We arrived in Springfield after a lot of silent car driving. I pulled into the parking lot of the FBI office on Chesterfield and parked near the front doors.
“We’ll coordinate with an Agent Dale Resnik,” Dominic said. “He’s a good guy. I’ve worked with him once before a couple years back.”
“So, he’s a therianthrope?”
“Nope.” Dom shook his head. “He’s human. Completely unaware, and that’s the way we have to keep him and every other human we run into on this case. That’s part of our job.”
“For the FBI?”
“No, for the Tri-State Council.”
I groaned. “What have they got to do with this?” I’d heard all about the fiasco at the Tri-State Council meeting two years ago when Peculiar had been picked to host the event. Two deaths and a kidnapping had occurred that week as a result. If it hadn’t been for the two newcomers in town, Chavvah Trimmel and Sunny Haddock, the killers might have kept on their spree. I didn’t know either lady very well.
“We work for the FBI, Nicole, but as therians, we’re in a position to help our kind. Do you know what would happen if humans found out about us?”
“I have a fair idea, Mr. Patronizing.” I’d thought many times of ways that our kind might fully integrate into human society. “But would it really be that awful? After all, there are many of us who protect humans every day, military, doctors, nurses, EMTs, firefighters, and law enforcement. If we were allowed to perform to our fullest abilities, we could show them that we are assets, not enemies.”
“It’s naïve to think that humans as a whole are going to embrace our otherness. People, even our own kind, tend to fear the unknown, and we would be feared by many. All that aside, until the powers that be deem it time to come out of our metaphorical furry closets, do you really want humans to find out about us by accident? Like if a shifter murderer, kidnapper, rapist, or thief was the reason our species was placed in the spotlight.”
“That would be bad.”
Dom smiled. “Is that your clinical opinion?”
“My clinical opinion is that the man is intelligent and organized.”
“And what makes you think it’s a man?”
“All the victims have been therianthropic men whom our unknown subject has somehow subdued. This last one put up a struggle, and still, the unsub was able to take him down. I’ve known some pretty strong women, and if these were human victims, I’d say it could go either way, but our kind is harder to take down.” I shook my head. “We’re definitely looking for a male. Someone aged twenty-six to upwards of sixty.” Therianthropes aged much slower than humans. We still died of old age, but old age tended to occur after one-hundred twenty years, and we could potentially live to be one-hundred and eighty to two-hundred years before dying of natural causes. “I’ll need more information than what’s in the files to discern more. Also, I think we should look over the past two to three decades to see if this kind of thing has happened before. If we could find more victims, that will give us even more information about his age.”
“Good idea,” Dom said.
“Thanks. I have one or two every now and then.” I smiled.
“You also have a really nice smile.”
I blinked, dumbstruck over the out-of-the-blue compliment. I frowned. “Stop flirting with me.” I took the key out of the ignition. “We should go in.”
Dom grinned, his gray-green eyes sparkling like polished jade. “I’ll follow you in a moment. I need to make a call.”
The FBI offices were located in a building that shared space with an investment company called Truman & Associates. Big letters near the entrance marked the company as important. There was no similar signage for the FBI field office.
When I walked into the field office, I was startled to see a familiar face talking with a middle-aged man in a gray suit.
“Eldin?” I asked.
Eldin Farraday, a tall guy, with a thin, but handsome face, smiled warmly as he recognized me. “Nic!” He came around the desk where he was standing, pushed his way past swinging door by the front counter and swept me up in his arms. His affectionate hug nearly broke my spine. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I was assigned to the Little Piggy case,” I told him when he set me back down on the floor. He still had his arms around me, and I pressed my ear against his chest and listened, familiarly, to the sound of his heartbeat. I sagged against my friend. “Damn, it’s good to see you.”
“Deputy Farraday,” Dominic said, his voice low and what I could only describe as grouchy. “Did Sheriff Taylor send you?”
“He thought I might be able to help,” Eldin said, his arms still around me. “I didn’t know Nic was coming, though. If I had, I’d have worn her favorite cologne.”
