Page 69 of Night Call

“You’re back with us, then? Working the murder full time, I mean?”

Maya nodded, turning her gaze back to the computer. “For now. Many hands make light work, and all that. I just hope the patrol bobbies don’t come chasing us for all the drug drive results that are stacking up.”

Pember glanced over his shoulder, gingerly eyeing the industrial freezer that was becoming more and more packed with blood samples as the days went on.

“Well, if you ever feel like you need a break from rape and murder, I’m sure Wallace won’t mind if you process a few.” He stuck out his tongue, because if he’d learned anything about Maya, it was that shehatedproducing long-winded reports for the courts.

“Eh, I’m sure they’ll wait. Anyway, look at this.” Maya tugged his sleeve and turned the monitor towards him. Stepping away from the microscope, he pulled down his mask and squinted at the screen.

“Blood splatter in the woods,” she said. “See it tracked all through the grass?”

Pember’s eyes went wide. On the screen were several blown-up images of a small, wooded area in the centre of the park. Blood splatter marks were splashed across the grass as though someone had launched a bucket of paint.

“Shit, that’s a hell of a lot of blood. First point of contact?”

Maya nodded. “Wallace thinks so. Looks like the killer nicked an artery with the first couple of jabs. Alpha’s blood pressure would have plummeted before he made it to the fountain and collapsed.”

“But there was blood splatter all over the fountain. You think the killer chased him? Carried on the attack?”

Maya shrugged. “Possibly. But haven’t you ever seen a nicked artery? Pisses like a motherfucker.”

“I guess,” Pember replied, eyes lingering over the still images. Therewasa hell of a lot of blood, even for a moving target. The victim hadn’t been wearing a coat, only a T-shirt, jeans and dress shoes. The blood would have sprayed right out of him unhindered. He frowned at the thought.

“Hey, May? It’s still a bit chilly, right? Last night it was, what, four degrees outside?”

Maya hummed. “Something like that. I had to give Jerry an extra heating pad because his feet were cold.”

Pember hummed sympathetically at the thought of Maya’s pampered diabetic cat warming his toe beans in bed.

“So why wasn’t our guy wearing a coat? I know alphas run hotter than everyone else, but surely he would have at least had a shirt to cover his arms. In fact, is there CCTV of him walking through the park? Where had he been that night?”

Maya stared at him, her expression unusually hard, making Pember worry he’d overstepped the mark again. After a moment she threw her hands up and jostled his shoulders. “I have no idea, Pem. That’s for the detectives to follow up on. Whew, you sure you aren’t coming into heat? You really do smell like sex on legs.”

The flush over Pember’s neck made a return, creeping right up to his hairline. “L-like I said, it’s the meds.”

Maya nodded. “Good, because there’sno wayyou’re missing our night out. The others can’t wait to meet you. What’re you wearing?”

Pember sighed. “No idea. I only brought one suitcase of clothes from my mum’s house, so I’m kind of limited.”

Maya nodded, giving him a solemn smile. “I get it. How about we go shopping after work? Sal, one of the girls who’s going tomorrow, her brother owns a boutique in town. I think you’d look absolutely ravishing in red. Or maybe an inky blue. Yeah, blue would really set off your eyes. And your hair—youhaveto wear your hair down. All tousled and wavy. Oof, I could just eat you up where you stand.” Chuckling, Pember tugged at his face mask. “What?” Maya continued, playfully knuckling his ribs. “Don’t act like you don’t have that bodice-ripper heroine look going on. Remind me again why you don’t have a mate?”

Pember frowned, turning back towards the microscope.

“Sorry, did I overstep?” Maya said, tugging at the sleeve of his lab coat.

“No,” he replied, softly shaking his head. “I’d love to go shopping. Meet you out the front around six?”

Maya’s mouth opened and closed several times before finally nodding. “Yeah. See you at six.”

“The blue.Definitelythe blue,” Maya said, tapping her toes together as she spun Pember around.

“I agree. It makes your eyes look so pretty. The silver embroidery on the collar… Chef’s kiss.” Sal, Maya’s friend, kissed her fingers as she looked him over.

She ran a hand through her short brown pixie cut, the green plaster cast covering her wrist catching in a few strands. It hadthe name ‘Paul’ scrawled across it, followed by a bright pink penis drawn in highlighter. It’d been poorly covered in black Sharpie, the hairy testicles still very much visible. When Sal saw him looking, she flicked the man behind the counter—her brother—the middle finger and held out her arm.

“Fell off my bike yesterday,” she said, jabbing her thumb towards the cash tills. “Numbnuts over there thought it’d be a fantastic idea to draw a massive throbbing phallus on my arm when I was off my tits on pain meds. Clearly forgot that I have a very serious job, and have to deal with exceptionally stuck-up lawyers day in and day out.”

Pember glanced over at the tills, only to see a sheepish looking redhead waving back.

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