Page 66 of Wolf's Mark

“The victim’s femur is crushed and there are signs given material under his fingernails that he fought back.” Which was true. I swabbed several nails, hoping I’d find something more conclusive.

The same two hulking men had brought the body, both waiting outside to whisk the remains away as soon as I was finished. I can’t say I was unhappy about that.

Everything else, including the way this had been handled, pissed me off.

It would take more than a half gallon of my favorite ice cream to feel cooled off.

I tried to concentrate so I could get as far away from the situation as possible.

“Where was this body found?” I finally asked as I began typing in the last of my notes. She didn’t answer me right away and I glared at her.

“In a park in Cartersville.”

At least that made sense with the odor.

“What was he doing there in the middle of the night?”

“We don’t work that fast,” the agent said. Her glare was as demanding as mine. “But I know a little about the area. The park is like lover’s lane. A young couple found him.”

“The shock of a lifetime.” I wasn’t making fun, but this entire situation was something out of a movie and not real life. I hit save and gave the victim another look before removing the jump drive. I’d already been told the results would be submitted in their entirety.

This time, I didn’t mind.

“You can call your goons in now to remove the body,” I told her. “The majority of the tests could take a couple days. And no, there is nothing I can do to expedite them.”

“Please return the body into the bag the victim was brought in.”

After sitting there during the entire autopsy, her comment struck something inside I couldn’t control.

“What’s wrong? Afraid of the big, bad wolf?” Maybe my sense of humor was twisted, but being forced to leave the bed of a man I actually enjoyed spending time with certainly had left me cranky.

She took a deep breath, lifting her head high. “As before, I appreciate your help. I assume you also included your thoughts on how the man died.”

“I think it’s obvious he was mauled to death by an animal. The actual reason for his death was loss of blood based on having his intestines ripped out. The obvious question is what kind of animal could be capable of nearly gutting a man’s organs with one bite of his abnormally sized canines. The reason you contacted me was because of the internship I did in Africatending to very unusual animals that aren’t of the traditional species you see on any nature show. Given what I witnessed the other night as a doctor and scientist I can say that what you’re dealing with has an easy explanation in modern science. In other words, Agent Drummand, you will need to consider the possibility that what you’re dealing with is not just a dangerous anomaly, but a creature that we’ve never seen before.”

The words hung and the agent looked smug.

“Go on,” she said. “Anything you can answer will be helpful at this point. The department really can use your expertise.”

“My expertise. Now, that’s where you come in. You insisted on removing every sample prior to test results coming back from the first victim. It would be impossible and quite frankly irresponsible for me to make a guess because there is no chance I could make an educated one. Not without sounding completely insane, which I refuse to do since I do have a solid reputation. I need to cross reference them.”

Now she chose to remain quiet. She suddenly looked more like a deer in the headlights.

“I think you already know, but the powers that be over your head insisted you obtain a qualified person to corroborate what your team already suspects and fears. Meanwhile, in doing so, you’re risking the lives of everyone in Cartersville and God knows where else. I don’t like it. I won’t be a part of watching that happen. This is my hometown now, a special place to raise a family. So please, get the hell out before I lose my temper and time runs out and before the victim becomes a figure out of a horror movie. Because I know you won’t tell me anything. That would actually be of use to me.”

She was incensed at first, huffing as she rose to her feet. I didn’t pay her much attention as she stormed out and she returned with the burly men. I also didn’t do her requested biddings with dressing up the body so her men wouldn’t need to look at his wounds.

The woman had made me that angry.

I was even cursing as I cleaned up the mess, careful to discard everything that could come back to haunt me.

While the men didn’t say a single word, I noticed their insecure looks as they carefully touched the body.

“He won’t jump out of his skin. Yet. Don’t worry, boys,” I told them. The lack of sleep was getting to me, but I wasn’t in the mood to care what they thought. I’d had enough of being used.

I continued tidying up, not paying much attention to them. At least the body and the two men were gone, retreating to their van like good boys.

She returned, leaning against the wall as I continued working. She was silent.

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