a complete stranger. But maybe he’d been in a similar situation.
I shrugged. “Our relationship had only just begun, but love was definitely part of the equation. It could have developed into more.”
He was shaking his head before I’d even finished. “It might have been love—it might have even been a deep love—but it couldn’t have been soul mate deep. Trust me on that.”
“You say that with such certainty. Why?”
Something akin to grief—but deeper, darker—briefly twisted his features. He didn’t immediately say anything, and for several minutes, the noise of the café flowed around us as he struggled with inner demons.