Page 4 of A Wolf's Heart

“Okay, I want the area cleared until forensics shows up, crowd control and all. Ensure the park entrances are blocked off. We don’t need anyone wandering down the trails. The entire park is now a crime scene. I’m going to take a little walk. I want no officer in or around that perimeter.”

“Alrighty, then. You’re the boss.”

But I wasn’t—he was. I shook my head and walked around the perimeter I had set up for everyone else. I kept markers inmy pocket and grabbed a camera from the car. For the next two hours, I combed.

I walked through each trail I knew, taking note of prints or anything that stood out, but it was more than that. I took note of the things others would miss.

This body, like the others, had been dumped here. But there were no drag marks to note, there were no broken branches or limbs you would get from another human pulling a body to a dump site. This body had been carried and dropped. No tire tracks, nothing left behind. Just like the previous victims.

Actually, there was one thing left behind. A faint scent that was so complex it continued to confuse me at each crime scene. A damp musk with an undertone with which I could only describe as natural gas. It was earthy, but not from this area. The scent had to have been carried here by the killer.

Once the forensics team arrived, we fell into our routine while the PD did crowd control. It was bliss. We worked together documenting everything before the body was then respectfully taken off site and to the morgue.

Even after removal, we stayed and combed the area twice, three times, four times, and by the sixth time, it was getting late. All samples were labeled properly and ready for the lab in the morning.

The team came from the city, so they would be delivering the samples themselves while I finished the paperwork on my end.

Before heading into the office for another late night of writing up reports, I stopped by the house and gave Max some love and his dinner. I picked up takeout from Sunshine Palace on my way in, then made myself comfortable as I spent another two hours writing up all findings and entering information into the case file.

I wasn’t the only one. A few other stragglers were sitting at their desks in the shared room of the precinct, writing up their events of the day.

By the end of my shift—or my double shift—I was more annoyed than exhausted. We’d collected everything we’d seen. Everything that forensics found, plus everything my wolf nose and eyes were able to pick up, and still, nothing.

The third body with a missing heart, and I was completely empty-handed. All evidence bagged and tagged, John Doe was now over in the cold cellar of the hospital, and that’s it. With absolutely nothing to go on, would we ever find this killer?

“Report from the morgue will take a few days,” Rodney said as he walked up to my desk.

“Yeah, I figured.” I closed down my laptop and began packing up for the night. “Third body, Chief, I think we should be calling this in.”

Rodney frowned. “We haven't any more to go on. Not much the higher-ups will be able to do.”

“Yeah, but there's a protocol in place. Third body in one month. Do you want to make the call, or do you want me to?”

“No, no, I will. You’re right, perhaps more manpower will be useful.”

“Never know. Maybe the database will take a hit if this guy has done the same thing somewhere else. They could even have more evidence on him.”

“So, you think it’s a male?”

“There are aspects that have me looking in either direction at this time. It could be a team.”

“Well, then, girlie, tell me your thoughts.”

Though I suppressed a sigh and a roll of my eyes, the pursed lips were immutable. Rodney had a lot of experience on the force; he should know better than to use pet names. It had my hackles standing on end whenever he did.

I leaned back in my chair and folded my hands on my lap. “Well, Roddy.” I pointedly stared at him while emphasizing his name, even though I knew he didn’t care if we used his nickname. “It’s easy to presume male, with the lack of drag marks and tracks. Someone strong enough to carry at least a hundred and sixty to two hundred pounds, given how large the victims were. However, we found no footprints or markings, and given how soft the soil is, we are also looking for someone light enough on their feet. That aside, this could be female. The crime itself is a crime of almost passion. Middle aged males, chests torn open, hearts removed.”

Now I was mumbling to myself, mulling over how anything in this case made sense.

“It had to have been a multiple person job.”

It had to have been a shifter. I wasn’t stupid. I knew there were more like me. I’d just never ran into a case where a shifter was a suspect. How would I even bring this up to a team? How would I investigate this without giving away who I was?

“Seems like a lot of uncertainty.” Roddy said.

His voice brought me out of my mind. “It is. It’s all presumptions. Like I said, we need to make a call to the city crime scene forensics. We need to build a team to properly investigate this.” I stood up, grabbing my bag. “See you tomorrow.” I gave Rodney an attempt at a smile.

“Evans,” he said as I passed by him. I turned to face him, and for the first time since I had worked at this precinct, Rodney wasn’t smiling. “Don’t be surprised if this case runs cold. The lack of evidence alone, with no suspects. I mean, this is Port Renderson—the chances of there being a serial killer in our town are one in a million.”

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