Shadowed (9 page)

"Too bad you got burned and cut up a little. Most of it was healed up already, but you still have a cut on your cheek and your hands are blistered. No way to convince the Packmaster we were innocent, once the stupid bat pointed him in our direction," Jeremy cursed softly under his breath. This was Ashe Evans' fault; start to finish. The empty was becoming more of a problem every day.

"We'll get back at him," Chad snarled. "It may take a while, but we'll get him."

* * *

"Dude, the Grand Master is gonna hand out punishment for Chad, but the school administrators have to decide what happens to Wormy," Ashe settled into his cafeteria seat next to Sali. He'd misted straight to the lunchroom after leaving Principal Billings' office.

"What do you think they're going to do?" Cori had helped hide Ashe's absence from Mrs. Rocklin, who was supervising the crowded cafeteria. She and Sali had huddled together to conceal his disappearance from the other students, too—all of whom were eating, laughing and engaging in boisterously noisy activity.

"No idea. Cori, those people could have died," Ashe muttered, staring at his now-cold cheeseburger. Making the best of congealed meat and cheese, Ashe bit into it and chewed.

"Dad said the girl was burning candles in her bedroom. Chad wouldn't have set the house on fire if she hadn't done that."

"Cori, don't take their part in this," Ashe lifted his milk carton. "None of this would have happened if Chump and Wormy hadn't decided to terrorize those people. Now the Jansens are living in Old Harold's house because theirs burned down, with everything they owned inside it."

"I know. Mom is going through our stuff to see if we can donate anything." Cori crumpled her paper napkin and dropped it onto her tray.

"I think those two agents are working to get furniture for them; Old Harold didn't have a lot and most of it was ancient," Ashe said. "They'll need clothes, too."

"I think Mom is taking dishes over; Aunt Marcie had a bunch of stuff she didn't need." Sali's Aunt Marcella now lived in Pat Roberts' old house. She'd moved to Cloud Chief after leaving her husband and two sons behind in Phoenix.

"Mom said she'd go by the grocery store on her way home tonight," Ashe said.

"But this separates that family from the others," Cori pointed out. "They're more than a quarter of a mile away."

"I get the feeling that the other kids lean on Luanne a lot," Ashe observed. "I overheard that Philip kid saying he wanted to ride with her on the way up and Macy, one of the other girls, had just talked to her on her walkie-talkie before Chump set the house on fire."

"Even I can't believe he did that," Cori shook her head. "Talk about dumb."

"Well, they've never been particularly intellectual," Sali grinned.

"Sal, you just used two five-syllable words back to back," Ashe pounded his friend on the shoulder.

"Just checking to see if you were listening, dude," Sali said.

* * *

"No, I don't have any idea why someone would target the Mayor or my husband," Wanda Hicks wiped tears away as Agents Nick Lawford and Derik North questioned her. She was only now learning that the same person was responsible for both deaths. "They knew each other, but," she tossed out a hand in helpless frustration. "There wasn't any reason for this. None."

"Ma'am, we don't have a lot of information, other than the same person likely committed both crimes," Derik said as gently as he could. "We're just trying to figure this out."

"When you do, please let me know," Mrs. Hicks wept. "So I'll know why my children no longer have a father."

* * *

"Boss, look at this," Trajan, Trace's older brother and Winkler's Second in the Dallas pack, set a paper copy of a map in front of Winkler the afternoon following the full Moon.

"What's this?" Winkler lifted the map and studied it.

"The route they took to deliver those mobile homes," Trajan pointed out. Like Trace, Trajan was nearly seven feet tall with dark hair and dark eyes. With martial arts experience and a sports background, Trajan was a capable Second for the Dallas Pack.

"So, the Mayor was off the path, but the second victim wasn't? You think there's some connection?" Winkler studied Trajan's face.

"Well, the two men knew one another. Who knows? I might be reading more into this than there is, but what if there's a leak somewhere? Besides Director Jennings, who else knows where those families were relocated? Even knowledge of a general location for those families could be dangerous. What might happen if the murderer had vague news of their whereabouts and then went looking for information on people moving into the area or anything unusual going on?" Trace settled into the chair beside Winkler's desk.