I leaned back and beamed up at him. “I don’t like Fahrenheit that much,” I lied.
He kissed me quickly on the mouth, a light peck. “I’ve missed you, Nic. You don’t come home often enough.”
“I’ve missed you too.” I pulled away from Eldin’s embrace.
The blond-haired man, who I assumed was Agent Resnik, smiled at me. “You greet all your colleagues that way? If so, where do I line up?”
“No, she doesn’t,” Dom answered as he stiffly passed Eldin and me to greet the agent. “How are you, Resnik?” he said to the man as he held out his hand.
“Good, Tartan. You?”
“Real good.” I watched as Dominic shook off whatever bug had crawled up his butt to paste on his charming smile. “The hugger is my partner, Nicole Taylor.”
I walked to the back and shook Resnik’s hand. “Sorry about that. Deputy Farraday and I grew up together. He’s an old friend.”
“I need to get new friends,” the blond said, his smile widening. “I hope you guys can shed some light on this case. I’ve hit a dead end, and this one hasn’t followed the same pattern as the others. I’m not even sure it’s the same guy.”
“How so?” Dom asked.
“Well, for one, evidence was left behind. For another, the guy’s body hasn’t shown up yet.”
“I can’t believe anyone in Peculiar has anything to do with this, Agent,” Eldin said to Resnik.
When I was a child I might have agreed, but I wasn’t a child anymore, and our small town had had enough of its fair share of crime over the past two decades for me to believe it was possible. Unfortunately, therians were just like humans when it came to greed, lust, and revenge. Luckily, they also had the same capacity for humor, kindness, and love.
“Honestly,” Resnik said. “I’d never even heard of Peculiar until this case, and I’ve been assigned to the Ozarks for a decade now.”
Not hearing about an all shifter town was by design. Peculiar worked hard to stay off the radar. Which is why there was only one road in and out of town—no through traffic from one destination to another. If you were going to Peculiar, it had to be by design or pure accident. The fact that this case was drawing attention to the place probably scared the crap out of my dad.
Oh. Dominic hadn’t requested me on the case, my father had. I glared at my partner. He shrugged and gave me the “what?” eyebrow raise.
“Later,” I mouthed. “Agent Resnik, what can you tell us about the abducted man?”
Resnik took us to a corkboard with pictures from the current and previous abductees and their corresponding small toes, the Blonde Bear Café’s loyalty card, a footprint, a broken porch rail with four large scratches, and some droplets of blood.
“Any of that blood from the suspect?”
“No.” Resnik rubbed a hand through his hair. “Blood belongs to the vic. Bloody nose, we suspect, there was some mucus in the sample.”
Neither Dom, Eldin, nor I asked about the scratch marks on the rail.
Resnik tapped the third man’s picture. “Our newest victim. Ray Lieberman. President of Lark Manufacturing, a company that makes stainless steel appliances. Wife. Five kids and another on the way. Married twenty years, no prior legal problems. Solid guy as far as we can tell.”
“Any enemies?” Dominic asked.
“Nope.”
“Do you think he’s dead?”
Eldin raised his chin. “You think he’s not?”
“There’s a struggle and no body.” I looked at Resnik. “Any fingerprints on the card?”
“Several, but no hits, which means he doesn’t have a record.” The blond agent shrugged. “We’re flying blind here without a map.”
I looked at Dominic. “What next?”
“You go to Peculiar with Deputy Farraday.” His expression soured as he gave me the directive. “I’ve got some business I have to take care of here in Springfield.”
“Do you want me to stay and help?”
“It’s personal, not professional.”
“Oh.” I handed him the keys. “See you later.”
“I’ll join you in Peculiar this afternoon. Line up some accommodations for us when you get there.”
“I’ll get you a hotel room at the Peculiar B & B. If I know my mom, my bed at home is already made-up.” I glanced at Eldin. “Looks like it’s you and me,” I said.
“Just like old times.” He grinned.
Dominic scowled. “Coordinate with the sheriff and try to remember that you’re there on official business. This isn’t a coming home party.”
I stared him straight in the eye. “You obviously don’t know my mother.”