"And six mobile homes moving along a two-lane road is definitely unusual."

"Yep. Not easy to hide that, boss."

"You think I should contact Bill and ask him to investigate his own department?"

"Well, it isn't like that sort of thing hasn't happened in the past."

"It's worth a try," Winkler agreed. "I'll give him a call." Winkler's phone rang before he had a chance to dial Director Jennings' number.

"Weldon?" Winkler recognized the Grand Master's number on his cell.

"Winkler, two of those kids from Cloud Chief managed to burn one of the mobile homes to the ground last night." Winkler was on his feet and cursing immediately.

* * *

"Ashe, I think we should talk to those people. Maybe show them we're not all prejudiced and nasty," Wynn and Dori stood beside Ashe's locker, surprising Ashe and Sali. Hayes, Larry and Jeff, three other classmates, stood behind the two girls. Hayes and Jeff were werewolves; Larry was a bobcat and Mrs. Campbell's son. Wynn, already very pretty and showing signs of growing into a beautiful woman one day, brushed back long, white hair unconsciously as she pleaded with Ashe to take her and the others to the remaining mobile homes.

"How do you plan to do that? Chump and Wormy did their best to destroy any trust they might have," Ashe grumbled. "And most of them are decent. I was hoping Edward could be included in activities and stuff, and then the others might come along. Now," Ashe shrugged in near-resignation.

"Let's give it a try at least," Hayes offered. "Make a peace offering of some kind. I'm willing to take my new games over."

"I'm willing to turn for them." Ashe stared in shock at Wynn—she never volunteered for that. When she changed for the full Moon, she stayed close to her mother, Sharon, a shapeshifting mare, and her father, Jonas, a rare bald eagle. Wynn was a unicorn that shone brightly in the moonlight—Ashe had flapped over her many times as the bat just to get a glimpse of perhaps the rarest shapeshifter in existence.

"Wynnie, are you sure you want to do that?" Ashe used the nickname that most people were afraid to use—Sharon called her daughter by that name but Wynn usually got upset if anyone else did.

"I will," Wynn seemed determined. "They have to understand that we're not all like Chad and Jeremy. Stupid twits," she muttered.

"Look, why don't we meet at Ashe's house in an hour?" Hayes suggested. Jeff and Larry nodded in agreement.

"All right," Wynn said. "Let's go, Dori." Dori followed Wynn toward the front doors of the school. Ashe watched both girls walk down the polished tile hallway that separated classrooms at Cloud Chief Combined.

"You're sure about this?" Ashe turned back to Hayes, Larry and Jeff.

"We have to do something," Jeff said. He, Larry and Hayes were best friends, much like Ashe and Sali, but occasionally the three boys came to Sali's house—they seldom visited Ashe. All of them enjoyed playing video games, but generally hated playing Ashe. If he concentrated on the game, Ashe was very hard to beat. The others liked to win once in a while, so they played mostly with Sali.

"I'll offer some of my books to Luanne; Trace said this morning that all her books got burned," Ashe sighed, nodding to the three boys. "Meet at my house in an hour and we'll go." Hayes, Larry and Jeff, their athletic shoes squeaking on the polished tile, walked quickly toward the school entrance.

"Sali, I know I'll get in trouble if Mom and Dad find out, but we can't go empty-handed. Want to mist into Cordell and buy snacks?" Ashe gazed hopefully at his friend.

"Yeah. Let's go," Sali breathed, excited to be sneaking away from the community. Ashe, making sure nobody else was inside the deserted school, became mist. Pulling Sali into his mist, he blazed toward his home to raid his allowance stash before racing invisibly to the nearby town of Cordell.

Waiting patiently while a man wearing a studded leather jacket purchased a few items ahead of them, Ashe totaled snack items in his head. Sali had been more than generous, dumping multiple bags of chips and cookies into their basket.

"Having a party, boys?" The woman at the register rang up the sale. The pile of cookies, snacks and soft drinks traveled along the conveyor belt while Ashe and Sali watched the cashier scan all of it. Ashe pulled a handful of bills from his pocket to pay—he barely had enough to cover everything.

"Yeah, we're inviting friends over," Ashe agreed, handing money to the cashier. Sali was already gathering up bags of purchased snacks.

"Haven't I seen you at Cordell Feed and Seed?" The woman asked, her brown eyes kind as she handed change back.

"My mom owns it," Ashe said. Cordell was small enough that everyone knew everybody else.

"You're Adele's son. Now I recognize you," the woman placed hands on ample hips as she smiled at Ashe and Sali. "Well, have fun."

"We will. Thanks," Ashe lifted what Sali couldn't carry and they walked through the door of Jerry's Super Saver Market and Bakery.

"Come on," Ashe nodded toward the opposite side of the grocery store—cars were parked where Sali was walking. They had to find a good place for Ashe to turn to mist.

"Here," Ashe hissed, walking between the brick wall of the store and the two large dumpsters behind it. Turning himself, Sali and everything they carried to mist, Ashe flew toward Cloud Chief.

* * *

"Luanne, I'm really sorry about your house," Ashe apologized later. Luanne and her parents were visiting with Macy, Ramona and Rocky Hill, having walked from Old Harold's house to the mobile homes parked in the field behind Ashe's home. "We're inviting everyone over to Edward's house—his father gave permission. We've got video games and I've got a list of books from my library that you're welcome to borrow if you want."

"Plus we have snacks and sodas," Sali nodded enthusiastically behind Ashe.

"Mom?" Luanne blinked at Linda Jansen, asking permission. They'd spent the previous night huddled inside Old Harold's underground home, wondering what would become of them. Now, several members of the Cloud Chief community had brought clothing and household items, and these children were asking them over to play games and have fun.

"I think it's all right," Linda nodded. "We might be over after a while; I'd like to talk with Macy's parents a little longer."

"Go with Luanne, Macy," Ramona agreed. "Have some fun. We haven't seen a lot of that lately."

Macy and Luanne followed Ashe and Sali out of the house. "We just wanted you to know that we're not like Chump and Wormy. Trust me, they'll be punished," Ashe said to Luanne as they walked through the field toward Edward's mobile home.

"Having a get-together?" Jason and Trace were assigned to guard during the day, so they were well aware that something was going on at Edward's home.

"Hey, Trace. Hello, Mr. Landers," Ashe nodded to both werewolves. "We wanted to get to know everybody, and Hayes always looks for an excuse to play video games," Ashe grinned.
And we wanted them to know we're not all arsonists
, he added mentally, causing Trace to snicker.

"Have a good time. If you need anything, just call," Trace waved them on.

"Will do," Sali said.

* * *

"This is Wynn and this is Dori," Ashe introduced both girls to Macy and Luanne. "And this is Hayes, Larry and Jeff," he added. Hayes and Jeff were already deep into a video game with Bryce and Keith. Larry watched the action while Philip sat nearby, engrossed in the game and unusually quiet. Edward, crunching away on cheese puffs, grinned at Ashe. The only one refusing to have a good time was Elizabeth, who sat on a corner of the Pendley's sofa, sipping a soda and gazing sourly at Hayes and Jeff.

"Luanne, I think Wynn wants to show you her animal," Ashe said as Wynn gave Ashe a suggestive jerk of her head. "And you have to realize that Wynn won't do this for just anybody."

"What is it?" Luanne asked, giving Wynn a puzzled look.

"It'll be a surprise," Wynn said shyly.

"Edward, can we borrow your bathroom?" Ashe asked.

"Sure. Need anything?" Edward slid off his barstool and came to stand next to Sali, offering the bag of cheese puffs to the young werewolf. Sali grabbed a handful and began crunching.

"No. But we'll have a surprise for everyone in just a couple of minutes."

Dori followed Wynn toward the bathroom—she'd have to take Wynn's clothing, after all.

"How sturdy is the floor?" Sali stopped eating long enough to ask.